Thoughts on Habs' off season thus far...
Posted 3:32 AM ET | Comments 4
Well, this is my first "blog" on MyHockeyBuzz, so bare with me.
So for my first blog, I want to talk about what Mr. Gainey has done so far this off season.
The first day of free agency (as well as the day before) Gainey went on a spending spree improving this hockey team. There are some that believe that Gainey "overpaid" for the players that he brought in. But, when you are in a market like Montreal is, to improve your team you have absolutely no choice but to overpay. Almost every player that Gainey acquired is an improvement on who we used to have. Let's compare:
Gomez > Koivu
Cammalleri > Tanguay
Gionta = Kovalev (as long as he produces with Gomez like he did in New Jersey)
Spacek > Schneider
Gill = Komisarek (Slight edge to the Johnny Damon of hockey for his shot blocking)
At the end of the day, did Gainey overpay? Yes, he probably did. As previously mentioned, in a market like Montreal with ridiculously high income tax rates, the french language and insane media coverage (as well as EXTREMELY passionate fans) he had to overpay to get the players he wanted. Did Gainey improve the team with his moves? Yes he absolutely did.
There are still a couple of holes on this team that need to be filled. One would be a veteran goalie to help take Carey Price under his wing. One would be another top six forward, preferably a center (to me, Plekanec just doesn't cut it). Another would be a top four defenseman, preferably someone like a Francois Beauchemin.
The off season fun is just getting started. Let's wait and see if Bob has any more tricks up his sleeve.
So for my first blog, I want to talk about what Mr. Gainey has done so far this off season.
The first day of free agency (as well as the day before) Gainey went on a spending spree improving this hockey team. There are some that believe that Gainey "overpaid" for the players that he brought in. But, when you are in a market like Montreal is, to improve your team you have absolutely no choice but to overpay. Almost every player that Gainey acquired is an improvement on who we used to have. Let's compare:
Gomez > Koivu
Cammalleri > Tanguay
Gionta = Kovalev (as long as he produces with Gomez like he did in New Jersey)
Spacek > Schneider
Gill = Komisarek (Slight edge to the Johnny Damon of hockey for his shot blocking)
At the end of the day, did Gainey overpay? Yes, he probably did. As previously mentioned, in a market like Montreal with ridiculously high income tax rates, the french language and insane media coverage (as well as EXTREMELY passionate fans) he had to overpay to get the players he wanted. Did Gainey improve the team with his moves? Yes he absolutely did.
There are still a couple of holes on this team that need to be filled. One would be a veteran goalie to help take Carey Price under his wing. One would be another top six forward, preferably a center (to me, Plekanec just doesn't cut it). Another would be a top four defenseman, preferably someone like a Francois Beauchemin.
The off season fun is just getting started. Let's wait and see if Bob has any more tricks up his sleeve.
Gill=Komisarek....Heft, are u joking me??? And also, this team had more of a chance to win the cup at the beginning of last year than the befinning of this year...hate to say it :(
@HabAve37 I disagree. Gill was a more valuable player to the Penguins than Komisarek was to the Habs. Komisarek is not worth his money. Let him go to Toronto and play alongside Finger. Komisarek can't live up to his reputation in Montreal and is not worth 4.5 million a season. Gill is worth his money. As a third line defenseman alongside a youngster, he adds value to the team. Komisarek just devalued the team.
As much as i like komi, i have to agree with spacepawn. I also feel that although the team is smaller it is quicker and is more tealented. I am disapointed to see kovy go though, he would have been a great second liner, along side of andrei kostytsin and plecanec.
Dollar value, you'll get much more from Gill at 2.25 a season than Komisarek at 4.5 a season.Sad to see Kovalev go, but at 5 million a season I say "don't let the door hit you on the way out."