Re-sign Gonchar?

[No More Subban]

Nah... really want both Beaulieu and Tinordi to make it FULL TIME next season.

Should be their time.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

Things go down really fast at this age. He cans till play now but might not be able to pull it next year.

Maybe if he accept a really low 1 year contract. But if he wants 2 millions nah no way.

We are paying $1.75 mill for Weaver to be a healthy scratch, Gonchar has been playing very well as one of our top 4 defensemen.. sure he can break down, but at one year $2 million it is well worth the risk of bringing him back.

 

[LaP]

Nah... really want both Beaulieu and Tinordi to make it FULL TIME next season.

Should be their time.

You can have gonchar, tinordi et brolieu in the lineup.

Tinordi-Subban
Markov-Emelin
Brolieu-Gonchar

I thought Emelin would looks better on the left but so far he doesn't look better at all.

 

[Deebs]

Absolutely no to re-signing Gonchar.

 

[LaP]

We are paying $1.75 mill for Weaver to be a healthy scratch, Gonchar has been playing very well as one of our top 4 defensemen.. sure he can break down, but at one year $2 million it is well worth the risk of bringing him back.

I wanted to say over 2 millions. If he wants as much as this year nope not gonna happen.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Why the hell does his age matter? He can obviously still play, he moves pretty well and his hockey sense is very good. I'm not saying he is as good as Lidstrom, but if Lidstrom was willing to sign here at 39 or 40 you would have said "too old" and walked away?

Because play tends to fall off a cliff once players reach their late 30s, early 40s. He'll be 41 in a couple of months. There is no guarantee he'll be able to provide what he does now. How many 41 year old top-4 defencemen do you remember there being. I remember Lidstrom and Chelios. Thats it.

Once half those guys re-sign with current teams you end up overpaying for average players. Just look at what Orpik Niskanen and Stralman cost last summer.

Stralman is signed to a great deal. The other two were signed by one team. That also ignores Ehrhoff and Boyle's contracts. This year's class also has more talented defencemen available than the same time last year. And I'm not saying no to resigning Gonchar, just that there is no reason to take action now.

Plus, who's to say Gonchar wants to take a pay cut? He'll be 41, he has a cup ring, has made a ton of money already and has cemented his status as one of the best Russian defensemen of all time. He has nothing left to prove and no real sense of loyalty to any one team. He may even choose to retire for all we know.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

Nygren was looking very good before his injury so even if Gonchar falls off next year there is a good chance Nygren might be ready to step in and take over for him.

Markov - Subban
Beaulieu - Emmy
Tinordi - Gonchar

Trade Gilbert for a pick in the off-season, I like Gilbert but I think a very smart, steady puck moving veteran like Gonchar would be great to pair with Tinordi to help him transition to the NHL full time.

Gonchar is a decent skater and is one of the smartest defencemen to play the last couple of decades, I think he wouldn't have a problem playing one more year.. especially if his minutes were cut down a bit.

 

[Monctonscout]

Id keep Gonchar over Gilbert for next year, so if Bergy can move Gilbert in the off season, I'd be willing to sign Gonchar for 1 more season. But I wouldn't sign him until then, not now.

I think the smart thing to do is to wait until after the season. My initial post was referring to what we know to this point. I agree, ideally you move Gilbert and put Gonchar in his spot, cap hit about the same.

He sure looks good with the younger players like Beaulieu, you can see he actually talk to them and it rubs off. He looks very approachable even when he talks to media he seems very calm with a great personality. Markov is a great player and all but he's not made to teach or be anybody's mentor.

I think Markov does it, but he shies away more from the limelight. He has a lot more personality than what we see on TV.

Things go down really fast at this age. He cans till play now but might not be able to pull it next year.

Maybe if he accept a really low 1 year contract. But if he wants 2 millions nah no way.

Yeah he could drop off fast, but a 1 year 3 mil contract is virtually no risk at all. You don't get a decent #4-5 defenseman for 1.5-2 mil, definitely not on the UFA market, where players get AAV AND term.

Nah... really want both Beaulieu and Tinordi to make it FULL TIME next season.

Should be their time.

They have to as they are no longer waiver exempt. I wouldn't mind Pateryn/Tinordi being #6-7 next year. Subban-Emelin-Markov-Gonchar-Beaulieu top 5.

Absolutely no to re-signing Gonchar.

Care to give at least a small reason why not?

I wanted to say over 2 millions. If he wants as much as this year nope not gonna happen.

I think Gonchar and the whole hockey world pretty much know he won't be getting 5 mil AAV. I think a reasonable number is around 2.5 mil for 1 year +- 500k.

Because play tends to fall off a cliff once players reach their late 30s, early 40s. He'll be 41 in a couple of months. There is no guarantee he'll be able to provide what he does now. How many 41 year old top-4 defencemen do you remember there being. I remember Lidstrom and Chelios. Thats it.



Stralman is signed to a great deal. The other two were signed by one team. That also ignores Ehrhoff and Boyle's contracts. This year's class also has more talented defencemen available than the same time last year. And I'm not saying no to resigning Gonchar, just that there is no reason to take action now.

Plus, who's to say Gonchar wants to take a pay cut? He'll be 41, he has a cup ring, has made a ton of money already and has cemented his status as one of the best Russian defensemen of all time. He has nothing left to prove and no real sense of loyalty to any one team. He may even choose to retire for all we know.

If he retires, he retires. From what we know he has not said that. Ehrhoff signed a low deal because it was Pittsburgh and he figured he could put up numbers and get a big long term deal next summer. Boyle is 37 and signed for 2 years and 9 mil. He doesn't bring much more than Gonchar currently does if anything. Stalman is huge overpayment for a #4 d-man.

You say players over 35 can fall off a cliff yet you think 2 years for 37 year old Boyle is a good deal?

Nygren was looking very good before his injury so even if Gonchar falls off next year there is a good chance Nygren might be ready to step in and take over for him.

Markov - Subban
Beaulieu - Emmy
Tinordi - Gonchar

Trade Gilbert for a pick in the off-season, I like Gilbert but I think a very smart, steady puck moving veteran like Gonchar would be great to pair with Tinordi to help him transition to the NHL full time.

Gonchar is a decent skater and is one of the smartest defencemen to play the last couple of decades, I think he wouldn't have a problem playing one more year.. especially if his minutes were cut down a bit.

I think it's a reach to expect Nygren to step in and replace Gonchar.

If he comes back from his injury and gets some games with the Habs and looks great maybe my opinion will change, but right now Nygren looks like he will battle Pateryn for the #7 job next year or trade. I don't think he goes back to Hamilton next year.

 

[optimus2861]

Because play tends to fall off a cliff once players reach their late 30s, early 40s.

Case in point: Weaver. He was serviceable last season but has not been this season, even before he was injured. This is likely his last season.

 

[Tyson]

I love Gonchar but we have a ton of young D waiting for a shot. Also, before we all jump on the "let's sign Gonchar" bandwagon let's see how much he has in the tank come playoff time

 

[LaP]

Case in point: Weaver. He was serviceable last season but has not been this season, even before he was injured. This is likely his last season.

I will be extremely surprised if Weaver gets any offer this summer.

 

[Justin11]

I like the fact that he has taken Beaulieu under his wing, but no for next season.

 

[Monctonscout]

Case in point: Weaver. He was serviceable last season but has not been this season, even before he was injured. This is likely his last season.

Weaver hasn't lost a lot, he just lost his spot with Beaulieu taking a step forward and Gonchar coming in.

I love Gonchar but we have a ton of young D waiting for a shot. Also, before we all jump on the "let's sign Gonchar" bandwagon let's see how much he has in the tank come playoff time

If you have young d-men on the roster, it's good to have a guy like him around to help mentor them.

I don't think anybody is suggesting to do it now. Obviously how he plays the next 4-5 months will also be a factor.

 

[Scintillating10]

What do you guys think? Sould we re-up Sergei for another year? I mean he's done wonders for Beaulieu and I'd like to see what he could do with Tinordi. He also appears to be a good mother-type figure for our young players(esp. Russian-kids). Whereas Markov is the stern silent dad. I even think remembering that Scherbak said he was a bit scared of him.

Wouldn't mind having him around next year if Scherbak makes it.

He's 41 years old...why you want to re-sign him? Last year everybody wanted Weaver signed....look what happened?

 

[HabsDieHard*]

Case in point: Weaver. He was serviceable last season but has not been this season, even before he was injured. This is likely his last season.

I think comparing a bottom pairing d-man who has never had that great of a career to a guy like Gonchar doesn't make all that much sense.

No doubt older players' games will fall off, and at his age it could well happen at any moment, but the style of play Gonchar brings to the ice is a style that as long as his mind is into it, he should be able to play serviceable hockey for another year or two.

As someone mentioned, this team is paying Weaver 1.75 to be a healthy scratch.

They SHOULD have done the same with useless Bouillon last year.

If Gonchar would sign for 2-2.5 million on a 1 year deal, and worst case scenario his game falls off and he's on the outside looking in most of the year, that's still not even a bad signing.

Bergevin hasn't been shy about proclaiming the need to have a deep defence in the NHL, and they aren't going to get a much better d-man than Gonchar for the type of price he'll probably cost this Summer either.

I like the idea someone had of moving out Gilbert, get Gonchar signed for 500K or so less than him and snag a 3rd or 4th rounder for him.

 

[HabsDieHard*]

He's 41 years old...why you want to re-sign him? Last year everybody wanted Weaver signed....look what happened?

A young guy in Beaulieu stepped up and the Habs have a solid depth option in the wings if/when injuries hit?

How is this a bad thing?

 

[optimus2861]

Weaver hasn't lost a lot, he just lost his spot with Beaulieu taking a step forward and Gonchar coming in.

Weaver had a thin margin to begin with, though. It's a fine line between being a serviceable bottom-pair D and out of the league, and Weaver's gone over that line.

Gonchar's margin isn't much larger, and you have to expect that at his age, his fall-off will be pretty significant.

 

[HabsDieHard*]

Actually because he is a much more skilled player and plays in a much different role on the ice I'd argue that his "margin" is significantly larger.

 

[Captain Mountain]

If he retires, he retires. From what we know he has not said that. Ehrhoff signed a low deal because it was Pittsburgh and he figured he could put up numbers and get a big long term deal next summer. Boyle is 37 and signed for 2 years and 9 mil. He doesn't bring much more than Gonchar currently does if anything. Stalman is huge overpayment for a #4 d-man.

You say players over 35 can fall off a cliff yet you think 2 years for 37 year old Boyle is a good deal?

Do I think Boyle's contract is a good deal? no. It's not a bad deal either. He's been better than Gonchar this season. And Stralman is a number 3 at worst right now. Watch the Lightning this year. or the Rangers last year. He's a beast.

 

[negative77]

If he keeps on playing like he has, and keeps it up in the play-offs, I'd say he has earned himself another year with the Habs. The contract ha to be cheap though.

 

[Smokey Thompson]

The way he's playing, it wouldn't hurt to give him 1 year at 2m. I'd wait to see how he handles the full 82 game sched and the playoffs.

 

[Monctonscout]

Weaver had a thin margin to begin with, though. It's a fine line between being a serviceable bottom-pair D and out of the league, and Weaver's gone over that line.

Gonchar's margin isn't much larger, and you have to expect that at his age, his fall-off will be pretty significant.

Gonchar's margin is bigger because he's a better player and his hockey sense is a huge asset.

Gonchar is a solid #4 right now. If he declines and you have to use him as a #5-6, you still haven't lost your cap space for nothing. Weaver at 1.75 is a bit expensive as #7, but he makes about half the NHL average so it's still peanuts.

If he keeps on playing like he has, and keeps it up in the play-offs, I'd say he has earned himself another year with the Habs. The contract ha to be cheap though.

What would you call cheap? 2.5-3 mil for 1 year?

Do I think Boyle's contract is a good deal? no. It's not a bad deal either. He's been better than Gonchar this season. And Stralman is a number 3 at worst right now. Watch the Lightning this year. or the Rangers last year. He's a beast.

Boyle has TWO even strength points in 24 games...Gonchar has 9 in 29 games.

Stalman is a good puck mover but that's it, he is overpaid in my opinion.

 

[HabsDieHard*]

I have no issues at all paying a #7 d-man around 2 million a year.

 

[shawdowmaker]

If montreal gets bounced in the first or second round of the playoffs what good would have that been for the development of or young guys?

 

[HabsDieHard*]

If montreal gets bounced in the first or second round of the playoffs what good would have that been for the development of or young guys?

Who are you, Brian Burke?

Any playoff experience, even just as a black ace practicing wtih the team, is beneficial for a young player.

Tell me, what good would it do for the Habs, or Tinordi/Beaulieu if they forced either of them into minutes they weren't ready for and struggled mightily in the playoffs?