Two year deal for Habs Markov?
by Kevin van Steendelaar on Jun 21, 2011 9:22 PM EDT
in Habs Rumours and Signings
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PrintAccording to Tony Marinaro fo the Team990, the Montreal Canadiens have come to terms with defenceman Andrei Markov. The deal is figured to be for two seasons at $11.5 million.
Neither the Canadiens, nor Markov's agent, Don Meehan have confirmed anything. Meehan did say that he would be talking with Habs GM Pierre Gauthier, during the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, this weekend in Minneapolis.
While Marianro does not speak for the team, his track record on Markov, like it or not, has been pretty bang on. It was Marinaro who reported his contact learned of an altercation between Markov and Carey Price following a game against St. Louis in 2009-10. Though the team played it down, the general consensus later deemed that the incident did occur.
He and also broke the story that the Russian rearguard was out for all but seven games of the 2010-11 season, following a collision with the Carolina Hurricanes Eric Staal.
Over the course of the last two injury-riddled seasons, Markov has 37 points in 52 games.
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I imagine the truth of the matter at this point is there is an agreement in principle but they haven’t put the final seal on the deal.
Markov re-signing would help put my mind at ease, its the highest priority of the summer. Most of the other moves are shifting around supporting players, he’s the impact one.
Agreed on all points there, Stephan.
The blueline is shaping up to look very, very strong.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Jun 22, 2011 2:12 AM EDT up reply actions
High Risk? Maybe.But if he’s80% of the player he was before injuries, he’s still one of the best all aroundD in the league. I’m not worried about him. I like they got him signed early. It will give us a better sense of what PG is doing. As is,the cap space the Habs have after Markov’s signing is plentiful. After Gorges and Weber are signed we’ll still have some to play with. A backup goaltender, one for the AHL (if Sanford isn’t retained). Still have money…. if they wanna risk an offer on Jagr?? Wizniewski would be a possibility as well…..and that would be my choice regarding risks. 51 points as a D, with markove coming back, Weber getting another year of experience, and PK Subban getting better each year… this would be one potent offensive defense corp.
by Cruisin4aBruisin on Jun 22, 2011 8:49 AM EDT reply actions
I would agree, that this team could have the best offensive defense. However, under the “JM system” this defense is relied upon to block shots, and require to be physically strong to with stand the every teams game plan against the habs. Dump the puck in and pound their weak defense. Now on the power play its different, they will have very good offensive skill on the blue line. Not totally convinced on the 5 on 5 play under JM.
You should be. They were very good at chance generation and one of the best puck-possession clubs in the East. This club was just not last year’s Habs, even though analysts who fail to look beyond at “goals scored” might miss it. They were very good at all the sustainable parts of the 5-on-5 game and were done in by the transient percentages.
The Habs didn’t get goals, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying. Far from it: they generated enough chances to be a top-third team offensively. Blaming the system for the lack of goal is a post-hoc explanation based on Martin’s reputation (ignoring that his teams have led the league in scoring in the past) — it doesn’t really survive to scrutiny.
Point number two, about the Habs’ defensive gameplan: the plan is to move the puck quickly so that forecheckers arrive too late, exactly what Subban excels so much at. Stockpiling puck-movers speaks to that gameplan, that of defense via puck possession and getting the puck out. I think this is the best way to play defense in modern hockey. You need the horses to do that however, and with Markov and Subban and all the “offensive” (read: puck-moving) defensemen, they will have them.
No doubt, that the habs game plan defensively is to move the puck quickly. However, I watched too many games where they failed to do that. Gill and Hammer turned pucks over and losteall kinds of battles down low. How do they fit in to moving pucks quickly? Subban, yes he and Markov are good. But with the signing of Gill and now the rumor of Hammer, I guess I’ll be watching more games with the habs running around in their own end for good parts of the game.
They cut down on their shots against too. They didn’t do a lot of running around in their own zone; it just stands out when they do that so it sticks to our minds. Exactly why it’s important to use metrics rather than general impressions — humans are really good at seeing what they think they should see.
Second thing: keep in mind Hammer has been facing tough competitions. The way the D is shaping up he’d be seeing a lot of weaker comps. He’s going to be laughing if he goes from facing the other teams’ best guys to facing their third-liners.
Most teams 3rd and 4th liners, are of the hard nosed in your face type of players. Do you really think that Gill and Hammer can physically compete at their age? You may like to see these two guys resigned, and you have every right to your opinion as I do. I would much rather have Wiz as part of the D than either one of these two guys. Their better days are behind them.
by bolder on Jun 22, 2011 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sure they can. It’s a lot harder to face first-liners that can make you pay for your mistake than third-liners that tend to get there only once the puck’s already been moved up ice, and the players who grind do so generally because they aren’t good enough to do anything else. Add to that that being on the lower pairings will naturally limit their total minutes, and there’s going to be no issue.
I’d rather have Wiz than Gill too, but you can probably have Hammer and Gill together for the cap space it would take to sign Wiz. That’s a factor too. And it assumes Wiz even wants to sign rather than test the market. And Hammer is still a better even-strength D-man than the Wiz anyway.
Sounds like Goats is making an offer to Hamrlik now. If he has a deal in place for Markov, then I think its clear that Wiz intends on cashing in as a UFA. Hamrlik coming back would give us 8-10 d-men (Picard/Diaz as 9/10 if Picard retained).
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I’m really confused about the idea of an offer to Hammer. I would’ve signed him before Gill, but Gill was already borderline redundant with Spacek on the roster. I’m all for strong, ridiculously deep bluelines, but adding Hammer and presuming Markov re-signs, we’re looking at Markov-Subban-Gorges-Hamrlik-Yemelin-Gill-Spacek-Weber; that’s way too many, that’s probably too much money on D, and it puts a guy we want to play in the pressbox.
If the Habs had kept Wiz, I would have assumed Weber would’ve been trade bait for help up front (three RH PMD is a surplus, plus Diaz signing). With Hamrlik I’m less sure of that, since he’s not a long term solution at all.
I guess Spacek could be a trade target. Hamrlik > Spacek and if we can get something, even a pick for Spacek that’s more than what we’d get for letting Hamrlik walk. Or we wait it out with 8 D on the main roster, spot Weber in at forward on occasion, and the inevitable injuries allow everyone to play anyways.
No scheduled off-season surgeries for the D as far as I know… I would’ve thought Gill and Spacek were most likely due to their recurring injuries late in the year. But that could be a factor as well. We know Eller is likely out for the start of the year, but don’t know of any D out to start.
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While going from Hammer-Spatch as first pairing to Hammer-Spatch as third pairing makes for an extremely deep blueline corps, I’m more worried about Yemelin than Weber. He is reportedly good enough to be a top-4 D-man; not the kind of guy you want sitting in the pressbox.
Now obviously if you can improve and save cap space all at once by replacing Spatch with a cheaper Hammer, you do it, even if you have to give Spatch away. Maybe that’s the plan, and it’s certainly an intriguing option.
Either way, we’re eyeing a very, very strong blueline corps if the #6 guy is Yemelin. Well, probably Gill, really, but that’s still pretty nuts, considering the top-end isn’t lacking either.
I agree with all that. When it comes to Spacek, maybe PG has already talked to one or two teams that have a lot of cap space and want the rights for Wisniewski and are willing to take Spacek. So maybe Wisniewski + Spacek gone for a draft pick? I´d like that.
On Hamr
I think Hamrlik’s fate with the habs is linked to Gorges. If both Curious Gorges and Hamr are asking for 3 millions, who do you get, Hamr for one or 2 years or Gorges for 4?
Gorges for $3 million/year for 4 years would be a no-brainer to me. That’s pretty cheap for a top-4 defenseman who can handle tough minutes, especially alongside a superior defenseman.
Of course that depends on what you can do via trade. I’d lock Gorges up if I could get a reasonable deal done if I were Gauthier though.
I understand D is a luxury to have if you can have it. But when we have somewhat lethargic play coming from Gomez, Kostitsyn and Pouliot throughout most or even parts of the season, wouldn’t it be best to secure forward help over over compensating on the D? Yes I agree with MathMan on his ascertion that Ham plays tough minutes when needed but… he doesn’t play great minutes in those moments. He’s far from a heel, but, his age is giving him away and teams are taking advantage. If, as Mathman states Ham could be a better player playing 3rd liners, why wouldn’t a team take a chance on Ham if he re-signs for a fair price? Spacek isn’t getting any better either, and key injuries (mind you not Markov-esque) over the course of a year keep him out of the lineup. If you could package them? I don’t know the realities to what I am saying, but, if Brass sees both Emelin and Diaz ready for NHL minutes right off the cuff (barring any crazy play from AHL players during camp) why is there such a focus on retaining Hammer?
And do you really think Wiz is such a liability defensively?? I mean, people are going to pay him for his offence, but man, he’s not Souray. He actually plays tough, and can fight (that’s not really part of my argument though).
Maybe we’re all over eager to have our 2 cents posted before the draft so that we can all say “A ha… see that’s what I thought was going to happen”?
Either way, this is a good conversation without too much pie in the sky stuff going on. Thanks
by Cruisin4aBruisin on Jun 22, 2011 2:47 PM EDT reply actions
And do you really think Wiz is such a liability defensively?? I mean, people are going to pay him for his offence, but man, he’s not Souray. He actually plays tough, and can fight (that’s not really part of my argument though).
Wisniewski’s defensive play is something I’ve really having trouble evaluating. His statistical measures for this past season aren’t great (playing for the Islanders wouldn’t help). There were also times without the puck where I wasn’t impressed with his marking (i.e. picking up and covering a man). In Anaheim he did play top-pairing minutes fairly well though he was being carried by Niedermayer. If Markov is fine (and re-signed) I would be comfortable with him carrying Wiz on a pairing.
Where I thought Wiz really shined, more than his shot or his point-totals, was his ability to carry the puck out of the zone with opposition players around him; nothing fancy, but taking the puck from the goal-line up to about halfway into the faceoff circle and then passing the puck. It’s something I saw him do on more than one occasion as a Hab and it impressed me a great deal. I think the Wisniewski boat has sailed though unless the big spenders are scared away for some reason. There’s no reason for him to not test the free agent market and see what he can get.
Either way, this is a good conversation without too much pie in the sky stuff going on. Thanks
That’s only because I hadn’t commented yet.
Right on
No qualms with your take man…. I’d rather Wiz than Ham… not that they have similar plus sides, but the youth and exhuberance part wins out when I think that the team- as continually stated- is looking for youth and speed.
Wiz’s movement is smooth and he’s great for the transition game.. if there is redundancy in this sole characteristic throughout the lineup for D I say we’re blessed.
by Cruisin4aBruisin on Jun 22, 2011 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I’d rather have Wiz than Hamrlik as well though, as with everything, it depends on the price.
I’m confused by the interest in re-signing Hamrlik given that Gill was re-signed, Emelin is supposedly NHL ready (with a KHL out-clause if he doesn’t make the team if I recall correctly), and Spacek under contract, not to mention Weber (who I think might be trade bait… we’ll see).
I think MathMan is right that it makes sense if you get Hamrlik for less than Spacek and then give Spacek away since Hamrlik is the better defenseman. Other than that though, I can’t wrap my head around the rumours.
There’s plenty of money. Stephen Cooper has a lineup where he has 22 players signed and 8 million in cap space. Sign Hammer for 3 and you still have 5-million-plus to hunt for an impact player for your top lines, or two quality third-liners, which is plenty. Find a taker for Spacek (with the Habs’ depth it certainly becomes feasible) and you have enough coin to gun for Richards if that’s what you want to do.
The cap is so high that the two are not mutually exclusive; Montreal can pile on D depth AND get a significant upgrade to its forward corps. They pay their top guys but there’s also a lot of efficiency to several of their contracts (MaxPac, Subban, Price, etc). But with the cap increasing every year, you have to figure that cap-efficiency just isn’t that big of a deal (even if it makes the Math Man cringe on some level).
The NHL’s hard cap is approaching the level of the NBA’s luxury tax (its surpassed their meaningless soft cap number). Crazy, huh?
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It’s getting high enough that there might as well not be a cap; it’s only limiting a double-handful of wealthy clubs at this point.
The only potential sticking point in the new CBA I think the owners might try and get rid of is the 5% inflator that the PA can vote in.
With the cap going up $4.6m this year, I also have to believe all escrow payments were paid back to the players. Less inflator % for less escrow %?
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Things are looking a lot like they were pre-lockout, except the poor teams have to spend a fair bit.
It will be interesting to see if the lower middle-class of NHL free agents stop getting squeezed in free agency, barring no big changes to the CBA. We might see teams willing to pay a premium for goaltending again, if Philly’s rumoured Bryzgalov insanity is any indication.
I’m starting to think Brad Richards will get the second richest UFA contract in league history. Not Kovalchuk money, but in terms of cap hit, I’m thinking it’ll be significant.
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You’re right in there being plenty of money available. Signing Richards or re-signing Wiz, keeping Spacek, and spending $4 million on forwards is the only non-trade scenario I’ve been able to come up with where the Habs are seriously and realistically close to the salary cap this season.
Everything else has me spending $6 million on forwards and considering spending another $2 million for a 3rd-line guy to play on the 4th line and bump down Darche or Moen to the pressbox. The lack of quality free-agent forward sucks considering the Habs’ ample spending ability this summer.
I guess Gauthier can always look to make a trade or overpay those 3rd-line wingers by a bit to get them on one-year terms rather than multi-year deals. (There’s the pie in the sky stuff you wanted to avoid Cruisin).
by Roke on Jun 22, 2011 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Signing Richards or re-signing Wiz, keeping Spacek, and spending $4 million on forwards is the only non-trade scenario I’ve been able to come up with where the Habs are seriously and realistically close to the salary cap this season.
Ugh, was looking at the wrong sheet. That’s about $3.0 million on forwards, not $4 million
Having a lot of open cap space also makes it feasible to gamble on high-risk players — Connolly, Gagne, and so on. The media might grumble if they go down, but it’s better to take a shot on those guys than just leave the cap space clear.
I think a trade may be in the cards tho. I don’t think Montreal is stockpiling D-men just to have four million in the pressbox every night.
Gagné and Connolly, the answer to all the Habs’ size troubles! I would love to see the reaction if the Habs signed those two on the same day.
It would get muddled, I think, because Simon Gagne is French-Canadian and close enough to a star. That would get a lot of noise on its own; poor Connolly might have trouble getting anyone but the Gazette to talk to him. :D
It would be interesting to see if the tendency to bash the Habs for everything would lead the must-have-size comments to exceed the jubilation of the must-have-French-stars crowd.
To be honest, with Eller likely out on opening day, Connolly sounds like a great gamble. MSM types might view it as ‘putting pressure on Gomez’ and that wouldn’t be completely wrong, as it’d give us more options down the middle for sure.
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21 players actually, but 12 forwards, 7 defenders and 2 goaltenders. So 2 roster spots and 8 million in cap. The assumptions were 6 million for Markov, 3 for Gorges, .6 for Pyatt, .65 for White and .9 for Weber, which I think are reasonable.
Next summer will be tighter though, Kostitsyn, Yemelin, Subban, Price and Eller will be due raises. Laraque, Gill, Moen and Spacek’s cap hits will be gone. But that will still be a tight squeeze unless there is another cap raise. If the cap goes up 5 million again then its no problem, if its 2 million then there could be issues.
This favours at least one of the new contracts being single year.
by Stephan Cooper on Jun 22, 2011 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions
That might be when they try to dump Gomez though, if Eller develops into a top-6 center by then. That’d save some cap.
Obviously if Gomez can be dealt its very easy. However I wouldn’t operate under the assumption that it is possible since predicting the Gomez situation a year in advance is perilous.
by Stephan Cooper on Jun 22, 2011 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Considering we have a team this summer that is currently $30m BELOW THE FLOOR, I’m more confident than ever that Gomez at $9.5m for the last 2 years of his deal (with the $7.4m cap hit) will be attractive.
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EDIT: $10m for last 2 years.
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Sure it should be feasible but I wouldn’t count on it a year in advance.
by Stephan Cooper on Jun 22, 2011 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions
With the cap around 65 million, 5 million should be seen as the going rate for a decent second-line centerman. So Gomez is very likely to be a trade asset to a team without one who can’t spend to the cap.
Say he puts up 55 points next year, he probably wouldn’t get a McDonagh+Higgins return but a decent prospect and a 2/3rd round pick should be about what the market for his services is.
The next question is who would be a sup-cap team looking to add a good 2nd line center next season that doesn’t spend to the cap is. I’m going to take a look at that now.
by Stephan Cooper on Jun 22, 2011 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions
What’s the likely direction for PG though?? Closer to the ceiling than the floor? Makes speculation more fun if its the ceiling.
by Cruisin4aBruisin on Jun 22, 2011 3:24 PM EDT reply actions
Since the lockout the Habs have always spent to the cap and they’re the 3rd-highest revenue generating team. I don’t see any reason why they would be closer to the floor unless the Molsons decided to go back to their late-90s style of ownership.
And Geoff doesn’t strike me as the penny-pinching type of guy. Gauthier is going to go out and spend the money.
Montreal’s payroll with all the injury replacements was over 61 million. Even factoring in that some of this was paid by insurance, spending 64 isn’t exactly a huge leap. Incidentally that was the fifth-highest payroll in the NHL, if Capgeek is to be believed.
The additions of the big guys may quell both the “french needed group” and “size needed group” (in Gagne and Connoly) however, the play of JM’s team needs to change to more grittier on the whole if that were the case. Changing the outlook of the play for a whole team based on the additions of 2 individuals may be a big leap for the current core to translate.
I know we have Patch playing a bigger man’s role on his line, and White bashing when he can, Moen throwing his weight around as well. but the Habs don’t play a Bang and Crash game, and speedier players would lose some of their use. I don’t see the adding of 2 big men. When’s the last time we had a ‘front of the net-scrum in the corners’ kinda guy that made a big difference??
by Cruisin4aBruisin on Jun 22, 2011 6:18 PM EDT reply actions
I think you have the wrong picture. Gagne and especially Connolly are not exactly bangers and crashers…
Quite the opposite really.
Given the UFA market for forwards I doubt even after relatively poor years those two don’t get significant contracts. There are a lot of teams that could use an upgrade at forward and those two are still some of the most significant names.
by Stephan Cooper on Jun 22, 2011 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Reason PG is looking to re-sign Hammer again.
It was reported that PG sought out after the Hammer to return for for 2 yrs. Thats the time remaining in Spacek’s contract. He is currently suffering some post concussion syptions thanks to that “You can’t See Me” hit that papered Spacek to the glass in the Game 6. Spacek is suffering some Post traumatic stree due to this – specifically headaches and dizziness. This came on after the hit and played on for the following games.
The NHL met this week to discuss the Hitting from behind and wished to re-address it. Many names were offered up: Chicken Shit hit!, Coming through and I can’t stop! The move willl now be called the Cowardly Lucic Move.
Spacek is signed for 1 more year.
Signing Hamrlik for 2 years would be foolish IMO. He is as many have noted, pretty old and 35+ year-old contract rule is in effect.
by Stephan Cooper on Jun 23, 2011 4:57 AM EDT up reply actions
If it were 2 years at $3m total, I’d do it. :)
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by Bruce Peter on Jun 23, 2011 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
This, is awful
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/06/23/two-weeks-to-fix-a-franchise-the-montreal-canadiens/
Daniel Briere… the Flyers are near the cap, the Habs tried to sign him… he’s French. PERFECT FIT for the Habs.
Terrible sports writing.
It’s typical of media pieces from columnists who don’t follow teams too closely and just go by reputations and oft-repeated soundbites. Mind you this one is especially weak.
“Dump Gomez and get Briere”. Does that even improves the Habs?
I find it interesting that the two forwards he thinks the Habs should acquire are Quebec-born. No mention of trying to trade for superior alternatives like Hemsky or Carter. Just like how the Habs will/should draft players with French-sounding names. Typical of the media outside of Montreal when looking at them.
I hadn’t even noticed the dump Gomez part of the piece, same with Kostitsyn being a “movable piece”.
I’m all for dumping Gomez (it’s something I strongly consider for nest off-season), but only under the right circumstances. Doing so to trade for Briere, promote Eller/Desharnais this year, or signing Richards is not the right circumstance.
3 years
17.5 million… same cap hit…longer term. Wasn’t expecting the extra year, but what the hell? He’s good for it when he’s healthy.
What the Heck happened in Philly today?? Sideswiped by the news of Richards AND Carter leaving Philly.
by Cruisin4aBruisin on Jun 23, 2011 11:11 PM EDT reply actions
Not sure of Philly’s core without those two… looks like a rebuild to me… Schenn is a risk IMHO…. played great in WJHC- but that’s based on the fact he is a pro playing against 18 yr olds….. not sold on his abilities…but again… I’m not Burke
by Cruisin4aBruisin on Jun 23, 2011 11:30 PM EDT reply actions
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