this just in: Gainey not crazy, Robert feeling much better

Today was a very good day for Habs fans as the Canadiens signed two free agents that address their need for more size throughout the lineup.

This morning, the team announced the signing of Paul Mara, formerly of the hated NY Rangers. Mara is a very solid six-foot four-inch, 212 pound, rugged two-way D-man who may play on the top pairing with Andrei Markov though he is probably more of a top-4 guy. Still, a very good pick-up that eases the sting of losing Mike Komisarek & Francois Beauchemin to the even more-hated Maple Leafs.

Then this afternoon, it was announced the Habs had signed another six-foot, four-inch tough guy, Travis Moen, late of the Anaheim Ducks. This dude is a beast.

Safe to say that with these additions, as well returning goons tough guys Big George Laraque & Gregory Stewart, plus 6 foot 7 Hal Gill, the Habs will be as tough as anyone they play this season.

I think they remain the second best team in the division but who knows? If Boston falls back a bit... The Bruins are a good team but it's also possible a bunch of guys had career years: Kessel, Lucic, Savard and especially Thomas could all see small to huge drop-offs from last year and that brings them back to the pack.

BTW, we've heard a lot of cackling from Leaf fans the past ten days as the Habs brought on a pack on little people but if you think about it, Leaf fans shouldn't talk about our tiny forwards with Grabovksy and Blake as two thirds of their top line. At least our top line is very talented. Theirs would not even beat out our second line of Plekanec and the Kostitsyn, or Max Paxioretty.

The Maple Leafs have a solid D, made up of Kaberle, Komisarek, Schenn and Beauchemin, but otherwise, the Habs are significantly better at every position. In fact, even on defence, Markov is better than Kaberle and while Schenn, Komisarek and Beauchemin are solid, they are not light-years better than Mara, Spacek and Hamrlik, with O'Byrne and Gorges growing into bigger roles. Not to mention that both of Komisarek and Beauchemin had serious injuries last year and must show they are fully recovered.

And even the supposed "Monster" goalie they signed this week, Gustavsson, reputedly "the best goalie not in the NHL last year" may show that he is the 30th best goalie in the NHL this year. He remains way more unproven than Habs goalies Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak. Starting Leafs goalie Toskala is lousy and streaky. Yes, the Leafs have a ton of cap space in 2010 but who will be left to sign next year, Ilya Kovalchuk? I wouldn't blow my brains out on him.

I really thought GM Bob Gainey had lost his mind a few days ago but honestly, how many big men with great hands are there, anyway?

Iginla, Thornton, Vinny, Malkin, Ovechkin. Don't talk to me about Marleau being great.

There really aren't more than a dozen of them and Leaf fans will find that out the hard way: Mats Sundin was here for so long they're going to find out the world is made up of talented small guys and slow-footed Ponikarovkys. The Sundins and Forsbergs are a tiny minority. So the Habs got 3 hobbits. At least they're really good and we won't have any cancers in the room. Sounds like Gainey just took a look around and broke out the ammonia. That room must have been festering putrid last year.

In all this, what still makes me sick is losing Ryan McDonagh in the Scott Gomez trade but other than getting screwed on that trade, and he certainly was, Gainey has done a good job of completely rebuilding the roster. I remember how the team last year drove me around the bend all winter bexcause it just seemed like something wasn't right the whole year. It turns out there may have been a horrendous groove going on in there and they all had to go. Time will tell but Gainey has to be commended for his work in bringing in undeniable free-agent talent, especially when you consider the zoo that was the team and the city last year and how unattractive that would have been to UFAs. On top of that, Montreal is a tough place to play, taxes in Quebec are always an issue and the language issue can be a hassle for many players. Gainey, though, did not only attract talent, he did so while also avoiding Quebecois retreads looking for a place to end their career like Patrice Brisebois or Mathieu Dandenault.

All in all, it's been a crazy few weeks but I have to pronounce myself satisfied and pleased that we will be entering the year with a new coaching staff that will implement a solid, defence-minded system and work to take our young talent to the next level; a fast, talented group of forwards who are not afraid to get their noses dirty and a solid corps on defence that should move the puck well and clear the front of the net for our two solid young goalies. We need to see if Price is the real deal next year but if he isn't, we may have a very capable netminder in Halak. I'm sorry for what I said about you, Bob, and I take it back.

On top of that, the team is back in the capable hands of the Molson family and that feels like a welcome homecoming as well.

Again, only time will tell but for the moment at least, I'm off the suicide watch.

Go Habs.

Comments

[Pascal]

Don't know about Hall Gill, Robert. He used to be very slow when he played for the Bs (remember the playoffs in 2006 when the Habs players all went in on his side?), and I doubt he got any speedier with age. He's one of these players that never adjusted to the post-lockout NHL.

Time will tell.

I still maintain Timmy Thomas is better than you give him credit for. I hope he proves everyone wrong (again)!

Pascal

[robert]

Hi Pascal,
I agree Gill is like molasses but he just played a regular shift and lots of minutes for the Stanley Cup champions so he must have adapted his game to the new NHL somewhat. Let's face it, 6 foot 7 guys are not going to be very agile but I'm happy for the addition of the big galoot.
The Bruins are probably still the class of the division but I'm not sold on Thomas. Until he avoids being a flop in the playoffs (again), he won't have proven anything but we will see...