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Post by habmeister on May 3, 2007 16:43:52 GMT -5
its still fresh in my mind watching him assault guys that came into his corners at the world juniors in vancouver last year. i sat 10 rows up in the corner and he reminded me a lot of kasparitis when he was younger. exactly the type of d-man we need, he'll take a lot of bad penalties the first season or two, but once he figures it out he'll be a solid part of our d for years.
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Post by franko on May 3, 2007 18:51:56 GMT -5
Yemelin. Kostitsyn. Anyone else that needs three jerseys for however their name is spelt on a specific day?
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Post by seventeen on May 3, 2007 19:18:13 GMT -5
Lets hope we can buy his way over here. He is exactly what we need. A tough, smart defenseman who can make a crisp pass. We'll figure out how to spell his name later.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on May 3, 2007 20:12:52 GMT -5
Good to hear he has his sights set on the Habs. I guess getting the transfer agreement and the financial situation in Lada are two big drivers in whether or not we see this young man in camp this fall.
In a recent article over at HF, Timmins does indicate that his development may get stunted a bit because his edgy, tough play tends to draw penalties and the ire of most Russian coaches. The north american game is better suited to the style in which he is comfortable playing. Not to mention he is a decent skater, and has good puck skills, something that would make him a valuable commodity back there on the Habs blue line if he continues to develop as he has the last few years.
Oh yeah, he also picked up his first WHC point with an assist the other day.
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Post by Doc Holliday on May 7, 2007 8:39:22 GMT -5
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Post by Skilly on May 7, 2007 9:32:59 GMT -5
Not a problem, if he knows french!
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Post by seventeen on May 8, 2007 1:13:22 GMT -5
I think he knows check, though.
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Post by Boston_Habs on May 8, 2007 8:01:42 GMT -5
We really need to break in a young defenseman this year, especially if we are going to lose Souray. We just can't buy our blueline on the FA market - even 2nd and 3rd pairing guys are going to cost a lot of money and command 3-4 year deals. A guy like Emelin sounds like he has the tools and the tenacity to play at this level. The language will be an issue like it was for Markov but we can deal with it and he'll have Markov and hopefully Kovalev to help him out.
Get him over here.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 8, 2007 8:45:17 GMT -5
We really need to break in a young defenseman this year, especially if we are going to lose Souray. We just can't buy our blueline on the FA market - even 2nd and 3rd pairing guys are going to cost a lot of money and command 3-4 year deals. A guy like Emelin sounds like he has the tools and the tenacity to play at this level. The language will be an issue like it was for Markov but we can deal with it and he'll have Markov and hopefully Kovalev to help him out. Get him over here. Emelin, Valentenko, Korpikari and Côté. We've heard a lot about the first two. I was looking up Korpikari and he's a stay-at-home defenseman with good passing abilities. Côté has to be wondering what he has to do in order to stick around. Of the four I've only seent Côté play. Can't forget about Gorges either. Cheers.
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Post by Skilly on May 8, 2007 8:58:32 GMT -5
We really need to break in a young defenseman this year, especially if we are going to lose Souray. We just can't buy our blueline on the FA market - even 2nd and 3rd pairing guys are going to cost a lot of money and command 3-4 year deals. A guy like Emelin sounds like he has the tools and the tenacity to play at this level. The language will be an issue like it was for Markov but we can deal with it and he'll have Markov and hopefully Kovalev to help him out. Get him over here. Emelin, Valentenko, Korpikari and Côté. Can't forget about Gorges either. Cheers. Or Fischer, or O'Byrne. I still can't get worked up over prospects. That's seven defensive prospects we have that are suppose to be "can't miss guys". If we play one a year, then we won't see them all for 7 years .... so obviously some of them are going to miss. Like our glut at right wing, it is time to start trading some for assests we can use now.
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Post by franko on May 8, 2007 9:05:52 GMT -5
Côté has to be wondering what he has to do in order to stick around. Stay healthy, for starters. Ya can't play if you're recovering from an injury.
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Post by Doc Holliday on May 8, 2007 9:06:27 GMT -5
Can't forget about Gorges either. Absolutely DIS. This guy was playing 18mins/game in an organization reknown for its great drafting and devellopment of defensemen.... With Streit, Gorges, Bouillon, Komisarek, Dandeneault we have 5 NHL capable dmen. If Gainey can keep Markov, that's 6, a full deck. As Boston and Skilly outlines if we are going to someday give a chance to some kids, than we can't add more NHL dmen unless we trade some.
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Post by BadCompany on May 8, 2007 9:59:59 GMT -5
With Streit, Gorges, Bouillon, Komisarek, Dandeneault we have 5 NHL capable dmen. If Gainey can keep Markov, that's 6, a full deck. <shudder> That's an awful lot of rowboats, and not too many battleships... I will feel sick to my stomach if that is our opening night roster next fall. Only Markov and Komisarek are top 4 defensemen. Streit, Bouillon and Gorges are all - at best - #6-7, and Dandenault *maybe* a number 5. Only Gorges has any potential to be better. Gosh, what happens if Markov or Komisarek get hurt?? What happens if they BOTH get hurt?? Having two injured defensemen is not a huge stretch, after all... We need to add at least one more top 4 defenseman, preferably two. If we want to break in some kids, then we jettison Streit (up to forward, if need be), Dandenault and Bouillon. Heck, I'd be tempted to jettison them now, just to save the salary. This reminds of the Savard years, when we couldn't break in any kids because of the lousy veterans taking up roster places. There is more than enough room for kids on the blueline. Too much room, really. Add two top 4 defensemen, and you'd still have three roster spots for kids...
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on May 8, 2007 10:09:51 GMT -5
This reminds of the Savard years, when we couldn't break in any kids because of the lousy veterans taking up roster places. I'll agree with you to a lesser degree. The only difference between then and now is the cap making it tough for Gainey to cut away deadwood. Buying them out still counts towards your cap space and, in turn, lessens your chances of improving as fast as you'd like. Still wouldn't mind adding Boynton (Pheonix) or Johnsson (Minnesota). That would mean removing some salary, err, players from the existing blueline. Not so easy given what we have. Sigh!
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Post by Doc Holliday on May 8, 2007 10:23:51 GMT -5
With Streit, Gorges, Bouillon, Komisarek, Dandeneault we have 5 NHL capable dmen. If Gainey can keep Markov, that's 6, a full deck. <shudder> That's an awful lot of rowboats, and not too many battleships... I will feel sick to my stomach if that is our opening night roster next fall. Only Markov and Komisarek are top 4 defensemen. Streit, Bouillon and Gorges are all - at best - #6-7, and Dandenault *maybe* a number 5. Only Gorges has any potential to be better. Gosh, what happens if Markov or Komisarek get hurt?? What happens if they BOTH get hurt?? Having two injured defensemen is not a huge stretch, after all... We need to add at least one more top 4 defenseman, preferably two. If we want to break in some kids, then we jettison Streit (up to forward, if need be), Dandenault and Bouillon. Heck, I'd be tempted to jettison them now, just to save the salary. This reminds of the Savard years, when we couldn't break in any kids because of the lousy veterans taking up roster places. There is more than enough room for kids on the blueline. Too much room, really. Add two top 4 defensemen, and you'd still have three roster spots for kids... ...too many lower level guys and not enough top level ones I agree. Dandeneault is arguably the best one of the lower crowd. Bouillon had a bad year but contrary to Skilly I do believe the Cube was a very steady dmen prior to this year. His injury really took a toll on him and he could never catch back his game it seems. I'd expect a better year from him this year. Streit's best games were as a forward (heck he even made his way to the first line) and I like the insurance policy of having him there. Instead of signing Johnson I'd make Streit a forward. If we do add a dmen though, we'd have to move one of Dandy, Gorges or Bouillon and as we've said before, I sure wouldn't be surprised to see the Pens wanting Bouillon. I'd try to add a stabilizer to the mix, a good, steady seasoned veterans, kinda like what Weinrich was bringing a few years back.
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Post by Boston_Habs on May 8, 2007 11:16:20 GMT -5
Assuming we sign Markov, I think we would have 4 dmen with guaranteed contracts for 2007-08: Markov (~$5M), Komisarek (~$1.5M), Bouillon ($1.875M), Dandenault ($1.75M). Mark Streit will make $600K next year but he's pretty flexible either as a forward or dman.
Of these contracts, the Cube looks like the worst. I think Dandenault at $1.75M is actually a pretty good contract but Bouillon at $1.875 is pretty lousy given his performance last year. Still I think both of those guys could be moved.
So assuming no trades, we have at least 2 regular spots on the blueline up for grabs come training camp. I would expect Gainey to fill one of those on the FA market which leaves one spot for Streit, Emelin, Gorges, Cote, and O'Byrne. If two of those guys really outperform in camp then I can see Gainey trading one of Bouillon or Dandy to make room.
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Post by habmeister on May 8, 2007 13:26:33 GMT -5
Gorges will re-sign on a one way deal. i disagree that dandy is a decent d-man, i think last year he showed that he's a #5-7 guy at best. i think gorges is more of a #5 with potential to move up to a #3 on this team. like someone said above he was playing 18 minutes on the sharks who had some pretty good guys on the backline.
i really hope that the perez and kovalev incidents don't scare markov back to russia, but if they're throwing that kind of money at perez then markov might get an offer that could see him leave too. i'm assuming that markov is coming back though, souray isn't and gainey will sign one veteran top 4 d-man as doc holiday suggests.
i don't think you can deal boullion or dandy with their contracts, gorges is here to stay for awhile, he's young and cheap and we hold the bargaining power with his contracts for a few more years. i still think that he's our best passer out of the defensive zone next to markov.
so i would expect this to be our top 7 d-men:
1 Markov 2 Komi (he is ready for big minutes) 3 Free Agent 4 Boullion 5 Gorges 6 Dandy 7 Streit 8 Emelin
yes it's still thin, but who knows what kind of free agent bob can sign, and if komi takes even a small step and gorges improves and emelin suprises then it is a solid d core. those are big ifs though.
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Post by duster on May 8, 2007 16:23:21 GMT -5
Still thin? We are talking wafer thin...
I like Gorges too, but if he and the Cube become the team's No 4 and 5, well, it's hello lottery pick, imo. Signing Emelin would simply be a good start and he will need some time to get adapted, so he's not going to be a regular for quite a while. Getting a No3 as a UFA to replace Rivet's minutes is a must just to maintain status quo. To improve will mean giving up some prospects. No other way.
We are in the same position as the Leafs prior to signing Kaberle, McCabe, Gill, Kubina etc... and we can't blame it on trading away draft picks.
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Post by habmeister on May 8, 2007 18:34:36 GMT -5
Still thin? We are talking wafer thin... I like Gorges too, but if he and the Cube become the team's No 4 and 5, well, it's hello lottery pick, imo. Signing Emelin would simply be a good start and he will need some time to get adapted, so he's not going to be a regular for quite a while. Getting a No3 as a UFA to replace Rivet's minutes is a must just to maintain status quo. To improve will mean giving up some prospects. No other way. We are in the same position as the Leafs prior to signing Kaberle, McCabe, Gill, Kubina etc... and we can't blame it on trading away draft picks. true but it still depends on who the free agent is. if it's a chris phillips stud type that can play 22 minutes and be solid in both ends then we're ok. i think komi could have his coming out party this year and one of our rookies could suprise on the backend: emelin, cote, o'byrne, someone could stepup and play quality minutes, similar to what higgins, ryder, pleks, have done in the past couple of seasons. gorges/boullion/dandy are the keys to our defence this year, they all need to have good seasons for us to be competitive, they are all capable of more this season than their last (except for gorges who didn't play much for us).
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Post by Skilly on May 8, 2007 20:20:18 GMT -5
Still thin? We are talking wafer thin... I like Gorges too, but if he and the Cube become the team's No 4 and 5, well, it's hello lottery pick, imo. It seems management is building towards the 100th anniversary year ... so why not get rid of both Markov and Souray, let a young kid play, and sign a solid decent d-man (Scott Hannan @ 4 million?), play Rubix, play Dandy, play Komi, play Gorges, and play Streit. Sign a forward. Sure the defense still sucks .... but hello John Tavares!!! Then we go out and get another big name defenseman in year 2, bring in another kid and our defense isn't so sucking anymore. We sign another forward and play John Tavares (no AHL prepping) and we got alot of offensive jump . BAH .... I hate tanking seasons ... but I can see us being in the running if we don't land anyone this year.
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Post by seventeen on May 8, 2007 23:47:19 GMT -5
Sure the defense still sucks .... but hello John Tavares!!! BAH .... I hate tanking seasons ... but I can see us being in the running if we don't land anyone this year. I keep having to clean up behind you. . Tavares isn't eligible until the 09 draft. Tanking next season would get you a failing mark in math. JT is an Oct or late Sept birthday, so he's older than normal for the draft....so was Mario, so don't hold it against him.
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Post by Skilly on May 9, 2007 10:39:28 GMT -5
Sure the defense still sucks .... but hello John Tavares!!! BAH .... I hate tanking seasons ... but I can see us being in the running if we don't land anyone this year. I keep having to clean up behind you. . Tavares isn't eligible until the 09 draft. Tanking next season would get you a failing mark in math. JT is an Oct or late Sept birthday, so he's older than normal for the draft....so was Mario, so don't hold it against him. Well damn ..... who is the best prospect next year then?
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Post by NWTHabsFan on May 9, 2007 21:10:34 GMT -5
Well damn ..... who is the best prospect next year then? I know you are asking assuming we tank with those guys, but I will answer it anyway since I do follow prospects as well as the big club that is in desperate need of an upgrade on the blueline. If you like forwards, then Steve Stamkos from Sarnia. For blueliners, Drew Doughty from Guelph. Both played in Finland recently for Team Canada's U-18 team. Back to our current blueline, I think the long term and over-paid contracts with Dandy and the Cube kill our ability to move other and better players in. That and the incredible love affair that the coach and management seem to have with both. I like the Penguins option for the Cube since Michel T was always a big fan. Time to let Gorges show his stuff and to let some of the dying wood back on our blueline go elsewhere so that we can lure in some better puck-moving skill back there in time for puck drop.
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Post by montreal on May 21, 2007 21:27:11 GMT -5
Emelin's team finally paid his salary after not getting paid for two months. He and other players had a hearing set but never got their day in court as Lada came up with the money to try and keep their star players. Now it means his contract won't be voided and things will be tougher on Gainey to get him over here next year.
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Post by habmeister on May 22, 2007 1:32:05 GMT -5
Emelin's team finally paid his salary after not getting paid for two months. He and other players had a hearing set but never got their day in court as Lada came up with the money to try and keep their star players. Now it means his contract won't be voided and things will be tougher on Gainey to get him over here next year. damnitt! that sucks, i was really looking forward to watching him make the club and get some nasty major penalties against tucker. oh well next year maybe.
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Post by Doc Holliday on May 22, 2007 7:54:33 GMT -5
Emelin's team finally paid his salary after not getting paid for two months. He and other players had a hearing set but never got their day in court as Lada came up with the money to try and keep their star players. Now it means his contract won't be voided and things will be tougher on Gainey to get him over here next year. damnitt! that sucks, i was really looking forward to watching him make the club and get some nasty major penalties against tucker. oh well next year maybe. Since there is no transfer agreement, if Emelin really wanted to come over, under the current Russian labor law he just had to send his team a 2 weeks notice and be done with it.
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Post by habmeister on May 22, 2007 12:08:25 GMT -5
damnitt! that sucks, i was really looking forward to watching him make the club and get some nasty major penalties against tucker. oh well next year maybe. Since there is no transfer agreement, if Emelin really wanted to come over, under the current Russian labor law he just had to send his team a 2 weeks notice and be done with it. really are you sure about that?
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Post by Doc Holliday on May 22, 2007 12:36:10 GMT -5
Since there is no transfer agreement, if Emelin really wanted to come over, under the current Russian labor law he just had to send his team a 2 weeks notice and be done with it. really are you sure about that? Yep. Tretiak said he fully intended to push for this law to be edited shortly in order for it not to cover hockey players but until it is done Emelin could use that as an escape clause. Last year, Emelin chose not to sign with the HABS and went with a 2 year contract with Lada instead. He obviously will only sign a one-way contract to come over, which means getting a guy here on a real guaranteed contract that has no English whatsover and has never played on smaller NA rink... As well, he's a an important player over there and from what we see with Perezhogin, they can make much more than the maximum 800K allowed for rookie contract. I'm not holding my breath we will ever see this guy in Montreal.
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Post by montreal on May 22, 2007 13:17:53 GMT -5
damnitt! that sucks, i was really looking forward to watching him make the club and get some nasty major penalties against tucker. oh well next year maybe. Since there is no transfer agreement, if Emelin really wanted to come over, under the current Russian labor law he just had to send his team a 2 weeks notice and be done with it. He can do that, but I would be surprised if he did cause it would put his dad in a bad spot with management I got to think. He can't sign a one way contract, it has to be a 2 way, as that's in the cba. They could give him the rookie max plus bonuses, although if he got something like Perezhogin got, then we can't compete with that. I don't know what his future is with us, but if he stays in Russia one more year, it's not a big deal. The concern would be what he does after next season, if he signs another contract with Lada, then we may never see him as we lose his rights next summer if he's not signed. That said, now is the time for Gainey to try and get him over, as I'm sure it's left a bad taste in the mouth of Emelin by not getting paid for 2 months (I'd never be able to afford not getting paid that long!) but not only that, Lada is in trouble with the league, they were supposed to build a new arena and are beind told that if they don't, they could get regulated to the High league. I don't see that happening, and from what I am told, Lada is working on getting a new rink and might play their home games in a different rink next year.
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Post by seventeen on May 22, 2007 18:49:58 GMT -5
Lada? Lada?! Anyone who trusts a Lada to get you from A to B, much less pay you a real wage, needs their head examined. If I'm Emelin, I'd be rushing for the CH. At least George's money is real.
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