written by Kristina, AllHabs.net
MONTREAL, QC. – While Paul Holmgren and the Philadelphia Flyers were stealing the free agent show with the signings of Jaromir Jagr and Maxime Talbot, Pierre Gauthier managed to make a splash of his own inking the left winger Erik Cole to a four year, $18 million deal.
At six-foot-two 205 pounds, Cole fits the prototypical description of a big, gritty power forward the Canadiens have been seeking for so many years. With Max Pacioretty fitting the bill of the Canadiens only power forward, Cole brings a size and presence the Canadiens have sorely lacked in their top six for far too long. But as I stood on Parliament Hill in our nation’s capital amidst the 400,000 plus crowd eying a look of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reading the news of the signing on my iPhone, I could not help but react with the words, “too long, too much, too old”.
At 32 years of age and a career threatening neck injury later, the $4,500,000 being paid to Erik Cole for the next four years is far too much for a player who has hit the 30 goal mark only once in the last 10 years. Cole’s career high regular season point total was 61 in 2006-2007 playing in 71 games notching 29 goals and adding 32 helpers at the age of 28. The closest he has gotten since that mark was this past season where he played in all 82 games for the first time in his career scoring 26 goals and 26 assists for a total of 52 points.
Sure, it would be unfair to ignore the fact that nine of his 26 goals were game-winners, tying him for fourth in the league and that 14 of his 26 goals came in the third period or overtime. Add that to the fact that 23 of his goals were even strength tallies, something the Canadiens have seriously been lacking over the last number of years, and it appears that Gauthier picked up a valuable scoring asset.
But the price paid to acquire the former Stanley Cup winner who was earning $3 million last last year is too steep when you consider the fact that Ville Leino, who is one inch shorter, 15 pounds lighter and five years younger will be making the same $4.5 million over the next six years. Leino will be turning 33 in the final year of his six year deal with the Sabres, one year older than Cole at the start of his four year deal with the Canadiens.
Although Leino only scored a career-high 53 points (19 G, 34 A) in 81 games with the Flyers this season, Leino has proven himself as a playoff performer over the last two years with 26 points (10 G, 16 A) in 30 games. Two games shy of hoisting Lord Stanley, Leino set the Flyers franchise record for goals and points by a rookie in a single playoff season in 2009-2010 and has demonstrated the ability to elevate his game when it counts the most. In contrast, Cole’s playoff performance is abysmal scoring only 14 points (6 G, 8 A) in 43 games in a Carolina Hurricanes uniform.
It is clearly unfair to judge either of these deals before the puck even drops to the 2011-2012 NHL season and it is without a doubt that the Montreal Canadiens are a better team at the start of July 2011 than they were on June 30, 2011. But it is also undeniable that the potential upside on a player like Leino who is five years younger is far better than a player like Cole at 32 years of age.
As NHL teams continue to get younger and the youth movement slowly continues to take over in the league, one hopes that Erik Cole can fall on the right side of the law of diminishing returns and find his fountain of youth for the Canadiens for the next four years.
As they say, time will tell.
I think you’re being a tad too harsh on Cole and overly glowing with Leino – he of 30 career goals.
Sure, Cole got too much. So did Cammalleri. So did Gionta. So does nearly everyone who hits free agency in or around his prime…it’s just the nature of the beast. I’m just glad to have 2 big guys with skill among the top 6 now. Odd that those 2 guys have had broken necks, but I think both will put that behind them (as Cole’s recent season proves).
The one area of concern I do share is the age of the top 6 forwards. Pacioretty is young, Plekanec is a spry 28 and Cammalleri just hit 29. But everyone else is on the wrong side of 30, and will only get older as the contracts move along.
We’ll see how this plays out, but for today, I’m happy with the move.
What a disgrace. The Montreal Media and Fans are always so quick to judge. For years the Habs have needed some size up front and finally they got some. A league leader in hits, a Stanley Cup champ with great experience, enough speed to fit in and above all he chose to play in Montreal, knowing the scrutiny he would be under. How someone could say it’s too much of a contract is narrow minded and insult to media. It is only after the end of the year that we can say if it was an over payment. If he scores 60 points and brings the Habs deep into the playoffs then everyone will be jumping on the bandwagon and singing his praises. I can not understand how any one can say that he is over payed before he plays.
At the end of the season you can look back and say, Gomez, Komisarek and Kovalev were over payed last year but to pre judge someone on next season is an epic fail.
Too funny to read. Journaliste are always compaining. Too much, too long, too old would have been replaced by “too little, too small, too what ever” I guess it is part of your job to be contrarian.
I’m totally on board with complaining about this signing. This stinks of Scott Gomez, another bloated contract we need to shed. Cole couldn’t handle the pressure of playing Edmonton so how is he going to handle playing in Montreal? Gauthier is out of his mind if he thinks signing a 32 year old, unproven player to 4.5 mil per season was a good idea.
I have to heavily disagree with this. Teams have often been burned off of one big playoff performance by a player that then turned in to a giant contract. Leino has built his profile against soft competition on about the best 3rd line in the whole of the NHL. He does not provide physical impact nor has he shown he can play against the top lines in the league, he has enjoyed a sheltered and relatively short career output in PHI to come to collect his new contract but he can full in none of the aspects Cole offers MTL and as we have seen with AK, Latendresse and Pouliot in recent years, you can not teach someone to be a Power Forward that drives the net and goes for big hits. Cole gives MTL what they need, Leino is another perimeter F which MTL does not need.
I stated in my article that it was “clearly unfair to judge either of these deals before the puck even drops to the 2011-2012 NHL season” so I am not sitting here and saying it was a bad signing nor I am saying that Erik will not help the team by scoring goals and being a big physical presence in the top 6. I am sure he will probably do all of that because that is what he is being paid to do for the next four years.
All I am saying is I think the Canadiens overpaid (which seems to go without saying to sign any UFA in this market) for a player that is past his prime and on the other side of 30 when there were younger players on the market who have more POTENTIAL upside.
Like I said, time will tell, but my thoughts on the signing are just that, too long, too much and too old.
Glad it has stirred the pot.
You title was my first impression of signing.
However; having Cole play top six vs another year of spot duty for Moan and Darche up is a massive upgrade there and also Kostitsyn maybe a great 3rd liner who hits and seems to play well with Eller.
Overpaid? seems the going rate for Cole type of player.
I would of loved term to be only be 3 years also, but am OK with 4. Would be perfect if he was only 29 years old, but he aint, however he is younger, hits more than and is faster than Darche, so if loses a step over next couple years, he will still fit in a 3rd/4th line role.
I like your point about a solid 3rd/4th liner if he loses some speed over the next few years. It’s nice to read someone thinking beyond what we’ve signed him to be – and looking at what he also might become.
There’s no doubt he’ll fill an immediate role, and in much finer fashion than Moen.
A good, provocative article Kristina. It’s unlikely that anyone can credibly dispute your basic premise: “too long, too much, too old.” It’s fact. The divide comes between people who disapprove of the deal and those who were willing to pay the price and live with the consequences of acquiring Cole.
I may not agree with every point in your piece, but I do strongly defend your right to make your case. Saying that one can only make judgements after the season ends is ludicrous. The lad is simply admitting that he doesn’t have the hockey knowledge to make such judgements and is jealous that you do.
Sifting through the spelling and grammatical errors of his comment, I noticed that he isn’t above hypocrisy. While contending that you can’t make judgements until the end of the year, he gets out his Ouija board to predict 60 points for Cole and goes further (on Twitter) to foresee that the “Habs win cup, Cole scores winner.”
I’d suggest that it’s best to ignore him and engage in debate with knowledgeable hockey fans. There are plenty here.
Thanks for your contribution, Kristina.
“Too much, too long, too old…they are facts.”
Great minds agree to disagree-and I’ll certainly take that option here.
Let’s discuss age first.
Are Gomez and Gionta not the same age as Cole?
This team wants to win the Stanly Cup in the next few years, and Erik Cole willll still be young enough in the short-term.
When Cammaleri, Gionta and Gomez finish their contracts, guess what? Thay’ll ALL be pretty old. SO the goal is to win the cup before these contracts are done.Aside from Pacioretty, all the top-six forwards are in their late 20’s or early 30’s, so Cole actually fits in quite well age-wise.
This timeline also explains why four years is definitely worthile. Let’s not confuse worthwhile with ideal-which few contracts are.
As for too much-if we’re discussing “facts” here, let’s touch on the fact that cost is always relative to NEED. Given Montreal’s desperate need for the exact type of player that Cole is, a player who fits extremely well into their system, and given that said player could be the missing ingredient of a Stanley cup run,you can make a solid argument that this contract is entirely reasonable.
I’d actually say better than reasonable.
Agree to disagree.
Keep stirring the pot, Kristina
Sorry but the fact that you went to see the royal circus just invalidates everything you wrote for me. Try again.
Your immaturity is entertaining. I wasn’t aware the article was addressed specifically to you. Evidently you have nothing intelligent to say regarding the signing or hockey, which is what we are talking about here.
Cole is a big guy that can skate as fast as Gionta. He hits more than Andrei and goes to the net. He is as solid as it gets on his skates. And to refer to his age i don’t think 36 is that old. Look at how Hamrlik played, Roloson, Stillman, Recchi, etc. Good players can still perform when they get older. Why be negative? The guy is a roadrunner!
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