by Chris G, Digital Radio Producer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
LAVAL, QC– The biggest news in the hockey world this week, was the announcement that the Leafs have hired Lou Lamoriello as their new General Manager. Anyone care? I don’t!
This week, I have the pleasure again of answering questions received in our mailbag.
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Do you have a question or a topic you would like us to discuss? Okay, here’s what you can do.
Let us know:
- who you are
- where you’re from
- if you wish, send us a photo of you in your favourite Habs gear
- who’s your favorite player, present or past
- and of course, your question
You can contact us via Twitter, our Facebook page or email at info (at) allhabs (dot) net
We’ll feature you, and your question, in the All Habs Mailbag!
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@Habs360 @All_Habs Will Zack Kassian bring the same resurgence as Dale Weise when he joined the #Habs from the Canucks?
— Matt Smith (@Snakebite350) July 17, 2015
When talking about the acquisition of Zack Kassian, Marc Bergevin said that they were taking a risk and hoping that Kassian will show his full potential with the team. Considering that it’s Kassian’s contract year and has a smaller cap hit than Brandon Prust, I think it was a safe risk taken by the Habs.
I believe that the difference between the acquisition of Zack Kassian and Dale Weise is that the expectations are different for both players. There were no expectations for Weise to live up to when he was acquired from the Canucks, while Kassian was traded for fan favourite Brandon Prust. Fans loved Prust for his character, and that he would drop the gloves to defend a teammate when needed. Kassian comes to the Montreal Canadiens as a potential goal scorer with a reputation of being inconsistent. Anything less then 15 goals scored by Kassian, and he will be considered a disappointment, but considering the Canadiens play a system that preaches strong defensive play, I think it will be hard for him to reach that target.
I understand Matt, the reason that Bergevin completed the trade, but I have a feeling that before the end of the season, Kassian will be rotating in and out of the lineup and won’t be a fan favourite.
Q. Why do fans/media give Marc Bergevin a free pass? Look at his trades/signings: Bryan Allen, Douglas Murray, Eric Tangradi, Davis Drewiske, Tom Gilbert, Mike Weaver, Danny Briere, PA Parenteau, Thomas Vanek, Sergei Gonchar, George Parros and Colby Armstrong. Gainey would be trashed if he made half of these moves. — Trevor (Weyburn, Saskatchewan)
The fans and the media love Marc Bergevin because he is one of the most outgoing, fashionable, and hip General Managers in the NHL. He is also the complete opposite of his predecessor, Pierre Gauthier.
The quality that I like about Bergevin the most is that he’s not afraid to takes risks, and if it doesn’t work out, he fixes the situation. Most GMs are extremely patient with a player they have acquired or signed but not Bergevin. Look at the Daniel Briere signing. At the end of the first season of his contract, Bergevin traded Briere to the Avalanche in return for P.A. Parenteau. When Parenteau didn’t live up to expectations, he was bought out. Another example is when Travis Moen was traded to the Stars after he was signed to a 4-year contract. In fact, all of the players you listed above except for Tom Gilbert are not playing for the Montreal Canadiens. Bergevin was able to part ways with them or send them in the AHL.
The next mistakes that I think Bergevin needs to fix are David Desharnais and Alexei Emelin. Those are two bad contracts that were signed by the Canadiens current GM. Thanks for the question Trevor.
Do you give Marc Bergevin a free pass? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Q. Loved your development camp coverage! You guys rock.. the first ones to notice Daniel Carr. Does he have a chance to make the Habs? — Patrick (Bathurst, New Brunswick)
Thanks for the kind words Patrick. AllHabs.net covers the Montreal Canadiens 365 days a year. Daniel Carr had a great rookie season in Hamilton last year scoring 24 goals. Marc Bergevin always mentions that the players decide if they will make the team. Therefore, he does have a chance. Will he make the team? I think he won’t but I think he will be a call-up at some point during the season.
For a more detailed analysis on Daniel Carr, I suggest reading Habs Development Camp: Daniel Carr, A Name to Remember and Top 10: Who are the Best Canadiens Prospects? written by my colleagues.
@Habs360 Do you think Michel Therrien should put more emphasis on the attack next season?
— 新生活 [ShinSeikatsu] (@Shin_Seikatsu_) July 21, 2015
The popular and logical answer would be to say yes, but when you look at the players on the roster, I can’t blame Michel Therrien to emphasize on defence. With the current roster, the Habs top two lines would consist of Pacioretty-Desharnais-Gallagher, Galchenyuk-Plekanec- (insert random player). The only proven goal scorer from the top-6 forwards is Max Pacioretty. With the Canadiens having the best goalie in the world and one of the best defenceman in the league, I don’t blame the coach. Marc Bergevin would need to equip his coach with at least 1 more proven goal scorer before expecting Therrien to open up the system.
Agree or disagree with anything you read? Leave your comments on the bottom of the page.
Follow me on Twitter @chrisg1980 and follow @Habs360 for information on the podcast.
I think the Briere and Parenteau signings were political Mt had Crosby and Malkin and criticized the tream for their defensive play. He wants eveyone to be a plumber and heaven forbid if you try to be creative. When they canned him they won the cup.
Hi yoshii47. We will never know but all signs do point to the direction that Briere was a political signing. Remember when he was given the torch at the home opener?? I think that the Parenteau acquisition was just two teams trading their problems. When it comes to MT, I find it hard to criticize him when the team has been relatively successful since he joined the team. Thanks for your comment!
Disagree totally with your statement about Desharnais and Emelin. Your beating a dead horse. If they were a problem , they would be gone
I don’t like the way that Desharnais is used on the team. If he is used as a #3 centre, I would agree that he isn’t a problem. Emelin is a good defenceman but in my opinion, Tinordi and Pateryn are younger and more cap friendly version of Emelin. Thanks for reading Billy!
That’s a rather naive comment regarding decision-making in Montreal, Bill. It’s well-acknowledged that the Canadiens make organizational decisions that are influenced by other factors than simply the impact on the on-ice hockey product. The Habs have a well-established track record of deploying players who would not find a place of significance on other NHL rosters. Desharnais is another one.
With Semin now on the roster, we are overloaded at forward and look for a trade of DD and Emelin for draft picks or prospects and to make room for our young cap friendly D men and a LW/RW. DD ok as a third C/LW with JDLR but pricey for that role. Would like to see Pleks/ Chucky with Semin and Patches (Hudon/Carr/Ghetto until 67 healthy) and the EGG line back together as the top two lines. If Chucky gets 1st line time put DD LW with Pleks and BGally. Keep 81, 25 and Kassian on 3rd line. Tinker with the rest on the 4th line.
I think the Habs are overloaded with 3rd/4th liners. They need to package a couple with 1-2 defencemen and hope to able to get a top 6 fwd in return. Thanks for your comment Wayne!
The only mistake is the relentless ongoing criticism of Emelin And Desharnais. Time to shut up about that. The other so called mistakes were basically short term low cost contracts for depth and the ones that didn’t work were disposed of after a year.Marc Bergevin is where he is because he has more knowledge than the collective fan base that questions him and the writers who like to stir controversy by making comments that obviously are made without knowledge of circumstance.Time for a selective Shut Your Cakehole on this subject !
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