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| Source: USA Today |
After an absence of almost two years I've decided to get back into the Hab-it (see what I did there?) of writing on the going-ons of the hockey world, and more specifically, the Montreal Canadiens. And what
better time to get back into the world of hockey than the first week of September when there is not much going on and every subject has been covered by everyone with both the internet and an interest for hockey?
That being said, there are a few options when it comes to choosing a subject. First off I could cover some rumours, secondly I could do a recap of the most talked about topics regarding the Canadiens and lastly, I could give my take on the upcoming season and how I feel the Habs will fare.
Alas.... I will do all three. I'm kind of an all-or-nothing kind of guy. Now with the intro complete I will dive right into the first of my three topics... rumours.
Martin Brodeur to the Habs
Let me start this off with a quick and simple, no thank you. Unless Marc Bergevin has the Delorean parked in his garage and is preparing to reach 88 mph on his way to bringing in the veteran goaltender, this rumour should be put to rest immediately.
I do not doubt that Brodeur could chalk up a few W's for the Habs in the upcoming season; however, I don't feel it's worth the circus that will come with it. There should be no goalie controversy in Montreal. Carey Price is the go-to-guy, and no matter what anybody says, the second he loses two or three (or God forbid four!!) games in a row, how could the media and a large collection of the fan base, not start to rally for the hometown, two time Stanley Cup winning goalie to step up and lead the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge to the promise land?
This organization does not need that sort of attention and distraction. Price and Peter Budaj are a more than capable duo where their roles will not be questioned and they can both focus 100% on the job at hand. Although, to be fair, Budaj may not be as comfortable after Dustin Tokarski's performance in the conference finals last year.
There is also the matter of price (monetary, not Carey).
How much will it cost to have the twenty-year veteran come home for his final season? The Habs currently have $2,651,667 in cap space according to www.capgeek.com. It's no question that Budaj would be moved to make room for Marty McFly (nickname given due to his first name being Martin as well as my Delorean reference from earlier on). Let's say Budaj is traded for a draft pick or prospect in order to not take any salary in return, that adds another $1.4 million. The Habs are now looking at $4,051,667 to play around with. That seems like a comfortable amount of money, but keep in mind the Habs may need some cash in the bank come trade deadline to either add to the roster or replace an injured player. If Brodeur is willing to sign for $1 million the way Brad Richards did in Chicago or Dany Heatley over in Anaheim than it would be a little bit harder to ignore, but still it doesn't seem worth the sideshow that would accompany the future hall of famer back to his hometown.
Phase one complete, phase two: My take on the most talked about topics over the summer
1. The $9 Million Man
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| P.K. Subban became the highest paid Canadien with an average of $9 million over eight years. |
Yes, it's a ton of money. How many defensemen are there in the league like Subban? Drew Doughty in Los Angeles (the only one I would personally rate higher then #76)... I'm out. Shea Weber is phenomenal, but doesn't have the speed that Subban uses for those end to end rushes. There is Erik Karlsson, but he's on the Senators so who really cares, right?
Bottom line is, Subban's contract is a good one and will only look better in a few years when the cap is even higher and players with less than half the talent that P.K. possesses are making a bazillion dollars.
2. The Captaincy
Once again, an issue I feel has been overblown. Should it be Subban? Plekanec? Markov? Pacioretty?
Here's an even more important question... does it matter? Whether or not there is a "C" on somebody's jersey, the true leaders will make their selves heard in the dressing room and seen on the ice. Regardless, I'll give a quick rundown on my opinion of each of the candidates most often named both by the media and fans.
Subban: Not yet. I could see it happening if Bergevin decides to go a year before handing out the "C", but it seems a little bit early for a player who has yet to sign a contract without making the whole process into a gong show.
Markov: Doesn't want it.
Pacioretty: Really?
Gallagher: See "Pacioretty".
Plekanec: He would be my pick if I was relevant in any way to the organization. He's been with the team longer than anyone who isn't named Markov. He plays hard and deals with the media well, and anybody who can rock a turtleneck in a world where turtlenecks have never been anything less than silly, can lead me into battle any day.
And now for my final act.... My prediction
How Will The Canadiens Fare?
I will keep this short as I am not usually good at predictions. There are too many factors at play when stating how a team will do over an 82-game schedule. However, I already said I would do it and I don't feel like editing my article so here it goes.
Habs will take the Atlantic Divi... Conference?. There. I said it, and it's not because I'm a fan... well it probably is at least a little bit. I'll explain quickly how I came to this conclusion.
Ottawa and Toronto are bad.
Buffalo is worse.
Florida is..... Florida.
Tampa Bay could do it, but will be relying way too heavily on Ben Bishop to have another stellar year like he did in the 2013-14 season.
Detroit has a ton of talent up front, but not the most impressive blue line and I'm still not completely sold on Jimmy Howard.
Boston is stupid. More importantly though, Chara is not the Wookie he once was. He is still strong and possesses a hell of a shot, but he's becoming easier and easier to just skate around. Marchand is becoming more of a distraction than a help to his team due to his insistence on being the league's top jackass. Iginla walked and was replaced by... nobody. Ville Leino has been invited to the Bruins' training camp but admit it, before I mentioned his name you forgot he existed.
With all that in depth research and analysis isn't it clear that the Habs will win the divi... conference?
Bonus non-Hab related prediction: Jaroslav Halak will be traded six times in the upcoming season.
And with that my first piece back is complete, and for the record... part of me does think it would be pretty badass to see Brodeur wearing the "CH" despite everything I just said.
I'll leave you with a few questions:
1. Brodeur - yes or no?
2. Would not having a captain matter and if so, who would you give it to?
3. Where do you see the Habs finishing?
4. Is two Delorean references too many? I say it's not enough, but that's just me.
5 comments:
1. Brodeur no. See my article.
2. Habs should name a captain. Other teams have tried the "captain by committee" thing and it just doesn't work. Subban is the obvious choice in my opinion
3. If the Price is Right, Habs should finish 3rd in the Atlantic division. Keep calm and Carey on
3. Definitely not enough
Thanks for your input and I couldn't agree more with your answer to #4
As for captain, I still feel that the players will know who the leaders are whether or not there is a letter sewn onto the jersey.
Sean, I'm a new writer to Habs Addict so I would appreciate you commenting on my articles
1. Marty-NO. I do not agree that he would ever be a threat to Price's number one spot at this point. Even if Price tanked a few, I doubt many fans would actually feel the team would be better off with Marty at this stage in his career. I am fine with Tokarski (hoping they can somehow move Budaj).
2. Hoping the captain is determined before the regular season starts. To me, you hope Markov accepts and then PK gets it when Markov is done. If Markov doesn't want it, I am in the give PK the "C" camp.
3. Agree with Tina Poole.
4. What's it to you butthead? (J/K).
Sean, I am going to ell you why I disagree re: Brodeur.
First let me say that Budaj to me is the odd man out regardless of whether MB joins the team or not. Love his attitude but it's time to move on.
With that said, if Price goes down with an injury this year which scenario are you more comfortable with? Tokarski taking over, Budaj taking over or Brodeur taking over? Habs have a really good team and players themselves said it, if Price was in nets they would have won that series. They played different with Tokarski i nets.
I hear people say we cannot add Brodeur because Tokarski would have to clear waivers. This is true but are we now saying that Tokarski is nothing more than a back-up? Is it right to ahve an asset like him and play im 15-20 games a year? Do we take a risk and send him to the Hammer? Even then what's the point, Fucale will be te starter next year anyway.
So if Tokarski is a better option than Budaj but won't play much behind price and if we can't send to hamilton without losign him via waivers, and if Tokarski doesn't have a future in MTL or Hamiltn next year then what's the point?
So if you can package Tokarski with a 3rd liner for something of value, do it. Brodeur is a better option on a 1 year deal then what we have.
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