A Nice Day for a Rumour

Two big rumours this hour...

1) Alex Kovalev has been dealt to Pittsburgh, but because the Pens play the Habs tomorrow the deal will not be announced until Friday. The deal apparently involves Ryan Whitney back to Montreal.

2) Alex Kovalev is headed to Columbus, possibly for Mike Peca and picks, possible just for picks.

Now these are just rumours. They're off the radio, but they are from hosts. Sportsnet mentioned the Columbus rumours (Millard/Kypreos) and the Pittsburgh rumour was just discussed by PJ Stock on TEAM 990 in Montreal. So we'll see what happens.

Regardless, Kovalev hasn't been traded to two places (obviously), but I gotta tell ya, it sounds like the end of Kovalev in Montreal is near.

I for one love Kovalev. He is so talented, so great in interviews, and he does a lot of wonderful community work with kids and hospitals. But he always leaves you wanting more, and he rarely follows up on it. But whatever happens:

In Bob We Trust. 

Also...further to what we discussed over the past few days, news from the Journal de Montreal's Marc de Foy on how the Lightning initiated Lecavalier trade talks and a trade was in place:

"...as Bob Gainey confirmed on Tuesday, there truly were discussions held with the Tampa Bay Lightning involving Vincent Lecavalier.

"Mathieu Schneider has been a name among our priorities since November, when Vincent Lecavalier came into play", said Gainey. "We put the Schneider dosier aside for the time being before coming back to it in mid January."

The rumour at he time, involved Chris Higgins, Tomas Plekanec, and Josh Gorges going to the Lightning. If it had played out, Lecavalier would be wearing the colours of the Canadiens for a month now.

"The names that you heard, it was them who brought them up, not us", said Gainey, in reference to the Lightning management."

What does this prove? Bob McKenzie knows what he is talking about, where there's smoke there's fire, and Brian Lawton (Tampa's General Manager) is a ball faced liar. 

You can read more (en Francais) at:http://ruefrontenac.com/

Cap Concerns?

With the addition of Mathieu Schnedier yesterday, the Canadiens now find themselves in the unfortunate circumstance of having essentially spent their total salary cap allotment for the current season. I don't know about you, but given what I've seen recently I'm not all that convinced that one veteran defenceman is enough of a change to put this team back into legitimate playoff contention (even when Tanguay returns and the search parties find Alex Kovalev). With any other deals having to coincide with the movement of a current roster player, it leads to a number of interesting questions leading up to the March 4 trade deadline:

Who (if anybody) is Bob Gainey willing to part with?
What needs remain to be addressed?
How will the team's UFA/RFA situation play out over the rest of the year and into the summer, and what influence (if any) will this have on any potential moves?
Can we finally put the ridiculous "Lecavalier-to-Montreal" rumors to rest?

Needless to say, it's going to be an interesting couple of weeks as the team gears up for the deadline and subsequent drive for the playoffs.


http://www.nhlnumbers.com/overview.php?team=MTL

What's to Gain-ey?

Trade rumors continue to swirl around the Habs, but if history is to be believed then it's unlikely that Bob Gainey will rush into a move of any type. He knows that dealing from a position of desperation never yields the same types of results, so it seems a bit far fetched to expect that we'll be seeing any sort of major deal in the near future.

With that said, I expect the team to make a deal for a puck-moving defenceman some time before the deadline. The powerplay is stagnant, and recent games have shown an alarming decrease in the efficiency of the outlet pass from their own zone (I don't think I've ever seen so many icing calls in a single game as I have last night). The name of Jay Bouwmeester keeps getting thrown around, and I have to assume that the Habs will at least inquire to see what it would take to get him to Montreal (even if it's just for the stretch drive). Tomas Kaberle is another very reasonable option when he comes back from injury, and if Brian Burke can be convinced to make a deal within the Division then he may very well be an economical option.

The forwards and goaltending will likely be secondary, although a big presence up front would clearly help (like people have been saying for the last 10 years or so). Based on the crippling contract Lecavalier just won't happen (as much as people would like to believe it will), but maybe somebody like Erik Cole could still be possible. Also, with Halak picking up his game yesterday the backup situation seems a little less panicked than it did a few days ago, but some experience and a calming influence would certainly be an added bonus if it could be attained in a cost-effective manner.

In Bob We Trust...

...or do we? I don't know about you Doc, but I've been waiting patiently for a trade for weeks. What gives? Rumours of Lecavalier, then Richards, then Jokinen. But nothing happens. Can Bob get the job done?

In mulling over deadline possibilities, a few stick out as solid additions. Kaberle would look good on the power play. I would also love to see Erik Cole flanking Tanguay and Koivu. Regardless of who you think we should add, can we agree that a puck-moving defenceman, an impact forward, and a veteran backup goaltender are the most pressing needs? Tom Priessing in LA is available as as a rushing defenceman, and Curits Joseph could probably be grabbed off the Leafs for a few signed Kovalev sticks. 

Even if we don't sign anyone, hey, look on the bright side: at least we aren't stuck with Jeff Finger for three more years.