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
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.