Written by: Iain Carnegie, AllHabs.net
MONTREAL, QC. — “I am stuck on Band-Aid brand, because Band Aid’s stuck on me.”
You know the jingle don’t you? Where all the little ones are running around your television screen proclaiming the perfection of that tiny little cotton absorption pad, overlaid with a plastic sheet with holes for ventilation.
So the Habs welcome their latest little cotton pad; namely Tomas Kaberle. The announcement came early this afternoon from Pierre Gauthier that Jaroslav Spacek has been traded to the Carolina Hurricanes for defenseman Tomas Kaberle.
“The move this morning was to acquire a quarterback for our power play.” ~ Head Coach Jacques Martin
There is no doubt that the offensive power play special teams unit is lacking something. With the power play sitting 28th overall in the league (11.8%), there is a definite issue that needs to be addressed. Not that we all haven’t realized this over the past several weeks. There have been plenty of articles written discussing this issue. I myself have been far from silent about the problem.
When you look back at the last two seasons that Jacques Martin has coached this franchise, the outstanding difference between previous seasons and this one is in the special teams performance. It’s something that the Canadiens organization saw themselves, and tried rectifying with their sacrificial lamb, Coach Perry Pearn.
But how does this move positively effect this problematic issue? Well in straightforward terms: it doesn’t.
Kaberle has been a declining presence in the NHL for years. There is no doubt that he had some positive seasons while playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. But since his peak season of 2005-2006 (9G, 58A) he has been dropping off the radar. Even in the Big Smoke there were many that thought he was a better small forward than a power defenseman.
He was often overshadowed by Brian McCabe in his defensive role in Toronto, and after serving twelve years in a Leafs jersey, the itch became too much and he shrewdly begged for a trade to Boston. Why the Bruins picked him up remains a mystery, but his tenure there was short. Just long enough to put a Stanley Cup ring on his finger.
By season’s end, there would be no future for Kaberle in Massachusetts, and instead, a regretful Carolina Hurricanes franchise signed a contract with the diminishing d-man.
It all doesn’t just lie in the numbers however. Kaberle has shown his inability to be a decent point man on the power-play in the not so distant past. His play has become predictable at best, and he’s a far cry from the quarterback that Martin is making him out to be.
“The player that’s supposed to fill that role for us right now is Andrei Markov, but he has yet to play a game this year and with his latest surgery is expected to be out till after the All-Star break.” ~ Jacques Martin
So what message can we take away from this trade? Clearly by Martin’s statement, Markov is farther out than any of us hoped, so we need a band-aid to solve the situation, but to what detriment does this trade leave the Canadiens?
First of all, the current roster will inevitably suffer. With Chris Campoli slated to return tomorrow against the New Jersey Devils, it means less or no ice time for our developing young talent. Alexei Emelin will most likely suffer in time-on-ice as will Raphael Diaz and yannick Weber. In reality, Weber may have seen his last days in a Habs uniform.
Secondly, and more importantly, is the effect this contract will have on our future. Signing a long term contract with an increased dollar value will have many a repercussion on the future roster. Spacek would have become a unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, meaning that, by not re-signing him, it would have opened up significant cap space to re-sign Carey Price, P.K. Subban, and Josh Gorges.
As things stand now, Gauthier has committed himself to $4.25M per year over the next three years making it much more difficult to offer substantial contracts to these three top dogs, without making some other serious changes. To me this belies a much more intense situation than the franchise needs at the moment.
Some will say that the trade-off for Spacek was a fair trade, but not with the contract that’s offered. Keep in mind, Kaberle has not been brought in as a replacement for Spacek. This is not a player for player deal. But the cost this will have on the Canadiens in the long haul will not put the team in a better position.
In the end, we are placing yet one more band-aid on a gaping wound. A wound that requires stitches and a real solution. Not something just to cover the injury while it continues to fester and bleed.
Hello, Iain!
Your article summarizes a lot of fans dejected reaction to this trade (although more articulately than most!). While I am not a great fan of our new Dman, Tomas “Katch-22” Kaberle, I don’t see this trade as the cataclysm (to keep with the End of Days mood agitating the fanbase) it is made out to be, even in the long term.
It is obvious that, whatever we may think of that, Martin and Gauthier identified their power play as a most glaring weakness, one they had no choice but to address in the prolonged absence of Markov. A “band-aid”, as you say, was needed, but the market for band-aids at this time is a seller’s dream, with worried GMs looking for puck-moving defensemen in the most unlikely places. The fear that permeated the discourse this week was that PG would pull a PG and sacrifice precious assets (at least the proverbial 2nd rounder) for that quick fix… because nothing valuable could likely be had at a lower price.
Enter Tomas Kaberle.
Whether Katch-22 is on an irreversible decline, has already sunk to the bottom of the barrel, or can reclaim bits of his former glory, such as it is, is impossible to estimate now. We’ll see soon enough. But at least the potential is there (along with the experience), because it has been proven to exist in the past. That is not the case with a green kid.
You are right in pointing out that Kaberle will suck ice time away from young’uns, but I’d say that is sorely needed. Subban, for one, will benefit from reduced ice time (30 minutes!) and responsibilities on PP, where he’ll now be tasked with the simpler job of shooting, rather than quarterbacking. Diaz is not a 25 minutes-a-game man. I don’t see Emelin losing out if he maintains his level of play (a worry often expressed about young players, who tend to fade out as intensity rises). And Hal Gill may play a bit less, which is not, in itself, a bad thing.
You are also right in noting that Kaberle wasn’t brought in to replace Spacek, since it was increasingly difficult to find a spot for Spacek in the lineup (his return would have eaten the minutes you speak about, by the way). Yet I contend that this IS, in fact, a player for player deal: Kaberle was brought in to replace Yannick Weber, whose days seem indeed numbered. If Weber (and to a lesser extent PK) had developed as he was expected to, the Katch-22 would not exist.
The effect Kaberle’s contract will/would have on the future seems to send everyone in a complete fit of the hysterics. This creates a sort of narrative echo where everyone tends to repeat the same thing without stopping to look at the situation closely.
Supposing that PG actually intends to keep Kaberle for the duration of his contract (an extremely dubious assumption, especially in the light of the upcoming CBA negotiations) AND that Markov returns for same, the “top pair” (in money terms) would cost $10M in cap space; say PK Subban, who is an RFA with no arbitration rights, manages to wrangle a $4,5M contract, and Gorges agrees to a (reasonable) $3,5M salary, your 2nd pair costs $8M; add $3,25M for a bottom-pair of Emelin-Diaz (also RFAs without arbitration) and $750,000 for a cheap 7th D like St-Denis (or a Woywitka), and you have a battle-tested defensive lineup, with a deep talent pool, allowed to slowly mature in the AHL for a year, available for call-ups if necessary. All for $22M.
That is not a significant change from what we have known in the Markov-Hamrlik-Gill-Spacek era. Moreover, though he might simply be delusional, I think PG already knows that Gomez will, one way or the other, be off his books next year, freeing more than enough cap space to re-up Price.
Furthermore, Gauthier’s gamble can play itself out along several scenarios… but I’ll spare you that analysis and save it for a blog entry!
That being (long-windedly!) said, I’d be curious to know what your “stitches and a real solution” package would entail.
Been a long time my friend … Hope you don’t stay away this long in the future.
Despite the fact that I agree with your math, the bottom line is that I don’t believe this is the right player for the team. I’m not in a panic, and I think you know by now that I don’t just spout the party line – regardless of what people may be saying on Twitter. Some of the reaction is way over the top, and I agree with you on that.
I don’t like Emelin getting a cut in ice time. He needs the time to develop. Something this franchise has been terrible at for years (developing new young players), to our detriment. I don’t mind PK having his time cut though. Much needed and I agree with you on that.
As much as I agree that there is no pedigree to rely on with the young players, I also am never too thrilled with rewarding someone with distant past skills with a 4.25M contract. I said the same about Gorges when the fans screamed that he didn’t get enough money or a long enough term. Prove yourself and then make your money.
It’s well known that Kaberle was considered a mistake by both Boston and Carolina, and I don’t want to see Montreal going down the same road.
You and I will only really be able to say with authority that the franchise made a good or bad move once we see if Kaberle can perform. If he does – I’ll eat the crow you serve me, but if he proves to be the long term bust that I think … “dinner’s served” ;-)
“the bottom line is that I don’t believe this is the right player for the team”
The Habs powerplay has stunk this year (28th in the league?). It’s been one of the team’s major weaknesses. No one has been able to quarterback the PP properly and it has cost the team many games. The Habs needed to do something asap.
So if Kaberle, a 6 foot 1, 200 pounds, Stanley Cup winner, 4 time NHL All-Star, with tons of international experience [(Olympic (1 bronze), World Championship (1 gold & 1 silver), World Cup, World Juniors], is considered one of the best offensive defencemen in the past decade (who, by the way, was the 14th highest scoring NHL d-men last year), has scored more than 40 points ten times, and played in the other big NHL market (Maple Laffs), is not the right player for the team, than who is?
trade done! whats next? can’t really fire the whole team now can we. Play this out hopefully its good and things will improve. It’s still not too late for other moves and the next move in need wouldn’t you think it falls on the coach? only time will tell!
Don’t see the coach going anywhere to be honest with you. This team continues to play for the coach full out, and there are no signs of dissension within the ranks. That’s generally what it takes (along with a solid losing skid)to move a coach.
On top of that, the team is in great shape outside of their PP and losses in overtime. Something that the franchise feels – if rectified – will turn the club around. Hence the Kaberle trade. Fix the PP.
I’m not convinced that this is the man to do it and I certainly don’t like it at 4.25M per year over three years.
You are certainly right about one thing – only time will tell.
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