2013-14 Off-Season Canadiens Chat Thread

[RGM81]

Parros acquired for a song. That should make things fun for the bottom six.

Other than that, I'm glad that Bergevin hasn't done much today. Some of these deals are absolutely absurd, and I feel less bad about the Briere signing now.

[bdiam]

I think that hockey fans are simply rejoicing over the fact that Bergevin's press conference, lasted nowhere near as long as Bryan Murray's did

[mooneyes]

Briere can certainly help the Habs in dealing with their lack of size and propensity for being thrown around.

ah no worries, they got the highly skilled Parros, maybe Lucic will rip that goofy mustache right off his face :P

[doniceage]

Hello there. It’s the opening day of NHL free agency, so kindly bear that in mind when you read the answers to this week’s crop of mailbag questions. Things change in the blink of an eye in the hockey business and on a day when time can be of the essence, a blink of an eye may be too slow. Anyhow, enjoy the festivities and thanks again for your inquiries.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/article...daily_20130706

[centrehice]

You are a day late, sometimes 2 with everything you post.

Parros has been a Canadien for over 2 days.

[RGM81]

It's still a valid question vis-a-vis the top 6. I think they'd be very foolish to proceed with Gionta, Desharnais, and Briere comprising half of their offensive lines. I don't mind the Briere signing on its own, but they need to address this problem. It's likely to come via the trade route, and there's rumours out there of a potential deal with the Jets. One can hope.

[RGM81]

I had an interesting discussion yesterday about the selection of Fucale.

First, I like the choice for personal and professional reasons. I've got an attachment to that squad of Halifax Mooseheads, having seen them as they hit the Q and quickly became a powerhouse club. Very happy for all of them. At a minimum, Fucale will give the Canadiens some serious organizational depth in goal. They are set at the NHL level for the next two years with Budaj & Price, but if either gets hurt who feels comfortable going forward with Dustin Tokarski or Robert Mayer?

They are going to give Fucale all the time he needs to develop. He won't be rushed. There's no reason for him to be inserted into the lineup as a starter at age 20 like Price was. Fucale just turned 18 at the end of May. He's got at least two more years with the Mooseheads. I don't know if the organization will bring him up to Hamilton at 20, or if they'll see if they can get him to play as an overaged 20-year old with Halifax. I suspect they may go the Hamilton route. Then give him a couple years with the Bulldogs to learn at the professional level. He'll be at all the training camps to get a sniff and that extra motivation, but again, take the long road. He'll gain much more valuable experience in Hamilton than sitting on the bench watching Price play 75% of the games.

It's going to be in 2018-19 that things get interesting. That's when Price's current contract expires.

That will be the time that the club gets to make a choice about going forward. People are starting to get restless. Not me, but others. They'll point out that Price has a 9-20 record in the playoffs and has won only one series in his career. They'll say that he's not the guy they want in a big-game situation. Some still wish the Habs traded him instead of Halak. They want the club to win, and they want him to be integral to that success, but to this point it's not happening. There's a 6-year window he has now with the big contract he signed last year, and people's expectations (and their inevitable frustrations should the Habs come up short) are going to be higher than ever. What happens if there's no new banners to raise by the end of the 2017-18 campaign?

Fucale is the real deal. He's also the Canadiens' marketing machine dream. He's from Rosemere, a suburb of Montreal. He's bright and personable. He's going to have some international experience under his belt by the time he makes the Canadiens roster. People are already getting their Fucale jerseys.

The Canadiens have a succession plan now. They didn't have a proper one in 2005 because Theodore tanked out and Huet would never be "the guy," so they had to bring up Price. It's worked out all right now, but there were some anxious moments early in his career. That won't be repeated with Fucale. Regardless of whether Price does establish himself as the franchise goalie that everybody expects him to be, the Canadiens are now set in goal for the next 10-15 years.

That's why I love this pick.

[mooneyes]

Jagr has stated he wants to play for the Habs, and its now in their hands to decide if they want him...he certainly is big. I think he could help, but who knows, not many options out there. The Jets are in need of a center big time, not sure who that would be from the Habs, as I think they want to move Kane.

[Pheebs888]

The thing with Jagr is a) he's not getting any younger and b) if we sign him, we keep Plekanec. If we are to get rid of a small centre via trade, I think Pleks is the most valuable one to shop around. I know he has a no trade clause but those can be waived off. I do not think other teams would be willing to pick up Desharnais, his contract is too big for what he does in a normal market...he got that kind of money in Mtl because he is one of the few french canadians playing for our Habs...

[RGM81]

Jagr & Pleks on a line together would be great. As I noted in another thread, the Islanders have so much cap space available that they can easily become a dumping ground for bad contracts like Desharnais.