Feb 08 Habs Trade Deadline Commentary

Let's start with some of the more obviously rumors that can be dismissed rather easily:

Vincent Lecavalier: There is no way the Habs will be landing Vincent. He could have kept the door opened to coming to Montreal, but he closed it when he signed a multi-year deal with the Lightning. The asking price for him would be huge and with the Canadiens in a battle to be first overall in the Conference, there is no chance that they will be shaking up the team that much to land him.

Olli Jokinen: Here is a guy that at the beginning of the year, I would have been all for getting, but right now, how do you displace Plekanecs or Koivu? Sure, Koivu has more than his share of detractors for many reasons, but most of those reasons are ridiculous and unfounded. And more to the point in this case, Jokinen does not address any of the issues that are raised about Koivu. He does not have more heart, he does not speak French. He is bigger, and is a better goal scorer, but Koivu makes the players around him better, and that is what the Habs need to continue to do.

Now the the hottest and latest rumor in Montreal:

Marion Hossa: Habs fans will have to realize that no matter which way you slice it, Higgins is going to be a part of that deal. I for one have no problems with including him in a package if you can sign Hossa to a multi year deal. Otherwise, forget about it. You do not trade an emerging star that his only 24 years old and the additional bodies and picks it will take for a one shot chance to win the cup. Hossa is an upgrade over Higgins and will continue to be better offensive than Higgins for at least the next 3 years.

Alex Tanguay: Like we talked about on the radio show, Alex is not coming to Montreal, and there was no truth to those rumors. Some media folks in Montreal seem to feel this need to make up stories in lieu of
doing any kind of real work (looking at you Todd, that's right. Ovechkin, really?), and Tanguay is just another example. Perhaps Calgary may turn around and do something at the trade deadline, but there was no real chance of that happening at the time it was discussed, and it would have taken quite a bit more than just Low Ryder to pull the trigger.

My 2 Cents:

Bob Gainey will not shake up this team unless something makes both financial sense and makes the Habs better with minimum risk. Gainey does have some concerns (I would think) about his free agent situation at the end of the season, but with 5 million under the cap space, he does have some room to maneuver. Gainey has been building this team with character players, and using the depth he created in order to motivate the players into a strong spirit of competition in order to keep their position and places on the team.

The biggest issue for Gainey has got to be in nets. He must have hoped that Carey Price was further along in his progression than he was, and I am not sure how that is going to factor into his trade discussions. I had said from the outset that one of his plans had to be packaging Huet and other players in order to improve in a position, and see how far Carey Price can take them, before re-tooling and reassessing for next season. Especially considering the great start Price had to the season, that must have cemented that scenario in his plans, but Price has fallen very far from where he was in the beginning of the season. He did not play well in Hamilton when he was demoted (in order to get more playing time apparently), and lost his first game to a Toronto team that was embarrassed 8 to 0 in their last game.

If the Habs do not pull off a trade that will improve their team in the long term, it will be directly as a result of the poor play of Carey Price in limiting Gainey's talent pool in which he was willing to dip into and trade away. Unless the team learns how to play around Carey Price, I do not see the Canadiens making any blockbuster trades before the trading deadline.

Tags: commentary \ deadline \ habs \ Montreal Canadiens \ trade