The Montreal Canadiens are done. The words from TSN's "expert" panel could mean they've stopped trading for today. It could be a prediction of their playoff chances when you consider other teams' improvements.
Either way, I'm crushed. Cristobal Huet to Washington for Anaheim's second pick next year. Hal Freakin' Gill brought more back to the Leafs than that. I know there was a chance Huet would walk for nothing, and I suppose that pick is slightly better than nothing. But if this was an attempt to clear cap space or acquire a pick to be used as part of a bigger deal, it looks like Gainey has failed.
There's going to be a lot of screaming to that effect now that Marian Hossa's a Penguin. I won't be one of those who condemn Gainey for not getting a big gamebreaker like Jokinen or Hossa. But I do have to wonder why he didn't address some of the smaller needs. I would have liked Fedorov or Bobby Holik to address the shut-down centre problem at least.
It's harder to have faith in the Plan today. But I'll recover from the disappointment and I believe Gainey knows more than I do. I'm relieved he didn't trade any of the team's youth, especially Higgins, O'Byrne and Halak. Most especially Halak, who'll now get a chance to star in the NHL. Losing Huet is tough, and the return doesn't look good. Still, I have to believe there's a reason for it.
If I don't believe that, I have to think my team is a lot farther from the top than I'd like to see it.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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6 comments:
Well, Gainey did say he was looking for an impact player. It's just that I didn't realize he meant in 2014 (assuming the 2009 2nd pick develops into a star a few years after being drafted).
Not upset at all, we knew Huet would be gone this summer, the market for goalies now and in July sucks, we got what we could. I'm happy to keep Ryder (hat trick tonight if he plays) Grab. & Laps. We are just as strong a team today as yesterday and will be stronger next year because of today's move & lack of moves.
I was going to leave a super long comment, but instead, I'll direct you to my blog (click on my name!) for a post-long response.
Personally, I would have held on to Huet given what we got in return. Having said that, a second rounder in 2009 speaks volumes about what the remainder of the League thinks about Huet as a kicker.
i think we'll be glad come summer that nothing happened. the only issue i have is why we sent huet away - must have been for cap space, but makes bob look pretty foolish to have done that early in the day rather than just doing it at 3:00 or whenever waddell stopped playing with us.
I think we're all disappointed about losing Huet for very little, but at least it was something, and he had to go sooner or later. While I would have loved to have had Hossa, he wasn't worth the price for a team that has virtually no chance to win anyway. Heck, maybe we can get him this summer without losing anybody else.
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