Habster:
Robert Lang may not have been the first choice of most Montreal Canadiens fans but he will make the Habs a harder team to play against.
With the acquisition of Lang and the re-signing of Patrice Brisebois, Bob Gainey appears satisfied with his roster heading into training camp on September 19th.
Gainey definitely sounded like a GM who was happy with his plan “B” moves.
“Robert was the first guy on our list on the trade front,” Gainey told Canadiens.com. “We’ve been trying to fill that center position and now we have with a guy who gives more size and strength down the middle. It was important to get things settled before training camp. Now, I’m ready to put this team in the coaches’ hands.”
Count me as one of those Hab fans who had his sights set on Mats Sundin coming to Montreal. With that being said, Robert Lang is a decent consolation prize for a team which lacks size and depth down the middle. He also has the potential to produce a 50-60 point season, possibly playing along side the likes of Alex Tanguay, Alex Kovalev (his former linemate with the Penguins) or even Christopher Higgins.
There will be some Hab fans who see Lang as a player that has lost a step and isn’t as good as he was a few years ago. Frankly, I see him as a player that brings the Habs another veteran presence in the locker room who can add more offense to an already potent lineup. He is also a very capable face-off man who won 53.1 % of his draws last season with the Blackhawks.
With Lang, Plekanec and Koivu playing down the middle, the Canadiens have the potential to be a difficult team to contain. They will have three solid lines with the capacity to produce offense off the rush, a growing trend in the NHL.
Granted, Gainey has added another two UFAs to his already long list of UFA players on the Habs roster (Canadiens will now have 10 UFAs after this season) . Losing a 38 year old player whose best days, for the most part, are behind him isn’t of great concern.
The re-signing of Patrice Brisebois, on the other hand, gave me a bit of a “knee jerk” reaction. He played reasonable well last season especially in the playoff but hopefully he will not take away ice time from the continual development of Ryan O’Byrne.
Hopefully, Brisebois is a complimentary player/7th defenseman who helps fill the gaps when players get hurt (and Carbonneau doesn’t give his old friend extra playing time). At $1.5 million, he certainly is an expensive 7th defenseman along with Mathieu Dandenault’s $1.75 million.
The acquisition of Lang and the re-signing of Brisebois should be considered low risk, high reward situation heading into the Canadiens centennial year. Here’s hoping they can contribute to a Stanley Cup victory.