Another aspect of the game to watch will be the battle of fourth liners: Gregory Stewart who I wouldn’t be surprised taking Steve Begin’s place next season, Kyle Chipchura who is still in a dog fight for the potential two reserve forward spots (depending what Carbo does with his starting NHL roster) and Matt D’Agostini who has been very impressive in his pre-season games (though he is more of a second or third line guy)……sorry for the run-on sentence!!!
Will Mathieu Dandenault’s versatility be his saving grace even at a cap hit of $1.75 million? Gainey has been reluctant to waiver players and has never sent a veteran down to the farm to bury his salary (once again correct me if I’m mistaken here??!!).
I certainly feel for Dandenault as he is caught in the numbers game this season. He did perform admirably last season when Carbo used him exclusively at the forward position and to his credit, didn’t complain when he sat in the press box for 22 games.
Are you getting the impression that Yannick Weber is this year’s version of Guillaume Latendresse and/or Carey Price? If the Swiss grenade launcher can continue his strong play in the next 2-3 pre-season games, who’s to say that Guy Carbonneau and the coaching staff don’t decide to keep him on the roster to start the season. The Habs could keep Weber for the first 9-10 games to see what he can do against real NHL rosters.
The coaching staff is downright drooling at the thought of having Weber’s hard, accurate shot manning the powerplay point. You can also add his creativity, great in ice vision and skating ability to the mix.
With that said, we have to be realistic and understand that Weber just turned 20 years old with only junior/WJC games under his belt. There are still aspects of his game which need some polishing, something he probably needs to develop at Hamilton for a season. If the Habs’ PP does falter, then Weber is only a phone call away.
Gainey didn’t mind putting Samsonov on the waivers twice. He never had to send a player down for cap salary purposes but don’t think Gainey wouldn’t do it if necessary. But in Dandenault case, it wouldn’t be to remove salary from the team as the Habs aren’t that close to the cap and the difference between him and Chipper ain’t that big.
And forget Webber for now. There already isn’t enough space for Dandenault on defense so forget about bringing him in until injuries. However, next year Gainey won’t think about signing Brisebois.
Hey Jean-Francois,
Let’s exclude Samaonov from the equation as he was a cancer in the locker room and was a selfish player who wasn’t producing on the ice.
As far as Dandenault is concerned, there is approximately $1 million difference between his salary and Chipper. In the salary cap era of the NHL, that amount could get you a decent rental in March or help relace an injured player during the season.
The Weber situation is easy….he should go to Hamilton and play half or a full season to further develop his game.
Teams should be care when they bring players into the league too early as these players will be 3 year NHLers who will be RFAs. A salary potential of $2-3 million per season is certainly possible if they put up half decent statistic……..Guillaume Latendresse at $3 million per season is a pretty steep price to pay in my opinion.
Anyhow, thanks for your well thoughtout opinion, it’s appreciated!!
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