Cowhide and Rubber

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?

Aside from talking about possible trades and signings, and then endlessly dissecting them when they do or don’t happen, there’s one thing I will have the most fun with concerning free agency:

Habs fans blaming Pierre Gauthier for the head scratching moves that are bound to come.

You see, once the Habs came up roses after the Olympic break, and once they went real deep in the playoffs, everyone was showering former GM Bob Gainey with praise. THIS was the team he intended, and THIS was the team that was going to return the team to glory! He was a genius, the man who built a great and formidable team. I wanted to join the festivities, but couldn’t. Not fully, anyway. Don’t get me wrong: he does deserve some praise for putting this group together. They *are* a pretty good team, but there are still clear and glaring holes, and big questions to be answered in the next year.

I love Gainey as much as anyone, but let’s recognize the bind that he left Pierre Gauthier in. After last summer’s shopping spree, he left the Habs with scant cap flexibility, meaning new GM Pierre Gauthier will probably have to unload some salaries for nothing in return except for the luxury of perhaps resigning guys he already had. Essentially, the same team, for more money and for a long, long time.  Or, he could lose the guys he has, and still pay a lot of money for lesser players. Finally, he could trade assets to replace guys that he had just a couple months earlier. That’s not my idea of improvement, and it’s not the way to build a contender.

If you’re content with this team’s make-up, more power to you. If you like the mix that went a long way this season despite the Head Coach’s ineptness, wonderful. If you believe that the team will only be better with a year under their belt, and less injuries to endure, terrific.

But I think a team has to constantly improve and that includes making tough choices and bold moves. Gainey, for all the good he did in building this team, left Gauthier with little wiggle room for the next several seasons.

So when the Habs take the ice next year with either an overpriced Plekanec (he will get more than he’s worth simply because of the lack of free agent talent available), or someone else who isn’t as good as Plekanec, don’t be so quick to blame Gauthier. And when Gauthier is up against the cap and wondering what to do with pending unrestricted free agent Andrei Markov, get off his case. He’s not going to have wads of money to throw around. And if he does, it’s because he cut anchor with a lot of high priced guys for draft picks and cheap bodies. I’ve made it clear that I don’t like the Habs current management and coaching group (aside from assistant coach Kirk Muller), but if we’re going to bash a guy, we have to be fair about it, and I just don’t see Habs fans doing that simply because it’s easier to criticize Gauthier than it is Gainey, especially now that he’s gone (perhaps Gainey foresaw this storm brewing and simply didn’t want to deal with it?).

Sure, Gauthier gladly accepted the job once the Habs concluded that their exhaustive hiring process proved that he was brightest gem shining from underneath all the thousands of overturned stones, but there’s only so much a guy can do. It’s now his job to improve this team, but he can only work with what he has.