PK
05-05-2008, 10:39 PM
Now that we're out of it for this season, what's the summer going to bring? Are we finally going to land that big name UFA? Maybe trade for that mythical big centre?
UFAs
Patrice Brisebois
Michael Ryder
Bryan Smolinski
Mark Streit
Streit has to be the no. 1 priority and as he's said on many occasions that he wants to stay, I believe this will be wrapped up before July at 2.5 to 3 millions/year. Ryder is definitely out, no room for an underachiever given the talent coming up. Brisebois could be re-signed for another year at the same price to play the same role. I think Gainey will let Smolinski walk to open the spot for Chipchura, who should be in Montreal full-time next year.
Possible opening night lineup
I doubt we'll see Koivu and Kovalev playing together. I believe Gainey will spend some time shopping for a RW for the Captain, with some interesting names available (Hossa, Demitra, Jagr and Rolston). Out of these, I believe the most likely to come to Montreal, based on the player's past statements, is Jagr. A high-impact RW is probably the only thing we should be interested in on the free agent market.
There's a strong possibility that Sergei Kostitsyn will be moved to centre since his skills set seems to fit the bill. Whatever happens, I expect the brothers to be paired on the same line. That will probably bump Plekanec from the first to third line. Latendresse will probably play one of the wings, but the other is up in the air. I wouldn't be surprised to see that spot left open for a youngster. Guys like Grabovski, D'Agostini, Maxwell, White, Stewart and perhaps even Pacioretty will be competing for the one open spot in training camp. There's also the possibility of playing Streit at RW and Bouillon on D.
Kostitsyn - Kostitsyn - Kovalev
Higgins - Koivu - ???
Latendresse - Plekanec - ???
Lapierre/Bégin - Chipchura/Lapierre - Kostopoulos/Stewart
Markov - Komisarek
Hamrlik - O'Byrne
Gorges - Streit
Bouillon
Price
Halak
So, what's happening this summer?
UFAs
Patrice Brisebois
Michael Ryder
Bryan Smolinski
Mark Streit
Streit has to be the no. 1 priority and as he's said on many occasions that he wants to stay, I believe this will be wrapped up before July at 2.5 to 3 millions/year. Ryder is definitely out, no room for an underachiever given the talent coming up. Brisebois could be re-signed for another year at the same price to play the same role. I think Gainey will let Smolinski walk to open the spot for Chipchura, who should be in Montreal full-time next year.
Possible opening night lineup
I doubt we'll see Koivu and Kovalev playing together. I believe Gainey will spend some time shopping for a RW for the Captain, with some interesting names available (Hossa, Demitra, Jagr and Rolston). Out of these, I believe the most likely to come to Montreal, based on the player's past statements, is Jagr. A high-impact RW is probably the only thing we should be interested in on the free agent market.
There's a strong possibility that Sergei Kostitsyn will be moved to centre since his skills set seems to fit the bill. Whatever happens, I expect the brothers to be paired on the same line. That will probably bump Plekanec from the first to third line. Latendresse will probably play one of the wings, but the other is up in the air. I wouldn't be surprised to see that spot left open for a youngster. Guys like Grabovski, D'Agostini, Maxwell, White, Stewart and perhaps even Pacioretty will be competing for the one open spot in training camp. There's also the possibility of playing Streit at RW and Bouillon on D.
Kostitsyn - Kostitsyn - Kovalev
Higgins - Koivu - ???
Latendresse - Plekanec - ???
Lapierre/Bégin - Chipchura/Lapierre - Kostopoulos/Stewart
Markov - Komisarek
Hamrlik - O'Byrne
Gorges - Streit
Bouillon
Price
Halak
So, what's happening this summer?