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Marinaro says Markov Will Sign 2-Year Extension

June 22, 2011, 1:17 PM ET [ Comments]
Habs Talk
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1) Tony Marinaro has gone on the record to state that Andrei Markov will come to terms on a 2-year deal with the Canadiens, that will pay him between 11-12 million dollars. Tony's guaranteed that Markov will be a Hab and that the term of his contract will be two years. This coincides with everything I've heard on the situation and I'm inclined to say Marinaro's probably nailed this one.

2) Interesting development according to Richard Labbe of La Presse. He got in touch with Petr Svoboda who recently admitted there's scant interest from the Canadiens in client Jaromir Jagr. Svoboda indicated to Labbe that they are expecting an offer from the Habs for Roman Hamrlik.

Hamrlik's already on record about his willingness to accept much less to play again for the Canadiens.

This certainly makes for a deep blue line if they get him signed for a reasonable amount.

3) Not sure what it means for Jaroslav Spacek, who plays out the final year of a contract that will pay him 3.8M. With the Emelin signing, with Diaz in tow, with Weber awaiting an extension, it could very well push him to the sidelines.

4) With the news about Hamrlik, I'm starting to wonder what the plan is at forward. It's common knowledge the team needs more size and strength on the bottom two lines. Will management act now to improve the quality of their top-six, or is the plan to wait?

5) No word on whether or not the Canadiens intend on offering Wisniewski a contract, but consensus is still that they won't. Unless things go terribly wrong with the Markov negotiations (and it seems they won't) Wisniewski doesn't really figure into the team's plans.

6) Started thinking about what reasonable expectations are for P.K. Subban this year. He had 38 points in 77 games and didn't miss a single game due to injury. He finished the year as a -8 largely due to his responsibility in Josh Gorges' role.

Is it unreasonable to expect that Subban will be better in every category?

He had 14 goals last season. He should meet and exceed that number this year.

He had 24 assists, and with Gorges back in the lineup and the reigns slightly lifted for Subban to skate with the puck a bit more, he should get more this year.

He's been a plus-player his whole career. No reason that won't apply at this level, on a defensively strong Canadiens team.

7) Subban's most important improvement: Has to stay out of the box. There's no reason he should be on this list.

8) Can't help but wonder if the Canadiens are thinking of trading Yannick Weber. It's nothing more than a feeling, but I'm having a hard time seeing where he fits the defensive balance of the team.

Markov and Subban on the offensive side. Spacek, Emelin and possibly Harmlik in support.

Gill, Gorges and Emelin in primary defensive roles.

Can Weber be dangled for top draft positioning?

9) I'd like to see the Canadiens hang on to Weber for at least one more season. I do believe he's on the verge of finally finding comfort at this level and being a serious offensive weapon. No question, he's gotten better in his own end.

He's a quick starter, so he'll have to make an impression out of camp.

One way he can do that: Hit the net with that 100MPH Clapper.

10) Will start concentrating on the Scott Gomez factor as the off-season wears on. He must be extremely motivated to prove to himself that he can still be an elite player. Proving it to everyone else should be of secondary concern.
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