You Be the GM: How Would You Spend the Habs' Cap Dollars?

by Kamal Panesar

One-third of the way through the 2010-2011 NHL season, the Montreal Canadiens sit atop the Northeast Division with 38 points in the standings. They are also the second stingiest team in the NHL, as of this morning, having only allowed 54 goals against—the Bruins have 52 goals against but have played two fewer games.

While the success that the Habs are enjoying comes as a surprise to pretty much everyone, fans and media alike, what is more amazing is how the Canadiens have done it all with the services of star defenseman Andrei Markov.

Re-injuring his surgically repaired knee against the Hurricanes a few weeks ago, Markov went under the knife yesterday to have that same knee operated on again. As such, he is out for the balance of the season, although there is a slight chance he could be back very late in the playoffs, if the Habs go deep.

So while the Habs are playing well and look like they are for real, they still have some glaring holes in their roster that need to be addressed if they want to truly contend this season. Namely, a top-six winger to play on the second line and perhaps a puck-moving, offensive defenseman. The other asset that the Habs in short supply of is size and toughness. Aside from these problems it looks like the Habs' roster is pretty set.

It is with this in mind that I thought it was a good time to find out what you, the fans, would do with the cap space that the Habs now have available. The media is talking and the pundits are pontificating, but I want to know what the fans think.

Here is a link to the Habs salary page on CapGeek.com:
http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=2

According to CapGeek.com, as of this morning the Canadiens have $1,069,075 in cap space plus $4,840,580 in LTIR money for a total of $5,909,925.

That's a lot of clams!

So given the current make up of the team and assuming that Scott Gomez is still the second line center—he is currently injured and listed as day-to-day—what moves would you make to improve the Habs roster and make them a true contender?

It's your turn to be the GM and you have $5,909,925 to spend. Do you make a trade? Do you call someone up from Hamilton? Do you go to the casino and put it all on red?

Send me your responses in the comments section, via Twitter, on Facebook or by email.

I am going to post this article on HabsAddict.com, the Bleacher Report, Hockeybuzz.com and the Team 990's The Franchise.ca and will be compiling the answers and posting the results on Monday December 13, 2010.

So get your thinking caps on, do your research and let me know what you think. I want names, cap numbers, explanations, justifications, the whole nine!

Happy GMing!

(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)

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Survey Results: What you'd do to get Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta going

by Kamal Panesar

The Montreal Canadiens have had their ups and their downs through 14 games played in this still young NHL season.

The last week or so has seen more downs than ups, however, as two the Habs key offensive components, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez, continue to struggle.

Gionta has two goals and two assists while leading all shooters with 54 shots on goal, while Gomez has a mere one goal and two assists. Given that these are two key parts of the Habs' offense, it is imperative that Jacques Martin and co. starts getting production out of them.

With everyone in the media giving their opinions on what needs to be done in order to get these two producing, I thought it was a good time to ask you, the hockey fans, what you would do to fix their problems and the response was overwhelming!

Recommendations of showing them midget or panda porn aside, I got some incredibly insightful responses from a whole swath of people. In total, between Tweets, emails, Facebook messages, comments on HabsAddict.com, The Bleacher Report, and Hockeybuzz.com, I had over 100 responses.

If there was ever a question about the knowledge level and intense passion for the Montreal Canadiens from their fan base, this highly non-scientific survey showed me that there are a ton of incredibly sharp hockey minds out there.

There were nine different options, with minor variations within each concept, that people put forward.

What I have done is indicate the concept the people chose as a header, with a brief summary of people's thoughts as well as a couple of examples of what people had to say.

Please note that 4.5% of responses could be categorized as "other" or "miscellaneous". These were cases where I received only one single message for that particular thought. Many of those responses were joke responses about getting a new equipment manager, letting them sleep in on Saturday's, and making them overdose on Red Bull.

Thank you to everyone who participated, even those who sent joke responses!

So, without further ado, here are the results in reversed order for dramatic effect:


9. Patience, change nothing. Gomez is a notoriously slow starter

With a meager 1.25% of the responses in this category, few fans feel that the Habs should maintain the status quo. The general feeling was the Canadiens needed to be proactive and actually do something to change their fate. While I personally feel that there are things that the Canadiens can do to help change their situation, there is something to be said about giving things a chance to play out on their own.

Comments

chadrock via HockeyBuzz.com
Wait until December. Gomez starts off slow every single season, it's nothing new.


8. Martin is not a good coach/should make better lineup changes

Only slightly more popular than keeping things the same were discussions about Jacques Martin making bad decisions, which checked in with 1.75% of the responses.

While many in the Habs fan base are not fans of what Martin brings to the table or his coaching style, most of the comments focused on what changes could be made and not what the coach had currently done.

Comments

kev1586 via Hockeybuzz.com
"I hate the changes Martin is making to the lineup. He has to make changes, but there are far more obvious ones to be made...Why not try what has worked in the past:

Eller-Plekanec-Kostitsyn (looked good in TO to start the year)
Cammalleri-Gomez-Gionta (gold last year)
Pouliot-Halpern-Darche (our only producing line at this point)

Instead we get this:

Kostitsyn-Gomez-Gionta (Never worked last year)
Eller-Plekanec-Cammalleri (?? We'll find out I guess)
Pouliot-Halpern-Darche

I get that Martin had to make changes, I just don't see the logic behind his decisions."


7. Send Gomez to the minors/bring up Desharnais/get rid of Gomez

"Getting rid of Gomez" is a pleasantly fictional view that 3.125% of the respondents espoused. While it is nice to imagine that Gomez could or would be moved, his veteran status and abusively inflated dollar value mean that he isn't going anywhere. That being said, I got the feeling that this view was based on pure emotion. People are not happy with Gomez and his contract sickens many, so they want him gone from the team."

I, for one, can understand that sentiment but I don't think it will happen.


Comments

eric ezaki via Bleacher Report
"...the Habs don't have to motivate them, they should motivate themselves. I can't stand Nomez. Thanks BG for that waste of money. If I'm the Habs I would send Nomez to the Dogs to free up cap space just like TO did with Jeff Finger. Then I would bring up Desharnais."

Razamanaz via Bleacher Report
"Why bother? Gomez has always sucked!! It's easy for him to say he is a playmaker, but when he only gets points from playing with star players that will score with him or without him why bother, GET RID OF HIM AS FAST AS WE CAN!!!...Paying someone 8 mil. a year who produces maybe 10-12 goals is just being a bad GM...If you check Gomez's stats, most of his assists are 2nd assists, which means he has no hand in any playmaking. The only reason Gomez says he's a playmaker, is because he scores about as many goals as a 4th line player, which is really all he is. If Gomez were to sit out a few games, I'm sure Gionta would score playing with anyone else, Gomez is the problem and has been all along!!!!"


6. Bring up Max Pacioretty of another player from Hamilton

Checking in with 4.25% support was the idea of bringing up Max Pacioretty or another player from Hamilton.

The feeling here is that the solution lies outside of the currently lineup, and in with the Habs' AHL ranks.

With Pacioretty's assertions on the Team 990 last week that if he wasn't going to play a top-six position in Montreal he'd rather stay in the AHL all season, I think it is unlikely that Habs' management will look in his direction. But with players like David Desharnais ripping it up in the AHL, maybe the idea is not completely off base.

Comments

darcysucker via Hockeybuzz.com
"How about bringing up Pacioretty? He's playing great in the AHL right now, 12 points in 10 games, he's big and the power forward we've been waiting for. It probably won't happen now, but come mid-season it's a definite possibility if he keeps up his production."

Leo st. pierre via Bleacher Report
"Bring up Ryan White -- the guy had FANTASTIC energy in the pre-season. Ditch Spacek, Gill & O'Byrne."


5. Put Andrei Kostitsyn on the second line with Gomez and Gionta

The idea of having AK46 flanking Gomez and Gionta was relatively popular with 6.25% of the responses indicating that this was their solution.

Since the poll went out, we have seen AK playing with those two and he didn't look entirely out of place. Unfortunately, however, they still did not produce any points.

Comments

Robbenator via Hockeybuzz.com
"I think that putting a player who is doing well with them might give them a good boost & it will be the perfect opportunity for Eller to show what he is made of! I just hope that Kostitsyn is not gonna start playing bad because he is with those 2 & that Eller is not gonna choke on this opportunity & turn our magical line into another Gomez/Gionta line."

ElieAintabi via Twitter
"Kostitsyn on the second line seemed to give them jump last game."


4. Trade for a big winger

Another group of responses indicated that their solution would be outside the team in the form of a veteran winger to play with Gomez and Gionta.

Checking in at 10.25% of the responses, people thought the Habs should make a move for a player like Owen Nolan, or Mike Knuble, or Bill Guerin.

Comments

Bo via Hockeybuzz.com
"By trading for a big winger to crash the net. A power forward such as Ryan Smyth or Mike Knuble."

Habssuperfan77 via Hockeybuzz.com
"What about Bill Guerin or Owen Nolan? Guerin scored 20 last year...all he has to do is get in front of the net...something that all the Habs roster, is afraid to do."

Charles L. Gare via Bleacher Report
"...I think I might think of a trade to bring another winger in, because everything that Martin has tried has failed miserably. I also think that the Habs are shooting from to far out maybe it is frustration I'm not sure, because they are getting lots of shots on the net but not in the net...I think Darche was the only one who went to the net (in Columbus) and that has been the only goal in the last two games..."


3. Put Benoit Pouliot back on the second line and let them play

I like this idea and never thought that Martin gave that trio enough time to try and get going before he broke them up. They had three games together at the beginning of the season after which Martin sent Pouliot packing into the bottom-six.

The good part is that Pouliot is now a key part of the Habs most consistent trio with Mathieu Darche and Jeff Halpern.

The message here was resoundingly that fans feel Martin pulled Pouliot off of that line too quickly and that he should give them a good 5-10 games to see what they can do.

11.375% of responses wanted to see Pouliot back on the second line.

Comments

Scabeh via Hockeybuzz.com
"I would let them play with Pouliot for a couple of games. I'm sure they will benefit from the intensity the former 4th overall pick has been showing since the beginning of the season..."

blarneylad via Hockeybuzz.com
"...Martin has got to stop penalizing players like Pouliot. He has a lack of confidence. Don't put him on the fourth line and essentially cut his ice time in half.

The kid has the talent and skills. He needs some work on his head...Gomez (hasn't been playing well) and yet he still ranks up there in ice time. What message is that sending?"

ERIC via HabsAddict.com
"...I do not think there is much more they can do, they may be firing blanks but they are firing, except for Gomez on a few occasions, they are not playing perimeter hickey, they are in the mix, they are getting dirty, especially Gionta.
They need a player to give them space and time, the type of player that can attract 2 players toward them and then pass it to G&G to create odd man chance...Put Pouliot in there and let him stay there for longer than a game or two, let them talk on the bench, communicate, and let Gionta tell him what he needs and wants...but I think time can fix a lot, especially if they keep playing hard!"


2. Put Lars Eller on Gomez's wing

The second most popular choice from fans was to give Eller a shot at the open wing position on the second line.

A full 13.5% of responses indicated that this was the Habs best option to fix what ails them.


Comments

Gerry Salhani via email
"Let Eller play with G & G for an extended period of time, not a one or two game stint. You can see he's got up side, but playing 8-minutes a game is not enough...I'm afraid the way JM is utilizing Eller will adversely affect his confidence..."

MHHABS via Hockeybuzz.com
"Give Lars Eller a chance on the line."

Rishi Diwan via Bleacher Report
"Put LARS ELLER on their line and then watch the awesome snowball affect."

Dylan Smith via Bleacher Report
"...BRING UP ELLER!!! Please Martin, give the guy a shot. I think I remember trading a pretty decent goalie to get him...not sure..."


And now, the No.1 choice by an overwhelming 43.75%, was...


1. Split up Gionta and Gomez

This is actually my choice too and I think it is time to see if they can get going separately. If they do, you can always put them back together and that seemed to be the feeling of the majority of people who responded.

There were many variations in this theme including using Eller as the second line center, moving around Michael Cammalleri, Andrei Kostitsyn, Gionta, Desharnais, Moen, White and others.

Regardless of the different scenarios and permutations, the vast majority thought that the Habs' best bet was to split up the two long time linemates.

Comments

Peter Dunfield via email
"I would move Pleks to that line and move Gomez to the Cammi line...we need
to get Gionta scoring...Pleks will do that..."

Steve Walter via email
Firstly, I would (even though they are playing well), make a slight change to the first line. I don't think Mike Cammalleri's full potential is being used. Gomez won't shoot, so put somebody on his line that will...I would also like to see them bring up somebody from the AHL. Desharnais is playing solid down there, so give him a shot to produce. Here is what I propose:

A.Kostitsyn-Plekenec-Gionta - keeps the speed of cams and the chemistry of plekanec and AK47
Cams-Gomez -Desharnais - Adds some firepower on Gomez wing. Small, fast line with scoring power..."

jayradio via Twitter
"...it would have been interesting to see...the Kostitsyn experiment on the G&G line."

Crimsonium via Twitter
"Call me crazy but I would try AK46-Plek-Gionta, Pouliot-Eller-Camm, Moen-Gomez-Lap. Or flip Gionta and Camm, he loves Plek."

EliasToufexis via Twitter
"Remember how amazing Cammy, Gio and Gomez were last year? Now that AK is playing well...it should be Eller, Pleks AK..."

Gerard via email
It may be time to split them! Move Gomez to the third line with Moen & Lapierre..."

sEb_666 via Hockeybuzz.com
"Break the line for a few games. Maybe it will help them get out of their slump and after that, you can always put them back together. "

George Efpraxiadis via Facebook
"Send em a message. Drop Gomez to the third line and put Plekanec with Gionta."

Hirky via HabsAddict.com
"...SPLIT UP Gomez and Gionta...I say put Gio with Plek and Cam's, with Gomez playing with Lap's and AK46. Then have Eller with Halpern and Pouliot."

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Well that's it folks. Thank you to everyone who participated! So what do you think of these options? Would you change your vote after reading these comments? Do you agree with the No.1 selection?

(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images North America)

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How Would You Get Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta Going?

by Kamal Panesar

After rolling out to a blistering 7-2-1 record over the first ten games of the season, the Montreal Canadiens have sagged a bit in their past two contests.

The Habs have left their fanbase with an uneasy feeling after 3-1 and 3-0 losses to Florida and Columbus respectively. During those loses the shortcomings that persisted over the first ten games were amplified and are now the talk of the town.

The Canadiens are a dismal 3-for-42 on the power play and have not had any improvements in that department since the return of Andrei Markov last Saturday.

The problems with the power play were masked over the first ten games of the season because the Habs were finding ways to score 5-on-5. Well, since Markov's return, that area of play has all but dried up for the Habs as they have just one goal for, over the last two games.

To make matters worse, the second line that is anchored by Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta has been firing blanks all season. Over the first 12 games of the season, each player is stalled at three points (one goal and two assists each), and are behind the likes of Benoit Pouliot, Mathieu Darche, Travis Moen, and Jeff Halpern in scoring.

Their production has no doubt been affected by the endless carousel of players that have auditioned on their line; Tom Pyatt, Travis Moen, Benoit Pouliot, and Mathieu Darche. But just like with the power play, when the Habs were winning, the Gomez-Gionta lack of production seemed to be a little more palatable. Now, however, without any secondary scoring to speak of, all of the offense responsibility lies on the shoulder of the Tomas Plekanec trio.

Plekanec, with his linemates Michael Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn were ripping it up over the first ten games but have since gone cold. As such, the Habs are just not able to score goals and seem an awful lot like the .500-ish team from last season.

With all of this in mind, and all of the discussions about Gomez and Gionta on the Montreal airwaves, I thought it would be a good time to ask you what you would do to fix the problems on the team right now.

More specifically, if you were the coach, what would you try up front to get Gionta and Gomez going?

Would you keep them together and put a specific winger on their line? Would you try to make a trade for a winger? Would you split them up and shuffle the forward lines? Would you recall someone from Hamilton?

Whatever your plan is, let me know. I want to know what your line combinations would be, who you would play with whom, and why.

I'm going to collect all of this information from Hockeybuzz.com, The Bleacher Report, and HabsAddict.com, and will compile and post the results over the weekend. So please post your answers in the comments section, send them to me on Twitter, or email them to me directly.

I look forward to reading your ideas!

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)

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Your Consensus Five Key Players for the 2011 Montreal Canadiens

I posted a quick piece less than a week ago asking you, the fans, who you thought were the five key players to the Canadiens' success this season.

Rather than telling you who I thought were the keys to their success, I wanted to know who you all think will help make or break the Habs' season.

Well, the feedback was overwhelming!

I posted the article on Hockeybuzz.com, HabsAddict.com, The Bleacher Report, while also posting it on Twitter and Facebook.

In all, I received over 85 lists. While many of them were complete five-player lists, some only had three or four selections but I included them none the less.

I took these lists, entered them into excel based on ranking, and assigned a point value—five points for first and one point for fifth—to produce the final results.

After all of the tabulation, here are your top five picks—in reverse order for dramatic effect—with a little summary of why each one was selected:


No. 5 - Andrei Kostitsyn
Andrei seems like a pretty obvious pick to me. Why? Well, he is supposed to be a top-six forward and moreover, a 30+ goal scorer. Despite his obvious skill set, AK46 has yet to put to all together and tends to suffer long stretches of complete ineffectiveness.

If the Canadiens—who were 30th overall in 5-on-5 scoring last season—are going to make the playoffs and have a chance at challenging for home-ice advantage, they will need Andrei to finally break the 30-goal barrier.

With his troubled brother recently shipped out of town and his contract expiring at the end of the season, it is do or die time for the older Kostitsyn brother.


No. 4 - Andrei Markov
Andrei Markov is without a doubt one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the NHL.

With Markov in the lineup last season, the Canadiens had a comfortable 22-11-5 win/loss record good for 49 points. Compare that to the Habs' 15-20-3 record without him in the lineup—good for 33 points—and his value to the team is obvious.

As has become the problem for Markov the last few years, he must stay healthy. The healthier Markov is this season the better the Canadiens will be and the better chance they have of challenging for home-ice rather than the last playoff spot.


No. 3 - P.K. Subban
Speaking of Markov being injured, it currently looks like he will miss up to and maybe more than the first month of the season. In his absence, it is clear that Habs fans are looking to young Subban to carry the load.

Rapidly thrust into top-line minutes during last year's playoff run, Subban responded with calm and poise.

He will need to display the same kind of character as well as offensive skills to fill the void that will be left by Markov's early season absence.

Moreover, Subban will be expected to carry the powerplay load and keep the ship floating until "The General" is back.

If, for whatever reason, Subban is not up to the challenge, the Habs could be in trouble, early, while Markov is out.

That being said, with an additional 15 pounds of muscle and an eye on the Calder Trophy, I think that Subban will deliver and then some.


No. 2 - Michael Cammalleri
Finishing the 2010 season with 26 goals and 24 assists, Michael Cammalleri was at one point on pace to score 40 goals.

A late season injury that kept him out of the lineup for 15 games also put a massive dent in his scoring pace as he scored zero goals over his final 12 games of the season.

But Cammalleri returned with a vengeance during the Habs' surprise playoff run, scoring 13 goals over 19 games and cementing Habs' fans love for the diminutive sniper.

This season, Cammalleri will be expected to continue scoring on a 30 to 40 goal pace, and be the offensive go-to guy on the powerplay. Another strong, injury-free campaign from Cammy should help put the Canadiens in a good position heading into the playoffs.

Like Markov, however, Cammalleri must remain healthy as there is a serious drop off in scoring talent once Cammy is out.


No.1 - Carey Price
No big surprise here. Price actually received 51 first place selections in the polling (see table below) and was the run-away selection as the key to the Canadiens success this season.

And why not?

Ever since GM Pierre Gauthier traded playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis, Carey Price has been in the spotlight.

Price struggled to a 13-20-5 win/loss record last season but we have to remember that the team in front of him could, for some reason, not score enough to give him the victories even when he played well enough to deserve them.

Last season was and has to be a write-off for Carey Price. He has to look to the future and his two-year deal that cements him as the undisputed No.1 goaltender in Montreal.

There will be a ton of pressure on Price, seeing as Halak was a fan favorite and many people feel that the wrong player was traded.

But that is all irrelevant now.

What is important is that Price plays 60+ games and secures at least 30 wins in the process.

A tall order? Perhaps, but I feel that Price has all of the tools to get the job done. He has seen it all in Montreal now and hopefully has learned enough that he can truly become the No.1 goaltender that his pedigree says he should be.

Price has no choice but to deliver the goods this year. With Alex Auld backing him up, there is little margin for error as Gauthier has put the teams fate 100% into Price's hands.

As Price goes, so does the team and I, personally, think that Carey is ready for the task.

In a few short weeks, we'll find out if I'm right!


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For your information, I have included the tabulation grid with all of the players that were mentioned even once, and the ranking/point table below:

So do you agree with these consensus picks? Disagree? Was someone left off of the list that you feel should be there? Let us know what you think!

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Who Are the Five Key Players to the Montreal Canadiens Success this Season?

Greetings Habs addicts! Sorry about the lack of content lately but I have been on a two-week hiatus out of town, and just got back!

Not only am I happy to be hope but I am also eager to dive back into the Habs.

With the Canadiens' rookie camp starting tomorrow and their pro camp only a week away, I thought it was a good time to ask you what you think the keys are to the Habs success this season.

Moreover, who are the five player that YOU think will be the difference between the Habs having success or failure, and why do you think so?

I'm going to post this piece on Hockeybuzz.com, The Bleacher Report, and HabsAddict.com and put together a consensus piece based on YOUR responses.

So let me know who you think are the five key players, and why, in the comments section or by emailing me—using contact link above.

Don't worry if you can only think of two or three players that are key. Just let me know who they are and why they will be key.

Let the games begin!

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