Who will yield his place to Niklas Sundstrom?
Jan 25, 2003 6:19:14 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jan 25, 2003 6:19:14 GMT -5
Claude Julien: "I already have a little idea"
Mathias Brunet
La Presse
Montreal
The Canadiens most recent acquisition, right winger Niklas Sundstrom, will have to wait until Saturday morning before his first contact with his new team.
Sundstrom, acquired Thursday from San Jose along with a third round pick in return for Jeff Hackett, was to arrive in Montreal late Friday evening from California.
Barring unforeseen events, he will play his first game with his new club Saturday afternoon at the Bell Center against Washington.
Who will he replace? Good question. Careful. Coach Claude Julien took good care not to reveal his intentions. "We will make sure that he arrived in good condition before giving him a place. But I already have a little idea... "
Andreas Dackell, whose performances are not up to par this season, could sit out in the medium term according to certain observers. Sundstrom is a defensive player like Dackell, but he has more speed and more offensive assets.
Julien did not want to reassure Dackell, nor to worry him. "I haven't made my decision yet, I haven't seen Sundstrom work out in our lineup yet."
"The best possible trade under the circumstances"
The new coach of the Canadiens is very happy with this acquisition by his boss André Savard, more especially since he is without question a player suited to being moulded into his system of play. "Andre was successful in making the best possible trade under the circumstances. He succeeded in putting his hands on a player who will give us a good return. Sundstrom is a defensive specialist, but he has also had success offensively in the past. There are dissatisfied fans, but there was a price to pay to get this player."
"We received a good offer. We could have lost Jeff Hackett at the end of the season without getting anything in return. Will Hackett come back to haunt us? That's part of the game. As I often say, we will occupy ourselves with our own performance..."
Julien wouldn't have been pleased to see a trade which would have sent Ron Hainsey or Mike Komisarek (with Hackett) to Boston in exchange for Kyle McLaren, if the possibility had arisen. "Andre often asked me for news on Hainsey and Komisarek during the season. I know those two players very well, having coached them in Hamilton, and André made a very good decision not to mortgage the future of the team by trading these two youngsters."
The coach is delighted to see Hackett get a chance to play more regularly. "He is a number one goalie who needs to play. It wasn't possible for him in Montreal. He was perhaps unhappy, but he never let it show. He wasn't a distraction in the dressing room. Quite the opposite."
- translated from www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/article/1,154,1881,012003,189449.shtml
Mathias Brunet
La Presse
Montreal
The Canadiens most recent acquisition, right winger Niklas Sundstrom, will have to wait until Saturday morning before his first contact with his new team.
Sundstrom, acquired Thursday from San Jose along with a third round pick in return for Jeff Hackett, was to arrive in Montreal late Friday evening from California.
Barring unforeseen events, he will play his first game with his new club Saturday afternoon at the Bell Center against Washington.
Who will he replace? Good question. Careful. Coach Claude Julien took good care not to reveal his intentions. "We will make sure that he arrived in good condition before giving him a place. But I already have a little idea... "
Andreas Dackell, whose performances are not up to par this season, could sit out in the medium term according to certain observers. Sundstrom is a defensive player like Dackell, but he has more speed and more offensive assets.
Julien did not want to reassure Dackell, nor to worry him. "I haven't made my decision yet, I haven't seen Sundstrom work out in our lineup yet."
"The best possible trade under the circumstances"
The new coach of the Canadiens is very happy with this acquisition by his boss André Savard, more especially since he is without question a player suited to being moulded into his system of play. "Andre was successful in making the best possible trade under the circumstances. He succeeded in putting his hands on a player who will give us a good return. Sundstrom is a defensive specialist, but he has also had success offensively in the past. There are dissatisfied fans, but there was a price to pay to get this player."
"We received a good offer. We could have lost Jeff Hackett at the end of the season without getting anything in return. Will Hackett come back to haunt us? That's part of the game. As I often say, we will occupy ourselves with our own performance..."
Julien wouldn't have been pleased to see a trade which would have sent Ron Hainsey or Mike Komisarek (with Hackett) to Boston in exchange for Kyle McLaren, if the possibility had arisen. "Andre often asked me for news on Hainsey and Komisarek during the season. I know those two players very well, having coached them in Hamilton, and André made a very good decision not to mortgage the future of the team by trading these two youngsters."
The coach is delighted to see Hackett get a chance to play more regularly. "He is a number one goalie who needs to play. It wasn't possible for him in Montreal. He was perhaps unhappy, but he never let it show. He wasn't a distraction in the dressing room. Quite the opposite."
- translated from www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/article/1,154,1881,012003,189449.shtml