Reviewing Pierre Gauthier's First Year as Habs GM
Reviewing Pierre Gauthier's First Year as Habs GM
A year ago yesterday, Bob Gainey suddenly stepped aside as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens making way for his assistant Pierre Gauthier to take over one of the most high-pressure jobs in hockey, if not all of professional sports. The move wasn't met with much excitement among Habs fans despite Gauthier being credited with turning around the Ottawa Senators from 1995 to 1998. Perhaps the cynicism came from his unimpressive stint with the Anaheim (then Mighty) Ducks which led to Gauthier's firing in 2002 after three consecutive seasons of missing out on the playoffs. Nevertheless, the resume was good enough for the Molsons to promote Gauthier to the big chair so one-year later, has the move paid off? Let's take a look at Gauthier's moves over the past year as it relates to player personnel (list courtesy of HabsInsideOut.com):
Feb. 12, 2010: Habs acquire Dominic Moore from Florida for a second-round pick in 2011.
While Moore only played 40 games with the team before being allowed to leave as an unrestricted free agent, Moore played a key role in the Habs' playoff run last spring. Not only did he provide much-needed depth on the checking lines and an ability to win key face-offs, Moore scored probably the most memorable goal of the aforementioned playoff run, the game winner in Game 7 of the Capitals series.
March 4: Habs acquire Aaron Palushaj from St. Louis for Matt D'Agostini.
It's rather difficult to judge this trade already seeing as Palushaj has been applying his craft in Hamilton since being acquired but it would appear he could have a future as a checking winger with the team. D'Agostini's future is as a top six forward, a role that didn't seem to be in the cards here in Montreal. He has done decently well for himself in St. Louis scoring 12 goals in 52 games this season.
June 17: Habs acquire Lars Eller and Ian Schultz from St. Louis for Jaroslav Halak.
With good reason, this will most likely end up being the trade that defines Gauthier's career with the Habs. Thus far, Eller and Schultz have combined to provide very little for the organization as a whole but the move wasn't made to pay immediate dividends, though Eller was thought to be more NHL-ready than he's shown. While it can be argued that Gauthier could've gotten more in return for Halak, thus far the decision to trade Halak as opposed to Carey Price has paid off. Using any and every criteria, Price has outperformed Halak to date this season. Seeing as Price makes $1 million less than Halak, the extra money was instrumental is being able to lock-up Tomas Plekanec long-term as well.
July 1: Alex Auld signs with the Habs as a free agent.
I wasn't a big fan of this move to begin with. Nothing against Auld but at the time, I felt he was overpaid at $1 million and continue to feel the Habs overpaid to get him. But that being said, his .929 save percentage as a backup can't be denied and for the most part, Auld has given the team a chance to win during the few times he's been called upon. I still would've preferred Gauthier given Martin Biron the two-year, $1.75 million contract he got with the Rangers.
July 29: Habs acquire Dustin Boyd and Dan Ellis from Nashville for Sergei Kostitsyn.
Needless to say, this was not Gauthier's best move as general manager. Ellis never spent a day in a Habs uniform seeing as he was an impending free agent at the time of the trade and Dustin Boyd thus far has made just a cameo with the big club this season. Boyd appears to have no value to the rest of the league either having gone unclaimed on waivers twice this year. Meanwhile, Kostitsyn is starting to flourish more and more in Nashville have scored 14 goals and 30 points this year. Obviously given all that happened, Kostitsyn had to be shipped out but the fact is, the Habs appear to have gotten nothing in return for the talented player.
Aug. 2: Alexandre Picard signs with the Habs as a free agent.
Can anyone really say anything bad about this signing? Considering Picard is a depth defenseman making $600,000 who wasn't supposed to see close to the amount of playing time he has, he's more than earned his money. When he's been called upon, for the most part, he's filled in admirably.
Sept. 7: Jeff Halpern signs with the Habs as a free agent.
Much like the Alex Picard signing, how can this move be criticized? Halpern has provided a veteran presence on the checking lines and has provided more offense than could've been realistically expected with eight goals and 20 points. Halpern's face-off ability has also been welcome giving the Habs great value for a mere $600,000.
Nov. 11: Habs acquire Michaël Bournival from Colorado for Ryan O'Byrne.
Considering the losses of Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges for the season, perhaps Gauthier would take a mulligan on this one but looking at the trade value for value, obviously a verdict can't be reached yet. Bournival looks promising having been the final cut for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships and has been compared to a young Max Talbot-type player. O'Byrne has flourished in Colorado with a +8 rating in 39 games averaging around twenty minutes a game.
Dec. 28: Habs acquire James Wisniewski from Long Island for a second-round pick in 2011 and a fifth-round pick in 2012.
Bottom line, this was a move made out of necessity after the injuries to Markov and Gorges. Wisniewski has been a tremendous fit with the Habs so far averaging close to a point a game during his 15 games with the team and adding a big shot from the point (just ask Max Pacioretty). He's been asked to play monster minutes and has done so quite well giving the Habs great value considering they didn't have to give up anything more than draft picks. Should Gauthier be able to lock up Wisniewski long-term after the season, it would make the trade even more of a steal seeing as Wisniewski is about to enter his prime.
Dec. 31: Brett Festerling and a fifth-round choice in 2012 acquired from Anaheim for Max Lapierre.
It seems pretty obvious at this point that this move was addition by subtraction. Lapierre didn't contribute a whole hell of a lot with the Canadiens and has done even less in his dozen games with the Ducks. The miniscule hole he left on the roster has been filled by the rest of the checking line forwards on the team and often times, it's pretty easy to forget Lapierre was ever even on the Canadiens.
Overall, Gauthier has done a pretty admirable job. Aside from his transactions, he has been able to sign Carey Price and Tomas Plekanec to contracts that no fan would complain about. The fact that he isn't a big name, is quiet almost to the point of enigmatic and doesn't appear very personable doesn't help his popularity in this town. When it comes down to it, however, Gauthier has managed a team that among the better ones in the Eastern Conference. The results speak for themselves.
Photo: André Pichette, La Presse
About Will Martinez
Will Martinez runs the 'Hey, My Name is Will' blog and is a contributor for TheFranchise.ca. You can follow Will on Twitter @heymynameiswill
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