Samsonov Shipped Out and Other Notes

The Habs have finally relieved themselves of the expensive underachieving veteran Sergei Samsonov. The trade was made on Saturday June 16th with the Chicago Blackhawks. The deal sent Samsonov to the Hawks for 6'5, 244 lb defencmen Jason Cullimore and for smallish forward and former Hamilton Bulldogs Tony Salmelainen. Not long after the trade Gainey bought out the remainder of Cullimore's contract to make him a UFA. The deal frees up roughly 3 million in cap space for the Habs to put towards a bid for big name free agents like Briere and Drury. The 34 year old Cullimore collected 7 points least year while playing 65 games. Salmelainen is 25 and recorded 17 points in his rookie campaign with the Hawks.

Its been well known that Samsonov was on his way out. As early as November of 2006 he was already complaining about ice time and shortly there after asked for a trade out of Montreal. Bob tried to accommodate the disgruntled winger but there were few teams lining up to acquire the services of a small forward making over 3.4 million and producing very little. He was even put on waivers for any team to pick up for FREE and still there were no takers. When all was set and done he finished the year with 9 goals and 26 assists and was a healthy scratch for a total of 19 games. Not the production and ice time you expect from a player being paid that much and who was your big off season free agent signing.

Valentenko Signed: The hulking Russian defencmen who was predicted to sign this year has done just that. He signed a 3 year entry level contract with Montreal and will most likely start the season in the AHL to hone his skills. Things were also starting to look up for a fellow Russian defencmen Alexei Emelin. It had been reported that he had agree in principal to a contract with Montreal and all he had to do was commit to coming to North America and sign the dotted line. Not so fast. Then this past weekend there was a report the Emelin had signed a new 2 year contract with AK Bars Kazan of the RSL. The report appears to be true although he was supposed to be under contract with Lada for one more year. Either way it looks like Habs fans will have to wait a little longer to see the young defencmen in action.

Komisarek and Higgins Re-sign: 24 year old Chris Higgins and 25 year old Mike Komisarek have both signed new 2 year contract with the Habs. They are 2 of the 4 young players that are RFA who were starting to make big contributions to the team. The other two, Plekanec and Perezhogin have yet to re-sign. Although Perezhogin did sign a contract in the RSL and will not be back with Montreal. Higgins started last year off the way he ended his rookie year posting 13 points in as many game. Then in a game against New Jersey he was hit into the boards awkwardly and sprained his ankle which put him out of the lineup for an extended period of time and was never really able to pick up were he left off. He finished the year off with 38 points in 61 games. Komisarek had a career year and played on the teams top defensive duo with Andrei Markov. He recorded 4 goals and 15 assists for 19 points in 82 games. They will both make 1.5 million this coming year and 1.9 the following year.

Yashin a Hab???

The latest word coming out of the speculators is that Alexei Yashin is interested in playing in Montreal along side fellow Russian Alex Kovalev. I am not sure what to make of this. I have despised Yashin ever since the whole fiasco that occurred in Ottawa.

However, I sat and thought about this one. What I have realized is that Yashin could be an asset to the Canadiens if the money is right. The right price for the Canadiens is no more than 2-3 million a season for no more than two years. The key is that Gainey can not get locked into a contract for a player who has had a history of being trouble in the locker room and being lazy on the ice. If it doesn't work out, Gainey would have to find someone to take him off his hands which will be much easier if he has a manageable contract.

Will Yashin take a much smaller salary than he is used to? Well I guess that depends on how much he wants to play in Montreal.

Whether you agree or disagree that Gainey should consider Yashin as that big center to support Kovalev you can't deny that his potential point production is attractive for a guy who puts up just under a point per game and could be part of a dynamic punch with the other big Russian.

Samsonov, Going, Going.....

The word on the street is that Gainey is about to continue his offseason tune up by buying out the contract of unhappy, non-productive Sergei Samsonov. This should cost the Canadiens 1.2million for the next two seasons.

The most important part of this buyout should be to remove the bad attitude which can be contageous. The other thing it does is ensures an open roster spot for some of those up and coming Bulldogs like Kostitsyn, Chipchura, or possibly Grabovski.

I am really looking forward to seeing who is going to move up from the Bulldogs to replace some of the open roster spots.

Bulldogs Take Home The Calder Cup

That's right folks, The Hamilton Bulldogs are the first pro hockey team in Ontario to take home a championship since the Toronto Maple Leafs did it in 1967. Wow must really suck to be a leaf fan :). Anyways the Bulldogs ended up taking the series 4-1 with the 2-1 victory on Thursday night over the Hershey Bears. The same Hershey Bears that defeated the Bulldogs in 1997. This is the first championship in Bulldogs history which has been around for 11 years.

Ajay Baines scored the winning goal almost at the midway point of the 3rd period. It was a shorthanded marker (his second in as many nights) and was a beautiful set up by Maxim Lapierre who also had the opening goal of the game. The Baines - Chipchura - Ferland line has been the most consistent for the Bulldogs in the 2007 playoffs. While the line is the so called checking line for the team, they also chipped in with timely goals when needed.

Carey Price was once again solid in net for the Bulldogs and took home the playoff MVP award. He became the 3rd player in AHL history to have played junior hockey the same year as starting for a AHL team and winning the MVP award. You all may know this already but the last goalie to accomplish this feat was the one and only Patrick Roy in 1985. Of course the year after he did that the Montreal Canadians won the Stanley cup. It has been a very impressive year for Price. To go along with this MVP award of the AHL playoffs and winning a Calder cup championship, he also won the award for the most outstanding goaltender in the entire CHL this year AND won gold for team Canada at the World Junior Championships where he was named top goaltender and MVP of the tournament. All this being accomplished before the tender age of 20 is pretty darn impressive and has all habs fans like myself and the habs brass drooling over what he will be able to do for the habs in the coming years.

The Price is Right Bob!

Last night I had the pleasure of going to the Bulldogs game in which they took a commanding lead on the Calder Cup finals with a 3 games to 1 advantage. The entire team impressed me. However, there was one player inparticular that really caught my attention.

Carey Price the 19 year old who still played in the WHL this season looked like a seasoned veteran. The amount of confidence this guy shows reminded me of the good old days with Patrick Roy guarding the net. Price also showed how calm he was and had to do very little acrobatic saves because his positioning was sound and he as always right in the right place to make the stop.

I do not suggest that Carbo and crew should be rushing this kid up to the NHL but Habs fans you can be certain that this guy is the real deal. Hopefully he gets another year or two to mature in the AHL before he gets bumped up to the big club. We would not want to rush him and cause a similar fate for him as Marc Andre Fleury faced. However, when the time is right, you can be sure that Price is for real and that he is going to be an elite goaltender in the NHL.

Expect to see Price bringing home the playoff MVP when the Bulldogs bring home the Calder.

As for Bob Gainey and his decision to draft this guy, well done, and we can't wait to see the full potential of Price.

Valentenko Hamilton Bound??

Reports out of Russia are saying that Montreal 2006 5th round draft pick Pavel Valentenko with be leaving his team, Neftekhimik from the RSL (Russian Super League) to join the Montreal Canadians. Pavel's stock rose considerable last year with his play in the RSL and also with his all-star performance at the 2006 World Junior Championship for team Russia. In the tournament he scored 2 goals and chipped in with 1 assist while posting a solid +3 rating. He was also a final cut from the Russians mens World Hockey Championship which says a lot for the 6'2, 202lbs, 19 year old. If he had made the team he would have played alongside present Hab Allstar Andrei Markov and another Hab draft pick Alexei Emelin. Valentenko will most likely start the year in the AHL with Montreal's top pro affiliate The Hamilton Bulldogs.

On a side note the Habs effort to get Alexei Emelin over to North America looks like it has failed. There was optimism that he would be joining Valentenko over in NA because his team, Lada, was unable to pay the contracts of its players for the last few months. Emelin tried to take the team to court to get his contract voided, which has 1 year left on it. His team ended up paying him the money he was owed and therefore was unable to void his contract. With the chances of Russia signed the recent player transfer agreement not looking good look to see Emelin skate along side his Russian counterpart in early 2008 with the Bulldogs.

Kovalev and Carbonneau Make Amends??

It was reported on SportsNet that Alex Kovalev and Coach Carbonneau have had a discussion and worked out there differences. Is this to promote Kovalev's trade value for the off season so Bob can get as much as possible? Or is this an attempt to promote a healthy atmosphere for next season?


No one will deny that Kovalev had an off year last year, not even Kovalev himself. However, this does not mean that Kovalev's better days are behind him and that he can't contribute to the Habs next season. Anyone who watches any games in which Kovalev plays has likely seen both sides of him. One side being seen as lazy, and the other side being the most talented player on the ice. It seems to be a mystery as to why some shifts/games he is playing with all his talent while other games he seems to be 3rd line material at best.

The simple fact that the Habs need more scoring should ensure that Kovalev stays in Montreal for next season. The Habs need to take the chance on him because for the 4.5 million dollars his contract is worth per year, it is unlikely that they can fill his *potential* with another forward for that kind of money. Do you recall the playoffs last year when Kovalev was playing with a fire under his ass? The guy is sometimes touted as the most highly talented guy in the NHL. I think this is a fair gamble for the Habs to take and I think that Carbo has accepted some of the blame for the problems that Kovalev had.

Put him on the top two lines and Kovalev will put up points this year. If he stays healthy and is playing on the top two lines, I expect Kovalev to put up 70 points next year.

Only time will tell...

Habs Offseason So Far

Bob Gainey and company have been rather busy since the Montreal Canadians season was ended by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After deciding to let Jaroslav Halak go play in the World Championships for team Slovakia he immediately signed 19 year old goaltender out of the WHL's Tri-City Americans Carey Price to play for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

He then went on to sign Andrei Kostitsyn's younger brother Sergei from the OHL's London Knights and Matheiu Carle out of the QMJHL. Price, Kostitsyn and Carle have all been with the surprising Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL who are currently beating the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup finals with a 2-1 series lead.

After that Gainey moved on to probably the 2 most important issues, trying to resign both Andrei Markov and Sheldon Souray. Souray coming off a 26 goal 64 point campaign where he also broke the NHL record for PPG scored by a defencemen in one season with 19. With all these good stats Souray had there was also some bad ones. He was a team worst -28 and made his way on the highlight of the night a few times but for the wrong reason. It is believed he could make more then 6 million over 4 years on the open market but the Habs will likely be looking to sign him for something much less. Reports are that he was offered a 4 year deal worth anywhere from $4.25-$5.25 per year. Markov on the other hand had another solid season with 49 points and a +2 rating. He was given a 4 year deal worth $5.75 million a year which was more than I personally thought he would get but then again Montreal NEEDS him more then they need Souray.

Some smaller moves by Gainey was trading for the twin brother of WJC stand out Kris Russel, forward Ryan Russel from the New York Rangers and went on to sign him to a 3 year pro contract. NYR were unable to come to terms on a conract with Russel so they accepted a 7th round pick in this years draft instead of losing him for nothing. Last year he played for The Kootney Ice of the WHL and was on a line with current Montreal draft pick Ben Maxwell. He is a good offensive player with good vision but is small which is his weak spot.

The Habs also signed Finish Elite League player Janne Lahti to a 1 year contract. The 25 year old had a solid season for HPK last year netting 20 goals and 14 helpers. He is a big (200lbs, 6'2) winger who also has a scoring touch. Both players are expected to start in the AHL next year with Lahti maybe cracking the big clubs roster.

It is said that Montreal will try to be active in the free agent market. If they can get rid of underachieving winger Sergei Samsonov's salary that will free up some valuable cap room to help them sign players like Chris Drury or Daniel Briere. If they are unable to sign Souray look for the Habs to turn they're attention to Nashville's defencemen Kimmo Timonen or San Jose's Scott Hannan.