Marleau as a plan B? Good or not?
Posted 6:16 PM ET | Comments 11
The Sundin saga is still undecided and only a few teams are still in the race. Detroit and the Rangers are out, due to cap space, Toronto seems to be a little bit erased, only Montreal and Vancouver seems to keep pushing very hard to land Sundin. The Canucks are rumored offering Mats a 2 years/20 millions deal, while the Canadiens offer stand to 2 years/15 to 16 millions.
But, as a Habs fan, I am not sure we will have the big Swedish center in our lineup next year. This is why, I thought to some plan B, C or even D! In my opinion, as a plan B, we could land forward Jason Williams, he can be a good offensive talent who would play on our 3rd line and more important, he can play the point on the PP! We need someone to take Streit's place on the PP since he is gone. Plan C would of been landing Pavol Demitra, but he signed with the Canucks, I am glad he signed, I am not one of Pavol's fan. Not sure he would be a good fit with the Habs though...As for the plan D, it would be to resign Patrice Brisebois to a 1 year deal, he is cheap, and can be a decent PP quarterback. Well...this is what I think could happen if Sundin signs with Vancouver or Toronto...
I was quite shocked and surprised today, when I read on HockeyBuzz, that a rumor is going on that the Montreal Canadiens plan B, would be to land center Patrick Marleau. First, let's take an overall look at him. He is 28 ,plays Center or Left Wing, he is 6'2 tall, weights 220 and shoots left. He played 78 games this season, notching 19 goals and adding 29 assists for a grand total of 48 points. Marleau had a +/- rating of -19 and he was a point per game player in the last 2 seasons.
If we look at this, there is no doubt that Marleau would be the tallest and biggest center in our lineup. It is a good thing, because Koivu,Plekanec and Lapierre are not the most imposing guys in the league. His stats are decent this year, but compaired to the past seasons, he had a bad year. His +/- is just ugly, I don't know the guy a lot, but according to this stat, he is not a two way forward. So, the big question is, does Marleau can be a good player to land? If yes, at what price?
In my opinion, no. Even if many experts say that Montreal needs a big center, I doubt Marleau is the one we need. They guy started playing bad, since last year playoffs and played under the expectations this season, way under. We cannot say he is on the decline, he is only 28. But we can say that he need a change of scenary, does Montreal can be a good place for him? Maybe, but what is Marleau's value? The Sharks won't let him go for picks, and looking at the Canadiens roster, Chris Higgins might be the most tradeable. But it just doesn't make sense! Marleau would be 3rd line material on our team, Koivu and Plekanec are our top 2 centers, Andrei Kostitsyn and Alex Tanguay are our top 2 LW!
I hope this will only stay a rumor, Marleau is not essential to our club. Other teams need it, he can still show some good offensive things, but the Montreal Canadiens don't need Patrick Marleau.
But, as a Habs fan, I am not sure we will have the big Swedish center in our lineup next year. This is why, I thought to some plan B, C or even D! In my opinion, as a plan B, we could land forward Jason Williams, he can be a good offensive talent who would play on our 3rd line and more important, he can play the point on the PP! We need someone to take Streit's place on the PP since he is gone. Plan C would of been landing Pavol Demitra, but he signed with the Canucks, I am glad he signed, I am not one of Pavol's fan. Not sure he would be a good fit with the Habs though...As for the plan D, it would be to resign Patrice Brisebois to a 1 year deal, he is cheap, and can be a decent PP quarterback. Well...this is what I think could happen if Sundin signs with Vancouver or Toronto...
I was quite shocked and surprised today, when I read on HockeyBuzz, that a rumor is going on that the Montreal Canadiens plan B, would be to land center Patrick Marleau. First, let's take an overall look at him. He is 28 ,plays Center or Left Wing, he is 6'2 tall, weights 220 and shoots left. He played 78 games this season, notching 19 goals and adding 29 assists for a grand total of 48 points. Marleau had a +/- rating of -19 and he was a point per game player in the last 2 seasons.
If we look at this, there is no doubt that Marleau would be the tallest and biggest center in our lineup. It is a good thing, because Koivu,Plekanec and Lapierre are not the most imposing guys in the league. His stats are decent this year, but compaired to the past seasons, he had a bad year. His +/- is just ugly, I don't know the guy a lot, but according to this stat, he is not a two way forward. So, the big question is, does Marleau can be a good player to land? If yes, at what price?
In my opinion, no. Even if many experts say that Montreal needs a big center, I doubt Marleau is the one we need. They guy started playing bad, since last year playoffs and played under the expectations this season, way under. We cannot say he is on the decline, he is only 28. But we can say that he need a change of scenary, does Montreal can be a good place for him? Maybe, but what is Marleau's value? The Sharks won't let him go for picks, and looking at the Canadiens roster, Chris Higgins might be the most tradeable. But it just doesn't make sense! Marleau would be 3rd line material on our team, Koivu and Plekanec are our top 2 centers, Andrei Kostitsyn and Alex Tanguay are our top 2 LW!
I hope this will only stay a rumor, Marleau is not essential to our club. Other teams need it, he can still show some good offensive things, but the Montreal Canadiens don't need Patrick Marleau.
I agree you should go after Williams and not Marleau
I wouldn't mind marleau if the price was right , he has good size which we are sorel lacking and is obviously floundering under pressure in Sj . though to be fair he did play much better in the second half of last season . perhaps maybe halak , a pick and one of our young guys for him? donno just a thought
i don't think marleau fits with this team i'd rather they try to trade for o'sullivan in LA
Marleau's new contract is now in force with his accompanying no-trade clause. He might be willing to waive that to go to the Canadiens, but I have a feeling that he's pretty happy where he's at.
Like mentioned above O'Sullian would be a nice pickup but he isn't the big center that we need, he's 5'11" 190. That's the same size as our top two guys now.Marleau has pretty good size 6'2" 220 but you get his 2yr @ 6.3 ntc. but as questioned above does he fit our team and what does it cost to get him. What I question about the Marleau talk is why do the sharks want to get rid of him in a very tough western conference. When it's all said and done I think Bob will hold tight if the Sundin drama ends poorly and make a move at the deadline. Let's not forget we are already a better team than last year with the addition of Tanguay.BTWI think we do get Sundin. Why? He's quickly running out of teams that are both a playoff team and still have the cap space to sign him. 9I don'
Do agree with habs12 that one of the most likely options for Sundin is Montreal. If he wants to win a cup they really are the best option left. I think he has plenty of cash so wouldn't bank heavily on Vancouver. He wants market value, but mean he'll go after the absolute max pay out. Leafs wouldn't make much sense since they aren't a playoff team. Though if he can't imagine playing elsewhere they could make the room for him especially by moving Kubina. Guess we'll see how this all turns out.
When it comes to Sundin, Vancouver's big offer is likely off the table now. Demitra 's signing looks a little high in terms of value, but they may be willing to use up most of their cap space on 2 guys. If I were to give odds, I'd suggest that we are looking at Sundin (1) 35% returning to Toronto in November. (2) 25 % chance of choosing Montreal for October (3) 15% chance of signing with Vancouver and (4) a 25% chance of retiring.Marleau and the Sharks put any trade talks to rest just a couple of weeks ago, and his contract is not the only obstacle to a trade, The Sharks also have made a few moves that show Marleau continues to be a core player in their plans. Williams is a big risk because of health problems and the fact that he's looking for a raise despite being inconsistent these last 2 seasons. Plan B for the Habs is most likely to be to stay the course and start looking around in January to see who may be available before the trade deadline.A Plan C may be to try dealing away Halak for a center, but the market is not good for goalies this year and demand is high for Centermen. So there is little chance of that I think.
Did eople not read my blog?! http://my.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?user_id=45376
Marleau can stay where he is...
Gainey has made it clear that he's seeking an impact player with experience to complement his young troop. With the UFA pool dwindling rapidly, if Sundin doesn't sign, Plan B should be Brendan Shanahan, whom Gainey had previously tried to sign a couple of years back.
habs 12, i don't think we need a big center i think we need a big forward who has some skill and can play along side tanguay and koivu and hopefully put in 25-30 goals like ryder used to do... does anyone know of someone like this that is a UFA or who has been put on the trade market?plan c would be to get schneider to replace streit for next year.