I reckon that yesterday was a quieter Trade Deadline than many were hoping for.
Certainly, it is easy to justify that feeling. In Montreal, many players rumored to be on their way out - Chris Campoli, Mathieu Darche, Travis Moen and Yannick Weber - did not move for various reasons.
Nonetheless, Andrei Kostitsyn did find his way to Nashville in exchange for a second round pick in 2013 and Brad Staubitz was claimed off waivers by the Canadiens.
League wide, the day also proved tranquil, with prized acquisitions like Steve Ott and Lubomir Vishnovsky also staying put. Rick Nash, somehwat predictably, remains a Blue Jacket.
Still, teams like Vancouver and Nashville found a way to make some noise.
Along with AK46, the Predators also pried Paul Gaustad away from the Sabres in return for a first round pick.
The Cancuks bolstered their lineup, acquiring Samuel Pahlson, Zack Kassian and Marc-Andre Gargani. These moves where not without their cost, as Vancouver was forced to give up Cody Hodgson, Alex Sulzer and a couple of picks.
So, what did you think or Deadline day? How did Montreal do? Who are your winners or losers?
Habs News
HabsAddict.com - Press Release - Habs Recall Blake Geffrion, Send Louis Leblanc to AHL
HabsAddict.com - NHL Trade Deadline: Montreal Canadiens and Other Interesting Moves
HabsWorld.net - Habsworld Podcast - Episode 8
Montreal Gazette - Red Fisher: Canadiens become irrelevant on NHL trade deadline day
RDS - Reconstruction? Non!
Hockey News
ESPN - Deadline deals: Stock up, stock down
SportsNet - Deadline Dud
The Hockey News - Campbell: Trade deadline winners and losers
TSN - TradeCentre: Winners and Losers of Deadline Day
USA Today - Roundup: Rangers hold off Devils
11 comments:
Unfortunately, Habs were slight losers at the deadline due to circumstance.
I commented on another post that I was disappointed Campoli is still a Hab. Warm body on defence couldn't even net us a 5-7th rounder?? Moen and Darche being hurt clearly ruined their chances of being traded, but that's a matter of circumstance. No one trades for injured players. I wish we received more for Kostitsyn, especially when the team trading for him gave up a 1st round pick for Paul Gaustad (and a 4th). Now clearly the extra year on Gaustad's deal and the fact that AK will be a UFA played a part in it, but still. AK is physical and can score. Gaustad is great on faceoffs, can chip in a goal here and there and plays physical. But he won't be a top 6 forward like Kostitsyn has proven to be in his career. And if AK doesn't re-sign with the Preds, I'd be shocked: His brother is there, potential top 6 ice time with the team, less pressure. He was a rental, technically, but the Preds know he'll sign long-term and we should have tried to pry something more than just a conditional 5th rounder (our own) back for him. So in the end, Gill and Kostitsyn netted us Geoffrion, Slaney, 2 2nd rounders and a Brad Staubitz waiver claim. I think we could have done better.
Nonetheless, whats done is done and Gauthier will be fired before the playoffs start... I hope.
Unfortunately, I must say that division rival Buffalo won the deadline. A 1st rounder, Hodgson and some picks for Gaustad and a couple of prospects. And not trading Derek Roy was probably a winning move too, he'll be better next year.
Thanks for another solid post, guys, keep it up!!
@Nick M: Well said, my friend!
And yes, the Habs got hosed a little bit due to injuries. Although, to be honest, I had been hearing for a while that they are/were considering keeping Moen and maybe even Darche, for another season.
I'm not sure why, but that seems to be the case...especially for Moen.
While the Habs maybe didn't maximize their assets (when was the last time they did???), they did pick up prospects and picks.
As it stands, the Habs will be picking four times in the top 60 of the 2013 draft. That is supposed to be a deep draft year too, so that's a good thing.
Plus, maybe they package a 2nd rounder or two, with their first, to move up in the 2013 draft.
The bottom line is that shedding contracts and getting picks is exactly what they needed to do. But, to your point, Campoli should have been shipped out too...even for a 5th rounder!
The team and the org are in turmoil right now and we can only hope that Gautheir, Gainey, et al, get the boot at season's end. Now is time to fix the mistakes they made during the last "rebuild". Time for a new management team...let's hope Molson thinks so too!
@Nick,
Gaustad actually has an expiring contract at years end as well. So he is set to be a UFA.
My take on the deal is simple however.
AK46 is supposed to be a point producing forward but he's only once in the past 3 season his the 20 goal mark and that was exactly 20 goals. Does this sound like the play of a sniper?
This season he has a crappy 12 goals and 12 assists and then people are complaining that we gave up too much for too little?
The guy has the same production as Drew Miller, Lee Stempniak, Andrew Cogliano, etc.... would we be complaining about giving up too much if we gave up a 2nd and 5th for one of those guys?
If Kostitsyn is not scoring then what else does he bring to the table? He doesn't play on the PK, is not very good defensively and rarely gets PP time. People mention he is physical and has been among the leaders on this team in his yet
2011-12: 1.5 hits per game
2010-11: 1.7 hits per game
2009-10: 1.7 hits per game
It's not that he is non-physical but by that same token he is not an overly physical player.
Compare that to Gaustad.
57% in the facoff circle, extremely effective on the PK and production wise is really not that far behind Ak46 with 7 goals and 10 assists.
giving up a first for Gaustad is perhaps an overpayment but I would argue that giving up a 2nd and 5th for Kostitsyn is an overpayment as well.
@Bryan
I see your point on the fact his production is down. While its true 2 years ago he only had 15 goals, he also only played in 59 games due to injury. Surely with the ice time he was getting that year, he would have sniped at least 5 goals in those missed 23 games. His goal/game percentage was .31 the year before (08/09) then .25 that injury year (09/10), and .249 last year (10/11). No injury and we're talking about a guy coming off 4 straight 20+ goal seasons.
However, professional sports is all about 'What have you done for me lately'. And this season is his worst by far in the scoring department, and probably the worst situation for a soon-to-be free agent to be in, no less. He's not been getting ice time with quality line-mates and he's clearly in Cunneyworth's doghouse. Its been a miserable season all around for him. But he's a proven 20 goal scorers with a 1st round pedigree. They are worth maximizing the investment on. Especially knowing that Nashville will keep him. I don't see him leaving that team. If that loafing floater Sergei can fit into Trotz's system, I'm sure Andrei can, too.
I agree with you they over-paid for Gaustad, but I think we could have got at least an extra late pick for AK, not just one we owned to begin with. That and failing to move impending UFAs (due to injury or being Campoli) is why I felt the Habs lost slightly.
@ Nick
Let's not even talk about Campoli although I take comfort in knocking Allen, Spacek and others were unable to be moved as well.
I think when it comes to AK I am just fed up. I am fed up of lackadaisical players who play like they don't give a crap and fed up of people who make excuses for him.
I would rather have a 15 goal scorer who gives his all on a nightly basis and who can be used in different situations then a player like AK who plays 1 out of every 3-4 games.
Bourque to me has now replaced AK as a 3rd line guy who will score 20-25 goals a year. Now it's time to address the top 3.
It was a tough day to be a seller even though everyone thought it was a sellers market. By the number of trades it was clear too many teams are still in it to over pay. So is a 2nd rounder about right in a frugal market, I think so. There seems to be a lot of sellers remorse right now but the only way AK was going to work out was to build a team and a coaching staff around him that would allow him to play 'his game'. Good luck to Trotz on that because finding what AK's game is, is the hard part because once you think you have it, he pulls the Houdini and disappears. Let me end on one final note that there was no interest in former coaches for AK - Muller, Boucher, Jullien could have all taken a shot at AK if they thought he was a diamond in the rough. Pretty sure none of them offered more then a 2nd rounder which tells you even those with first hand experience don't think it's everyone else's fault that AK is not performing.
I think what we received for Kostitsyn is based on the fact that teams aren't looking to add lazy, inconsistent, pouting Belarussians for a long playoff run.
Based on what I read, very few teams had any interest in him.
It was time to cut the line and we got what he was really worth based on this years results.
AK was bounced around more than a tennis ball.I would have liked to see Ian Schultz brought up. We only have 19 games left and he would have added toughness and size and his junior numbers are way better than Staubitz. Eric
@Hockeyhype
I'm not sure he was pouting or lazy. Honestly, I feel like that was a lazy stereotype tabbed by the media because he is from a country most had not heard of until he was drafted.
Inconsistent? Of course. If a 20-goal scorer were consistent, wouldn't that make him a 40-goal guy? Just saying.
@Anon
I wish as well that the team had gone a bit younger post-deadline. Exit Campoli and perhaps another forward. Give some youngters, like Leblanc, Palushaj, Enqqvist and even Schultz some time up. Good a time as any to see what they are made of.
@Louis
I may have been a bit harsh but nothing to do with his birthplace. The lazy comment from a lack of compete level that unfortunately was fairly consistent.
Let's face it, he showed and competed for 20-30 games a year even in his good years. He just has so much raw talent that he could still put up some decent numbers.
I think he may have learned this in his early years from Master Kovalev.
I just really hate passengers.
The pouting comes from his recent whining about ice time and using this for his reason for lack of production. You need to earn your ice time and too many veterans got away with half efforts under Martin.
He should have just said "I need to work harder and force the coach to give me the ice time I feel I deserve"
@Hockeyhype
I did not mean to infer that you were the one applying an unfair stereotype. Only that I think that the media is too often guilty of doing so, especially when it concerns Eastern europeans.
Having said that, I agree that his ice-time complaints were not especially endearing.
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