Goodbye Dagger

by westcoasthabs on Mar 3, 2010 3:23 AM EST Comment 5 comments

It looks like another former Habs prospect is on the move.

TSN has announced that Matt D'Agostini was traded to the St. Louis Blues for prospect Aaron Palushaj. After the jump, there's a short breakdown on the deal.

It seems unlikely that Pierre Gauthier will attempt anything major before the deadline, but it's apparent he felt he'd seen enough of Matt D'Agostini. Matty started out as a promising winger, but never seemed to develop a consistent scoring touch with the big club. Given the number of veteran wingers, and his declining value as a prospect in light of the play by Ryan White, Tom Pyatt, David Desharnais and Brock Trotter, there was simply little role for D'Agostini to fill beyond that of a skilled farmhand.

In return, we'll be getting a younger prospect in Aaron Palushaj. Though he was a prolific scorer in college and the USHL, he seems to be having some trouble adjusting to the AHL. Through 44 games this year, he`s netted five goals and 17 assists, though to be fair, its on a bad Peoria team. A change of scenery could be beneficial.

Newly minted Hab Aaron Palushaj, while playing for Michigan:

via farm4.static.flickr.com

All in all, a minor deal, though with an upside from the Habs perspective. Palushaj could benefit tremendously, going from a last-place team to the first place Hamilton Bulldogs. Reviewing his bio at hockeysfuture.com, he seems to be a player with a solid overall game, a nose for the net, and a willingness to drive to the corners. Hopefully he'll thrive with the other young forwards already mentioned.

As for Matty, its disappointing to see him leave town like this. At one time, he seemed to be the energetic young winger who could add a spark to the team. However, he never seemed to find a good role with the Habs: not gritty enough to be a checker, but not consistent enough to play on the top lines. This season has been one to forget. He seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated, and his window of opportunity in Montreal was closing daily. All the best to him in St. Louis.

One final bit, which I'd like to open up for debate: what does this constant exodus speak of our development program? Is it working, and some players just haven't found a good fit? Or does there need to be some serious rethinking of player development and drafting?

A pic of Dagger, back in happier times:

via images.tsn.ca

0 recs | Comment 5 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Well, there’s to factors — first, that the Habs draft so well that they produce more NHLers that they can realistically use. (Despite this “constant exodus”, they still are among the teams that have the most of their own draft picks on their roster). There are simply more NHLers drafted by the Habs than any other team out there.

Second, and more worrisome, Jacques Martin really seems to have a serious problem with young players stagnating or regressing under his watch. Latendresse, Chipchura, Pacioretty, d’Agostini, etc…. now, one could say that there’s only so much you can do with most of these guys, but Latendresse was a real player and proved it as soon as he was out from under him. D’Agostini is but the latest in a line of promising players shipped out of Montreal after they bombed under Martin. Thankfully Boucher in Hamilton seems like completely the opposite (witness how Sergei turned out) and Martin seems to be able to get the right kinds of players going (ie. Pouliot), but still, I don’t like this trend. But then, I’m biased…

by MathMan on Mar 3, 2010 7:19 AM EST reply actions

D’Agostini already had started to bomb last year. After a hot start, he lost his scoring touch and couldn’t find other ways to contribute. He had no defensive game to speak of, even in Hamilton.

I’m not about to torch Martin for failing with young players. Sergei had developed bad habits, Pacioretty simply was not NHL ready just 20 months removed from high school hockey (and considering that, he still did decently). Latendresse was unfortunate, but Pouliot was in the same situation so I find it hard to blame Martin for Gui and yet not find some way to praise him for Benny. The rest of the young players weren’t even close to the NHL level. I remember looking at the beginning of the year at our prospects on our farm and thinking we had nothing at forward. Now we have a few options.

Next year will be more telling with Martin then this past one when it comes to young guys. He’ll have something to work with, including a hopefully better prepared Max Pacioretty.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Mar 3, 2010 10:16 AM EST up reply actions

Had it been possible to send D’Ags under Boucher’s tutelage at the beginning of the season, he might’ve taken a step forward.

But pro hockey is a cutthroat competition. D’Agostini had an opportunity, but that nasty headshot where he got a concussion and got his knee busted sent him on the skids. And then, Sergei woke up and ate his lunch.

There are plenty of places in the NHL for guys like him, he’ll do fine. And the fact we got an actual prospect with two more seasons of entry-level contract remaining for him is actually pretty good for a non-roster guy.

by Olivier on Mar 3, 2010 2:07 PM EST up reply actions

I think you bring up a great point when you mention the number of NHL ready players we have. Gainey also made it clear that he would draft for players that he thought would help the club, not simply the most hyped player at our position in the draft. Overall, I think the whole team, from the AHL level up to the big club has done quite well in bringing these guys along.

However, the jump to the NHL seems to be brutal for a lot of our players. We seemed to fuck around with Gui a lot, which really irritated me. Some teams take the approach of putting a young player on an offensive line right from the start, as a means of cementing their role after a call-up. We, however, seem to place them on the 3rd/4th lines, and tell them to ‘earn’ their place on the roster. But how does playing as a checking forward help a player who has offensive proclivities? Should you simply encourage the player to do what he does well, rather than adapt his defensive game, and alter his position on the ice, starting from day one?

Its a tough call. I tend to believe that good players are good all-around players. But you can also really screw up a young sniper by telling him to solely focus on backchecking all day. We have these sorts of role-players already…

by westcoasthabs on Mar 3, 2010 4:33 PM EST up reply actions

Development

A point for the debate, they develop assets that can be flipped for other assets as opposed to wiffing on the draft picks. I think that is better than where they used to be.

In regards to Chipchura, I heard one opinion that the leg injury he suffered in his post-draft season really stunted him. Another point I will make with Chipchura is he was drafted before the lockout and the rule changes – possibly his skill set would have been better in the pre-lockout era. I did not see him play enough at the NHL level to know, so I offer the point for comment by those who did see more of him.

by David K in SA on Mar 3, 2010 10:01 PM EST reply actions