Jennifer B Cutler: Habs Report Cards: Andrei Markov & Dale Weise Wants to Return to Montreal Andrei Markov gets graded and Dale Weise is interested in returning to the Canadiens.

2-3 years deal below 2M, sure. Anything more in duration or money.....nope.

Agree... bring him back under $2M. But who do you move that has some value?

5M for 3 years ok

higher than that...go West !

Agree... bring him back under $2M. But who do you move that has some value?
- mlindsay

Desharnais has to go.... and emelin too...

51 has only 1 year so Imagine it is doable for a 7th pick..

Emelin might be more difficult, but we need th space and Pateryn is ready to do the same job for far less $$

Desharnais has to go.... and emelin too...

51 has only 1 year so Imagine it is doable for a 7th pick..

Emelin might be more difficult, but we need th space and Pateryn is ready to do the same job for far less $$
- Xizord

OK... but neither of those two are RW'ers.
Even if you move them out you still have Gallagher, Andrighetto, and Flynn. NOt to mention who may be ready to make the jump.

If I were the canadians I'd hold on to Markov for sure, he's been the number one defenceman on that team for the past 10 years now and even though he's getting a little older he often makes Subban look better then he really is. He doesn't try to be over flashy, he puts up good offensive numbers and also can play a decent defensive game where PK can often become a liability. He's a good player to mentor Subban and the other younger D.
As for Dale if you get him really cheap why not if you have position in your roster. Teams aren't going to be knocking down the doors to land him I don't think but he played ok for montreal in the past. All depends on if you need more debt players on your roster. If so and you have that roster position available sign him up.

Weise will be back. I mean his exit represents the only form of change from last years absolute cluster (frank), so I'm sure they'll be looking to remedy that.

If I were the canadians I'd hold on to Markov for sure, he's been the number one defenceman on that team for the past 10 years now and even though he's getting a little older he often makes Subban look better then he really is. He doesn't try to be over flashy, he puts up good offensive numbers and also can play a decent defensive game where PK can often become a liability. He's a good player to mentor Subban and the other younger D.
As for Dale if you get him really cheap why not if you have position in your roster. Teams aren't going to be knocking down the doors to land him I don't think but he played ok for montreal in the past. All depends on if you need more debt players on your roster. If so and you have that roster position available sign him up.
- Chardcore709

This was true 2-3 years ago, but he's become the liability now . I'm sure not playing 20+ minutes a night would go a long way though.

Weise for 2 years at under2m per? Sure. Nothing more.

Markov can play another 2-3 years if they play him 16-18mins a game and not on the PK

They should stay away from Weise, I like the guy but MTL needs to let there youth play, we don't need anymore 3rd or 4th line guys, and if i see Weise playing on the 1st or 2nd line I might break my tv. Markov should have been dealt years ago he's a bad hit away from being in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

BTW Jenn i rarely comment, but your Blogs rock.

Markov was especially exposed for his errors especially in the new 3 on 3 overtime format where opponents are waiting to take advantage of sloppy play to create odd man rushes.

I'm not sure if "sloppy play" is appropriated, it seems to be mostly lack of foot speed that was the problem. Kinda normal at his age, you don't see Jagr beating people in foot race anymore too.

People are burning him in foot race now so that's why he's not the best guy to be all alone in the back in OT anymore. But in all other aspect of the game he seems to me to still be the good old Markov this year. Of course if Therrien could manage to reduce his minutes a bit he probably would have more gas in the tank when those race situation arise.

I've noticed too that Subban during the PP always stay glued to the blue line, which is really not ideal for scoring off one-timers. Seems to me he was going near the circles a lot more in years past. Could he now feel obliged to stay back because he knows Markov can't prevent a breakaway anymore if he's alone in the back? If that so, maybe Habs PP could improve by putting Markov on the second PP unit and puttin more of a speedster with Subban, like Beaulieu for example.

Markov is still good on the PP though, so you would need to still give some minutes to this second unit too.

BTW Jenn i rarely comment, but your Blogs rock.
- Mr.FunFacts

Cheers, thanks so much!

I'm not sure if "sloppy play" is appropriated, it seems to be mostly lack of foot speed that was the problem. Kinda normal at his age, you don't see Jagr beating people in foot race anymore too.

People are burning him in foot race now so that's why he's not the best guy to be all alone in the back in OT anymore. But in all other aspect of the game he seems to me to still be the good old Markov this year. Of course if Therrien could manage to reduce his minutes a bit he probably would have more gas in the tank when those race situation arise.

I've noticed too that Subban during the PP always stay glued to the blue line, which is really not ideal for scoring off one-timers. Seems to me he was going near the circles a lot more in years past. Could he now feel obliged to stay back because he knows Markov can't prevent a breakaway anymore if he's alone in the back? If that so, maybe Habs PP could improve by putting Markov on the second PP unit and puttin more of a speedster with Subban, like Beaulieu for example.

Markov is still good on the PP though, so you would need to still give some minutes to this second unit too.
- Popofjc

I definitely agree about Subban and How his play changed over the season with Markov. He definitely seemed to hang back to compensate for Markov's lack of speed and ability to recover.

I found his mistakes in overtime were the result of bad decisions rather than having anything to do with foot speed:

https://youtu.be/2Qv37qsj820

https://youtu.be/s8zDz8JYXWM

I definitely agree about Subban and How his play changed over the season with Markov. He definitely seemed to hang back to compensate for Markov's lack of speed and ability to recover.

I found his mistakes in overtime were the result of bad decisions rather than having anything to do with foot speed:

https://youtu.be/2Qv37qsj820

https://youtu.be/s8zDz8JYXWM
- Jennifer B Cutler

I agree. While his foot speed is definitely deteriorating, it has been for a while and he used to be able to make up for it with smart play. The problem the last 2 seasons has been his play has been starting to slip as well.

weise should be back... he didn't have trouble cracking chicago's lineup... that was just Q playing head games. if you read JJs blog you'd realize the entire fan base, or most of it, was calling for him to play weise and were mind boggled why he wasn't doing it.

weise played pretty well in the playoffs as well and made an impression. lots of people in chicago want to see him back cuz of his play.

the guy is a great utility player with speed who can chip in occasionally.

2 mill per seems reasonable for what he does. even. 2.5/yr for 3 years. he brings some sandpaper, speed and scoring. a tough combination to find.

(Cant quote) I do agree with you on what Weise brings, the problem is it's not what Mtl needs at the moment. They need players in there top 6 and of those players they need consistency. They have players ready to play the bottom 6 roles.