i'd rather have mara in the line up than o'byrne...
he's big, mobile and can play 2nd wave PP.
he leveled off after being a first round pick, but i think he's becoming a better player... he isn't thirty yet and will do well, like gill, with a specific (read: limited) role.
i think gainey has assembled a much better team than anything we've seen in years.
I agree with Jamal on this one. I think Mara could serve us well and hope we see him much more often than O'Byrne. I'm kind of disapointed for Weber and Carle tough as it seems they are now Hamilton-bound, once again...
"to replace our adequate producers up front" ...the proof is in the pudding - the players that were let go were given time to make things happen and we all know the results.
I'm with Jamal on this one as well. I think add a big body who can skate and move the puck can only help our depth on D (assuming of course the contract makes sense).
We can't bitch that we need a shake up and then complain when we get it.
Gut reaction: what's a Paul Mara? A high maintenance piece of furniture? A virus? A new drink?
Rational flash reaction: 30 y/old, played over 1100 min at ES, mots frequent linemate: Mark Stall. Qualcomp (per behindthenet) is -0.01, Corsi of +29 (team was at +400, Gomez at +320). Meh.
I guess Bob felt he needed one more NHL-ready body to block the kids, most notably Subban, Carle and Weber; if they can't outperform Gill and or Mara, then they are better off learning in Hamilton with Boucher. It does leaves O'Byrne in an odd spot too. Which isn't that bad if you ask me.
Travis Moenfor 3 years.
AHL fodder?
You know what though....
It's kinda weird really... Most were wrong about the Habs 2 years ago. And most were wrong about them last year. Analysts and fans alike.
It was obvious that something was wrong and changes were badly needed. We've got a new dressing room. New lineup. Sure there are lots of questions.... but that's the case with any team going through an overhaul. If I were a Leafs fan, I'd question just how much offense they're gonna have.
One thing is for sure, this is Gainey's team. If it's a flop... he'll be out.
There are so many factors... new coachs with a new system (we'll at least presume right??)... new lineup...
It's really a "wait and see" kind of situation. It's the rebirth of a team... much like the Flyers did a few years ago.
I'm coming around on Mara. I don't like the salary much at all. Let's be clear, though, if he wasn't big I don't think anyone would be justifying this pick-up. And, I'd rather have others. The journo I most respect floated Sydor – the slightly older yet more effective Paul Mara.
Anyway, we are now officially a reconstituted team.
Teams that reconstitute themselves with so many free agents are rare, but from the few there are, history shows us this year will not be kind.
The most recent team was Tampa 2008-09, who everyone loved because they picked up lots of bodies turned out to be downright laughable. The post-lockout Flyers did the same (you may remember before all the trades) and had their worst finish in decades. The Penguins after the lockout went the UFA bonanza route as well and floundered.
I'm hoping that Montreal can prove to be among the first relatively successful slash and burn operations in recent NHL history. Good luck to us all, if they're not.
It'll be interesting to see how Bob manages the cap.
We currently sit at (peeks at nhlnumbers.com) around 48 millions of commited money for the 09-10 season and with 16 roster spots filled. That figure doesn't includes guys like Pacioretty and Weber, who are counted as Hamilton-Bound, nor does it includes Mara and Moen.
The trick is, the money we have left isn't money left to sign our remaining RFA; it's money left to fill the roster. Bob can sign D'Agostini for 5 mil a year and stash him in Hamilton if he feels like it.
But how much money do we have left? nhlnumbers.com doesn't account for Mara (1.675) and Moen (1.5) yet and gives us 10.5 mil of cap space.
That means we effectively have 7.2 mil left to fill between 3 and 5 roster spots. The 5 remaining RFA are (with my estimate for salary) Pleks (2.75), Gui! (1.25), D'Agostini (1), Chipchura (0.75) and Stewart (0.75). Which adds up to 6.5 millions. And I'm being generous with everybody.
Looks like we are all set. Unless Bob trades Hamrlik that is...
He has stacked trade deadline assets. I will give him that.
Want a big defenceman to protect you against injury in the playoffs? Go see Gainey. Want Travis Moen, still imbued with the mythic playoff hero tag? See Bob Gainey.
Given his ingrown talent for trading, all those players should get us a 5th and 7th for 2013.
Seriously though, Bob must have noticed what the rest of us have by now. That keeping cap space for flexibility is useless. All the best teams are right up against the cap and they just manage. The teams with space are the teams that didn't sign enough talent, simple as that.
Also consider that no one realy trades except on deadline day, so cap space isn't much use if you care about the other 3/4 of the season.
Spending right to the cap is just as sensible as not. I'm not worried. Go over for all I care. I'll play a game on an amteaur tryout contract...
You are spot on when it comes to spending to the cap. More precisely, you are spot on underlining this is an adjustment Bob just made. Better late than never I guess.
One positive of the Mara signing - pretty much guarantees no Breezer. Moen seems to me like the Kostopolous replacement.
I feel like Bob is really stocking up on the trade merchandise. Hopefully he won't wait until he's trading for 5th-round picks as you say.
Chips signed for $500k today so maybe Olivier's right and we can sign everyone on his list - which doesn't include Brisebois or Dandenault. Nice.
habs fan for over 30 yrs but i'm amazed that gainey is able to attract any first-rate talent at all. quebec is a taxation wasteland. try competing with states in the u.s. that don't have any income tax (state level).
do any of the big, rich stars live in canada any more? those guys have an alternative to getting cornholed by the cdn. taxman.
I think they all have to pay...
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