Bob,
We know the situation with the Montreal Canadiens as Andrei Markov, Craig Rivet and Sheldon Souray are all set to become unrestricted free agents. Do you think GM Bob Gainey will make a trade or two or will he decide to stay with them for the rest of the season? I don't think he will be able to sign all three free agents for next year.
Francois Beauchamp,
Montreal Bob McKenzie:Francois, you are probably right, the Canadiens will have a tough time signing all three. You hear so many Souray trade rumours you have to wonder if it's the old where there is smoke there's fire. But to be honest with you, my take on it is as follows: If the Canadiens trade one of these guys as a rental at the deadline, what are they going to get for him? Future considerations? The truth is the Montreal Canadiens, on their good days, could be a giant killer in the Eastern Conference and I like them a lot better with all their defenceman there than missing one for the sake of a young prospect or a draft pick. I know in the NFL, with the salary cap and all, teams routinely allow players to go to unrestricted free agency and lose them for nothing because that's preferable to dealing them in mid-season for a draft pick. I think you'll see more and more NHL GMs start to operate in the same fashion, so I won't be surprised if Gainey keeps all those guys and the Habs take a run at doing whatever they can in the playoffs and let the chips fall where they may in the off-season as far as signing them. Of course, if the Habs aren't destined to make the playoffs, then all bets are off and any one, two or three of them could be moved as rentals. But I think Montreal has what it takes to be a playoff team, so that could be a moot point.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=187400&hubname=nhl 
vorheriges Thema
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