Begin vs. Breeze-by
Tonight, the Habs are in Denver to face Patrice Brisebois and his new team. Of course, the bigger story out there is the trade speculation going on, with Pierre Lacroix and Bob Nonis rumoured to be interested in Jose Theodore and Huet rumoured to be getting the start because of the Theo rumour. Then there's the rumour about Ribeiro being flanked by Kovalev because he's being showcased...
These situations make me nervous. Mistakes are made when a GM is forced to deal under duress, to trade from a position of weakness. Stock in most of the Habs' moveable assets is very low right now, and everyone knows you're supposed to buy low and sell high.
With Pierre Dagenais assigned to Hamilton, it seems have finally committed to going with some youth. Exactly which youth is unclear, though Andrei Kostitsyn and Jonathan Ferland are currently skating with the club. Many fans have been clamouring for Claude Julien to play the kids more, so this should silence them a little. In Julien's defense, none of the young guns have really stepped up and grabbed a spot like Marek Svatos, Petr Prucha or Alex Steen have.
~~~
Bob MacKenzie has pointed out that, much
like us fans, many NHL GMs are learning all about the new CBA on the fly. In particular, Lou Lamoriello's off season moves have crippled the Devils by $7.1 million in cap space for this year *and* next year. I think we're going to see multi-year deals for those over age 35 go the way of the dodo (See Dave Andreychuk, right).
~~~
The thing I like about hockey blogs is the quality, depth and breadth of knowledge and opinion. For those of us with a never-ending appetite for info, the blogs really blow the mainstream media away. There are a few presences on the internet that go even further, dig deep, and produce some really interesting analyses.
At the top of the list are Iain Fyffe's Puckerings and Daryl Shilling's Hockey Project. Sadly, it appears that neither survived the lockout. However, the talented yet unfortunately named Mudcrutch seems ready to take the reins. His/her latest work is a breakdown of individual players' coincidental vs. non-coincidental penalties. It provides firm evidence that, despite his skating prowess, Mathieu Dandenault has hurt the Habs the most with his minor penalties. Great stuff.
These situations make me nervous. Mistakes are made when a GM is forced to deal under duress, to trade from a position of weakness. Stock in most of the Habs' moveable assets is very low right now, and everyone knows you're supposed to buy low and sell high.
With Pierre Dagenais assigned to Hamilton, it seems have finally committed to going with some youth. Exactly which youth is unclear, though Andrei Kostitsyn and Jonathan Ferland are currently skating with the club. Many fans have been clamouring for Claude Julien to play the kids more, so this should silence them a little. In Julien's defense, none of the young guns have really stepped up and grabbed a spot like Marek Svatos, Petr Prucha or Alex Steen have.
~~~
Bob MacKenzie has pointed out that, much
like us fans, many NHL GMs are learning all about the new CBA on the fly. In particular, Lou Lamoriello's off season moves have crippled the Devils by $7.1 million in cap space for this year *and* next year. I think we're going to see multi-year deals for those over age 35 go the way of the dodo (See Dave Andreychuk, right).~~~
The thing I like about hockey blogs is the quality, depth and breadth of knowledge and opinion. For those of us with a never-ending appetite for info, the blogs really blow the mainstream media away. There are a few presences on the internet that go even further, dig deep, and produce some really interesting analyses.
At the top of the list are Iain Fyffe's Puckerings and Daryl Shilling's Hockey Project. Sadly, it appears that neither survived the lockout. However, the talented yet unfortunately named Mudcrutch seems ready to take the reins. His/her latest work is a breakdown of individual players' coincidental vs. non-coincidental penalties. It provides firm evidence that, despite his skating prowess, Mathieu Dandenault has hurt the Habs the most with his minor penalties. Great stuff.
posted by Jeff J at 4:00 p.m.
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