By Joce, Senior Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
When Marc Bergevin agreed to sign Travis Moen to a four year contract extension this summer, he was thinking that he would be a great one-two punch with Brandon Prust. After all, both are good hockey players who can play a physical, in your face brand of hockey and that’s what the newly appointed Habs’ GM wanted to address in the off-season. Little did he know at the time, but Moen has struggled so far to find his competitive edge, become the player he was while playing for the Anaheim Ducks, a team filled with grit and toughness.
PENTICTON, BC. — Travis Moen’s inability to meet the expectations put upon him is now forcing his general manager, Marc Bergevin, to find a solution. Bigger and tougher teams are targeting Brandon Prust as they feel like if they get him off the ice, the Habs don’t have anyone else who will step in. It became apparent in the last two games against the Leafs and the last game against the Bruins. While the team won two of those three games, Prust was a constant target and that is worrisome to management.
It has been reported that Bergevin put a claim on 6-foot-5, 228-pound Tom Sestito when he was placed on waivers by the Flyers, but the Vancouver Canucks won that bid, being lower in the standings than the Habs. The Canucks had just lost Aaron Volpatti to waivers when the Washington Capitals claimed him.
This led the fan base to multiple speculations, from George Parros to Patrick Bordeleau, and anything in between, with fans debating what type of tough guy the Habs should be going after. But looking at the way Michel Therrien is using his players, rotating his lines, it’s hard to believe that he would want a guy who can’t keep up with today’s NHL caliber, just to be put on display for five minutes a game. As a matter of fact, off the regulars who have played five games or more, only Ryan White averages less than 10 minutes of ice time per game, and he sits at 9:36 minutes per game!
Rumours are to be taken with a grain of salt, with the exception when they are being reported by the big three: Darren Dreger, Bob McKenzie and Pierre LeBrun. With that in mind, LeBrun mentioned on TSN’s Trade Centre that Bergevin was interested in pending UFA Ryane Clowe of the San Jose Sharks. With the Sharks on a nose dive and seeing that Clowe’s production has dropped this season, it would not be shocking to the team trying to shake things up a bit. The biggest concern is that Clowe would be the type of player in high demand, so getting him for cheap is very unlikely. Would Bergevin gamble on a pending unrestricted free agent and mostly, would he be willing to overpay after stating himself that the Habs need depth? Time will tell, but the Habs’ biggest rivals, the Boston Bruins, have also been mentioned as a possible destination for Clowe.
For discussions only, I have done a bit of research on some guys who aren’t afraid of dropping the gloves and I tried to find players who play at least 10 minutes per game, or close to that figure. Of course, we’ll be looking at a wide variety of players here, and the asking price will vary greatly.
Depending on what Marc Bergevin is looking for, there are some pretty interesting names in there. Mostly, those are guys who can be on the ice when liberties are taken, players who would be able to react immediately if or when something happens. Granted, some of them may not be available at any price if Bergevin was to call. Others however might be available at the right price, perhaps a bit of an overpayment.
While he may have slowed down this year, Ryane Clowe would be a great addition to this team, adding valuable depth to the top-nine forwards, particularly while Rene Bourque is out with a concussion. Some claim that he’s too slow but it’s never kept him from producing in the past and one can legitimately question why his production has slowed down this year, but so has pretty much everyone else’s on that team. Has the coach lost his dressing room?
When looking at the other names on that list, the top six to nine players, especially the younger ones would cost much more in a trade. Some might however be worth a bit of an over-payment. The same goes for some of the fourth liners on that list. For example, the Vancouver Canucks have been hot on Travis Moen for a while now. Would the Habs be willing to overpay a bit and get Dale Weise for him?
I will stop making suggestions as experience has proven over and over again that it is impossible to get a fan base to agree on the value of certain players. But if I’m Marc Bergevin, I look at this list and I see several players that could help Brandon Prust and ultimately help my team in its pursue to a playoffs’ spot and if this happens, who knows what can happen when you have Carey Price in net?
Either way, Habs’ fans should by now have confidence in Bergevin and his management team as they have not disappointed so far. The future is bright folks, enjoy the ride!
En français: Moen déçoit, le Canadien recherche du muscle
Moen is fine, useful on the 4th line and on the PK. He can be better but if anything Armstrong is the one who needs replacing.
Moen is playing okay. It’s the physical aspect of his game, hitting and defending his teammates that’s lacking big time this year. Is he hurt? I’m kind of hoping that he is, otherwise it’s motivation and that’s alarming for a guy on a 4 year contract.
Montreal hasn’t lost this season by being outmuscled, they’ve lost when they have gotten away from their game or have come out poorly and another fighter isn’t going to change that.
Their two worst losses this season, a 5-1 drubbing by Ottawa and a 6-0 humiliation by Toronto weren’t anything to do with a scrap on the ice but early breakdowns that gave Ottawa and Toronto everything they needed to win on the scoresheet. The 6-3 NYI loss had nothing to do with muscle either but some poor goaltending and weak defence.
Canadiens succeed when they shrug off attempted intimidation and play their game. Sestito would have detracted from on-ice success, he’s not a credible hockey player and I’m bothered Bergevin would have been interested in him. As it was said to him on the ice and recorded during Rangers-Flyers 24/7 last year “You’re at fantasy camp”. Moen-White-Armstrong works better than a lot of 4ths in the NHL right now anyway.
I strongly disagree, but that’s not surprising. You and I will never see eye to eye on the toughness issue. Agree to disagree.
I agree that Montreal could possibly use some more grit and maybe some toughness. And I’ll admit, after that Leafs loss I was really “hoping” Bergevin would grab a tough guy to keep teams honest and Prust out of the box. But like Mr. Rice pointed out, Montreal plays much better when shrugging off the thuggery and stoking to their own game.
As far as tough guys are concerned, their is zero sense in getting a guy like Parros and wasting potential assets when you can just as easily sign Zack Stortini, who plays down in Hamilton, and not give up anything but some pocket change.
As for Moen, I think he as well as whoever we use on the 4th line would be best served to see Colby Armstrong moved. I’ll admit, I thought we were getting the pre-Leaf Armstrong but we got the post Leaf, slow as molasses and unbalanced Colby. If we could unload him and get a gritty, hard hitting 4th liner who is willing to drop the gloves on occasion(essentially another Prust), I think the team would be much better off.
we don’t need to lose assets to sign a thug !!!
I agree. It all depends on your definition of “thug”. Personally, I don’t consider Prust a “thug” and the players I’m mentioning above all play at least 10 minutes a game, which means that they contribute something else aside from toughness. That’s the type of player the Habs should get, not a goon playing 5 minutes. My opinion, of course.
There were games last year when I thought Moen had graduated from a fourth liner to top-6 or at least top-9 — maybe that’s a stretch, but he was looking good offensively, giving us some size upfront, and I could see him maybe developing into an Al Secord, Clark Gillies or Shane Corson type — stand in front of the net, take a beating but stand his ground, and score a ton of ugly ones. OK, maybe wishful thinking. But I still like him a lot, and would like to keep him.
Chris Stewart is the player who stands out on your list, but not sure the Habs can afford him. Personally, I think the toughness needs to come from the back end — isn’t that what Boston has done for the most part? The defense needs to get bigger. We should have signed O’Brien or retained Mara, but them’s the breaks. Out with Bouillon, in with Pateryn or Tinordi. Eventually Gionta will be gone, and hopefully by then you’ve developed a power forward type. In other words, we may have to wait a bit. (BTW, what ever happened to Ian Schultz?)
I often hear suggestions from fans regarding the Habs obtaining a “heavyweight” to complement Brandon Prust’s “middleweight” toughness. Personally, I’d like to see the NHL move to adopting fighting rules that have been implemented in the OHL. Phasing out the one-dimensional ‘player’ should be a priority of the NHL.
I agree that part of the answer to the Habs situation could be answered with an upgrade to the backend. Say goodbye to Diaz, Bouillon, Kaberle and integrate players like Tinordi and Dietz. Unfortunately Bergevin dealt Brendon Nash, a mobile, physical defenseman, who could have helped even in the transition to Dietz and Beaulieu.
For those wondering, Ian Schultz is currently on a tour of the ECHL having played for Wheeling, Utah and San Francisco this season. His conditioning is dreadful and should make fans question the judgement of coach Clem Jodoin who thought Schultz was good enough for significant ice-time including power-play and penalty-killing duty last season.
As far as Zach Stortini, he has difficulty keeping up with the pace of the AHL game and should firmly be put out of the minds of Habs fans as an answer to anything.
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