Hackett
BAKAMAN
I think where you and I may disagree is Tinordi. I am very worried he will become a Patrick Traverse ....
At least it will give you some more current material for your avatar
I think where you and I may disagree is Tinordi. I am very worried he will become a Patrick Traverse ....
drewiske is really underrated, hes gonna surprise alot of ppl next year (if he gets the opportunity). dude is a solid all around 5/6 d-man
That's what I don't get - yes I personally would've loved Lecavalier here and remain convicted that 5x5 would've gotten it done - but why does a busted up Briere with awful stats end up signing for much MORE than Ryder and Desharnais?
So far Bergevin has done very little to impress me but I will say that I'm very bitter about Gainey's tenure and will project a lot of that onto Bergevin until he proves otherwise. Hearing about "prices were too high" (but signing Briere) and "we build from within" (but not trading for better picks or acquiring more) doesn't reassure me - it reminds me.
This would make a ton of sense had it not been for the fact that a) we're just under the cap limit and have glaring holes in our defense and b) he just signed an expensive UFA to a NMC contract.
So, yes, in the imaginary world you live in - Bergevin's moves make sense.
and yet, you'd be OK with a Vinny making more money, for longer term... even though we have Plekanec under contract for a few more years, Eller who's ready for top 6 duties, Galchenuyk who should be as good as Vinny is now in a year or two at most... and DD...
A lot of us believe that Lecavalier is a better hockey player than Briere and a better fit for this team.
Believe me, your bitterness is coming through, loud and clear. It seems you are so blinded by it that you grossly exaggerate to the point that your posts read like baseless whining. Busted up? How do you call Briere busted up in comparison to Lecavalier?? And in the same sentence, you claim Briere signs for much MORE than Ryder or DD - don't know if you follow the NHL salary system, but in the NHL 500k is not very much. Yet this is the difference between Briere and your examples.
I can't even read your posts anymore without an immediate , followed by a
I'm "over" missing out on Lecavalier, but my points against Bergevin stand.and yet, you'd be OK with a Vinny making more money, for longer term... even though we have Plekanec under contract for a few more years, Eller who's ready for top 6 duties, Galchenuyk who should be as good as Vinny is now in a year or two at most... and DD...
This would make a ton of sense had it not been for the fact that a) we're just under the cap limit and have glaring holes in our defense and b) he just signed an expensive UFA to a NMC contract.
So, yes, in the imaginary world you live in - Bergevin's moves make sense.
hard to get why some people don't see this...
Most of the negative reaction to the Briere signing is based on the poor fit he is for our existing group of players.
That, coupled with his age, declining production & injury issues, all add up to a signing that is more "shot in the dark" than high probability upgrade.
Lecavalier, for current level of play, role, fit within our group and potential impact, was a much better option, missing out on him shouldn't have led to the knee-jerk Briere signing imo.
Morrow, likewise, is a better fit than Briere... we may still sign him, but with the Briere addition it means we likely need to move an existing roster player and/or make it near impossible for a young guy to earn a spot out of camp (not as big a deal since we don't have anyone clearly ready for a top-9 role)
First of all Lecavalier has played more games and has more goals and points (I eyeballed it, not 100% sure) in the past five years.
Secondly, did you not see Briere's game in recent years? His absolutely horrible Corsi (and all that) + his perimeter game + the fact that he produces best as a centre? His concussion issues and his size? The fact that his non-physical game will only contribute to the greater, overall problem the Habs' offense has had for the last ~10 years (minus the Patches-DD-Cole like of last year)?
These are red-flags to me. These read like major, major indictments against a player who ought to have nothing to do on a team that already features the shortest, softest players in the league by a long, long shot.
And you know what? I even said that I expect Briere to put in a good season, he's very talented and seems like he has something to prove. My knock is on Bergevin who should not have even targeted him to begin with. You're claiming this is baseless and that the difference in salary doesn't matter. I'm claiming that Lecavalier (and other players) make >500k more but bring so many other elements to a team that they make up the difference in many ways.
But I'm fine with not having Lecavalier going into the season - we have a good team and blah blah blah. My "baseless whining" is because Bergevin didn't target any d-men, it's that he extended Bouillon, Drewiskie and Desharnais, it's that our 4th line centre is a rookie smurf... it's that Bergevin's timidity on the market is compounded by him being a tightwad and that we'll never be players on the market. Philly got Lecavalier at a discount, make no mistake. We paid through the nose for Briere.
We still don't have a "good" top4 d-man. We still will employ a ludicrous defensive scheme. We still will end up struggling against teams with big d-men. We will over-rely on Subban on the and otherwise have a very static, very ugly scheme. We won't clear the crease on the PK ever and by the same token the opposing goalie will rarely have to deal with any of our players in his face.
We're a small, weak team. In positions where we could potentially change that image (3rd line C, bottom2 D, 4th line C) Bergevin doubled-down on sticking with the Smurf show. That's what bothers me.
I'm "over" missing out on Lecavalier, but my points against Bergevin stand.
Eller is not ready for top6 duties, not from what we saw last year (games where Plekanec was out or played poorly, Eller underperformed) - he could step up drastically but he could also not (depends on Therrien as well of course).
Plekanec brings a great two-way ethic but not size or game-breaking talent - we've seen him in the playoffs and he's steady and great defensively but does not bring an extra gear offensively.
Galchenyuk is a bit of a wild-card in that he could end up tearing the league up next year or not... we don't know.
Desharnais' contract is Bergevin's miscarriage so bringing him up only ratifies my view that Bergevin is an arbitrary, penny-pinching, arrogant idiot much like Gainey.
For more on why you're wrong: see the above two posts.