posted by Rocket
All Habs
I’m thinking, today, about Dick Duff. Duff played just over five seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. He won four Stanley Cups with the Habs and is a member of the Hockey all of Fame.
Not a big player in stature, Duff was known for being a fierce competitor and earned the reputation as “pound-for-pound one of the toughest men in the game”. Duff was also a guy who would shine in big games, especially in the playoffs.
So why does Duff come to mind today? Well, prior to playing with the Canadiens, Duff was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs (with a very short stay with the Rangers in between) where he had played for 10 seasons.
Duff knows all about playing on both sides of a fierce rivalry, which was perhaps more intense in his day with only 6 teams in the league. And Dick Duff wore #8.
Mike Komisarek is about to be introduced to Dick Duff’s world, in reverse. When the NHL schedule for 2009-2010 comes out in a few weeks, Komisarek will circle his first trip back to Montreal. It’s too much to ask the Bell Centre faithful not to ‘boo’ him. They will, probably every time he touches the puck.
But Jacques Martin should also circle that date. Because he and the rest of the Canadiens are about to find out how difficult it is to play against Mike Komisarek.
In the lead up to the free agency period, RDS was fond of discussing Komisarek’s contract demands (thought to be in the $4-5 million range) with his point total for last season: 11 comprised of 2 goals and 9 assists.
Conveniently, left out of the reports, was the fact that Komisarek has been at the top of the league in hits and blocked shots since he starting taking a regular shift in the NHL. Brian Burke is a smart GM, and recognized Komisarek’s contribution and his potential value to the Leafs.
It should be understandable that Bob Gainey could not devote that much of his salary budget to a pure defender. With the departure of Mathieu Schneider, Gainey needed to get a defenseman who could also play the power-play. Jaroslav Spacek fills that need.
Could the salary gap between the Canadiens and Leafs offers been narrowed? Not likely. Those who quote a half million dollar figure forget the substantial difference in taxes. In addition to financial considerations, Komisarek also had a front row seat to see the reputation of his teammates tarnished with false accusations by agenda-driven journalists. Does he need any more reasons?
It’s very difficult to see a Canadiens player go to our oldest rival. But, we wish Mike Komisarek well in Toronto. He has been nothing but a classy and fierce competitor who proudly wore the bleu, blanc et rouge for just over five seasons.
Not unlike a fellow #8, Dick Duff.
"It's too much to ask the Bell Centre faithful not to 'boo' him. They will, probably every time he touches the puck."
I think it's safe to say that Komisarek will be booed by Habs fans en masse every time he touches the puck for the rest of his playing days!
It's very tough to see him go over to the Leafs, that's for sure. I'm betting that he ends up being the Komisarek of old. He won't have the same pressure on him to play on the top defensive pairing as he did with Markov. He will have more energy and freedom to dish out big hits, many of whom will be wearing the bleu-blanc-rouge.
Best of luck to him indeed. But he's now a member of the Leafs, and as such, he is dead to me. ; )
Good luck to Mike! The Leafs and the Bruins were, to my sense, the worse teams he could go to. I am very disapointed but it's business, so I will remain a MK8 fan but I can never be a Leaf's fan. I agree with you Kyle, Komo will become himself again, watch out for the hits!
Why would the Habs spend $6 mil per on a little cherry picker like Cammalleri and not be willing to spend 4.5 on Komisarek? Those two came out of Michigan at the same time, and Komisarek was much more highly rated. Red Berenson had nothing but good things to say about Big Mike, even after he left to the pros, and nothing good to say about Little Mike.
They have played the same number of NHL games in their career so far, roughly, but Komisarek is on the ice for an extra 5 minutes or so each game, and does the dirty work like clearing the crease, blocking shots, dealing with the goons to make space for the little guys. Cammalleri just skates figure 8s at centre ice waiting for a puck to pop loose or a stretch pass.
Strange value system in the NHL. It would be like the NFL paying defensive linemen according to how many touchdowns they score in a season or something. I don't think there is any doubt that Komisarek does more for a team, on and off the ice than Cammalleri.
Wait a minute…
Cammalleri… Cherry-picking stretch passes… Komisarek's weakness is his blind up the middle stretch passes… I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, BOB!
by about Christmas the CH will miss Komisarek…he bled for his teammates and not many on this squad can match that…with this powder puff D Carey will have to keep his head…thanks Bob another major judgement error.
ps Rocket:
as an American Komo pays only 15% withholding tax regardless of province..when he files in the US he'll pay their taxes
reported on Team 990 Montreal that Komo's agent countered with 8 year/$4 million per year to take him to 35 years of age..Bob said no…funny he gave Spacek $3.83 for 3 years and Spacek is already 35 yrs old….Komo is a better deal. Markov & Weber can handle PP. who'll handle the opposition in front of the net ?
Don't bother looking for sense and reason in the actions of Bob Gainey. It is just an exercise in futility. If some fan posted a hypothetical of the moves Gainey actually made in the past week, a month or so ago, the fan would be laughed off the board. Ridiculed to no end. Called a troll and a troublemaker.
Comments are closed.