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The Montreal Canadiens Free Agent Forecaster
MONEY TO SPEND TO $50M: $28M (6RFAs)
SPENDING TENDANCIES: The Habs spent 98% of last year’s cap and have shown that they aren’t afraid to spend. They are a young team and are likely to get even younger. The Habs are trying to build a Sabres-esque team of speed and may not have to sepnd that much to do so given the success that Hamilton had this past season.
HOLES TO FILL: Defensively, Sheldon Souray will likely move on and his points are going to be hard for the current crop to pick up. Offensively the Habs lack a real sniper and need to score goals in all sorts of ways, many of which are ugly. Higgins is going to be a very good player, and Latendresse has shown signs of brilliance despite the early pressure that was on him to be a star out of the gate. The Habs need to make a pitch for a big name UFA this summer and land him.
KEY UFA’s Up For Grabs:
Sheldon Souray: Obviously an offensive force, but many times Habs fans have told me that he is a defensive liability. Sheldon is a big ticket in the new NHL because he moves the puck so well and will make an immediate impact on a team’s power play. We all saw this past season that a team like the Sabres essentially lost due to a lackluster power play.
Radek Bonk: I am a fan of Bonk. I feel Radek spent most of his career miscast as a speedy scorer, these pst few years he has actually turned into a solid all around player who can score but can also play experienced defense.
Mike Johnson: I was not a huge fan of Johnson in Phoenix. I was kind of shocked when the Habs got him actually. Johnson is streaky, but at times very lapsed. Still young enough to straighten out however, because the talent is there.
Trade Bait: There is no secret that the Habs want Esposito out of this draft and I couldn’t agree with them more. The Montreal kid is exactly what is missing from the team and I do believe that Espo would light up the city for years to come. He is being WAY under-valued in the current draft rankings and it goes to show you that we have learned nothing from Phil Kessel. Sometimes players develop quickly and become targets. This is clearly what happened to Esposito. The Habs have been rumoured to be dangling Higgins in an attempt to move up. Another possibility would be Komisarek.
Current Depth Chart:
The following players are placed where I believe they fall. This gives you an idea of what the Habs could be looking for…and what they could move if they have say 2, #2 centers.
Centers
1. Saku Koivu
2. Christopher Higgins RFA
3. Tomas Plekanec RFA
4. Steve Begin
5. Garth Murray
6. Maxim Lapierre
Left Wings
1. _________________
2. _________________
2. Guillaume Latendresse
3 . _________________
4. . Sergei Samsonov
Right Wings
1.__________________
2. Michael Ryder RFA
2. Alexei Kovalev
3. ______________
4. Alexander Perezhogin RFA
5. Andrei Kostitsyn
Defensemen
1. ______________
2. Andrei Markov
3. Mike Komisarek RFA
4. Mark Streit
5. Francis Bouillon
6. Josh Gorges RFA
6. Mathieu Dandenault
Goalies
1.
2. Cristobal Huet
3. Jaroslav Halak
Youngsters who could make an impact:
Carey Price: Not could, but WILL make an impact. In fact I am hearing that he will have every opportunity to be the #1 goalie for the Habs this season. This will leave the Habs with some serious decisions to make. Huet and Halak have both been very good, but as one scout said, “Price can be great.” Much credit has to be given to the Habs for making this “unpopular” at the time draft selection. Many thought Price was taken way too high given the Habs current situation.
Kyle Chipchura: Big and tough, and a born leader. His knock has been that he takes games off, but he also has a tendency to have an extra gear when it really counts…He is the kind of player the Habs need however. He is a solid checking center that can tie up big players on the opposing team.
Andrei Kostitsyn: This will be a big camp for Andrei. The speedy highly touted pick spent much of last year working on his game away from the puck and it showed with a remarkable improvement in his +/- in the AHL…raising 40 points over the previous season from a -14 to a plus 24. Even in 22 games with the Habs he managed to be a +3 on a team where many forwards were big-time minuses. However, Andrei only netted a single goal with the big club.
UFA’s the HAbs are targeting:
Daniel Briere: There is no secret to this, although some have told me that Briere may not want to play in Montreal, I have also heard others who say he does. So, when that many mixed signals and rumours are flying around you have to chalk it up to speculation and only Dan really knows. I currently have the Habs as the favorite on the RUMOUR CHART for Briere with a 50% chance of him signing.
Brendan Shanahan: The Habs were runner up in the Shanny sweeps last summer and if they can manage to woo him away from NY, Shanny may just go and play in Montreal. I have him at 25% going to Montreal, trailing the Rangers and tied with the Wings.
Zubrus: There is a growing belief that DZ could return to Montreal. He does fill some size holes and could help defensively as well as pitch in offensively. I have the Habs as #2 to get Zubrus, trailing only the Islanders.
Todd Bertuzzi: A great fit if healthy for the Habs. They tried to get him via trade prior to the Luongo deal I am told. On THE RUMOUR CHART, I have Bertuzzi listed with the Habs Being the Favorite at 35%.
Yashin: Just say No
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