Unsigned Players

On Jun 12, 4:09 pm, Chuck <barberphoto... DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote:
>
> If Dandy is still here next season it will be more a case of not
> wanting to buy him out, or no trade interest which will keep him on
> the roster

They won't want to buy him out and there won't likely be any trade
interest. But that's independent from the likelihood that there's
also nobody on Hamilton capable of stepping up and taking his job
either. If the unlikely transpires... any of the unlikelys... then
Dandenault could indeed lose his spot. If somebody offers us a draft
pick for him, we take it and run. If the numbercrunchers on the Habs
suffer from temporary dementia and buy him out. Or if some kid in
camp really performs above what we can normally expect and emerges as
a superior option, then Dandenault could lose his job and get waived/
demoted. Any of it is possible, but I would expect the greatest
likelihood is that Dandenault just stays on as an experienced spare
with some versatility for the Habs in 2008-09.

l8r,
Gerry
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On Jun 11, 9:40 pm, Chuck <barberphoto....RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jun 11, 1:58 pm, sowhat <nos....RemoveThis@all.com> wrote:
>
> > 3 mill a year for someone who can't crack the top 6 D or play forward
> > on the first two lines ? Streit is a specialist on the power play and a
> > very useful guy to have around but certainly not for as much money as
> > some GM will be ready to give him. I bet someone will offer him more
> > than 3 million a year.
>
> Has he ever been given a chance to play an extended period of time
> with top two line quality linemates?

My observation is that Mark Streit can put up numbers consistent with
a second line forward (45-50 points or more for a winger).
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On Jun 12, 10:05 am, Gerry <gerr....RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Jun 11, 1:58 pm, sowhat <nos....RemoveThis@all.com> wrote:
>
> > 3 mill a year for someone who can't crack the top 6 D or play forward
> > on the first two lines ? Streit is a specialist on the power play and a
> > very useful guy to have around but certainly not for as much money as
> > some GM will be ready to give him. I bet someone will offer him more
> > than 3 million a year.
>
> I agree that somebody probably would offer him more than $3M a year.
> A PP specialist actually is a fairly high demand item for some teams
> out there.  Not for our team, though, and I wouldn't pay a premium for
> it on the Habs.
>
> $2M per year is probably my personal ceiling on a new deal for
> Streit.  I could probably understand Gainey going a bit above my $2M
> since the Habs do seem to have a bit of a track record for
> compensating guys who were maybe playing well on bargain contracts the
> year before, and Streit has definitely been a HUGE bargain for us on
> his recently expired deal.  But still, that kind of thing only goes so
> far, and I'd be critical if we re-signed him above $2.5M per.
>
> Perhaps naively, I still hold out some hope that Streit would actually
> take that kind of money to stay with the Habs, though, and pre-empt
> the opportunity to see just how high his pricetag could go on the open
> market.  But who knows.
>
> l8r,
> Gerry

I think Streit WILL agree to stay at $2.5M. The problem to me is more
that he wants to play lots of D, and I see him as a good two-way LW
with PP point skills.
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On Jun 12, 10:15 am, Gerry <gerr....RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Jun 12, 9:00 am, Rick Currie <rickcurri....RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I'm gonna have to disagree about bumping Begin off the roster.  I think
> > he is more valuable than people give him credit for.  He's a high energy
> > player than can produce the odd timely goal.  I notice that they are a
> > different team sometimes without him in the lineup.  He's not top line
> > material, but 8-10 minutes a game and he can be highly effective.  The
> > only knock on him is he seems a litte injury prone, but I would say that
> > is directly related to the way he plays the game, he has no respect for
> > his body on most of his shifts.
>
> Totally agreed.  Begin is also ready to put his teeth in front of a
> shot while killing penalties, and he's a more effective agitator than
> anybody else on the roster (more annoying and willing to get dirt
> under his fingernails than Lapierre IMHO).
>
> It's too bad he can't seem to stay healthy, of course.  I think lately
> he has mostly been playing with a variety of nagging problems.  But
> doesn't anybody remember back a little bit before this year, when he
> was a real flavour-of-the-month popular guy when he was 100% healthy,
> some people promoted him for a letter, were wishing we had a team of
> 20 Begins based on his work ethic and ability to chip in.  I think
> he's still an effective member of a 23-man NHL roster based on his
> 2007-08 performance, mind you.  But if he ever rebounded to 2005-06
> levels, he'd be a hero again.  We have ample room for that.
>
> There's nobody in Hamilton who is capable of stealing that spot on the
> team.  I'm not even sure there's anybody capable of unseating
> Dandenault, which is more worrisome.  But at any rate, a lack of
> really gritty grit might still be considered something of a weakness
> from the Habs last year, so removing Begin from the equation would be
> all the more unthinkable from that perspective too.
>
> l8r,
> Gerry

Lack of gritty grit is why I think Stewart has a shot at 13th or 14th
forward.
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On Jun 13, 4:50 pm, Victor <vicle... DeleteThis @sympatico.ca> wrote:
> On Jun 12, 10:05 am, Gerry <gerr... DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jun 11, 1:58 pm, sowhat <nos... DeleteThis @all.com> wrote:
>
> > > 3 mill a year for someone who can't crack the top 6 D or play forward
> > > on the first two lines ? Streit is a specialist on the power play and a
> > > very useful guy to have around but certainly not for as much money as
> > > some GM will be ready to give him. I bet someone will offer him more
> > > than 3 million a year.
>
> > I agree that somebody probably would offer him more than $3M a year.
> > A PP specialist actually is a fairly high demand item for some teams
> > out there.  Not for our team, though, and I wouldn't pay a premium for
> > it on the Habs.
>
> > $2M per year is probably my personal ceiling on a new deal for
> > Streit.  I could probably understand Gainey going a bit above my $2M
> > since the Habs do seem to have a bit of a track record for
> > compensating guys who were maybe playing well on bargain contracts the
> > year before, and Streit has definitely been a HUGE bargain for us on
> > his recently expired deal.  But still, that kind of thing only goes so
> > far, and I'd be critical if we re-signed him above $2.5M per.
>
> > Perhaps naively, I still hold out some hope that Streit would actually
> > take that kind of money to stay with the Habs, though, and pre-empt
> > the opportunity to see just how high his pricetag could go on the open
> > market.  But who knows.
>
> > l8r,
> > Gerry
>
> I think Streit WILL agree to stay at $2.5M.  The problem to me is more
> that he wants to play lots of D, and I see him as a good two-way LW
> with PP point skills.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Unfortunately other then on Powerplays I do not see Streit as being
able to play the style of defence he likely played with the Swiss with
Montreal. Playing the role of an on ice quarterback, with the freedom
to roam and use his passing skills is not a 5 on 5 role he can play
with Montreal as a defenceman. As a playmaker up front he was able to
set up Ryder for I think 4 of his last goals, and was able to set
Dandaneault up aswell. As a forward he is the only consistent
playmaker they have past the top 2 lines.
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