I am scratching my head a little about this. Why trade for Ellis and not sign him at such a favorable rate? Ellis is certainly better than Auld.

Maybe Ellis wanted a guarantee of 40 + games? But then why did Ellis give several interviews in Montreal saying he would be comfortable playing behind Price? Maybe that’s what he said in public but felt otherwise in private?

Or, is the salary cap really that tight that even an extra $500k would cause issues for Pierre Gauthier? Maybe Gauthier really is planning to keep Dominic Moore, and wants to save every penny? But then why not sign Biron, who comes in even cheaper, and can mentor Carey and take the heat off of him with the press? Maybe Gauthier didn’t want to give him a two-year deal and didn’t want to run the risk of having the local press jeer on Carey in favor of homeboy Biron?

Or, maybe, with so many of the big name free agents already signed, Gauthier has some other kind of trade up his sleeve to get a player like Frolov? I still can’t see this happening, but maybe.

In Auld, Gauthier gets a very low-cost goalie, who is younger than 30, has a lot of international experience and has put up some decent numbers. Maybe decent enough that Gauthier thinks the extra $500k going to Ellis could be better spent elsewhere?

But I can’t help but think that getting Auld also serves as some kind of peace offering to Carey Price as well. Think about it: Auld is the same size as Price, so goalie coach Pierre Groulx will work with both goalies the same way, so Auld and Price will be learning off the same page. This limits the potential for any confusion. Auld also comes from the West Coast, too. Added bonus for BC native Price.

But maybe its because Auld is clearly not going to be a number 1 goalie, that makes him so attractive to Gauthier. Price will never be threatened by Auld or fear that his job is always at risk. No Halak breathing down his back.If Gauthier had signed Ellis, I imagine the possibility would have always existed that Ellis could have taken over.

Two things are for sure, I think:

1 – Gauthier has a lot of faith in Price: Price will play A LOT of games. We already knew that.

2- Price’s contract will cost more than we originally thought. There is no other explanation for why Gauthier would go for Auld, when marginally more expensive, but much better goalies were available. The only reason I can think of, barring an attempt at keeping Moore or some other move, is that Price is asking for $2.5 – $3million / year, minimum, and that puts more pressure on the cap.

I hope I am wrong about this. I hope the Auld signing comes down to money / something else in the works. But if it doesn’t, signing Auld, to me, looks like the Habs are once again coddling a player who has not yet fully earned the mantle of Number One Goalie.

This really does strike me as weird.

I actually like today’s trade sending Sergei Kostitsyn for pending UFA’s center Dustin Boyd and goalie Dan Ellis.

But it does have shades of that earlier pickpocketing that saw the Habs nab a player who could skate, shoot and hit (Courtnall) in exchange for a tough 4th liner whose career was on the downturn (Kordic):

a) There is no question that Nashville got the more talented player in this trade. The Habs get a potential 4th liner for a potential 2nd liner.

b) Nashville got cheaper, the Habs more expensive.

c) Boyd and Ellis are UFA’s, but Kostitsyn is signed.

But the fact that Pierre Gauthier was able to get something for S. Kostitsyn is a miracle. The fact that he got a capable 4th liner who is stronger, bigger, faster and ten years younger than Glen Metropolit and actually fills a need for the Habs, is something good too.Frankly, I am shocked that Gauthier was able to get as much as he did, considering Kostitsyn has poisoned the well so vociferously.

But one of these players needs to be signed for this trade to make any sense at all.

Plus, this trade raises a lot of  intangibles:

a) Will the Habs be able to sign Dan Ellis? If they do, this trade could be a huge win for them. If they don’t, and Sergei plays to most of his potential, Nashville wins this trade hands down. My gut says Ellis walks, because he is only 30, and might want to sign with a team that needs someone to play 40-50 games, pay him more than his current salary of $1.8 million but not want to pay out Tim Thomas money.

My gut: Ellis will look to San Jose or Tampa Bay before he even signs with Montreal! Boyd might just sign with the Habs, though.

b) Could this put more pressure on Carey Price to sign with the Habs? There might be some gamesmanship at play here. The Habs need to sign Price, but since the Halak trade, Price had all the leverage: He knew the Habs didn’t have any other goalie to negotiate with, so he could take his time until an offer came that he liked. Well, now the Habs have someone else to negotiate with, at least until July 1st. And if Price doesn’t get an offer sheet from another team, he is stuck with the Habs terms. This way, Pierre Gauthier might be sending a message: “I am going to sign this guy if I can’t sign you”.

My gut says: I may be over-thinking things here.

c)How will this effect the play of Andrei Kostitsyn (assuming he stays on):I’ve always found Sergei to be the more social and um… mentally stronger, of the two brothers. Sergei strikes me as someone who, in the right situation, can make friends wherever he goes. Andrei? Not so much. Andrei always produced better when his younger brother was around. Sergei didn’t seem to be effected by any of that, one way or the other. The question is this: Was Sergei a distraction for his brother or a friendly presence that made him more comfortable? The answer holds the key to Andrei’s season.

My gut: Andrei starts slow, but will eventually adjust. Sergei will have a great season in the NHL one of these years.

d) Post-Halak trade, what happens to Lars Eller and Dominic Moore? This is the trickiest question of all. Assuming Boyd takes the 4th line center position, that leaves the 3rd line center slot open for Dominic Moore (or Max Lapierre). So what would happen to Lars Eller? Does he stay down in the AHL or do the Habs play him on the wing?

This is another ramification of the Halak trade. For the trade to pay off and for Eller to live up to his billing, the Habs need to take every opportunity to develop Eller properly, which to me, means that he plays good minutes in his natural position and that the team is very patient with him and clear that they don’t need him to produce right away. But if he is good enough to make the Habs out of training camp, and Moore is also signed, where does Eller play? If the Habs let Moore go and pencil in Eller in the 3rd slot, well, what happens if Eller needs some fine tuning and experiences the inevitable hiccup? Who plays then?

My gut: Sign Moore, slot him in for the 3rd line. If Eller makes the team, let Eller play center on the 4th line and Boyd can play wing. He wasn’t brought in for his scoring touch anyway.

Things are certainly more interesting than I thought they would be just a few days ago.

Eric and I will argue over the long-term implications of the Pleks / Halak moves during our podcast – if I can ever find Eric – but for now…

…let’s give a warm welcome to the new Habs. They are just like the old Habs.

Don’t expect any big changes because:

a) Gauthier doesn’t have cap space to sign a major UFA to his lineup.

b) No major trade on the horizon either, because no team is going to take on Hamrlik and/ or the Kostitsyn brothers without some weird combination of picks, prospects, Markov, Gorges or Subban.

c) Gauthier could trade a couple of spots up or down in the draft…but again, the options are really limited in either direction so even if he does, it won’t be a major move.

But the biggest reason?

d) I think Pierre Gauthier, at heart, is a calculated, but cautious, General Manager. He sees what he wants and goes for it, but only if he is sure of all the parameters. And I think Gauthier, both as a function of the cap-strapped situation he finds himself in but also because of his personal management style, wants to stay in his sandbox. He does not want to make too many changes.  More on that later.

Right now, I think we all know how the rest of Gauthier’s playbook reads, in order of importance:

1. Sign Carey Price.

2. Sign a good back-up goalie for Carey Price (Marty Biron, Johan Hedberg, Antero Niittymaki and for the wild card: Chris Mason!!!??!!).

3. Tend to the well-rehearsed list of UFA / RFA’s already on the team (Dominic Moore, Max Laps, Pouliot, etc).

In other words, don’t expect Alex Frolov or Colby Armstrong to come on over. As much as they could help the team, there isn’t any money for them. The Habs may not be able to keep Dominic Moore either. Also say goodbye to Glen Metropolit, Marc Andre Bergeron and Paul Mara. But we all saw that coming, didn’t we?

Not to beat a dead Slovak goalie, but the Halak (or Price) trade was the one chip Gauthier had to really upend his lineup in a major way. A chance to clear space, get rid of expensive pieces and maybe, maybe, find a larger bigger / cheaper body to replace Tomas Plekanec – with enough room to chase a big UFA winger or two (hence Frolov or Armstrong).

But Gauthier didn’t go down that path.  He stayed inside his sandbox.

Take Exhibit A: The Halak trade. It seems reckless on the surface (and I am still convinced that Gauthier should have waited before pulling the trigger), but in reality, Gauthier sees this as minimal risk because he already knew who he was getting. Lars Eller (in exchange for Halak), and earlier in the season Aaron Palushaj (for Matt D’Agostini), were both selected by the Blues in the 2007 draft, right after the Habs picked Ryan Mcdonagh and PK Subban, respectively, that same year. Gauthier already knew those players very well, because the Habs were in a position to draft them (and in hindsight, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Benoit Pouliot – drafted right before the Habs picked you-know-who in 2005 – was the player the Habs reached out to when they were looking to dump Guillaume Latendresse).

Cautious. Calculated. He stayed in his sandbox, within his frame of knowledge. He is clearly comfortable here and sees no reason to leave.

Now I’m not saying that the next time the Habs make a deal with the Rangers, for example, prospects like Chris Kreider (picked after Louis Leblanc) or Bob Sanguinetti (after David Fisher in 2006) will be in play, but it wouldn’t surprise me. And I’m not just talking about this specific pattern either. It’s more general than that: A pattern that points to how Gauthier conducts business: He deals with what he knows.

And there were too many possible intangibles and permutations with all the possible Halak trades – and, yes, too many possible financial consequences of signing Halak and trading Price. Gauthier didn’t want any of that clutter. He chose to keep it simple. Block by block. One move at a time.

Back to off-season 2010:  Maybe Gauthier pots a Kozlov here, a Halpern there, if they agree to $ 1 million or less. Maybe Gauthier goes crazy and tries to finagle a Chris Higgins back in the fold (actually, might not be a bad idea and would fit the Gauthier sandbox)!!??!!!.

But aside from  a couple of TBD’s at back-up goalie and on the third line, we know what the 2010-2011 starting lineup will be for the Montreal Canadiens.

But in a week where Philly traded for Dan Hamhuis, Boston acquired Nathan Horton AND ALSO  Hall / Seguin, where Tampa, Washington, Florida, Ottawa and Carolina are going to draft big or make big changes, the big question is:

Are the Habs any better than last year?

Frankly, I have no idea. But I suspect, as of now, maybe not.

We got rushed back from our summer vacay for this?????

Jaroslav Halak traded for…Lars Eller and Ian Schultz!!!!!????!!!!!!!

I HATE THIS AWFUL DEAL. I HATE IT. I HATE IT. I HATE IT. I HATE IT.

Why do I hate it? Glad you asked:

1  – Gauthier could have gotten more if he had let Halak walk as an RFA!!!

2 – Why didn’t Gauthier wait until the draft to pressure other teams into giving more?

* There is no way you can convince me that this is the best deal Gauthier could get. No way.  No how.

* You know what else this tells me? Because there were so many other goalies available this season, Gauthier was scared of losing out on a good trade. He was scared all the other teams would move faster than him. But Gauthier had the best two horses in the business. That was his only leverage. And it was excellent leverage. He should have had faith in his leverage. Instead, he blinked. And after giving up a second rounder for Dominic Moore weeks before the trade deadline, all the other GM’s now know that Gauthier is weak.  The next trade will be even tougher for Gauthier to make.

3 – Why didn’t Gauthier consider trading Price for a greater bounty?

* I don’t know who the better goalie is between Halak and Price, but I do know that Gauthier could have gotten more for Price. The Flyers, Oilers, Lightning, and yes, the Blues, were all interested. Tsn.ca says the Sharks were too. All of them would have surely given up more for Price, closer to the draft.

* I know, I know, money had a part to play in this. Halak would cost more. MUCH MORE. OK, I understand that. BUT STILL – was there a deal to be had for Jeff Carter for Carey Price and others? I am betting that there was. What about a trade for Patrick Sharp? The Hawks needed to dump salary. Now, he will end up on the Leafs! Hell, what about Oshie? Backes? NATHAN FUCKING HORTON? Any of those guys are better than what Gauthier got!

If any of these available centers  come in, Gauthier doesn’t have to sign Plekanec.

* which brings me to…

4 – Gauthier is about to get raped by Thomas Plekanec.

* Pleks and his camp now know, for a fact, that Gauthier has no choice but to sign Pleks. Because Gauthier was unable to land a Jeff Carter in the trade that the entire league knew was coming, Gauthier’s best and ONLY option is to sign Pleks. And now Pleks doesn’t have to rush. Every day that he waits to sign, he can add another 100K to his annual salary. At least. How does $5.5 million sound to you?

5 – Gauthier will also have to over-pay for Marty Biron.

* Gauthier knows he needs a strong, reliable back-up to help Carey’s development: emotional, professional, and on the ice. It’s a thankless job in front of a porous defense that won’t have Andrei Markov back until November.

6 – Why prospects? OK, why THESE prospects?

* Lars Eller and Ian Schultz!!!! Seriously, had anyone ever heard of these guys until today? Listen, I totally get why Gauthier would not want to trade a young goalie like Halak for an aging veteran. I understand why he would want to focus on youth. I understand why he would want to send Halak to the Western Conference too. But these “prospects” haven’t even played a season in the NHL!!! They weren’t on ANYONE’S radar. Except for maybe the robo-scouts / video cameras the Habs are going to use instead of real live human scouts.

* These guys are going to start the season in Hamilton. But Hamilton HAS NO COACH. How can Gauthier be sure that these prospects are going to develop, when the Guru is gone to Tampa, Muller is in flux, and player development is a known weak point of the Habs organization?

* Also – how does Gauthier trade for prospects when almost every single heralded young forward on the Habs struggled under Jacques Martin? The Kostitsyns, Lapierre, Pacioretty, Latendresse / Pouliot,  D’Agostini, they ALL struggled last year. At some point, you might want to hedge your bets.

I guess Hamilton will have a hell of a team this year, though.

* UPDATE: It seems Gauthier is really high on Lars Eller . He projects him as a “Number 2 center” and thinks Eller may even start the season with the big league Habs. The operative word here is THINKS. Eller is not money in the back. And the Habs don’t really handle young talent properly. And Halak was in the Conn Smythe discussion before the 3rd round loss to the Flyers. You tell me who you would rather have on your team?

* UPDATE 2: I fully and freely admit that if Eller becomes a great player, maybe this deal won’t look so bad. Maybe a few years down the road. Right now? It sucks.

Sigh. I just don’t get it.

no one else is smiling, chump

I HATE THIS TRADE!!!!!

Kidding. The Habs delivered and then some, outlasting 26 other teams to make it to the final four. This despite finishing 19th out of 30 teams in the regular season!

Yes, with few exceptions, the Habs went from a band of castaways to a group of heroes. And if you want an inside view of the great character inside that Habs locker room, I URGE you to check out Brian Wilde’s post game efforts.

We all know the particulars of this season. Eric and I will rehash them, over and over, and throw in our three cents, in our podcast this week, and we’ll talk about what comes next too.

But for now: “Merci beaucoup at a l’annee prochaine”.

Whatever happens, the Habs have caught lighting in a bottle and it’s been an amazing run.

But one thing sticks out: How so many of the Habs have really stepped it up to a level beyond what we thought possible, and how some “champions” have reverted to boy status. So here, on a slow day, is a totally subjective list of the MEN vs BOYS in this series:

THE REAL MEN

1. Hal Gill: Playing mucho-minutes, shaking off the early-season boos, and doing nothing less than holding down the two best players in the game. Yeah, Hal is MAN #1. If he pulled himself out of Game 6, it’s because the pain threshold was just too much. Which means it would be enough to make us mere mortals faint. And he’s a damn leader.

2. Mike Cammalleri / Brian Gionta: These pint size forwards are getting it done down in the corners, in the crease, and in front of the net. And no one has an answer for them yet.

3.Jordan Staal: Coming off a foot laceration? Are you kidding me?

"I don't hurt, I swear"

4. Josh Gorges: This guys bangs into the boards, into the corners, smacks into the goalpost, and he just shakes it off, over and over again. He’s the energizer bunny / indestructible pop up toy. Seriously – I think you would need to hang some garlic around your neck and drive a wooden stake into his heart for him to even realize what pain feels like. This guy is unbelievable.

5. Jaroslav Halak: He’s a “small” goalie, but he shakes off net crashers, team-wide doubt, Carey Price’s “Franchise” status, and the crazy pressure of never having played in the playoffs…what heart. WHAT A MAN.

6. Bill Guerin / Max Talbot / Chris Kunitz: They go about their business quietly, cleanly, with class and calm. All are banged up, Guerin more so, and they deserve the manly salute.

7. PK Subban: He was in Hamilton two weeks ago. He played 30 minutes last night. He also stuck to Crosby like glue, in the absence of Hal Gill in Game 6. Talk about stepping it up.

THE WEE BOYS

1. Sidney Crosby: Yeah, he’s a champ. He’s a national hero. And the face of the NHL. He also still lives with the team owner. Sorry, but at his age? He whines at every call. And that cross check against Pleky after the game? “It’s only Plekanec” says the champ. What a gutless dick.

"But I Wanna the Puck"

2. Sergei Kostitsyn: The whole team hates him now. What a pity.

3. Matt Cooke: Crosby without all the talent. Or charm. Or usefulness. Go away already.

And tomorrow night, we hope for the best in what will be a Game 7 classic for sure.

But no matter what happens, the MEN listed above, and so many more, have proved themselves worthy of their sweaters, and the adulation they’ve been getting from their hero-starved fans.

GO HABS GO!!!