Habs Payroll for 2006-2007

[sXe]

insomnius said:

bostonhabs said:

Arnott strikes me as the kind of player that is too expensive for what he delivers on the ice. He would be more expensive than Bonk, and although I would rather have Arnott than Bonk, I don't think we need both of them.

I agree that we need a centre who can upgrade the 2nd line. Mike Ribeiro is really just a caretaker for that role - would Marc Savard be an upgrade? He's heading for a 100 point season but that may be a function of playing with Kovalchuk. Again you could end up overpaying for a historically average player with one great season.

No real exciting possibilities.

I like Arnott on Koivu's wing with Higgins - putting Ryder with Ribs and Kovy - allowing for a very interesting 3rd line of Pleks, Perez, and Zednik or Bulis - and the 4th line of Bonk, Begin and Downey or Murray...

That is if Latendresse is not ready...

Ready or not , there's no room for Latendresse. Chip has a lot more chances of making the big club and they are remote at best.

As for Arnott, it has been mentionned that he is well known by Bob and Guy and that's a very good thing. I have a feeling that we won't be the ones stuck with whatever awful contract that guy will get.
I don't know who, but someone will make a ridiculous offer to Arnott and I hope it's not Bob.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

sxe said:

insomnius said:

I like Arnott on Koivu's wing with Higgins - putting Ryder with Ribs and Kovy - allowing for a very interesting 3rd line of Pleks, Perez, and Zednik or Bulis - and the 4th line of Bonk, Begin and Downey or Murray...

That is if Latendresse is not ready...

Ready or not , there's no room for Latendresse. Chip has a lot more chances of making the big club and they are remote at best.

As for Arnott, it has been mentionned that he is well known by Bob and Guy and that's a very good thing. I have a feeling that we won't be the ones stuck with whatever awful contract that guy will get.
I don't know who, but someone will make a ridiculous offer to Arnott and I hope it's not Bob.

If we are flirting with the cap, and we don't have any bonified overpaid superstars, how did the other teams make out? There are teams like Tampa Bay with three players who eat half the cap before considering the others.

In general it seems that Gainey has been prudent and conservative and patient. It should start to pay dividends.

[blny]

sxe said:

insomnius said:

I like Arnott on Koivu's wing with Higgins - putting Ryder with Ribs and Kovy - allowing for a very interesting 3rd line of Pleks, Perez, and Zednik or Bulis - and the 4th line of Bonk, Begin and Downey or Murray...

That is if Latendresse is not ready...

Ready or not , there's no room for Latendresse. Chip has a lot more chances of making the big club and they are remote at best.

As for Arnott, it has been mentionned that he is well known by Bob and Guy and that's a very good thing. I have a feeling that we won't be the ones stuck with whatever awful contract that guy will get.
I don't know who, but someone will make a ridiculous offer to Arnott and I hope it's not Bob.

I'm with you sXe. I'm not a fan of Arnott. A career year, matched only by his ROOKIE campaign, is not a good thing to base a contract on. He's a dependable player, but not worth what some team will likely sign him for. IMO, while his size would be welcome, he doesn't bring enough playmaking ability to work with our wingers.

The fact that he's likely the biggest name centre available this coming Summer means he'll be in demand. As a result I think the team should look to other areas of the roster to modify.

[Boston_Habs]

badcompany said:

habmeister said:

who will the UFA's possibly be this summer? any links for that? i'd be curious to see what gainey may be looking at.

Funny you should ask! ;D

I've been keeping track of the better ones out there, using this site:

www.geocities.com/floridapanthers2000/free2006.html

For your ease of use, I have broken them down into three categories, and ranked them in order of my own personal preferance.

Defense seems okay, but I would bet on at least 3 of the first 6 signing with their current teams before ever hitting the market. Otherwise, it's not all that impressive.

Forwards

[/b]
Jason Arnott, (III)
Teemu Selanne, (III)
David Legwand, (UFA)
Marc Savard, (UFA)
Patrik Elias, (III)
Sergei Samsonov, (UFA)
Jamie Langenbrunner, (III)
Maxim Afinogenov, (III)
Jeff Halpern, (III)
Daniel Briere, (III)
Chris Simon, (III)
Jochen Hecht, (III)
Jean-Pierre Dumont, (III)
Mike Peca, (III)
Viktor Kozlov, (III)
Anson Carter, (III)
Tim Connolly, (III)
Doug Weight, (III)
Vaclav Varada, (III)
Scott Thornton, (III)
Alyn McCauley, (III)
Radek Dvorak, (III)
Todd Harvey, (III)
Georges Laraque, (III)
Donald Brashear, (III)
Darren Langdon, (III)
Jason Allison, (III)
Eric Lindros, (III)
Jeff Friesen, (III)
[/td][td]Defensemen[/b]
Zdeno Chara, (III)
Wade Redden, (III)
Ed Jovanovski, (III)
Rob Blake, (III)
Bryan McCabe, (III)
Pavel Kubina, (III)
Willie Mitchell, (III)
Filip Kuba, (III)
Brendan Witt, (III)
Ruslan Salei, (III)
Cory Sarich, (UFA)
Teppo Numminen, (III)
Nolan Baumgartner, (III)
Karlis Skrastins, (III)
Eric Weinrich, (III)
Bob Boughner, (III)
Jay McKee, (III)
[/td][td]Retire/No Chance[/u]
Joe Sakic, (III)
Chris Chelios, (III)
Niklas Lidstrom, (III)
Brendan Shanahan, (III)
Steve Yzerman, (III)
Luc Robitaille, (III)
Jeremy Roenick, (III)
Eric Desjardins, (III)
John LeClair, (III)
Trevor Linden, (III)[/td]
[/tr][/table][/quote]

What's the difference between Group III and UFAs?

[habmeister]

here are the players that i like:

Teemu Selanne, (III)
Jamie Langenbrunner, (III)
Maxim Afinogenov, (III)
Daniel Briere, (III)
Zdeno Chara, (III)
Wade Redden, (III)
Ed Jovanovski, (III)
Willie Mitchell, (III)
Jay McKee, (III)

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

As much as I hate to admit it, Bettman had a stroke of genius.
Not only did the players cave in to the NHL demands and the weak teams in Calgary and Edmonton will survive; but now he has the fans on the side of management trying to keep payrolls down for "the good of the team."

[Ryan]

Updated with the Begin, Murray and Downey signings. Just awaiting confirmation on the Murray details.

[BadCompany]

Revised the UFA list, and my preference ranking, based on new information. Turns out Daniel Briere isn't a UFA after all...

www.geocities.com/floridapanthers2000/free2006.html

Forwards

[/b]
Patrik Elias, (III)
Jason Arnott, (III)
Teemu Selanne, (III)
Sergei Samsonov, (UFA)
Jamie Langenbrunner, (III)
Mike Peca, (III)
Marc Savard, (UFA)
Jeff Halpern, (III)
Steve Rucchin, (III)
Chris Simon, (III)
Anson Carter, (III)
Mike Grier (III)
Matt Cullen, (III)
Antti Laaksonen, (III)
Jan Hrdina (III)
Fernando Pisani, (III)
Viktor Kozlov, (III)
Marc Chouinard, (III)
Doug Weight, (III)
Vaclav Varada, (III)
Scott Thornton, (III)
Alyn McCauley, (III)
Radek Dvorak, (III)
Todd Harvey, (III)
Petr Sykora, (III)
Dan Hinote, (III)
Erik Rasmussen, (III)
Oleg Kvasha, (III)
Petr Cajanek, (III)
Jarkko Ruttu, (III)
Georges Laraque, (III)
Donald Brashear, (III)
Mike Sillinger, (III)
Aleksey Morozov, (III)
Jason Allison, (III)
Eric Lindros, (III)
Jeff Friesen, (III)
Craig Adams, (III)
Jim Dowd, (III)
Rem Murray, (III)
Mark Parrish, (III)
Yannic Perreault, (III)
Martin Rucinsky, (III)
Martin Straka, (III)
Darren Langdon, (III)
Jason Strudwick, (III)
Boyd Deveraux, (III)
Steve Gainey, (VI)

[/td][td]Defensemen[/b]
Zdeno Chara, (III)
Wade Redden, (III)
Ed Jovanovski, (III)
Rob Blake, (III)
Pavel Kubina, (III)
Karlis Skrastins, (III)
Teppo Numminen, (III)
Willie Mitchell, (III)
Filip Kuba, (III)
Cory Sarich, (UFA)
Brendan Witt, (III)
Brian Pothier, (III)
Ruslan Salei, (III)
Nolan Baumgartner, (III)
Jay McKee, (III)
Rory Fitzpatrick (III)
Frantisek Kaberle, (III)
Niclas Wallin, (III)
Jaroslav Spacek, (III)
Aaron Ward, (III)
Glen Wesley, (III)
Brett Clark, (III)
Cory Cross, (III)
Eric Weinrich, (III)
Bob Boughner, (III)
Dick Tarnstrom, (III)
Igor Ulanov, (III)
Mark Eaton, (III)
Danny Markov, (III)
Tom Poti, (III)
Matt Carkner, (VI)
Brad Brown, (UFA)
[/td][td]Retire/No Chance[/u]
Joe Sakic, (III)
Niklas Lidstrom, (III)
Brendan Shanahan, (III)
Steve Yzerman, (III)
Jeremy Roenick, (III)
Eric Desjardins, (III)
John LeClair, (III)
Trevor Linden, (III)

[/td]
[/tr][/table]

[seventeen]

Some pretty good d-men in that group. Wouldn't one of those guys change the look of our defense?

[BadCompany]

seventeen said:

Some pretty good d-men in that group. Wouldn't one of those guys change the look of our defense?

Alas, reports out of Switzerland say Mark Streit has signed with the Habs for two more years, so I'm guessing none of those guys will be donning le bleu, blanc, rouge any time soon.

[Doc Holliday]

badcompany said:

seventeen said:

Some pretty good d-men in that group. Wouldn't one of those guys change the look of our defense?

Alas, reports out of Switzerland say Mark Streit has signed with the Habs for two more years, so I'm guessing none of those guys will be donning le bleu, blanc, rouge any time soon.

I don't think we're gonna mistaking Streit with any of the high profile UFA dmen you mentioned. If Gainey was set out to get a dmen of Redden or Kubina's caliber, his inking of Streit souldn't have much impact on it.

While I don't like Streit's play personally, I can see Gainey wanting to keep him around for depth reason or at the very least to secure an asset that's his. Maybe the negotiations with Bouillon aren't going all that well...

That being said, word from Gainey is that he's looking for a forward...

[seventeen]

badcompany said:

Alas, reports out of Switzerland say Mark Streit has signed with the Habs for two more years, so I'm guessing none of those guys will be donning le bleu, blanc, rouge any time soon.

Wait....with Streit signed, it means we can trade Rivet. For cash, to use in signing one of the guys on the list. I don't know if a guy can be traded for real cash, but even CdnTire dollars, HBC points or Air Miles works for me.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

seventeen said:

badcompany said:

Alas, reports out of Switzerland say Mark Streit has signed with the Habs for two more years, so I'm guessing none of those guys will be donning le bleu, blanc, rouge any time soon.

Wait....with Streit signed, it means we can trade Rivet. For cash, to use in signing one of the guys on the list. I don't know if a guy can be traded for real cash, but even CdnTire dollars, HBC points or Air Miles works for me.

I really like the offense that Souray contributes, but he looks like a pylon when he plays against skillful forwards. Nobody has looked as bad as Sheldon when he gets beat. It may be time for Souray and Rivet to move on. Souray still has some trade value. I'd rather see our defense get upgraded than run Ribeiro out of town without a high scoring replacement.
Don't rule out Ribeiro, Dagenais and Ryder next year. I know I may be the only fan who still hold some hope for Dags, but the slow tandem of Ribs and Dags works together.

I really like the offense that

[cigarviper]

habsfaninla said:

seventeen said:

Wait....with Streit signed, it means we can trade Rivet. For cash, to use in signing one of the guys on the list. I don't know if a guy can be traded for real cash, but even CdnTire dollars, HBC points or Air Miles works for me.

I really like the offense that Souray contributes, but he looks like a pylon when he plays against skillful forwards. Nobody has looked as bad as Sheldon when he gets beat. It may be time for Souray and Rivet to move on. Souray still has some trade value. I'd rather see our defense get upgraded than run Ribeiro out of town without a high scoring replacement.
Don't rule out Ribeiro, Dagenais and Ryder next year. I know I may be the only fan who still hold some hope for Dags, but the slow tandem of Ribs and Dags works together.

I really like the offense that

hmmm... seems like HF in LA is stuck in some sort of ground hog day moment...meanwhile.....the whole point to upgrading is getting better players than you have and developing players you already have. I think Souray has demonstrated his inability to play one on one and that is a huge liability these days of free wheeling fast moving forwards, not to mention, he ain't developing into anything better. My vote is for Souray out in favour of Cote. Rivet has shown weaknesses around his own net and his skating is questionable. Cut and paste with something better. Move on and move up. Stand still and stagnate. That is all.

[Doc Holliday]

cigarviper said:

hmmm... seems like HF in LA is stuck in some sort of ground hog day moment...meanwhile.....the whole point to upgrading is getting better players than you have and developing players you already have. I think Souray has demonstrated his inability to play one on one and that is a huge liability these days of free wheeling fast moving forwards, not to mention, he ain't developing into anything better. My vote is for Souray out in favour of Cote. Rivet has shown weaknesses around his own net and his skating is questionable. Cut and paste with something better. Move on and move up. Stand still and stagnate. That is all.

...yes but Souray is our only decent slap shot for the PP. When he's not there, opposing players don't even bother covering our point men, they just concentrate on the forwards as if we didn't even had a PP going...

...now if we can add a guy that has a decent shot AND plays sound defense, I'd be all for it but how much do this kinda player cost....

[cigarviper]

The PP blueliner doesn't have to be a defenseman. There's some forwards with decent slapshots that can handle that assignment. Besides, it's not the power of the shot, it's the quick release and the ability to put it on the net fast that makes it work. I just think Souray is our first spot to upgrade on defense. Hey, I like Shelly, but his defensive work lacks solidity..,.and that, won't improve IMO.

All in all, if we end up trading Rivet for an upgrade, I'd be just as happy that at least there's some improvement over the previous edition. Onward and upward and all that.

badcompany said:

Laviolette still singing the same song, according to Yvon Pednault:

www2.canoe.com/sports/nouvelles/yvonpedneault/archives/2006/06/20060606-082700.html

Check out this quote, too:

«Dans le cadre du calendrier régulier, il y a des choses qu'on ne remarque pas toujours, mentionnent-ils. Bouillon est le défenseur qui nous a le plus surpris. On savait que Markov avait du talent, mais on ignorait que Bouillon était aussi rapide et aussi solide pour appliquer une mise en échec.

«Nous préférions plutôt passer du côté de Sheldon Souray que du côté de Bouillon.»

(roughly translated)

"During the regular season, there are things you don't always notice," (Laviolette) said, "Bouillon was the defenseman that surprised us the most. We knew Markov had talent, but we didn't know Bouillon was that fast, and that solid a hitter.

We preferred to go down Sheldon Souray's side, instead of Bouillon's side."

At crunch time in game seven, this isn't what you want to have running though your mind as a fan, coach, manager or team mate that's for sure. "Oh crap! We got Souray on the ice."

[sergejean]

docholliday said:

cigarviper said:

hmmm... seems like HF in LA is stuck in some sort of ground hog day moment...meanwhile.....the whole point to upgrading is getting better players than you have and developing players you already have. I think Souray has demonstrated his inability to play one on one and that is a huge liability these days of free wheeling fast moving forwards, not to mention, he ain't developing into anything better. My vote is for Souray out in favour of Cote. Rivet has shown weaknesses around his own net and his skating is questionable. Cut and paste with something better. Move on and move up. Stand still and stagnate. That is all.

...yes but Souray is our only decent slap shot for the PP. When he's not there, opposing players don't even bother covering our point men, they just concentrate on the forwards as if we didn't even had a PP going...

...now if we can add a guy that has a decent shot AND plays sound defense, I'd be all for it but how much do this kinda player cost....

I totally agree with you Doc. Unless we can we find an adequate replacement for him on the powerplay, Sheldon will must stay.

[Skilly]

Before making a decision on shipping Souray out, I want to see who our "assistant" coach is going to be ... if it is someone in the mold of a Robinson or Lappierre than hold the fort on Souray because they might be able to teach him a trick or two. If it is Muller or someone "offensive" .... then it might be time to give Shelley a purse to try and knock down his "suitors" on the ice

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

ryan said:

Forwards

Player	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Begin, Steve	$1,033,333	$1,033,333	$1,033,333
Bonk, Radek	$2,394,000	UFA
Downey, Aaron	$475,000	UFA
Higgins, Christopher	RFA	RFA	RFA
Koivu, Saku	$4,750,000	$4,750,000	$4,750,000
Kovalev, Alexei	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	$4,500,000
Murray, Garth	Signed	Signed	RFA
Perezhogin, Alexander	RFA	RFA	RFA
Plekanec, Tomas	$450,000	RFA	RFA
Ribeiro, Mike	RFA	RFA	UFA
Ryder, Michael	RFA	RFA	UFA
Zednik, Richard	$1,900,000	UFA

Defencemen

Player	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Dandenault, Mathieu	$1,725,000	$1,725,000	$1,725,000
Komisarek, Michael	RFA	RFA	RFA
Markov, Andrei	$1,750,000	UFA
Rivet, Craig	$2,565,000	UFA
Souray, Sheldon	$2,242,000	UFA
Streit, Mark	Signed	Signed	UFA

Goaltenders

Player	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Aebischer, David	RFA	UFA

Total Payroll for 2006-2007

Salary Cap	Total Payroll	Cap Room
$39,000,000	$23,784,333	$15,215,667

Minors

Player	2006-2007	2007-2008	2008-2009
Archer, Andrew	Signed	RFA
Benoit, Andre	Signed	Signed	Signed
Bonneau, Jimmy	Signed	Signed	Signed
Chipchura, Kyle	Signed	Signed	Signed
Cote, Jean-Phillipe	RFA
Ferland, Jonathan	RFA
Halak, Jaroslav	Signed	Signed	Signed
Kastitsyn, Andrei	$942,400	RFA	RFA
Lacasse, Loic	Signed	Signed	Signed
Lambert, Michael	Signed	RFA
Lapierre, Maxim	$625,000	$625,000	RFA
Lemieux, Francis	Signed	Signed	Signed
Locke, Corey	Signed	RFA
Michaud, Olivier	RFA
Milroy, Duncan	RFA
Sanford, James	Signed	RFA
Stewart, Greg	Signed	Signed	Signed
Urquhart, Cory	Signed	RFA

Notes:

• The salary cap is expected to rise to at least $42,000,000 for 2006-2007.
  

Plekanec is a bargain at $450K.
In perspective, you could get three of me for that. (The Hab's probably don't want one of me let alone three.)
We look at the numbers and they are all big, but OLN hasn't offered to buy and show the games played in our OHL (Ontario Hockey League-Ontario California)

[Doc Holliday]

...you can cross Selanne off your wish list:

As expected he'll stay a Duck:

www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=168617&hubname=

[Skilly]

docholliday said:

...you can cross Selanne off your wish list:

As expected he'll stay a Duck:

www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=168617&hubname=

Thank God!

[BadCompany]

docholliday said:

...you can cross Selanne off your wish list:

As expected he'll stay a Duck:

www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=168617&hubname=

Okay.

Also moved Eric Desjardins from the "No chance" list to the list of defensemen (though pretty far down).

www.geocities.com/floridapanthers2000/free2006.html

Forwards

[/b]
Patrik Elias, (III)
Jason Arnott, (III)
Teemu Selanne, (III)
Sergei Samsonov, (UFA)
Jamie Langenbrunner, (III)
Mike Peca, (III)
Marc Savard, (UFA)
Jeff Halpern, (III)
Steve Rucchin, (III)
Chris Simon, (III)
Anson Carter, (III)
Mike Grier (III)
Matt Cullen, (III)
Antti Laaksonen, (III)
Jan Hrdina (III)
Fernando Pisani, (III)
Viktor Kozlov, (III)
Marc Chouinard, (III)
Doug Weight, (III)
Vaclav Varada, (III)
Scott Thornton, (III)
Alyn McCauley, (III)
Radek Dvorak, (III)
Todd Harvey, (III)
Petr Sykora, (III)
Dan Hinote, (III)
Erik Rasmussen, (III)
Oleg Kvasha, (III)
Petr Cajanek, (III)
Jarkko Ruttu, (III)
Georges Laraque, (III)
Donald Brashear, (III)
Mike Sillinger, (III)
Aleksey Morozov, (III)
Jason Allison, (III)
Eric Lindros, (III)
Jeff Friesen, (III)
Craig Adams, (III)
Jim Dowd, (III)
Rem Murray, (III)
Mark Parrish, (III)
Yannic Perreault, (III)
Martin Rucinsky, (III)
Martin Straka, (III)
Darren Langdon, (III)
Jason Strudwick, (III)
Boyd Deveraux, (III)
Steve Gainey, (VI)

[/td][td]Defensemen[/b]
Zdeno Chara, (III)
Wade Redden, (III)
Ed Jovanovski, (III)
Rob Blake, (III)
Pavel Kubina, (III)
Karlis Skrastins, (III)
Teppo Numminen, (III)
Willie Mitchell, (III)
Filip Kuba, (III)
Cory Sarich, (UFA)
Brendan Witt, (III)
Brian Pothier, (III)
Ruslan Salei, (III)
Nolan Baumgartner, (III)
Jay McKee, (III)
Rory Fitzpatrick (III)
Frantisek Kaberle, (III)
Niclas Wallin, (III)
Jaroslav Spacek, (III)
Aaron Ward, (III)
Glen Wesley, (III)
Brett Clark, (III)
Cory Cross, (III)
Eric Weinrich, (III)
Eric Desjardins, (III)
Bob Boughner, (III)
Dick Tarnstrom, (III)
Igor Ulanov, (III)
Mark Eaton, (III)
Danny Markov, (III)
Tom Poti, (III)
Matt Carkner, (VI)
Brad Brown, (UFA)
[/td][td]Retire/No Chance[/u]
Joe Sakic, (III)
Niklas Lidstrom, (III)
Brendan Shanahan, (III)
Steve Yzerman, (III)
Jeremy Roenick, (III)
John LeClair, (III)
Trevor Linden, (III)

[/td]
[/tr][/table]

[BadCompany]

Scratch Joe Sakic (like it was ever in doubt).

Apparently took a paycut too. Good for the Avs.

www.geocities.com/floridapanthers2000/free2006.html

Forwards

[/b]
Patrik Elias, (III)
Jason Arnott, (III)
Teemu Selanne, (III)
Sergei Samsonov, (UFA)
Jamie Langenbrunner, (III)
Mike Peca, (III)
Marc Savard, (UFA)
Jeff Halpern, (III)
Steve Rucchin, (III)
Chris Simon, (III)
Anson Carter, (III)
Mike Grier (III)
Matt Cullen, (III)
Antti Laaksonen, (III)
Jan Hrdina (III)
Fernando Pisani, (III)
Viktor Kozlov, (III)
Marc Chouinard, (III)
Doug Weight, (III)
Vaclav Varada, (III)
Scott Thornton, (III)
Alyn McCauley, (III)
Radek Dvorak, (III)
Todd Harvey, (III)
Petr Sykora, (III)
Dan Hinote, (III)
Erik Rasmussen, (III)
Oleg Kvasha, (III)
Petr Cajanek, (III)
Jarkko Ruttu, (III)
Georges Laraque, (III)
Donald Brashear, (III)
Mike Sillinger, (III)
Aleksey Morozov, (III)
Jason Allison, (III)
Eric Lindros, (III)
Jeff Friesen, (III)
Craig Adams, (III)
Jim Dowd, (III)
Rem Murray, (III)
Mark Parrish, (III)
Yannic Perreault, (III)
Martin Rucinsky, (III)
Martin Straka, (III)
Darren Langdon, (III)
Jason Strudwick, (III)
Boyd Deveraux, (III)
Steve Gainey, (VI)

[/td][td]Defensemen[/b]
Zdeno Chara, (III)
Wade Redden, (III)
Ed Jovanovski, (III)
Rob Blake, (III)
Pavel Kubina, (III)
Karlis Skrastins, (III)
Teppo Numminen, (III)
Willie Mitchell, (III)
Filip Kuba, (III)
Cory Sarich, (UFA)
Brendan Witt, (III)
Brian Pothier, (III)
Ruslan Salei, (III)
Nolan Baumgartner, (III)
Jay McKee, (III)
Rory Fitzpatrick (III)
Frantisek Kaberle, (III)
Niclas Wallin, (III)
Jaroslav Spacek, (III)
Aaron Ward, (III)
Glen Wesley, (III)
Brett Clark, (III)
Cory Cross, (III)
Eric Weinrich, (III)
Eric Desjardins, (III)
Bob Boughner, (III)
Dick Tarnstrom, (III)
Igor Ulanov, (III)
Mark Eaton, (III)
Danny Markov, (III)
Tom Poti, (III)
Matt Carkner, (VI)
Brad Brown, (UFA)
[/td][td]Retire/No Chance[/u]
Joe Sakic, (III)
Niklas Lidstrom, (III)
Brendan Shanahan, (III)
Steve Yzerman, (III)
Jeremy Roenick, (III)
John LeClair, (III)
Trevor Linden, (III)

[/td]
[/tr][/table]

[Ryan]

Updated with Huet and Aebischer's deals.

Anyone seen any numbers for Streit or Murray's deals around?

[HFTO]

The market on d-men is really where any big dollars should be spent,but if you believe that the elite ones will re-up with there teams with the exception of Jovo who seems destined for Florida then BC you're right this class of UFA's ain't that sexy.
Unfortunately if the Habs stand pat they won't make the playoffs unless everybody can have better years than last and that's always a stretch.So it's up to Gainey to figure out what is or isn't too much for the likes of Arnott who I think is the best fit given he's a right handed centre and gives us some size we sorely lack.
Like you said the Habs can't stands still if they wan't to ensure a playoff spot.
HFTO

[Yeti]

I'm starting to wonder if Gainey will be able to meet the cap, I mean the 28 millions cap... Might have to overpay Ribeiro to make sure we do...

[Ryan]

yeti said:

I'm starting to wonder if Gainey will be able to meet the cap, I mean the 28 millions cap... Might have to overpay Ribeiro to make sure we do...

Quite the opposite. After all our RFAs are settles we're going to be darn close to $40mil. Assuming we're leaving at least a $2mil buffer, there's not a lot to play with.

Of course you could save about $1mil by moving Abby (Danis will cost close to $1mil compared to Abby's $2mil). Another $1.9mil could be saved if Zednik is traded, but again, even a kid to replace him will eat up close to $900K.

There's probably room for a UFA signings totaling about $2-$5mil at the most without dumping someone else.

[Yeti]

So signing Bouillon was our only option then if there is just enough money for a quality second line C... I thought we had more cap room...

So does it mean Ribeiro and Zednick and untradeable? No a single GM wants them? Aebisher? We could free up another 4-5 millions if we trade them for draft picks...

[Doc Holliday]

ryan said:

yeti said:

I'm starting to wonder if Gainey will be able to meet the cap, I mean the 28 millions cap... Might have to overpay Ribeiro to make sure we do...

Quite the opposite. After all our RFAs are settles we're going to be darn close to $40mil. Assuming we're leaving at least a $2mil buffer, there's not a lot to play with.

Of course you could save about $1mil by moving Abby (Danis will cost close to $1mil compared to Abby's $2mil). Another $1.9mil could be saved if Zednik is traded, but again, even a kid to replace him will eat up close to $900K.

There's probably room for a UFA signings totaling about $2-$5mil at the most without dumping someone else.

I think we have more room than you think Ryan.

The Theodore trade saved us 3.5 mil which we used on Huet and Koivu. Out goes Bulis and Sunny that's 2.4 saved, 1.4 goes to Bouillon, .4 goes to Begin. We're still within last year's payroll with about 500k to spend. Ribs probably won't get much of a raise, Higgins was making 900k, he might get what ? 1.2, 1.3? Chump change. Perez and Komi were earning close to a mil, again, I don't big raises happen there. As usual our tough signing will be Ryder but I'd be surprised if Gainey breaks the bank for him. When all is said and done, IMO we probably have a solid 7mil of CAP space, 4-5mil of budget space which was, IMO, what Gainey felt he needed to add a top 6 player.

[Ryan]

I've updated the payroll to include Qualifying Offers to gain a better sense of where we currently stand.

If Gainey is indeed going into the season with this group (which I still have doubts about), this would be the current line-up.

Higgins - Koivu - Ryder
Zednik - Ribeiro - Kovalev
Perezhogin - Plekanec - Begin
Murray - Bonk - Downey

Markov - Komisarek
Souray - Rivet
Bouillon - Dandenault
Streit

Huet
Aebischer

The defence is set, and so is the goaltending. If Aebischer is traded, Danis will slide in as Huet's back-up.

Up front the first line is pretty much locked in, but that's where the certainty ends. Kovalev will play on the second line, but Plekanec or Bonk could just as easily fill the center spot in favour of Ribeiro. Zednik has a 2nd liner pedigree but had a miserable season, so that spot is wide open as well. Begin, Murray, and Downey will fill in on the 3rd and 4th lines along with 2 of the aforementioned centers. Perezhogin and Zednik could switch spots if Perezhogin has a good camp.

With 2 spots open up front I would expect to see Lapierre and Ferland given every opportunity to win spots on the 3rd/4th lines, and Kastitsyn could end up on the 2nd line. Wild cards like Latendresse and Chipchura could surprise, but both will likely wait another year before really challenging for a spot.

The silver lining is the amount of cap space available for in season changes. No, I don't believe this line-up can challenge for a cup, but with another top flight forward and a solid performance from whomever as second line center then anything can happen. Gainey has not saddled himself with any long term, horrible contracts so his flexibility going forward is very favourable. It will be up to him to maximize this opportunity. The table is set, the grace period is close to over, let's see some results.