All Habs Headlines: Wednesday June 20, 2012
On this day in hockey history… In 1992, former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Roman Hamrlik was taken first overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL Entry Draft.
ALL HABS HEADLINES
► Habs add 3: The Canadiens announced three new hires this morning; Ethan Moreau will be a part-time Pro Scout, covering the NHL’s Western Conference, Donald Dufresne becomes the second Assistant Coach in Hamilton, along with Ron Wilson, and Vincent Riendeau was hired as a Goaltending Consultant with the Bulldogs.
If you’re having trouble tracking all of the new hires this summer, you’re not alone. So we’ve summarized them all in an easy to read Hockey Operations Organizational Chart, which you can download HERE.
Read more: Official Release – Dufresne, Riendeau join Bulldogs coaching staff, Moreau joins scouting staff
► Free agent pool gets thinner: An already weak class of impending free agents has gotten even thinner over the last few days, with Brad Stuart signing in San Jose, and Barret Jackman and Josh Harding each re-upping with their former clubs.
But the biggest signing yesterday was the Ottawa Senators inking pending RFA defenseman Erik Karlsson to a seven-year, $6.5M cap hit contract following his phenomenal 78-point season. What does this mean for Montreal’s own soon-to-be restricted free agent stud on the blueline in P.K. Subban? Certainly, Karlsson is miles ahead of Subban, who had only 36 points last year by comparison, at this point, but it is still a form of gauge for his worth. A reasonable estimate might be a long-term deal somewhere between $4M and $5.5M annually for the budding star.
► TSN Mock Draft: TSN conducted their annual mock draft yesterday, with Pierre McGuire and Craig Button making the selections for all 30 NHL teams. The two agreed that Alex Galchenyuk would be the perfect fit for the Canadiens at third overall, after seeing Nail Yakupov and Ryan Murray go with the first two picks. Montreal GM Marc Bergevin was interviewed during the show, indicating that he was open to all possibilities with the third overall selection, including either moving up or moving down. When asked if he had spoken with Edmonton Oilers GM Steve Tambellini, Bergevin indicated the last time they spoke was when Tambellini called to wish him good luck in Montreal, but that he expects another phone call in the near future.
Read more: 2012 Mock Draft
For mock drafts from the All Habs crew, please visit our Draft Centre.
► Piecing together the preseason: While the Habs have yet to do so, a number of NHL teams have released their 2012 preseason schedules (of course pending there not being a lockout). From the schedules of other clubs, we have the dates of six Canadiens games, as follows:
September 23 – Ottawa at Montreal
September 24 – Buffalo at Montreal
September 27 – Montreal at Ottawa
October 2 – Montreal vs. Carolina – in Quebec City
October 3 – Carolina at Montreal
October 6 – Boston at Montreal
► Canadiens on Twitter: A few interesting Tweets from Habs prospects lately have given us some information.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/MorganEllis4/status/215257843257970691″]
First, we learn that Morgan Ellis plans to spend his summer here in Montreal, training to make his pro debut in the Fall. While he is likely to spend a full season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, it is never too soon for him to get acquainted with his future home. Ellis also tweeted “Finally got my own wheels!” If you’re interested, it’s a grey extended cab Chevy Silverado.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/EasyMac_16/status/215170873777336321″]
Next, we have a Tweet from prospect Mark MacMillan, one in a series of back-and-forths between him and fellow prospect Patrick Holland (after an absence Holland has reactivated his Twitter account.) Here, MacMillan shares a text message from Brendan Gallagher, indicating both that Gallagher plans to sign up for Twitter come training camp in the Fall, and that he is counting down to Habs’ camp, stating yesterday that it was 89 days away. That would put the start of camp at Sunday, September 16th, though it isn’t clear if this refers to rookie camp or the big club.
For those concerned about Danny Kristo‘s commitment to Montreal he sent out the following Father’s Day tweet:
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/dkristo7/status/214507283839860737″]
This prompted a response from fellow prospect Olivier Archambault writing “bravo pour ton francais !! #beauty”
► New at All Habs Hockey Magazine:
All Habs 2012 NHL Entry Draft Mock Draft – Part 1
All Habs Top 10: Depth UFA Targets for Habs
Should Max Pacioretty Win the Masterton Trophy?
Les Kings rassemblent aux Canadiens
Habs’ Toughness… Piece of Cake
Two Minutes for Asking: Need Hockey Fan Advice?
NHL Entry Draft Q&A With Mark Edwards, HockeyProspect.com