Speculation: Alex Tanguay trade

nhlfan9191

Registered User
Aug 4, 2010
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I don’t believe that for a second. Both Price and Halak were better than him.

You’re missing the point a little. The 2008 team was very good and even if they felt Price and Halak may have been better goalies, it was still irresponsible trading away a good veteran with experience for a 2nd round pick and putting all the weight on two rookies. It was painfully obvious against the Flyers that Huet likely could’ve changed the dynamic of that series. Price did win the Calder Cup the year before and was the MVP for Hamilton but his inexperience in the NHL really showed in the playoffs that year and that’s why you keep veteran goalies around when you have a young starter, especially a 20 year old. Gainey thought he had the second coming of Patrick Roy and got burnt. It also took Price two seasons to recover.
 
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le_sean

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Oct 21, 2006
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Do I need to go into how Price looked like **** and had his confidence ruined in those playoffs? Or maybe how Huet played excellent all season and then even better in his short playoff run? Or maybe I should mention how Gainey traded Huet for NOTHING USEFUL, essentially gambling the entire season for the amazing reward of a 2nd round pick. Doesn't matter if you believe or not, it happened.

That team wasn’t winning f*** all and Huet was an average goaltender. Notice he didn’t do anything afterwards either or so I need to go into that?
 

scrubadam

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Apr 10, 2016
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You’re missing the point a little. The 2008 team was very good and even if they felt Price and Halak may have been better goalies, it was still irresponsible trading away a good veteran with experience for a 2nd round pick and putting all the weight on two rookies. It was painfully obvious against the Flyers that Huet likely could’ve changed the dynamic of that series. Price did win the Calder Cup the year before and was the MVP for Hamilton but his inexperience in the NHL really showed in the playoffs that year and that’s why you keep veteran goalies around when you have a young starter, especially a 20 year old. Gainey thought he had the second coming of Patrick Roy and got burnt. It also took Price two seasons to recover.

I think that line encapsulates the Habs problems since the last cup.

Always want the 2nd coming of Roy to the point where any and every goaltender is put on a pedastal.

I wish the team had focused as much on the second coming of Lafleur or Beauliveu or Richard over trying to find the next Roy.
 
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OneSharpMarble

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Oct 30, 2007
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That team wasn’t winning **** all and Huet was an average goaltender. Notice he didn’t do anything afterwards either or so I need to go into that?

Habs finish 1st in conference with 104points but apparently the "team wasn't winning anything" guys. Also Huet going 11-2 with Washington, essentially dragging them into the playoffs and taking a inferior team further against the Flyers than Price could means he "didn't do anything". Oh yeah Huet also won the cup with Chicago not long after. You know who wasn't a real "average" goaltender? Price in the playoffs that year, he looked mighty below average getting chased from the net while Gainey licked his lips at the sweet 2nd round pick he got.
 
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nhlfan9191

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Aug 4, 2010
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I think that line encapsulates the Habs problems since the last cup.

Always want the 2nd coming of Roy to the point where any and every goaltender is put on a pedastal.

I wish the team had focused as much on the second coming of Lafleur or Beauliveu or Richard over trying to find the next Roy.

I think they need to leave the past in the past in all positions and stop building teams with tradition in mind. The great “character” and “historic image of the great teams of the past” is getting us nowhere. The only thing that should matter is winning and if we ever want to win in a 31, soon to be 32 team league, it’s time to treat this franchise like it’s no different then any other in the NHL.

Habs finish 1st in conference with 104points but apparently the "team wasn't winning anything" guys. Also Huet going 11-2 with Washington, essentially dragging them into the playoffs and taking a inferior team further against the Flyers than Price could means he "didn't do anything". Oh yeah Huet also won the cup with Chicago not long after. You know who wasn't a real "average" goaltender? Price in the playoffs that year, he looked mighty below average getting chased from the net while Gainey licked his lips at the sweet 2nd round pick he got.

To be fair, Huet was bought out immediately following their Cup after falling apart in Chicago and didn’t contribute anything to their Cup run. He played second fiddle to Khabibulin and Niemi in the playoffs both years he was there. But I agree about 2008. I believe Huet would’ve given us atleast a fighting chance against Philadelphia. I remember he was upset and confused when he found out he was traded and wanted to be apart of our team that post season. I understand Gainey knew Huet was asking for a ridiculous contract extension which he would eventually get and wanted to get something for him, but for the return he got, there was a lot more value in just keeping him.
 

DAChampion

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May 28, 2011
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Carey Price had an awful .901 SV% in the 2008 playoffs. He is the main reason that the Flyers crushed the Habs that year.

Huet had a .909 SV% that year. However, he played with a weaker team and did not pad his stats by playing against Boston.
 
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Le Barron de HF

Justin make me proud
Mar 12, 2008
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Carey Price had an awful .901 SV% in the 2008 playoffs. He is the main reason that the Flyers crushed the Habs that year.

Huet had a .909 SV% that year. However, he played with a weaker team and did not pad his stats by playing against Boston.
Well to be fair (although this will showcase how terrible he was in the second round) his stats vs Boston were: 2.09 GAA & .925% vs 4.13 GAA & .856%
 

beowulf

Not a nice guy.
Jan 29, 2005
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Ottawa
I am probably in the minority but never liked the move. Would have rather have kept the two picks but alas too late for that now.
 

nhlfan9191

Registered User
Aug 4, 2010
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Carey Price had an awful .901 SV% in the 2008 playoffs. He is the main reason that the Flyers crushed the Habs that year.

Huet had a .909 SV% that year. However, he played with a weaker team and did not pad his stats by playing against Boston.

Carey started the first 4 games against Boston that year red hot. That game 5 was one of the most bizarre games I’ve seen from a goalie. I remember him making a good save and just throwing it out right in the slot to a Bruins player to tap in and another shot from goal line that he just watched go in without moving. The third period of that game was really where the wheels came undone and it took until the 2010/11 season for him to recover.
 
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Aug 25, 2009
10,563
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éal
Carey started the first 4 games against Boston that year red hot. That game 5 was one of the most bizarre games I’ve seen from a goalie. I remember him making a good save and just throwing it out right in the slot to a Bruins player to tap in and another shot from goal line that he just watched go in without moving. The third period of that game was really where the wheels came undone and it took until the 2010/11 season for him to recover.
You mean that?

 
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TheBuriedHab

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Jan 27, 2010
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Higgins-Koivu-Kovalev
A Kostitsyn-Plekanec-S Kostitsyn
Tanguay-Lang-Latendresse
Lapierre-Metropolit-Kostopoulos
Begin

Markov-Komisarek
Hamrlik-Schneider
Gorges-Brisebois
Dandenault-Schneider

Price
Halak

I had to write out the line up once it brings a smile to my face. Not sure if those were the exact lines but man, those were good times, before it all fell apart lol. I believe Pacioretty and Dagostini even played 30 games that year, things were looking so good. Also having Carbo and Kirk behind the bench and Bob as gm, the habs were must watch tv, such a far cry from what they are now, no flair, no skill, no personality.
 

donghabs98

Moderator
Oct 14, 2010
32,820
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That season fell apart when Robert Lang went down for the season. So sad, we looked like a cup favorite and he was the perfect fit for 3c. That was the last year I really loved this team. Such a fun group of players.

The 2007-2008 and 2008-09 (Untill February) were such fun habs teams to watch. They were both fast, skillful and could move the puck very well. In my opinion other than the 2014 team that made it to the conference finals, there hasn't been a fun Habs team watch since 2008-09.
 
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Kriss E

Registered User
May 3, 2007
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Jeddah
The real disaster in 2008 was trading Huet, that single move cost the habs their best shot at a cup.

Agreed.
Getting Tanguay, I'd do every day of the week again. He was a legit top liner and despite his softness, he still made us a better team.
Moving our more mature goalie and just giving the reigns to Price when he wasn't ready for it was a mistake.
From what I recall though, Gainey had worked on a deal that was going to bring us Hedberg from Atlanta but for some reason it didn't fall through.
 

Kriss E

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May 3, 2007
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Jeddah
That sums up the Gainey era, he had a policy of never talking contract extensions during the season which put the team in a bad position when it came to resigning players/not losing them for nothing.
Yea, that ended up hurting us quite a bit. He had to discuss and negotiate. If guys like Komisarek and Souray were traded..just those two, if he could he had gotten us proper returns like Gorges+Patches vs Rivet, would have been terrific for us.

That is one thing I find very odd from many teams and managers. I do not know why teams that are in that low PO bracket who really don't have much of a chance at contending for a cup stick with the status quo when trade deadline comes around. In 07-08, it made sense for us not to move a guy like Streit. We needed him and we were one of the top teams in the East. But in 08-09, we had no chance of going anywhere despite still being in a PO bubble spot. Too many issues, the team was collapsing, just pull the plug. We had many upcoming free agents, namely, Koivu-Kovalev-Komisarek. We could have gotten serious returns for those guys.
Teams still operate that way though, they keep their upcoming free agents when they have no chance at winning and end up losing them to free agency. St-Louis started doing it, they traded Stastny this year when they were still on the bubble. I don't know why more managers don't operate this way.
I mean, how the Islanders end up losing Tavares for nothing is a tragedy. I would be so incredibly pissed if I were a fan of them. But we lost Koivu-Kovalev-Komisarek for nothing, which is just as much if not more of a tragedy. The difference between that time and today though is how much the league has shifted towards being much less of a free agent rebuilding one to a drafting/development one.

In some instances, I can get why teams would keep some status quo. The Sabres have made the POs twice in 11 years. They missed them for 7 straight seasons. Say this miss them again this season but the following one, they're a bubble team. They will have Bogosian and Scandella as upcoming free agents. Well, even if those guys don't want to re-sign, I can see why the Sabres would keep them so they can finally get a taste of the POs again. Sometimes keeping guys around to get into the POs is necessary for the rest of the team, I imagine it would be very demoralizing to see your GM throw away players when you're giving it your all to make the POs.

So sometimes it's necessary to move the guys, sometimes it's better to keep them. But too often teams retain players they end up losing.

Gainey also refused to give these long cap circumventing deals. As time showed us, that's how teams managed to build cup winners.
 

BenchBrawl

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
30,844
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Gainey had to make a push for the cup.Whether or not Tanguay was the right choice is another question, but selling the future for the present was the right decision at the time.In 07-08, the fanbase was maniacal; this is when the crowd was at its most animalistic and passionated.

The team had sucked for 10-15 years since the mid-90s, but people finally had hope after 07-08.The lineup was strong, but Kovalev and Koivu were ageing, so we needed to capitalize on their last good years before it was too late.It's such a shame that it didn't work out, but it was worth a shot.

I don't blame Gainey for what he did in his initial 5 years plan; I blame him for tying us to the smurfs contracts for 5 years after his plan collapsed.

Face it, that 07-09 team was the most entertaining since the late-70s dynasty.Kovalev helped a lot in that regard, but also Markov and our PP that was always top notch.
 
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GHJimmy

We made it here.
Mar 30, 2018
1,107
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Through out 2001-2012-2013 we had few amazing unstoppable roster, but end up getting shit on in the playoffs.
 

Le Barron de HF

Justin make me proud
Mar 12, 2008
16,248
3,880
Shawinigan
Yea, that ended up hurting us quite a bit. He had to discuss and negotiate. If guys like Komisarek and Souray were traded..just those two, if he could he had gotten us proper returns like Gorges+Patches vs Rivet, would have been terrific for us.

That is one thing I find very odd from many teams and managers. I do not know why teams that are in that low PO bracket who really don't have much of a chance at contending for a cup stick with the status quo when trade deadline comes around. In 07-08, it made sense for us not to move a guy like Streit. We needed him and we were one of the top teams in the East. But in 08-09, we had no chance of going anywhere despite still being in a PO bubble spot. Too many issues, the team was collapsing, just pull the plug. We had many upcoming free agents, namely, Koivu-Kovalev-Komisarek. We could have gotten serious returns for those guys.
Teams still operate that way though, they keep their upcoming free agents when they have no chance at winning and end up losing them to free agency. St-Louis started doing it, they traded Stastny this year when they were still on the bubble. I don't know why more managers don't operate this way.
I mean, how the Islanders end up losing Tavares for nothing is a tragedy. I would be so incredibly pissed if I were a fan of them. But we lost Koivu-Kovalev-Komisarek for nothing, which is just as much if not more of a tragedy. The difference between that time and today though is how much the league has shifted towards being much less of a free agent rebuilding one to a drafting/development one.

In some instances, I can get why teams would keep some status quo. The Sabres have made the POs twice in 11 years. They missed them for 7 straight seasons. Say this miss them again this season but the following one, they're a bubble team. They will have Bogosian and Scandella as upcoming free agents. Well, even if those guys don't want to re-sign, I can see why the Sabres would keep them so they can finally get a taste of the POs again. Sometimes keeping guys around to get into the POs is necessary for the rest of the team, I imagine it would be very demoralizing to see your GM throw away players when you're giving it your all to make the POs.

So sometimes it's necessary to move the guys, sometimes it's better to keep them. But too often teams retain players they end up losing.

Gainey also refused to give these long cap circumventing deals. As time showed us, that's how teams managed to build cup winners.
I think we need to put into context that the 08-09 season was the centennial season. You may disagree with it, but pulling the plug would have been a hard sell.
 
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Kriss E

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May 3, 2007
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Jeddah
I think we need to put into context that the 08-09 season was the centennial season. You may disagree with it, but pulling the plug would have been a hard sell.
I agree, but the season was already a disaster. Our injuries weren't improving or making it any better. There were rumors of misbehavior off the ice. I get that it was the centennial, but that's why GMs are paid big bucks. They need to have vision and a good grasp on things. Why do these guys get paid millions if fans predict things better than them and they're always lacking behind?
It is seriously problematic that fans can foresee the failure in a Subban vs Weber trade more than a GM, or that this team has no chance of winning and the plug should be pulled. That's not normal.

Fans didn't really believe in the team in 08-09, it was not headed in the right direction. I don't think it would have been a hard sell. Where it might have been difficult is to make Gillett accept that direction. He was having financial woes, so earning a couple extra millions from a PO birth was probably important to him.
But that's only speculative, we really don't know about how much pull Gainey had with him.
 

BehindTheTimes

Registered User
Jun 24, 2018
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That team wasn’t winning **** all and Huet was an average goaltender. Notice he didn’t do anything afterwards either or so I need to go into that?

There's almost no chance Huet screws the pooch like Price did against the Flyers, one of the worst goaltending performances in a playoff series of the last decade.
 
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Kriss E

Registered User
May 3, 2007
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Jeddah
There's almost no chance Huet screws the pooch like Price did against the Flyers, one o the worst goaltending performances in a playoff series of the last decade.
Agreed. That doesn't mean Habs get through the Flyers though. We were very much a special teams team that year with the top PP and an average PK.
We struggled in the POs versus the Bruins despite them being the 8th seed as they shut our PP off.
I recall us improving a bit versus the Flyers but I'm not convinced having Huet would put us over the edge. It would surely have helped though as Price completely choked.
 
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