Habster:
Here’s an excerpt from the Hockey News article by Montrealer Ryan Dixon who looks at some great deadline deals from the past couple years. In hindsight, the Rivet and D Julien Demers (selected using the Habs 5th round selection #146th) for Gorges and Pacioretty deal is looking better and better everyday day!!!
As Dixon states in the article, Josh Gorges has developed into one of the Canadiens steadiest two way defensemen while Max Pacioretty will most likely be the first forward called up during the season after his strong showing at this year’s training camp.
Josh Gorges, Montreal
Habs GM Bob Gainey isn’t short on fortitude and he showed it with a great deal at the 2007 deadline. With Montreal still very much in the playoff picture, Gainey sent assistant captain and longtime Hab Craig Rivet and a fifth round pick to San Jose for Gorges and a first-rounder.It took a while, but Gorges has gone from front row in the press box to a top-four spot on the Canadiens’ blueline. It all seemed to click for him halfway through last season and while he’s not flashy, he’s extremely reliable and does wonders when it comes to lowering coach Guy Carbonneau’s blood pressure.By the way, with the first round pick, Montreal plucked Max Pacioretty, a scoring left winger who nearly made the team as a 19-year-old this fall.
Josh Gorges, Montreal
Habs GM Bob Gainey isn’t short on fortitude and he showed it with a great deal at the 2007 deadline. With Montreal still very much in the playoff picture, Gainey sent assistant captain and longtime Hab Craig Rivet and a fifth round pick to San Jose for Gorges and a first-rounder.It took a while, but Gorges has gone from front row in the press box to a top-four spot on the Canadiens’ blueline. It all seemed to click for him halfway through last season and while he’s not flashy, he’s extremely reliable and does wonders when it comes to lowering coach Guy Carbonneau’s blood pressure.By the way, with the first round pick, Montreal plucked Max Pacioretty, a scoring left winger who nearly made the team as a 19-year-old this fall.
Article neglects to mention that while the Habs “were still in the thick of the playoff race”, at the time of the deal, they ultimately missed the playoffs by the narrowest of margins. Would Craig Rivet have made the difference? Quite possibly, since the team fell apart in the final game after their other big, physical, defender Sheldon Souray was injured. That “opportunity” will never return. Nor will the chance to get a “do over” on the baffling Cristobal Huet deal at last year’s deadline, that ultimately cost the team a solid Stanley Cup run.
Presumably Montreal would still have had the chance to draft Max Pacioretty (I certainly thought he was a better prospect than McDonagh at the time) with their own first round pick. As it turned out, they have a 19 year old who still has a LOT to prove (I don’t think he will ever be an offensive player), along with a pair of very average defense prospects in Gorges and McDonagh.
Quantity doesn’t count for much in terms of accumulating hockey talent. Quality is everything.
Rob,
I’m not sure we can “pigeon hole” what type of players Ryan McDonagh and Max Pacioretty will develop into as they are really young. We can make prediction based on their recent play but players like Henrik Zetterberg and Andrei Markov were after thoughts when they were drafted in the later rounds so we shouldn’t be too quick to pass judgement on their future.
Everybody thought Alexandre Daigle was the next superstar when the Senators drafted him first overall in 1993…..the rest is history!!
I think placing a ceiling on a player’s talent level is a crap shoot as we’ve seen with the above examples.
Craig Rivet was one of my favorite Habs..a solid stay at home defenseman albeit not as physical as he should have been and a really good guy in the locker room. Having said that, getting back Gorges and Pacioretty was a steal for Gainey.
As far as McDonagh, it is early but he is on the path to being a top two defenseman in the NHL.
With all due respect, goaltending was not the Habs problem in the playoffs. It was coaching. And it should be noted that the team with Huet didnt get very far in the playoffs…and was not resigned by them this season.
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