Other concerns about trading Hackett

[Disgruntled70sHab]

I had a little extra time during lunch to do a little surfing and think about Jeff Hackett's situation in Montreal.

I thought, if Hackett is dealt who would serve as primary backup? Mathieu Garon is in the same boat as Theodore was a few years ago. He's young and a tad inexperienced for the NHL but could he fill in if necessary?

Vadim Tarasov? I don't know this guy from Sergei. Olivier Michaud? He's got a bright future, but he isn't a Dan Blackburn. Evan Lindsay? Not yet. Johni Puurula? Who?

The point is I'm not that confident in a reliable backup should Hackett be dealt.

Another problem arises where, if I'm figuring this out as an average Moosehead-swillin', 12-sandwich-eatin' amateur fan, then I'm willing to wager other teams would pick up on this shortfall as well.

So, what happens when Hackett is traded? Could it be that other teams notice who is on the Hab's bench as the backup and decide to take a run at Theo? Sure, Gino will take out the gutless-it's-only-business-type-of-palyer but what if Theo is taken out of the lineup for an indefinite period?

Now, I'm not saying this scenario will happen but it is plausible. Enter Mathieu Garon? It may be a good thing, or it might be a bad thing, but Garon is going to have to raise his game to the next level pretty fast if, ahem, when, Hackett is traded. On that premise, I'm rather concerned when Hackett leaves.

Cheers.

[MPLABBE]

IMO,in any Hackett trade,a backup like Brathwaite would be coming our way.Remember,alot of the teams mentionned in the Hackett derby already have 2 goalies on one way deals and certainly don't want 3 goalies(aside from Carolina ).

[Disgruntled70sHab]

You might be, Marc. I have faith insomuch as Savard getting a good return for Hackett. Having said that though, I think if he were to land a veteran goaltender, it would be a temporary move at best.

At least it would give Garon time to prepare for next season over the summer. Come to think of it, it might make for a very competative goaltender camp next fall. Cheers.

[MPLABBE]

Disgruntled70sHab said:

You might be, Marc. I have faith insomuch as Savard getting a good return for Hackett. Having said that though, I think if he were to land a veteran goaltender, it would be a temporary move at best.

At least it would give Garon time to prepare for next season over the summer. Come to think of it, it might make for a very competative goaltender camp next fall. Cheers.

I think you may want to modify that post a bit there, ;D


Problem with Garon is,he may be ready to be a #1 goalie in this league but not a backup.Come to think of it,Tarasov seems to be the better fit as a backup because he is small,acrobatic and quick as a cat(that's what I have heard and read).He is alot like Nabokov.Big guys like Garon need to play alot to get hot,while a smaller,more acrobatic guy only needs a few shots to get going.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

I understand your reasoning, but why would Savard hang on to Hackett if Garon was ready to step in? How long has he been ready? I honestly don't know so it's an honest question.

Moreover, if Garon has been ready for a while, then Hackett should have been showcased well before now. Granted he has been injured at times, but to keep a bonafide NHL-starting goaltender in the minors doesn't make sense to me.

Cheers.

[MPLABBE]

Disgruntled70sHab said:

I understand your reasoning, but why would Savard hang on to Hackett if Garon was ready to step in? How long has he been ready? I honestly don't know so it's an honest question.

Moreover, if Garon has been ready for a while, then Hackett should have been showcased well before now. Granted he has been injured at times, but to keep a bonafide NHL-starting goaltender in the minors doesn't make sense to me.

Cheers.

Hackett has been showcased for 3 years now.Only problems were/are his ridiculous salary and his injuries.

As for Garon/Tarasov,I was thinking more for next year.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

Forgive me, Marc, but I can't agree that Hack has been showcased for 3 years now and there weren't any takers. I understand the salary he's going to be paid next year, but it Savard may have to eat a portion of it, especially if it turns out that he gets the better player in return.

I can't say if that would be the scenario or not. Just a hunch. Cheers.

[legaspesien]

I think that Hackett is not on the market right now he is better use in MTL than anything we will receive

Garon is of better use also in Qc because he has to bring them the calder cup then he will be ready to come up next year

GOALTENDER GPI MINS AVG W L T EN SO GA SA SPCTG

Mathieu Garon 41 2475 2.59 20 10 10 1 2 107 1269 0.922

Vadim Tarasov 6 363 2.81 4 1 1 1 0 17 168 0.908


Hackett might lives come sept same way Osgood went to Ilanders

[Andrew]

MPLABBE said:

Come to think of it,Tarasov seems to be the better fit as a backup because he is small,acrobatic and quick as a cat(that's what I have heard and read).He is alot like Nabokov.Big guys like Garon need to play alot to get hot,while a smaller,more acrobatic guy only needs a few shots to get going.

I don't know if I follow your logic there.  Is there a history of that among NHL goaltenders?

Either way, I think Garon and Tarasov would both be adequate backups to see action in 20 or less games next year.  A lengthy injury to Theo, however, could be disastrous in a year where expectations will be nothing less than a playoff spot.

[MPLABBE]

Disgruntled70sHab said:

Forgive me, Marc, but I can't agree that Hack has been showcased for 3 years now and there weren't any takers. I understand the salary he's going to be paid next year, but it Savard may have to eat a portion of it, especially if it turns out that he gets the better player in return.

I can't say if that would be the scenario or not. Just a hunch. Cheers.

Let me put it this way,the Habs have certainly not called him an untouchable.Any good offer last year or this year would have equaled trade.

[MPLABBE]

Andrew said:

I don't know if I follow your logic there.  Is there a history of that among NHL goaltenders?

Either way, I think Garon and Tarasov would both be adequate backups to see action in 20 or less games next year.  A lengthy injury to Theo, however, could be disastrous in a year where expectations will be nothing less than a playoff spot.

I'll try to find an example of it.

[BadCompany]

Guys, come on.

I am a big Jeff Hackett fan, and lord knows he has been great for this organization, but we HAVE to work on the assumption that he is gone after this year.

Mathieu Garon is eligible for the waiver draft next year. That means three things; one, we will have to expose one of Theodore, Hackett or Garon next September. Any one of those three will be snatched up in a heartbeat. Two, if by some miracle Jeff Hackett survives the waiver draft (why would he? Chris Osgood didn't) if we suffer an injury we CANNOT call up Mathieu Garon, because he will be in his  5th years as a pro, which means we will have to pass him through waivers if we want to send him back down again (say Theo gets injured, we call up Garon to back up Hackett, then try to demote Garon once Theo comes back). Three, if players do not play a certain amount of NHL games before a certain age, they become unrestricted free agents once their contracts expire (that's how we acquired, amongst others, Eric Landry). Garon is rapidly approaching that age.

Asset management. We HAVE to assume there is an interest in our goalies, either Hackett or Garon (or both) and if we expose one of them, they will be snatched up for free.

Thirteen games. Thats how many games are left in Montreal's schedule after the trade deadline. Is it really worth passing up on a trade to keep Jeff Hackett for 13 more games?? Again, we have to assume we will lose him for nothing. Prepare for the worst in other words. Say some team offers us a 2nd round pick for Jeff Hackett - isn't that worth taking the risk that Theodore won't be injured for 13 games?

Hackett is gone. If not Hackett, then Garon. The choice is ours, lose them for nothing, or get something, anything back for them. Personally, I don't think the market is all that great for Hackett, and that we need to move him as soon as something remotely close to being good comes in.

As for the backup next year, those are a dime a dozen. If not Garon, then Tarasov (who is already over 25, and who has played in professional leagues for four years now). Theodore will in all likelihood play 60+ games next year, so any backup will not have to be relied on that much. If Theo gets injured, well, so be it. Lots of teams rely on one goalie only (Toronto, Edmonton, Chicago, New Jersey, Colorado, etc. etc.).

We also have to consider Hackett's salary. $4 million next year. Isn't $4 million an awful lot to spend on a backup? Theodore's contract expires this year. How much money do you think he will want if his "backup" is making $4 million? $5 million? We could potentially have $7-10 million tied up in goaltenders. Wouldn't it be much better to spend that money elsewhere? Plug other holes?

Besides, who is to say Garon or Tarasov won't step it up? Garon has long been considered a top prospect (Jeff Hackett himself called Garon Montreal's best prospect) and Tarasov (again, already in his mid-20s) was goaltender of the year in Russia. Why not give them a shot?

I hate repeating this, but it is a factor - we HAVE to assume Jeff Hackett will be gone this summer. We have to. Pretend he is a UFA this year - if he was a UFA would we all be saying "hold onto to him in case Theo gets hurt?" or would we all be saying "lets trade him before we lose him for nothing?"

Hackett isn't technically a UFA, but for all intents and purposes he is. We may get lucky, and he may make it through waivers, but do we want to take that chance, again for 13 games worth of insurance? Even if he does make it through waivers, wouldn't we rather have his $4 million to spend elsewhere?

[Doc Holliday]

BadCompany said:

I hate repeating this, but it is a factor - we HAVE to assume Jeff Hackett will be gone this summer. We have to. Pretend he is a UFA this year - if he was a UFA would we all be saying "hold onto to him in case Theo gets hurt?" or would we all be saying "lets trade him before we lose him for nothing?"

In fact if he was heading to UFA, I'd say keep him.  His salary is almost all paid for this year and he could come in handy.  But the problem is that we're looking, as you point out, to spend waaaaaaaaaaay too much money next year on a backup.  The situation is not about Hack being good or not, we all know he's good but it doesn't matter, he'd be Theo's backup and it simply doesn't make sense to have the highest paid player as a backup goalie.  Garon is having a spectacular year in the AHL and most experts have been saying for years that he is a top quality prospect.   if that isn't enough to give him a shot at being a low cost backup next year, then by all means what would?

[Ryan]

Hack won't be here next year, plain and simple.  I'm not going to be disappointed at his injury and the supposed loss of whoever we'd have gotten from a trade.  Chances are it would have been a prospect or a pick, nothing to get too excited over.

Garon should be the back-up next year.  IMO Garon will push Theo next year more than Hack did this year (injuries playing a key role).

[MPLABBE]

Actually,with tonight's injury.This may mean we will be stuck with Hackett next year.Sure,there is that waiver draft thing,but there are ALOT of goalies available this summer.All  the UFA's,alot of teams will want to give a young goalie in the AHL some NHL experience(Noronen is certainly ready for the NHL as an example.) and this will mean more goalies will be available.


I mean,what team will want Hackett?? who would pick up a goalie making close to 4 million $ knowing his shoulder is as fragile as a frozen lake when spring time comes? We could have trouble giving him away...sad but true.

[GNick]

I think it is time to pass Garon the backup baton and if he drops it? It's time to move on, he's trade bait over the summer. I have a bad feeling about Garon. Looks like the next Kevin Weekes to me.

The Hockey News wrote a glowing report about Garon's resurgence in Quebec City but I still have a feeling that he will spend most of his career in the minors and European leagues.


I think Hackett would be gone a couple of years back but he was always injured at the deadline

[MPLABBE]

Well, Garon needs a chance in the NHL.He is too good for the minors.He could be a stud or a journeyman in this league.It's up to him.