Cowhide and Rubber

While the rest of the hockey world focuses on what a Russian star will be doing in 2027, let’s focus for a few minutes on what a closer to home Russian star will be doing in 2011.

It would not be sacrilege to say that Andrei Markov belongs in the same conversation with Doug Harvey, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe and Chris Chelios as some of the best defensemen the team has ever had. When he’s in the lineup, the Canadiens are a drastically better team than when he’s not in the lineup. His tenure as current longest service Canadien and his undeniable skill has put him in the conversation to be the team’s next captain. Yes, Markov is without a doubt one of the franchise’s all-time best; one of the bright spots, along with Saku Koivu during some depressing years in Montreal. It should also come as no surprise that if Markov plays his entire career as a member of the Canadiens, he will have his jersey retired whether he wins a Cup or Norris trophy, or neither. Have I made my feelings on him clear? Is this enough of a disclaimer? I hope so, because some of you may not like me when you finish this article.

Markov is entering the final season on a contract that pays him a very palatable $5.75 million dollars per season. At that price, Markov is an absolute steal. Based on his numbers and abilities, he ought to be making at least $7 million dollars. Come July 1st, 2011, he’ll probably get somewhere close to that number. The question is – who will be the one to give it to him, and for how long?

Markov has suffered 3 major injuries to his lower body in the past 18 months. Maple Leafs pest Mikhail Grabovsky sent him flying in to the boards, which demolished his knee. He missed the end of the season and the sweep vs the Bruins in 08-09. To kick off the 09-10 campaign, he had his achilles nearly severed by Carey Price’s skate blade. After a shorter than expected rehab (but still too long for the Habs and their fans), he made his return and everyone thought the worst was behind him. Wrong. In the second round of the playoffs, Penguins dirtbag Matt Cooke knocked Markov off his feet and in to the boards. The awkwardness of the fall again badly messed up his knee. Don’t kid yourself, these injuries take their toll, and it doesn’t take much when you’re older than 30 to permanently lose a step. This on top of the injuries that Markov has suffered in the earlier stages of his career. These all add up and have their cumulative effects. When Markov returns from his latest setback, the microscope will be on him more than ever. Has he lost that step? Can he still keep the opposition’s top players at bay? Trust me, everyone will be watching.

So here we find ourselves today wrestling over what to do with Markov as his free agency looms. Make no mistake, until Canadiens General Manager Pierre Gauthier says something definitive, which he won’t, this will be among the top 3 topics of conversation among Canadiens fans this year.

The pollyanna-ish hope is to give Markov a new offer and simply he’ll sign it. All indications are that he loves Montreal, and wants to play his entire career here. Sure, that sounds simple enough, but sadly it doesn’t reflect the full reality of the situation. Surprisingly, in the era of the salary cap the Canadiens tight cap situation is not the biggest factor in whether or not Markov resumes his career with the bleu-blanc-rouge.

Does he really want to be here? Would he be willing to sign a similar deal to the one that is expiring? If the answer is yes to both of those, then Markov will be back, sans doute and Habs fans everywhere should smile at their good fortune. On the flip side, if he wants to be here, but for upwards of $7 million for 5-6 years…houston, we have a problem.

It takes two to tango. Do the Canadiens want him back? He’s a good guy, a team leader and means a ton the team’s success or failure. None of those things are the issue. Do they think he’s reliable enough from a durability standpoint, considering he’s on the wrong side of 30 to continue being the team’s #1 defenseman? That’s a question none of us have the answers to, as much as we think we might. No doubt at some point this year we’ll hear a clip from the tight-lipped Gauthier that will sound an awful lot like:

“Andrei Markov is a key part of this franchise and we’d love to have him back as a part of this team going forward.”

This is nothing but canned speech. Of course they’d love to have him back…what else are they going to say?

“We think Andrei has run his course as a member of this team, and we’re going to look at trading him”. This destroys his trade potential trade value.

“We are going to let Andrei explore his options come July 1st”. This would spawn a public relations nightmare. I’ll eat my monitor if we ever hear either of those from the Canadiens.

If the Canadiens truly want Markov back, then Gauthier will need to break away from tradition and find a way to get Markov signed to an extension before the trade deadline. Why before the trade deadline? Two reasons (at least):

1) Because Gauthier cannot risk losing Markov for nothing after July 1st, 2011.

Some team will be willing and able to pay more than the Canadiens can afford for Markov, and he’s worth way too much in terms of prospects and picks to simply let walk away for nothing in return. Yes, the Canadiens will have some cap room, but not a ton of it. They can’t get carried away and start matching $7+ million dollar offers for his services on a long-term contract that will take Markov in to his late 30’s. If he has his priorities straight, Gauthier will get him signed to a reasonable long-term contract before he is wooed by teams looking to bolster their playoff chances. But as I said, the cap isn’t really the issue.

2) Avoid the inevitable distractions.

I’m aware that the Canadiens don’t typically weaken themselves at the deadline, or wave the white flag on the season, but I don’t want to hear anything from Gauthier and the Canadiens along the lines of staying status quo and negotiating when the season concludes. The hand-wringing and hair-pulling will reach fever pitch in Montreal as the season progresses if Markov remains unsigned. The media will incessantly flog this issue on the radio, on tv, in print and on the web until (and after) it is resolved. The fans will light forums, blogs and twitter ablaze with nervosity. It will be unavoidable, and such issues of this magnitude always disrupt team unity and divide fan bases.

Yes, I know. The mantra in Montreal is ”playoffs-or-bust”. This mantra usually means that the Habs hang on to their assets in an attempt to ensure 8th place or better. This time its different. This is not the same as letting beloved captain Saku Koivu go for nothing. Markov is worth far more than Koivu. If Brian Burke can demand a King’s ransom for Tomas Kaberle (which, granted, has yet to be met), Gauthier can ask for a God’s ransom for Markov and be more likely to get it. This cannot be ignored. It would be downright silly and irresponsible for Gauthier to not know what he can get for Markov via trade, just in case he can’t get him signed before the deadline. Many people don’t like Gauthier already, and for him to bury his head in the sand would do nothing but stoke those fires. Every General Manager knows what his assets are worth, whether he wants to move them or not, and if he doesn’t, I’m willing to bet that his team isn’t doing very well.

At the end of the day, I believe, and hope Markov will be back as a member of the Canadiens. Pierre Gauthier has surprised me during his brief reign as General Manager, and I think he’ll do things the right way here. I can never know the answer to this, but I believe Markov wants to remain a member of the team, and Gauthier knows that he has one of the league’s top-5 defensemen in his stable. But Habs fans should absolutely prepare themselves for the possibility, however remote, that Markov be elsewhere come opening day of the 2011-2012 season. It’s a heartbreaking possibility, but one that if you aren’t prepared for it, your resulting sadness and anger will be brought on by none other than yourself. We should have all learned this lesson multiple times as free agent after free agent left Montreal for other cities in recent years. Only Plekanec’s recent signing has turned the tide. At the very least, prepare yourself for LOTS of chatter from fans who insist that Markov be traded before he walks away for nothing. It’s the nature of the beast in this town and we should all be used to it by now.

However, if Markov is not extended by March 2nd, 3 p.m. EST, I would stock up on crying towels.

Just in case.

The braying fools are in a tizzy again.

Habs General Manager Pierre Gauthier has made a blunder for the ages! He told Simon Gagné that he wasn’t going to do the equivalent of grabbing his ankles while bending over backwards to have him for 1 year.

Good for Gauthier, says I.

Yes, I know. Gagné is a proven scorer and has been for a decade. He’s also injury prone, but lets not let the facts get in the way of a good piece of fiction.

Gagné and his 5+ million dollar contract was made expendable once the Flyers brought in Nikolai Zherdev. As the story goes, Gagné’s agent phoned Canadiens GM Gauthier before anyone else and asked if there was interest, and if a deal could be made.

“Thanks, but no thanks…no cap room” was the response from the Habs.

Apparently that’s not a good enough answer for many who see the salary cap as nothing but a minor detail. For some, it would have been better to pull the trigger on the deal for the all-star forward and worry about the cap situation later. But is that the smartest thing to do? Gagné was on record as saying that he would have been willing to try Montreal for a year, and see where it goes. It doesn’t take a genius to see that the Canadiens would not have the means next year to sign Gagné to a long-term deal next season. Yes, Markov, and Hamrlik come off the books. Right there is 11 million in cap room saved. There’s also a bunch of RFAs that will come around again, and potential captain Josh Gorges will be seeking a raise. Oh, and don’t the Canadiens do a lot better with Markov in the lineup? That’s right, they do.

In order to make the deal happen now, the Canadiens would have had to send a prospect or a a player that makes next to nothing to Philadelphia for Gagné. The Flyers were not in a position to take on any additional heavy salary. But taking on Gagné also puts the Canadiens well over the cap, and Carey Price (and 2 more depth players) have yet to sign. Wait, it gets stickier. In order to make room for a top-6 forward, Gauthier would then have to move a top-6 forward. We know Gomez, Plekanec, Gionta and Cammalleri aren’t going anywhere. This leaves Benoit Pouliot and Andrei Kostitsyn as potential moveable pieces. Moving Pouliot and his 1.35 million dollar deal isn’t enough to get the Habs back under the cap. So that leaves no other option except moving Andrei Kostitsyn and his 3.25 million dollar deal. “No biggie”, many fans would say. “Good riddance”, many others would say. Not only would Kostitsyn have to go, but probably another lowly paid player in order to bring back the buffer zone under the cap would have to be dealt.

Does moving Kostitsyn make sense in this case? He will be a restricted free agent at the end of next season, and at the age of 26, will be entering his prime. He’s not worth moving now solely to make space for a more expensive player that would not deliver all that much more than Kostitsyn can, if he’s engaged, used properly and healthy. Yes, Gagné is a much more proven scorer than Kostitsyn. Yes, Kostitsyn had only 15 goals last year. That was an off year, an abberation, and everyone should know it. He’s far more likely to net 25 than 15 again, and we all know he could easily hit 30 if things go right for him. Under Jacques Martin’s system, Gagné would be lucky to hit 30 goals – if he stayed healthy. We’ve not even spoken about if Gagné is a fit with the Canadiens. With Gionta and Cammalleri established as snipers on the team, and on the powerplay, is there enough ice for a 3rd highly paid sniper? In a defensive, passive system where the Canadiens play shorthanded more than they do with the man advantage? Probably not.

At next season’s end, we’ll see just how much Gagné wants to play in Montreal. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent, and if he wants to be here so badly, he’ll listen closely to Pierre Gauthier, if Gauthier so chooses to make a pitch for his services.

I don’t truly believe that Simon Gagné wanted to be here, at least not for the long-term. What we’ve been witness to is “public relations” and “saving face”. I believe that Gauthier was prudent in not trying to move mountains to bring in a highly paid, injury prone (yet terrific) player. We’ve been down the road of giving up a lot for the services of a talented Quebec-born player for a single season before, and we saw how that went.

Remember Alex Tanguay?

He’s baaaaack!

Ok, so by now it’s old news to all Habs fans, but Pleky is going to ply his trade in Montreal until 2016, at a 5 million dollar cap hit per season. It’s a little bit more than I would have liked to see him signed for (the length is perfect, in my opinion), but given the dearth of competent, legitimate 2-way centermen on the free agent market, the deal he signed has to be viewed as a bargain by the Habs and their fans.

The problem I do see, however, is twofold (and not unexpected):

1. Gauthier had to expend a lot of cap space in keeping Plekanec, and he had to shed Halak in order to do it. In other words, we are still looking at the same team, albeit a more expensive one that is not in any way improved.
2. The Canadiens are still very small down the middle. Individually, I like Gomez and Plekanec. Money aside, I really do. But their size is a problem. After the Penguins series, I was all hopped up and told the hockey world to shut it’s fat yapper forever about the “small” Habs. I guess I spoke too soon because the way the Flyers kept the Habs at bay was a rude awakening. Leighton had 3 shutouts, not because he was incredible, but because he was not called upon very often to make big, in-close saves. The Habs were simply unable to penetrate the Flyers big defensive squad. So yeah, as usual, size IS a problem, and has been for well over a decade. Gauthier must address this, but I’m not holding my breath.

Gionta, Gomez, Cammalleri and Plekanec are all under 6 feet tall, which leaves 2 forward spots open on the top lines. Currently, they are occupied by Andrei Kostitsyn, and (most likely) Benoit Pouliot. Both have the size and skill to scratch the itch, but do they have the will to get dirty and provide the muscle and sandpaper the Canadiens desperately need up front? I don’t think so. Trading Kostitsyn will free up cap space and allow Gauthier to find a grittier guy. Trading Pouliot will bring nothing but future considerations. I’m not in love with the idea of trading AK46 because his type of talent doesn’t grow on trees, but if moving him can fill a need and improve the team, then it should be done, right? That’s the whole point isn’t it- to have a better team?

How else can Gauthier improve this team? If he can move either Hamrlik or Spacek, that would also help. They were valiant this year for the Habs in Markov’s absence, and because the latter will be out of action (AGAIN!) for the first couple months of the year, perhaps Gauthier can’t or shouldn’t move them.

In short, I’m not sure that Gauthier has much choice but to ice virtually the same team as last season, but at a higher cost. So before we slam him for failing to improve the team, let’s recall my post from last week, in which I point out that Gainey was the one that put together this good, but expensive team that is laced with costly, lengthy and almost unmoveable contracts. What we see is what we will get for many years.

How would you improve the Habs for next year?

Note: Congratulations to Mathieu Darche, who’s dedication, work ethic, and relatively good play earned him his first ever one-way contract in the NHL. He’ll stick around next season to mentor young kids and play a depth role. He’ll also find time in the press box, but he won’t gripe one bit about it. He’ll be carefully observing and taking mental notes; I’m certain we will see this guy wearing a different title within the Habs organization one day soon.

Note #2: Check out Five Hole For Food, and please consider contributing to the cause next week. Ball hockey, charity, and a stick signed by your Habs up for the most generous food donater…what’s not to like?

As a Habs fan with a blog, I thought it would be almost compulsory to write yet another blog about the Halak trade, but I’m not going to do that. There are a lot of blogs already out there that already sum up what I feel (in summary: inevitable, necessary, smart).

Instead of adding to the chatter, I want to post a roundup of some of the Halak blogs written in the past couple days:

All Habs: Halak Fans Singing the Blues

The Active Stick: The Halak trade may not actually be the end of the world

The Daily Hab-It: Everyone Breathe Deeply and For What It’s Worth

Schmitzy Says: I’m back. You might not like me though. But I don’t super dig many of you right now either. So sue me.

Habs Loyalist: Obituaries

The Checking Line: BREAKING NEWS: Jaroslav Halak Traded to St. Louis Blues

Eric Engels at HockeyBuzz: Gauthier Trades Halak to Blues. Commits to Price and Salary Space.

That ought to fill your cup many times over, if you haven’t read enough already. These are all worth reading for their own merits and the whole spectrum of opinion is represented here. If I forgot any blogs, please let me know and I’ll add them to the list.

Enjoy!

P.S. Be sure to check out my blog post that I wrote Wednesday before the Halak deal went down, advocating Pierre Gauthier’s need to make bold moves.

Those who follow hockey know that the Montreal Canadiens simply aren’t a hockey team to the people of Quebec. They represent so much more. While, the governments of Quebec and Montreal continually raise taxes, roads and overpasses crumble, public transit is in a constant state of confusion, and the health & education systems are a mess. Some people get upset and send letters to the editor of the local paper, or phone in to the local AM talk radio show to offer up their anger and suggestions, but overall, these issues are met with a collective shrug. Very few things can move the needle among the population, but the Habs are undoubtedly one of those things. From the Richard riot of 1955, to the 1993 Stanley Cup riot, to the  ”Bring Back Kovalev” protest of summer 2009, people mobilize in celebration, anger and randomness in the name of le bleu, blanc et rouge.

In case you missed the bulletin, let me refresh your memory: Bob Gainey stepped aside as General Manager of the Canadiens, passing the torch to the “man he trusts the most”, Pierre Gauthier. The move has people scratching their heads. The biggest question on the minds of Canadiens fans now is why was Gauthier handed the General Manager’s position without the team conducting a thorough search for the best replacement available. In what is perhaps a classic case of fence sitting, or public relations posturing depending on your view, Canadiens President Pierre Boivin strongly asserts that the Head Coach, General Manager, and President at the very least be bilingual, if not Francophone altogether. According to him, given that the majority of Quebecers are Francophone, hiring people that can communicate in both languages at that level of the organization demonstrates the “minimum of respect” to the majority of French-speaking Quebecers. I’m sure people here appreciate that. But to suggest that the talent pool of bilingual candidates is a wide ranging one is cockeyed optimism at best. The result of Boivin’s policy is that now the Canadiens are stuck with Pierre Gauthier and Jacques Martin; two men who define mediocrity no matter how you spin their careers. These two are a package deal, each with 3 years left on their contracts. Perhaps when that day comes for the Molsons to give them both the axe, they will also fix their gaze on President Pierre Boivin, who clearly cares more for marketing, politics and profitability than excellence on the ice. Perhaps that’s his job description, but if the team realizes any on-ice success, it is merely a bonus. This philosophy has trickled down the Habs org chart, right down to the coach and players, who, to a man seem happy and satisfied with just making the playoffs. If, as most believe, they are summarily bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Washington Capitals, we can expect to hear the same old platitudes: “We’ll work hard in the off season and come back fresh, strong and re focused for next season”. If you are unable to distinguish if that comes out of the most of a player, coach or executive, you would not be alone.

I always thought that excellence was the expectation of the Canadiens. With Boivin’s current policy, he is probably eliminating 90% of candidates that would be be otherwise qualified to work for 29 other teams in the league. I can willingly accept the notion of having a francophone/bilingual coach, under the condition that he be the best man for the job, and not someone who benefits simply by virtue of being a Quebecer (when Guy Boucher becomes Head Coach, I will be among the first to roll out the red carpet for him). But to suggest that the General Manager and President must be bilingual is silly. Ask yourself this: Would Pierre Gauthier be on any other team’s shortlist if they were looking for a new GM? Highly unlikely given his track record, unless the NHL expanded to 45 teams. I believe that while the 29 other teams go after the best personnel available, the Canadiens are tying one hand behind their back with their self-imposed restrictions. Would shareholders of a company search far and wide to hire the best qualified CEO, or would they settle for the best guy from their own backyard?

It goes without saying that the bond between Quebecers (not to alienate the legions of fans outside of Quebec) for their Habs is deep and undying. Being able to understand the words that come out of the mouths of the men who lead the organization is important to many native Francophones who may not speak any English. But I would venture to guess that winning transcends any linguistic boundary. It certainly did when Bowman, Blake, Selke and Pollock were hoisting banner after banner after banner to the rafters at the Forum. I would wager that fans of any language would prefer to see a multilingual team popping champagne corks together in celebration rather than a bland, passionless, morose, sullen, platitude, cliché-ridden press conference expressing disappointment at how the season just didn’t work out the way they had hoped. Again.

I’ve been asking myself if the linguistic abilities of the managers, coaches and players on the rosters of other deeply important teams matters to their local fans. To get an idea, I’ve asked a couple friends that I follow on twitter to answer some simple questions. This is about as small and unscientific of a process that you’ll find. While these are the opinions of a couple of dudes, they are nevertheless well informed sports fans.

I’ve asked Michael Carter, who hails from England, to answer on behalf of Manchester United fans; and Howie Sussman to answer for the New York Yankees, two teams who I think you would agree mean as much to their local fanbases as the Canadiens do in Quebec.

1) Here’s a classic “would you rather” scenario: A championship-caliber team year after year, with a mix of nationalities, or a mediocre team (that is as likely to be successful as they are to fail) loaded with with guys that you can understand when they speak, and come from your own backyard?

Michael:

In my own opinion, the well-being of the team should be the priority rather than just which languages the coach can speak, although I realise that having a grasp of the French language would benefit a Habs coach during his media duties. I know this first hand after getting lost over in Gatineau, QC in November and not understanding anything anyone was saying to me!

From my soccer team’s (Man U) point of view, we have a long standing coach of 24 years who is from Scotland and a wide mix of different nationalities, including home grown British talent as well. If a overseas coach were to eventually succeed our current coach I would welcome them as long as he were the right man for the job.

If any coach over here only had limited English then it would only be scrutinized by the media here if he were not getting results. If the team were playing well and winning then it would not be an issue where he was from or which language was his mother tongue.

The British media made a big issue a few years ago when Arsenal fielded a whole first 11 for a game which did not include a single British player. Whereas I would always like good homegrown talent coming through for my team too, I would not like the whole team to be made up of overseas players, but then I guess it all comes down to how the team is performing.

From a Habs point of view I think it’s important for the club to always remember the French roots of the team and the region, but not to make this the only option for a coach and/or players.

Howie:

I want the best team possible and am not concerned about where they come from since to me that has no bearing on how well they play.

2) Is the mother tongue of your team’s roster, coaches, and management a topic of discussion among fans and media currently? To the best of your memory, has it ever been an issue?

Michael:

This has never been an issue at my club, but the only times I can remember it has been an issue is as stated earlier when Arsenal fielded a whole team of overseas players for a game, and to a lesser extent when Chelsea hired an Italian coach around 5-6 years ago who had very limited English and needed an interpreter during interviews.

The latter issue did not dominate the press pages too much as the team were not exactly struggling because of this, for instance his team already had Italian players who could speak English so I don’t believe it caused too many problems.

Howie:

I don’t think that’s the case, I believe that the team goes out and tries to acquire the best talent available, whether through trade or free agent signing. They also try to draft the best players they can at their position, regardless of where they come from. I really don’t think it matters where a player comes from; if they can play their position well even if they don’t speak the native language, that is the only thing that should.

3) Do you think your team proactively seeks talent that can communicate with the fanbase so that this doesn’t become an issue, or will they take on the best player, coach, or manager, period? In other words, is the focus on politics and public relations, or winning?

Michael:

The majority of clubs in the Premier League do spend a lot of time and money on their academy systems and bringing young British players through the ranks and up to the first team, but at the same time there is a good mix of overseas players in 95% of the team rosters over here, which has helped the league here become one of the best in the league. There is a great belief here that if British players are good enough then they can break into the team rosters here regardless of the overseas talent available.

If you asked most fans here, the bottom line is performing well and winning. It’s not much enjoyment for anyone in any sport just to keep it to a homegrown roster while the team is failing miserably. British players aren’t always the best policy in improving the team in soccer, and I guess the same can be said about French Canadian coaches and players in hockey.

Howie:

I don’t think that’s the case, I believe that the team goes out and tries to acquire the best talent available, whether through trade or free agent signing. They also try to draft the best players they can at their position, regardless of where they come from. I really don’t think it matters where a player comes from; if they can play their position well even if they dont speak the native language, that is the only thing that should.

Although these represent just two opinions, clearly the priority is on getting the best people in to the organization, and language is not much of a consideration if the team is successful on the diamond or pitch. As I said at the outset, winning is the universal language in sports.

I’d love to hear your take. Is Pierre Boivin correct to suggest that finding bilingual people is the “minimum of respect” that the Canadiens can show to the majority of Quebecers? Is he being ignorant of the millions of fans outside of Quebec who perhaps feel as though they are being shortchanged by his policy of nepotism? After all, how could the Habs be considered a global brand if all of their global fans were driven away by mediocrity?

How would you run things if you were calling the shots?

I’d like to give a big thanks to Michael and Howie giving up their time to answer these questions. I owe you both a tall, frosty one!