Thursday, September 6, 2012

Montreal Canadiens Offseason Player Profile: Josh Gorges

Josh Gorges - D
6'1" 200 lbs
2011-12 Stats 82GP- 2G- 14A- 16 Pts

The Cost

When — and if — the 2012-13 season starts, Gorges will be entering his first year of a six year extension he signed with the Canadiens midway through the 2011-12 campaign.

The deal is worth $3.9 million per year for a total of $23.4 million, and was arguably Pierre Gauthier's best move as Canadiens GM before being replaced by Marc Bergevin.

A cap hit of $3.9 million is more than worth it for a player like Gorges who plays his heart out on every shift.

Performance

Gorges was the only player in the NHL to block over 200 shots last season, sacrificing his body 250 times.

His 131 hits were good for third on the Canadiens and had a team high +14 rating. In fact, Gorges, P.K. Subban and Frederic St-Denis were the only defenseman to finish with plus ratings.

Gorges also lead the team with an average of 3:53 minutes of pk time per game and his average of 22:37 minutes of ice time per game was second only to P.K. Subban.

The Fit

Gorges will likely be alongside P.K Subban - providing he signs - on the teams top defensive unit. Gorges's defensive style will provide Subban with the freedom to play his exciting, up-tempo, freewheeling style of play that the fans enjoy so much.

Gorges will also continue to play a huge role on the penalty kill where he will no doubt fearlessly step in front of countless amounts of shots with no regard whatsoever for his well being.

With a player like Gorges, his value is worth more than just the shots he blocks. He provides great leadership on and off the ice. The dedication he shows to his team on every shift shows the younger players in the organization what it means to be a team player.

Check out other player profiles:

Carey Price
Andrei Markov
Raphael Diaz
Francis Bouillon
Ryan White
Travis Moen
Brandon Prust
Colby Armstrong
Lars Eller
Rene Bourque
Tomas Plekanec
David Desharnais

---
Sean is a freelance writer currently contributing to HabsAddict.com. He is also a regular blogger and frequent panelist on the Habs post game show at MontrealHockeyTalk.com You can follow Sean on Twitter

(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)

0 comments:

Post a Comment