Checking my Blackberry this morning, I caught on The Hockey News that Guillaume Latendresse had four points, for the Minnesota Wild, on Monday night and quickly tweeted how the debates over the Latendresse/Benoit Pouliot deal would open up.
No sooner had I posted it, when I got a reply from Topham of Lions in Winter.
He was already hard at work, as always, putting up some comparative notes on his site.
I’ve excerpted the Latendresse/Pouliot portion below.
“Gui On Fire!
Former Hab Guillaume Latendresse, if you haven't heard, notched three assists and the game winner against Pittsburgh last night.
For the record, I love what I have seen of Benoit Pouliot thus far, and it looks early on like this will be a trade that benefits both players and teams. Still, there's that sour taste thing.
I won't go over this again, but for all the Guillaume bashers out there that gave me heat for three years while I stuck up for him....I told you so. Now, you can blame Gainey for having done what you wished he'd done all along.
The thing is, with the kids and prospects who show promise, they have to be given regular linemates to be assessed properly. This is how we find out whether they are top six forwards or whether their use is lower on a team's depth chart. Their mistakes have to be endured and their growth assisted.
The Canadiens were able to make this work with Higgins and Ryder in the past, turning both players into valuable assets regardless of how they were eventually handled. But that's another thing entirely.”
Eric Engels also jumped on the topic du jour on his blog at HockeyBuzz.
Finally the “Fab Four” of HabsInsideOut had some insight during their PuckCast into the trade and all agreed that a change of scenery has made the biggest of differences for both individuals.
So this week, let’s put it to a poll:
Who benefits the most from the deal?
Habs? Wild? Even trade, or give them 2-3 years to see who (team or player) benefits most.
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1 comment:
Pouliot might have done better in Minnesota this year without Lemaire coaching, but as he was injured it's hard to say. What's striking is that almost one third of his NHL goals have already come in Montreal.
As for Latendresse, well, he getting the necessary ice time he needed to showcase his abilities in Minnesota and he's not taking it for granted.
Who wins this? I don't think that can be decided even this year. Maybe slight edge to Minnesota.
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