- Kent Huskins (Anaheim) has impressed me with his playoff performance to date and would be affordable. Problem is that he is affordable for the Ducks as well.
- Andy Sutton and Vitaly Vishnevski (Atlanta) are also solid but unspectacular players.
- Brad Stuart (Calgary) is an all round defenseman
- Roman Hamrlik (Calgary) would be a decent replacement for Souray powerplay time if he isn’t signed by the Habs.
- Mathieu Schneider and Danny Markov (Detroit) are still playing well and would probably be interested due to Montreal connections (ex hab and brother to Andrei).
- Aaron Miller (LA) is a “shut down” type of defenseman who would be a nice addition on the third pairing.
Other notable players: Brent Sopel, Kimmo Timonen, Tom Preissing, Scott Hannan.
UFA forwards:
- Daniel Briere is a very gifted player and would be a nice addition but would his creativity be limited by Coach Charbonneau’s defensive system.
- Chris Drury would be a great fit in Charbonneau’s system as he can play a two way game.
- Teemu Selanne would a nice addition to Saku Koivu’s line as they have played well together at international tournaments. The Ducks will probably re-sign him though.
- Jozef Stumpel is a big center with play making abilities who would help Alex Kovalev.
- Scott Gomez would be a great center for his speed, play making abilities and understanding a defensive system that New Jersey plays.
Other players: Bryan Smolinski, Ryan Smith, Petr Sykora, Derek Armstrong, Todd White, Paul Kariya, Scott Hartnell, Jason Blake, Brendan Shanahan, Bill Guerin and Dainius Zubrus.
Complete UFA list: http://proicehockey.about.com/od/nhlfreeagents/a/07nhlfreeagents.htm
The other option available to management would be to acquire a player(s) via trades. This would be the more likely route as the Canadiens have enough combination of prospects and draft picks to use with a player or two from the roster. In the end, the ability to make changes via trades and/or free agent signings is there for Bob Gainey to improve the on ice product. The Canadiens have the available salary cap but must spend it wisely. Here’s hoping Bob Gainey can play the game off the ice as well as he did on the ice,…….in Bob we trust!!!!!
Great article! I’ve book marked this site so I can check on my Habs.
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