Gionta no longer with Habs signs with Buffalo

[hockeyfan2k11]

This. Also with the rise of Gallagher , who is pratically a younger Gio clone, made Gionta expendable

Letting him walk was the right move for the future

Clone in size and that's about it. They're different players.

 

[canadiensnation]

Might have already been mentioned but Bergevin only willing to offer Gionta a 1 year deal even though Gionta came down from 3 years to 2 years.

 

[Maliki2]

Might have already been mentioned but Bergevin only willing to offer Gionta a 1 year deal even though Gionta came down from 3 years to 2 years.

Good for Bergy! No reason to be held hostage by these guys.

 

[GoodKiwi]

Clone in size and that's about it. They're different players.

I think they're pretty similar. Gionta used to live in front of the net while younger and score a ton of "garbage" goals just as Gallagher does.

 

[calder candidate]

Good for him also glad to see another team in our conference to waste cap space

 

[Agnostic]

Gionta is a lot better than the what-u-done-lately crowd will let you believe. But it's apparent in this business that when push comes to shove ultimately dollars can lure you to play anywhere.

I truly believe Gionta wanted to play in Montreal and that's a testament to management and the city and the fans, but when another team offers you millions more it's a no-brainer what's going to happen. Not criticizing player or management, but this cap world creates a new workplace for players. luckily fans have short memories. the new guy is the good guy and the cycle repeats

There won't be an appreciation thread for this player but I appreciate his contribution, and my memory extends as best it can for 5 years and not merely 3 weeks.

 

[anonymous9739872329]

If this man doesn't inspire leadership, I do not know who would.

 

[Price My Man Crush]

If this man doesn't inspire leadership, I do not know who would.

holy ****, where the hell have you taken this picture?

 

[WeThreeKings]

There will be a whole lot less of me screaming at the television now that he is gone.

 

[ECWHSWI]

Good for him also glad to see another team in our conference to waste cap space

they're not wasting Cap space, they need to reach cap floor.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

There will be a whole lot less of me screaming at the television now that he is gone.

It wasn't screaming so much for me as slowly shaking my head in dismay at yet another Gionta shot in the goalie's crest from 30 feet out.

 

[Monctonscout]

The Habs will miss Gionta a lot more than the keyboard quaterbacks on here believe.

I hope we don't miss him because others have stepped up and filled some of the roles that he filled, but ultimately I think his shoes will be harder to fill than people believe.

I think it's no coincidence that with he(and other good leaders) the Habs twice went to the conference final and the year he he got hurt, the 2nd half turned into a mess. I believe the habs dressing room is more solid now, but losing Gorges also hurts in that aspect.

Anybody can be a leader when the team is winning, it's when you lose 3 in a row where leaders step up, both in the room and especially on the ice. I think this is Price's team and hopefully guys like Markov Plekanec Prust Gallagher Subban and Pacioretty take bigger roles leadership-wise.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

We'll miss the defensive side of his game but it will be nice not to see so many shots to the goalie crests... Good luck to him.

 

[PricePkPatch*]

The Habs will miss Gionta a lot more than the keyboard quaterbacks on here believe.

I hope we don't miss him because others have stepped up and filled some of the roles that he filled, but ultimately I think his shoes will be harder to fill than people believe.

I think it's no coincidence that with he(and other good leaders) the Habs twice went to the conference final and the year he he got hurt, the 2nd half turned into a mess. I believe the habs dressing room is more solid now, but losing Gorges also hurts in that aspect.

Anybody can be a leader when the team is winning, it's when you lose 3 in a row where leaders step up, both in the room and especially on the ice. I think this is Price's team and hopefully guys like Markov Plekanec Prust Gallagher Subban and Pacioretty take bigger roles leadership-wise.

While I don't disagree with your opinion there either, I think there's a lot of difference between losing your captain in an injury and not being prepared for it vs. not keeping your captain and going into the season with that attitude.

We have a young and battle-hardened leadership core that has emerged. Going to the ECF will do that do you.

 

[Le Tricolore]

holy ****, where the hell have you taken this picture?

It's from the Habs Do St Patrick's Day collection of Upper Deck cards.

 

[yianik]

Liked Gio and I think we got our monies worth out of him. He gave us some very good years in terms of production but as that waned his value as a leader was clear. The top of the circle shots to goalie chest were a bit annoying but okay.

Gio will be missed. However, no chance could we have been, or should have been, remotely close to that $12.75M three year deal. Also clear Gio should have taken that offer, no basis to say anything bad about the guy for doing so. Good luck Gio. Glad Gorges has a buddy there.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

Best of luck to Brian in Buffalo. Not the most popular player we ever signed but I actually liked him

 

[Maffew]

For a guy that scored almost 30 goals in his first two seasons with us, you could see how much the bicep injuries hindered him. He still never gave up on most plays though, and became a grinder by default. He'd be scoring 20-25 if he hadn't gotten hurt, and he still managed 18 goals last season as a 3rd line, defensively-responsible winger.

He deserves much more appreciation than he's getting.

 

[Ezpz]

For a guy that scored almost 30 goals in his first two seasons with us, you could see how much the bicep injuries hindered him. He still never gave up on most plays though, and became a grinder by default. He'd be scoring 20-25 if he hadn't gotten hurt, and he still managed 18 goals last season as a 3rd line, defensively-responsible winger.

He deserves much more appreciation than he's getting.

He wasn't moved down to third line minutes until late in the season. I'm sure a lot of his early season PP time left a lot of people on this board with less hair on their head considering Galchenyuk was stapled to the bench.

 

[Em Ancien]

For a guy that scored almost 30 goals in his first two seasons with us, you could see how much the bicep injuries hindered him. He still never gave up on most plays though, and became a grinder by default. He'd be scoring 20-25 if he hadn't gotten hurt, and he still managed 18 goals last season as a 3rd line, defensively-responsible winger.

He deserves much more appreciation than he's getting.

He was one of the rare FAs that completely deserved what he got. He was the best player we got out of that 2009 spending spree (might've been Cammalleri had he not been shipped out for calling out our scrub ***** for what they were but that is irrelevant at the moment) and a real soldier for the Habs.

That said, he wasn't that effective anymore and it was only going to get worse. If we had signed him to that contract, we'd be kicking ourselves for the next few years.

 

[hototogisu]

 

[Seb]

Looks freaking weird

 

[Ezpz]

I'll miss Gio more than I'll miss Gorges.

 

[Runner77]

(...) the keyboard quaterbacks on here (...)

Which doesn't include you, I take it?

 

[Runner77]

Who's the guy on the left, the cable TV repairman?

That Sabres' sweater could use even more numbers.