Canadiens Sign Forward Brian Gionta
by Robert L on Jul 1, 2009 9:38 PM EDT
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The insanity continues in Montreal, with the Canadiens adding former Devils winger Brian Gionta at an inflated $25M over five season. You could say 20 goal scorers never had it so good!
Gionta of course, rode shotgun to newly acquired Canadiens center Scott Gomez for a few season in the Jersey swamps, notching 48 goals in 2005-06. GM Gainey is obviously hoping their chemistry is rekindled in Montreal.
The Canadiens fourth free agent acquisition of the day is a smurf at 5'7', 175 lbs. In 473 career games, he has notched 152-160-312 totals, adding another 19-21-40 in 67 playoff games.
It will be interesting to watch this Canadiens new soup to nuts lineup gel. Hopefully some familiar faces will be returning, but with each signing it is looking less and less unlikely.
Here are Gionta's stats from Hockey Database, and his bio from Legends of Hockey.
Brian Gionta was born January 18, 1979 in Rochester, N.Y. The 3rd round choice, 82nd overall selection of the New Jersey Devils in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Gionta is a graduate of the Boston College Screaming Eagles.
The diminutive forward from Rochester, N.Y. spent two seasons in the Ontario Junior Hockey League with the Niagra Scenics capturing Metro Junior Player of the Year honours in 1996 before joining Boston College in 1997-98.
In his four seasons at BC, Gionta finished with 232 points (123 goals, 109 assists) in 164 games and was the recipient of numerous individual honours.
As a freshman with the Screaming Eagles, Gionta captured Hockey East Rookie of the Year honours, was a Hockey East Second Team All-Star and NCAA East Second Team All-American after finishing his spectacular rookie campaign as the nation's top-scoring freshman with 62 points (30 goals, 32 assists). In his sophomore season Gionta was an NCAA East First Team All-American, Hockey East First Team All-Star, and was one of the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.
Coming off back to back seasons of 60-plus points, Gionta entered his junior year at BC and continued where he had left off finishing second in the nation in goals with 33 and earning Hockey East First Team All-Star honours and NCAA East First Team All-American honours and was a finalist once again for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award.
In his senior year with the Screaming Eagles, Gionta recorded his third 30-plus goal season and for the third consecutive year was Hockey East First Team All-Star, NCAA East First Team All-American and was the Hockey East Player of the Year.
On the international stage, Gionta is a two-time member of the US World Junior Team (1998-1999) and a three-time member of the US World Championship Team (2000-2001, 2005), and has represented the US at the 2006 Winter Olympics. The recipient of the Bob Johnson Award in 1999 in recognition of excellence in international ice hockey competition during a specific season, Gionta made his professional hockey debut in 2001-02, splitting his season with the Devils and their AHL affiliate in Albany. Despite a lack of size, Gionta became a regular with the New Jersey Devils in 2002-03 and played a key role in the team's successful quest of the Stanley Cup, contributing 9 playoff points.
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Insanity indeed! You gotta admit, NO ONE would have guessed that this is what the team would look like.
With all this money being spent though, it makes you kind of wonder if Gainey had to spend more than other teams just to get players to come to Montreal.
by Bert3d on Jul 1, 2009 9:57 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Boom!
With all this money being spent though, it makes you kind of wonder if Gainey had to spend more than other teams just to get players to come to Montreal.
Sure does look like it.
Rec’d!
Just get the D going!
Is this the f***ing twilight zone or what????
All we really needed was (1) a “big” marquis center, (2) for the younger players to get their shit together, and (3) for the team to be healthy.
So, now, the answer to this is:
(1) blow away virtually the entire coaching staff
(2) have the “thoroughbred” goaltender decide who he wants as a goaltending coach
(3) tell all the best veteran players to piss off
(4) sign overpriced little guys
(5) etc…
damn… this is so disappointing.
I hate being [often times] the pessimist, and, then things are even worse than my hyperbole
Four hours ago, I thought “let me see what dumb moves my team is making now”. It’s way worse than I thought.
Thanks for ruining my day, Bob. And thanks for the shitty Rod Langway, and John LeClair trade flashbacks.
This Gionta deal is the icing on the cake. All the other moves I could swallow… but man… $5m per for 5 years for Donald Aud… er, Brian Gionta?
There goes the cap space, the ability to improve over the next couple of years…
$8.8m left in cap space and there’s still 5 RFA’s to sign that will likely be on the 23 man roster, and a 7th d-man still needed (likely Weber makes the team, but that’s $.85m).
Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.
With all this money being spent though, it makes you kind of wonder if Gainey had to spend more than other teams just to get players to come to Montreal.
I’ve read somewhere that they do indeed offer abit more to play in montreal, cause of our crazy high maintenace fans and media.
I for one am not disappointed. It’s like everyone wants lecavalier but they cant get them so gainey goes for other players and people are still not happy. i don’t care how small gionta is or the amount they spent on the gomez trade.
As a 28 years canadians fan, i’ve come to realize habs fans are never happy. myself included, but this year i’m changing my way of thinking.
I’m gonna be optimistic! im gonna back up gainey and i’m gonna cheer on our new teammates , everyone please let them feel welcome!
Hehe… glad to hear there are some optimists out there.
I never thought they would actually get Lecavalier, but I wouldn’t have imagined they’d go small either!
What about Nik Antropov? He was available, just signed for $4 mil a year. Granted he doesn’t have the offensive production as Gomez, but he would have been alot cheaper and might have played well with Kovalev.
The most disappointing thing is the way they’ve let Koivu and Kovalev go, and they haven’t exactly replaced them with star players. Well, Cammalleri may yet turn out to be one, but Gomez and Gionta aren’t and won’t be.
It is curious though that Gainey has acted with existing players as if everyone in the world wants to play in Montreal.
Last season he gives Mats 6 months to decide if he’d like to play for us, throws away a very talented Grabovski (even though he is a little bitch), and this time he tells Komisarek and Kovalev to piss off because they did not jump at the offer within HOURS.
Our GM has displayed wildly erratic and inconsistent behaviour. He coddles Carey Price, who quite flatly did not get the job done. Ditto for Plecanc. He babies Kovalev (which may have been the right call) during the season but now, he tells him to f***k himself after a couple of hours of “indecision”.
How many of us were second guessing Gainey a year ago? Not too many. Now? We have every right. Just think. Gainey was seriously considering hiring Mario Trembly. I think that in itself speaks volumes.
I do not recognonize Gainey in many of these moves. I’m having quite a hard time dealing with my team being lost.
Me too. I am really happy about the acquisitions of Spacek and especially Cammalleri. I don´t care that Komisarek is gone but Tanguay, Kovalev and Koivu? I mean Koivu! My favorite player for more than 14 years (since the hockey world championship 1995). Hard to swallow on the day that happens to be my birthday. Yes, I feel robbed…
Especially Koivu and Kovalev who are a couple of the bigger fan favorites. Montreal seems to be good at getting rid of those types of popular players (I think back to Kirk Muller and Mark Recchi), probably cause they know they’ll continue to sell out seats no matter who they have on the team. A luxury that alot of other NHL teams don’t have.
Maybe he’s just using the Penguins as his model for how to succeed in the NHL… so he’s planning on sucking for the next 5 years… then winning the cup with his five #1 draft picks…
Really? It looked more like he was using the Rangers model. Overpay for a bunch of marginally above average players and then watch them do nothing as they enjoy their new fat contracts. Not good enough to make the playoffs, and not bad enough to get any decent draft picks. :P
Sather convinced Gainey thats how you win championships
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by Joe Fortunato on Jul 2, 2009 8:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Sather sucks
How come he didn’t win one yet???!!!!!
Talk to Lou if you want to win now.
by LetsGoDevils on Jul 3, 2009 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Like Torres and Wamsley write, I too feel cheated. It’s a little embarassing to be on the meloramatic side of fandom, but I feel empty. The emotional investment of seeing this team built over the years. Koivu finally had a decent team. In one day it’s all gone.
This season was tough, obviously, but who thought we really needed to completely gut the team? We had a promising first line combination in Koivu, Kovalev, and Tanguay.
Lang had a very good season until he got injured.
Now, they’re all gone, replaced by second line midgets.
F**k!!!
Yes. This IS just like the Rangers. Just pick the most expensive players and hope it works.
What we needed most though, was just to be healthy.
Is just like that the Rangers USED TO BE lol
Sather seems to be changing his ways. From a NY standpoint though keep an eye on Gomez Gionta, they do work magic together. But i think you guys should have gotten a little bigger consitering how big the Bruins are …
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by Joe Fortunato on Jul 2, 2009 8:08 PM EDT up reply actions
There is something funny Bob Gainey said in his press conference last night. He did acknowledge that injuries were a problem last season, then added that his new acquisitions have all had fairly solid injury free careers. Is he suggesting it was the fault of the players who got injured? That they’re somehow weaker or just didn’t stay in top shape?
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