As expected the number of UFA signings within the NHL has all but dried up with the approach of training camp. Don’t expect any significant player movement over the next couple of weeks, but as the start of the regular season approaches there could be some possible signings or trades near the end of September.
The only significant UFA signing this past week, apart from the previously reported Jeremy Roenick signing with the San Jose Sharks, was the Toronto Maple Leafs inking winger Tony Salmelainen to a one-year, two-way contract.
Salmelainen was involved in a trade in July where he and defenseman Jassen Cullimore were dealt to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for winger Sergei Samsonov. The Habs subsequently bought both players out of their contracts.
For the past several weeks the most significant player moves has been the steady stream of NHL free agents signing with European teams.
Jeff Friesen, who was a member of the Calgary Flames last season, will be joining Ed Belfour with Leksand of the Swedish "Allsvenskan" League, signing a one-year contract with the club.
Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Janne Niinimaa had been rumored close to signing with Swedish club Linkopings HC, but he instead signed with Swiss Hockey Club Davos.
Jan Bulis, who played last season with the Vancouver Canucks, is now confirmed to have signed a one-year contract with Russian club Khimik Mytischy.
Finally, former Flames goaltender Jamie McLennan won’t be playing for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Super League after all.
The team’s management was apparently unhappy with McLennan’s performance during pre-season play and released him from his contract. It remains to be seen if “Noodles” will be signing with another European team or try his luck back in the NHL.
I'd really like to see the NHL play preseason games abroad or host games from teams in these foreign leagues. I wouldn't mind seeing Modo or a Russian superleague team play an exhibition game in St. Paul.
How can you call Roenick a significant UFA signing?
LOL
I am telling ya, he hits 500 goals and he will retire on the spot, how many short is he, less than 10 isn't it? Might take him 4 more years to get there.
Hi spector, I think you are dead wrong in regard to the brière story. You probably only read the gazette about this. Fans are absolutly furious at gainey. Since Brière signed with philly, there has been at least an article every week on the subject. They claim that Brière was 15 minutes away from signing with mtl but something happened and he changed his mind. Everybody was wondering what that was until this story came out by a well known journalist working at the most credible newspaper in quebec. I don't think you realized the deception of quebecers that Brière signed with philly when we knew we were so close of having one of our own leading our favorite team. This adds up to Gainey, who really didn't do anything other than taking André Savard's team and taking the credit for his years of drafting (Higgins,Kostitsyn, Komisarek, Plekanec). I know you are a Gainey fan, but we really have to worry with him in charge, he's not doing anything, making huge mistake, neglecting the french players over other players and being SO CONSERVATIVE! Other than buying a cup in Dallas, his resumé really doesn't look that good. I wouldn't be surprise if there is some boo's coming from the crowd if the team is playing badly when they are gonna retire his jersey.
I have to respectfully disagree with your assessment of Bob Gainey. I wouldn't call drafting Kostitsyn conservative considering the ambiguity of his health on draft day. I also recall many journalists and hockey pundits chastising Gainey for drafting Carey Price when they already had Theodore. From my perpsective, Gainey is doing a shrewd job of building from within with players he has inherited and prospects he has drafted while doing his best to field a competitive hockey team in the interim. I'm sure you are aware that the Canadien's farm system is rated quite high.
To say Gainey bought a Cup in Dallas is ludicrous. Granted Tom Hicks opened his pocketbook, but doesn't every fanbase want their team's owner to pony up the scratch to keep their team competitive? I say congratulations to the Dallas Stars entire organization for winning the Cup. Too bad other teams like Philly and the Rangers didn't have a better plan with spending their owner's cash on free agents.
As far as I'm concerned, Bob Gainey is an excellent GM and for a Habs fan to lament the job he's done seems not only impatient and short-sighted but disrepectful to a player who contributed greatly on the ice.
Last edited by KingsFan4eva on September 10th at 2:37 PM.
Gainey's doing just fine. Short-sighted fans need to stop believing the pro-frenchcanadian propaganda. The Canadiens may surprise some of you and *gasp* field a good team.
I respect your opinion on Gainey, but the mistake he made during the Brière sweepstake is unforgivable. If you haven't read the story go in the soapbox on spector website. This story is not "fishy" at all and is 100 % true. Kostitsyn was drafted by Trevor Timmins and André Savard. I have to say that he did a great job drafting Price, some could argue that Kopitar would have been just as good given the lack of size and skill at center in mtl but Price is a can't miss franchise player. When Gainey came to mtl he said he had a 5 years plan to put mtl as a contender, we are now in year 4 and we probably won't make the playoff given that everybody got better in the east. Heck, I think washington has a better team than us. Losing Souray for nothing when he knew he would not sign him wasn't a good move, so is trading Rivet when you don't even have a viable replacement for him! and for what ?? a minor league player and a late 1rst round draft pick??!! What about trading Ribeiro for Niniima in training camp ??? just after Ribeiro had his best camp in years, he finished as the top scorer for the Dallas Star. Niniima can't even find a job in the NHL this season and mtl was so thin at center at the time and it still is. How about giving 4.5 millions to Kovalev for 4 years!!!, the guy did not even score 20 goals even though he was on every popwer play !!!! And Chaas, I think it's the right of mtl fans to want more french canadian player on their team, heck, canadians would just do ! We pay 150 $ to see a team that missed the playoff 3 times in the last 5 years, give som
I admire your passion for your hockey club. Reading your perspective on the Habs is enlightening.
I have now read Spector's article in the Soapbox and can't help but think that it is nothing short of odd. How can Gainey guarantee which line/linemates Briere will play with? Isn't that up to the coaches? Shouldn't performance at least nominally dictate ice time? It reminded me of how Scotty Bowman would stick Steve Yzerman on the 4th line at right wing when he started coaching the Red Wings and Stevie Y would just do what he was told and do it admirably. If Briere really requested where he would skate from the GM, then I would think Habs fans would say good riddance.
As far as Souray, I'm not surprised they retained him at the trade deadline since they were in the playoff hunt. Trading Rivet was questionable, but maybe Rivet wanted out. With Ribeiro, I thought most Habs fans were delighted to see him go because of his lack of work ethic and character. I could be way off, but if that is the case I would say good job getting anything in return. And with Kovalev, you could be saddled with Balej. If I had to choose between lost potential and Kovalev I would choose the latter.
The trade for Kovalev was good, but not his signing as a free agent for this long. Same for Koivu and his no-trade clause. He even signed Smolinski for a year with a no-trade clause!!! Can you believe it!!?? Hopefully he'll surprise me with a big trade that could shake up his team. (Koivu maybe??) Hopefully you are right and some miracle or youngster is gonna light it up and save the season.
Well, if I'm not mistaken, Gainey also took over pre-lockout, correct? His plan had to take some essential modifications, given the sport has plainly changed. I don't understand why Montreal fans expect their hometown heroes should play in Montreal. Seems rather arrogant, bordering on bigotry really. Most players are lucky to play in the NHL and only a handful have the option of playing wherever they want. If the fans think they can do better, maybe they should usurp Gainey and take his job.
Anyway, touching on some of the other stuff you mentioned:
You mentioned they're slim at center, but you then went on to mention you'd like Koivu traded. Well, they have him under contract for a while, and he's clearly the team's best player. Why should they trade him? Not to mention the NTC. Sounds su####iously like what Boston did. Weird, the Sharks are perrenial contenders and Boston's bottom-10 at best. Worked out for them, why not the Habs, right?
Top scorer on Dallas should be taken with a grain of salt. They were among the worst in the goals-for column last season. How many players on the Canadiens had a better season?
Like KF4E said, keeping Souray was necessary as they were fighting for a playoff spot at the time. Had they pulled an Edmonton and given up on the season, there'd be even more hating on Gainey. You've seen the flak Kevin Lowe's taken this off-season.
I haven't done my homework on the Rivet trade. What was the return?
Kovalev was one of my favorite players in the late 1990's. Unfortunately he's getting slow and lazy....
Last edited by chaas on September 10th at 6:33 PM.
... Gainey obviously thinks he has something left to offer. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't.
Samsonov was a risk, and he turned out to be a lemon. For one reason or another, he couldn't regain his rookie year form. I thought he was coming back strong in Edmonton. He didn't last in Montreal. Oh well, right? Gainey's not the first GM to take a risk.
Florida, Detroit, and now Anaheim are taking risks on Todd Bertuzzi. Didn't work out well for Florida or Detroit. I suspect unless Anaheim gets Niedermayer to retire and re-signs Selanne, he'll have issues playing on that first line. I'm sure someone will take a risk on Forsberg at some point. How well will that one work out? How will Samsonov do in Chicago? How'd Mogilny do in Jersey? Yashin in Long Island? Need more?
I've got to agree with chaas who makes some fine points about the Habs. I hope you don't think we're piling on you; personally I think the Habs have a great shot at the playoffs this year. I'm just a little stunned that you or any Habs fan would deride Bob Gainey. I'm also surprised you would back a trade of Koivu. I don't think it's a horrible idea, but if you trade the heart & soul of your club aren't you then at the point where you need to rip it up and start again?
Also, it's a shame that some players would rather not sign with the most storied franchise in NHL history. That said, I commend Bob Gainey for enticing Bryan Smolinski to join the Bleu, Blanc, Rouge and if it took a no-trade clause in his contract, all the better. Smoke can play and is clutch when it counts. You'll like him. Trust me.
1) Don't believe any of that nonsense coming from the Mtl papers. Its not unlike the National Enquirer for hockey
2) If anything the papers should be lauding BG for NOT getting Danielle. His is WAY over paid. Its not like he's been a perennial Hart/Ross trophy candidate. He's never had a 40 goal or 100 point season.
3) Guaranteed, if his name was Dan Brandon this 'controversy' wouldn't exist! Geez, just wait till the Vincent Lecavalier #### starts up next!
First of all guys,by that I mean Kingsfan and chaas, thank-you for defending my team. Kingsfan pretty-much said what I would have to say on the subject.
And don't try to fool us with you alias Gauthi152 I know it's you Rejean Tremblay! LaPresse should fire you first before the Habs fire Gainey.
For those of you out there who don't know Rejean, he's a colomnist for a french-language paper here in MTL, but his real claim-to-fame came as the creator and writer of "Lance et Compte"(He Shoots He Scores in english. A Canadian sit-com (well I thought it was funny!) about a team full of French-Canadians playing in Quebec-City and winning the Stanley Cup LOL LOL LOL LOL, I MEAN REALLY!
His ability to create fiction(hence to create friction as well) and his disdain for the Habs and all things english(he even dissed Red Fisher this weekend) should put some clarity to all this mess. Most of these rumors coming out of MTL originate with people like Tremblay and others like him, more interested in selling print than truth. No wonder so many players, French English American and European alike, don't want to come play here!
Here is an exerpt from a series of telephone conversations Rejean will claim can actually happen.
Rrrrrrrrinnnggg!
Tampa Bay Gm Jay Faester:Hello?
MTL Gm Bob Gainey : Hi Jay, its Bob Gainey.
JF: What can I do for you?
BG:Well Jay, the media's on my back and I was wondering if you could trade Lecavalier to us?
JF:Hmmmmmmmmmm, OK anything for those guys at LaPresse. CLICK!
Rrrrinnnggg!
Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren:Hello?
BB:Hi Paul, its Bob.
PH:Hey hows it hangin?
BB;Fine fine,need Gagne though, remember that thing? YOU know, LaPresse?
PH: No probleme amigo, he's all yours! CLICK!
Rrrrinnnggg!
Devils GM Lou Lamoriello: Hello?
BB: Hi Lou its Gainey in MTL, listen, no time to talk, I really got to......
LL:Say no more Bob, Marty's on his way didn't even need to ask him, he volunteered!Brodeur writes for the Journal de Montreal you know and he'd like nothing better than to sock it to em' LaPresse guys.
BB:Praise be!!!!!!CLICK!
Rrrrinnnggg!
NHL comissioner Gary Bettman:Hello?
BB:Gary! Buddy! Pal!
GB: What do you want Bob? Its Friday and I'm busy!
BB:This is big Gar! Need a HUGE favor!
GB:Make it quick!
BB:The situation with Tremblay and his cronies is unbearable, I don't know how much longer we can hold out! Suggest you l
BB:SorryGar, the phone cut out, As I was saying, suggest you let us win the Cup this year! I know its San Jose's turn and you promised Jeremy too, but we can't wait till '09.Also, I know it's too late to move the team this year so can we just change our name to the Quebec Nordiques? I got Pierre Boivin a whole bunch of crayons to re-color the game tickets, he's ready. So what do you say? Please? Pretty please?
GB:I'll talk about this to Bill and I'll call you back!
BB: Great! Don't forget to call me eh? Click!
Legal note: All persons in this ficticious conversation that Rejean Tremblay claims is possible are fictitious, as fictitious as the conversation itself, but not as fictitious as Rej's deluded belief that the Habs can build a championship team built entirely of a "pure-laine" gene-pool.
Last edited by Cup_Junkie on September 10th at 9:26 PM.
I'm certainly no expert on the article or the source, but I tend to take most "hockey news" stories floating out of Montreal with a grain of salt. I just don't see this Briere controversy as anything more than sour grapes. It's troubling when every thought of who's going to be drafted or where a player will sign as a free agent is because of some rampant nationalism. Let's face it, unless Briere's home country is a US dollar, it's money that usually ultimately decides these things. With the Canadian dollar catching up to the US dollar, it's one less reason for any team to gripe when they don't get their man. Just get over it, already.
As for Gainey, I agree with the comments posted earlier about him doing a solid job. He absolutely has made some bad calls, and I'm sure he'll make some again. That's what good aggressive hockey GMs do. As great as being the GM of Montreal is on your resume, you're under the biggest hockey microscope in the world and every transaction no matter how small will be scrutinized ad nauseum. I think he's weathered the storm nicely.
montreal is rebuilding from the outside of the playoffsm looking in. their captain, the heart and soul of the franchise, admits the team is not a contender.
gainey, compare to his peers, is average. many ofthe gm's who joined their teams the same year as him have had more positive impacts.
if you look at dallas' payroll before and after hicks bought the franchise and ask who paid for hull, belfour and nieuwendyk, you will come to the conclusion that gainey did a great job deploying the new owner's unlimited capital. houle was forced to work with one of the lowest payrolls in the NHL and gainey has been near the top of the salary cap.
i think gainey, to date, is average. his team missed the playoffs, he has not made an impact trade nor has he signed a top tier free agent. he is allowing prospects drafted by his predecessors to work their way through the organization. but his grade is incomplete. he was hired based on his five year plan. we owe him the full five years.
Last edited by habsnyc on September 11th at 6:44 AM.
with regard to briere, if the owner gave gainey sufficient money to sign him then, as a hockey executive, gainey failed to carry out the owner's wishes. if the owner feels gainey blew it, that's between them.
gainey had great success with dallas in learning how to land marquis players. i have every confidence that gainey didn't do something stupid in trying to land briere. that isn't to justify his failure, it's just to point out that he's been there done that and can be trusted not to drop the ball.
he's done an average job so far, but based on his track record, you have to believe he's making a competent effort.
I didn't want Briere in MTL solely because of his playoff numbers, so when he signed with Philly that was fine with me. I would have preferred Drury. Anyways, Gainey did a good job so far and I don't think we can count the lockout year so he's got 2 years left.
Second, if Andre Savard were that great a GM, he wouldn't be working as an assistant coach would he. I believe he'll get another chance, unless he doesn't want it.
briere has 33 points in 35 playoff games, that's better than his regular season average of 376 points in 483 games. he won gold medals at the 97 juniors and the 03 and 04 world championships. what is wrong with those #'s?
savard only had two full seasons as gm and never had a chance to implement a plan. he drafted well but made mediocre trades. he was considered for the panthers assistant gm job last year.
Hey Spector, a quick question tahts a bit off topic:
Is Jaroslav Halak gonna get some decent playing time for Montreal this season? In my fantasy hockey league I dealt Giggy for Lecavalier and I need some goaltending to go next to Luongo, and Im thinking he could be a good sleeper candidate.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
