Waiver Wire Pickups

Every year, I actively watch the waiver wire to see which fringe NHLers are sent to the minors. Some names come up frequently, like Mike Zigomanis, Nolan Yonkman, and a series of others. However, every now and then, a few interesting names pop up and teams have access to a player that could potentialy make an impact on the season. Last year, the New York Islanders were lucky enough to benefit from Florida's mistake and grab Michael Grabner on waivers. Grabner went on to be one of the top rookies scorers and pot more than 30 goals for the Islanders. After scanning the wire quickly, which players could make an impact this year for teams and who do I think the Habs should try and pick up?

The first category of interesting players that could have an impact on an new team are those who are sent to the minors because they are not living up to their contract or the teams do not have adequate cap space to keep them at the NHL level. The most prominent players who have fallen into this situation are Christobal Huet, Wade Redden, and Ales Kotalik. All three players would most likely still be playing in the NHL if not for their contracts. However, it will be interesting to see if any of these three will get a shot in the next few years as the salary cap continues to rise and the impact of their contracts is diminished.

There are a few servicable defencemen on the wire this year, highlighted by Shaone Morrisonn, who has played for Washington and Buffalo at the NHL level, but was caught in a numbers game this year for the Sabres as they added Regehr, Erhoff, and youngster M-A Gragnani. Morrisonn has size, 6-4 and 210 pounds, and averaged just over 16 minutes of ice time last year so he should be able to find work in the NHL this year. Perharps the Islanders, who are in need of a defenceman would be a possible fit, plus they had success last year.

Another category of players who frequently pass through waivers are enforcers. This year, potential heavy-weight champ, Eric Godard, was placed on waivers by the Stars. Godard is in an interesting situation because he signed a two-year deal with the Stars in the offseason and has a two-way clause for the first year. With the Stars being strapped for cash and already having an enforcer, Krys Barch, albeit not of Godard's stature, singed for this season, it made sense for the Stars to waive Godard this year and plan to have him with the NHL club next season. I would have loved for the Habs to put a claim in for Godard. I have always felt that fighting has no place in hockey but it would make sense for the Canadiens to have an enforcer since the NHL does not share my opinion on fighting and seems to endorce violence. If you are going to have a goon, you might as well have one of the best and Godard definetely fits the bill. Plus, he seems comfortable with limited ice and game time, playing 20 games, and he is a team player, as is evident by his taking a 10 game suspension to protect backup goalie Brent Johnson.

Godard Fights

• Godard coming off the bench

• Godard vs Orr

•  Godard vs Neil

The other player who, in my opinion, should be of some interest to the Canadiens is Philly goon Tom Sestito. Although it appears that Sestito will soon be suspended for his hit on Andre Deveaux, he does fit the mold of a player the Habs are lacking. Although he does not appear to be as tough as Godard, he does have size, 6-5 and 220 pounds, and he is more capable of taking a regular shift scoring 4 points in 9 games with Columbus and 32 points in 46 games with their minor league affiliate last season.

• Suspension looming for Sestito

• This clip shows that Sestito can skate decently for a big man

Either Godard or Sestito could fit in with the Habs, with Sestito being my first choice, and provide some more grit on the fourth line. The downside to taking a shot on either is limited as they can both be sent to the minors on a two-way contract this year if they don't work out. The Habs could give them a quick try-out as players like White heal from injuries. It is not as if any of the current players in camp have played well enough to deserve a spot ahead of either of these two.

Habs sign Chris Campoli

The Habs signed defenceman Chris Campoli today who played was with Ottawa and Chicago this past season. Campoli was an unrestricted free agent after Chicago refused his arbitration award and instead signed defencemen Sean O'Donnell, Sami Lepisto, and Steve Montador who will provide them with far more toughness.

Campoli, who turned 27 this summer, is listed at 6 feet and 190 pounds. His most productive offensive season was his rookie year, 2005-2006, when he scored 34 points for the Islanders, but also a -16 which is a career worst. He has only reached 30 points one other time in his career.

The most likely cause of this signing is that Markov's knee injury is worse than expected. Campoli plays left defense, a position that is under filled by the projected Canadiens defense to start the season. Currently, the Habs project to have Spacek and Gill as the other left defencemen, while Subban, Gorges, Yemelin, and Weber play on the right side.

This signing also appears to be a sign that the coaching staff does not have faith that Woywitka could fill a depth role at the NHL level and the some of the other youngsters, like Nash and Beaulieu, require more seasoning in Hamilton and junior.

I am not that happy with the signing because it seems that the only skill that Campoli brings is that he is left handed and can play on the left side. He has never shown to have a lot of offensive upside, nor has he shown the ability to be a strong defender, twice being -16 and never having a +/- greater than zero in a single season. His skill set - strong puck-mover, decent skater - seem to be duplicated in other youngsters, like Diaz and Weber, who are on the bubble. The Habs could have played Gorges on the left side to fill the need for a left d. I would like to have seen those two get a greater chance to prove themselves before the Canadiens reached out and signed Campoli.


Campoli signing on TSN.ca

Game 2: Their men vs the Habs' boys

Habs fans expectations should have been pretty low when the line-ups for last night's pre-season game were announced. After all, the Habs were not even dressing one line that will be expected to play together this season while the the Sabres had their top three lines and top 4 D dressed for the game. 

The result was a 3-1 loss by the Habs capped off by an empty net goal. Not only was the result better than fans could have expected, but the should have been pleasantly surprised by the strong return of Pacioretty, who looked comfortable on the ice, and the play by some of the prospects - Beaulieu and Gallagher in particular - who played far better than could have been anticipated. The biggest disappointment of the game was the play of Engqvist and Palushaj who were playing the second game in two nights.

Beaulieu looks like the real deal

After watching Beaulieu play more than 27 minutes, I hope that most fans have come away with the feeling that he is the real deal and he will be a stud in the future. Sure he seemed raw at times in his own zone, but his skating, vision, and poise with the puck were exceptional for a player playing his first game against competition stronger than major junior. 

Three plays really stuck out in my mind that showed glimpses of his future. Early in the game, he made a beautiful long-bomb pass which demonstrated his vision. Second, I believe it was in the second period, when he evaded a forcheck by Brad Boyes while maintaining possession of the puck and he was able to make a nice outlet pass. It was a nice display of poise and confidence where other young defenseman might have turned the puck over or just tried to chip it up the boards. And third, his ability to get back in position after joining the rush showed that he has the speed to play in the NHL one day. 

I am not trying to overhype him and say he is ready for the NHL this year but he could challenge for a spot next year with a solid year in junior.

Gallagher: Gionta Jr?

The second youngster who had a strong game was Gallagher. He was strong on the puck, drove the net, and showed glimpses that would make you want to compare him to the Habs diminutive captain, Brian Gionta. One particular sequence of note was during the third when he stickhandled through the Sabres defenseman. Gallagher showed far more drive and determination than some of the other prospects who have a chance to make the Habs roster this year. 

Does anybody want the job of thirteenth forward?

The biggest disappointment of the game was the play of Palushaj and Engqvist for the second consecutive game. Both players seemed to lack determination and were invisible on the ice. From the past two games, I don't see a skill set that will translate well to the NHL for either of them. Palushaj seems like Maxwell in that he is not strong or fast enough to be a top 6 or top 9 scoring forward in the NHL. He doesn't have any skills in particular that stand out. While Engqvist seemed behind the play and also laked any elite or NHL skills apart from his size. From the game play so far, Blunden has played the best of the three players battling for the last spot.

Thoughts from the first pre-season game

Two nights ago, I eagerly sat down to watch the first pre-season game of the season. My expectations for the game were not a quality hockey game, but more a chance to observe some of the Canadiens offseason acquisitions for the first time. The players I was eager to observe were Cole, Yemelin, Diaz, and the players who would be battling for the thirteenth forward spot (Engqvist, Palushaj, and Blunden).

As expected, Hab fans were not treated to a quality hockey game but we did get some glimpses of hope.

Cole was a great aquisition by Gauthier

From what we saw in the first game, Cole is exactly what this team was missing last year - a big, strong, fast winger who drives to the net and is not afraid to hit. Cole was strong on the puck and will compliment Pleks and Cammalleri well throughout the season. An added benefit of the Cole signing is that Kostitsyn will be freed to play against the other teams third lines. And as we saw from the game against Dallas, he seemed to thrive as the go-to-guy on the line. Maybe we will see his emergence as a more consistend offensive threat this season.

Yemelin has more tools than I expected

I was expecting Yemelin to be a physical force on D. However, I was surprised by his skating, his vision, and his ability to carry the puck. My initial expectation is still that he will be a 6-7 defenceman early in the season but I am now more confident that he will be a key part of the defence by the end of the season.

Diaz = Weber

As for Diaz, he didn't impress too much and seemed like a very similar player to Weber - same size, same skill set, and same style game. It seems like he will be Hamilton bound this season.

Battle for the thirteenth forward spot

I will go into more detail on this subject in my next post because both Engqvist and Palushaj played the following game.

What role will Yemelin play this year?

Like many other Hab fans, I have waited patiently for the arrival of Alexei Yemelin. To my surprise, the Canadiens managed to lure the talented Russian defenceman to Montreal this year. I was happy to hear about this development because I was beginning to lose hope that we would ever see him in a Canadiens sweater given the fact that he kept signing new contracts in the KHL. With that said, what role can we expect Yemelin to play with the Habs this year?

With the top 4 (Markov, Gorges, Gill, Subban) essenstially a lock, the early expectation for Yemelin is to try and make the team as a member of the bottom pairing and playing beside Spacek. However, that being said, it doesn't mean that Yemelin cannot have an impact with the Habs this year. His skillset: big, tough, hard-hitting, and good skating has a many fans salivating over his potential. The one fear I have for Yemelin this year will be how he handles the toughness and intimidation of the NHL.

This year will let us know whether he can put those skills together and turn into a credible top 4 defenceman. If he can, the Habs will have a solid d-core for the next few years as the defence transitions from being led by Markov to one being led by Subban, Yemelin, Tinordi, Gorges, etc. The Habs have nothing to lose this year with Yemelin because the expectation of most fans was that he was a lost prospect along the lines of Korneev and Perezhogin.

Balk


My vision for the Habs D

At the begining of the year, the Habs could start with these combos.

Markov - Gorges
Gill - Subban
Spacek - Yemelin

If Yemelin proves he can play in the top 4, the could move him onto a pair with Markov. This would give the Habs good depth and the ability to roll the three pairs with no fear.

Markov - Yemelin
Gill - Subban
Spacek - Gorges