Catching up some loose Habs ends

Ok now that things have settled a bit on the home front (crossing fingers), I can finally catch up on the events circling the Montreal Canadiens over the weekend.

First up, the NHL Entry Draft. The Canadiens traded up fro 27 to 22 and picked up a mountain of a defenseman named Jarred Tinordi.

I must say I did find it uncomfortable watching Tinordi don a Canadiens jersey with the No. 10 on it. Someone also pointed out that Louis Leblanc donned the No. 9, to which I replied, No. That was 09.” :)

As noted by the TSN panel in the above video, it was a great acquisition by GM Pierre Gautier to get some youth in the Habs defensive ranks.

The chart below, courtesy of capgeek.com, paints a better picture of looking ahead on the team’s blueline. Of note: this does not include  non-roster players and potential Restricted Free Agents (RFA) and Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA), such as Yannick Weber, Alex Henry, Paul Mara etc.

By the time that Tinordi could be ready to join the NHL, at the entry level, Andrei Markov may possibly be gone to free agency. We can anticipate that veterans Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek will be on the verge of retirement by the end of their contracts, and perhaps Hal Gill is still around for veteran presence. By then however we should see Josh Gorges and Ryan O’Byrne stepping up in their places, but making a bit more than what they currently make.

Now this is pure optimism, but If the cards fell into alignment in three years, it could be a solid and impressive group of six (Markov, Gill, Subban, O’ Byrne, Gorges, Tinordi).

The Canadiens also picked up Mark MacMillan (4th round, 113th overall), defenseman Morgan EIllis (117), and forwards Brendan Gallagher (147) and John Westin (207).

Sure they were deep in the draft, but as HIO’s Mike Boone noted on Saturday, you just never know.

“Those tempted to dismiss these kids as no-chancers might consider Andrei Markov, a sixth-round choice (162nd overall) by the Canadiens; Hal Gill, who was an eighth-round pick (207th overall) by the Bruins; Travis Moen, a fifth rounder (155th) for Calgary, Jaro Spacek, a fifth-round pick (117th) by Florida; Tom Pyatt, fourth round (107) by the Rangers, and Josh Gorges, who wasn't drafted at all.”

Maybe the most enthusiastic reaction from the lower-end group came from Ellis, who made the trip out to Los Angeles. "I was expecting to be drafted a little later, actually,” he said. “I know I still have a lot of work to do to make it to the NHL. But this is just amazing.”

Oh and by the way, my pick prediction for the Habs (pre-trade), Charlie Coyle, went number 28 to the San Jose Sharks. George Prax of The Checking Line did pick Tinordi for his selection.

Qualifying offers out, and two more signed: Pierre Gauthier was also busy sending out qualifying offers last week. Carey Price, Maxim Lapierre, Sergei Kostitsyn, and Tom Pyatt as well as Hamilton Bulldogs Mathieu Carle, David Desharnais, Cédrick Desjardins, Brock Trotter, Ryan Russell and James Wyman were all issued offers.

So far Pyatt has signed on for another season, at what may be a steal at $500,000 as per RDS, and the Canadiens also came to terms with potential RFA Benoit Pouliot for another year at $1.35 million. Both forwards will be eligible to become RFAs again at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Is this good-bye?: As per HIO, the Canadiens are not expected to offer contracts to Glen Metropolit, Marc-Andre Bergeron and Dominic Moore, allowing them to become UFAs on July 1. Of the three, I fear letting Moore test the waters could come back to bite the Canadiens.

Mock Draft boards weigh in on the Habs No. 1 pick

With the 2010 NHL Entry Draft just hours away, I thought I would surf around the web to see what the mainstream and alternate media are saying in their mock drafts. I came across a small sampling listed below, as there are many “armchair GMs” out there.

The Montreal Canadiens currently hold the number 27 choice and the “panel” has a bit of a diverse mix, with a couple agreeing on the same players. Tri-Cities’ Jaden Schwartz is the popular choice amongst three panelists.

It should be noted that most of these are the thoughts of the specific authors, and not necessarily those of the website or media outlet they post to. Of note: Mike Boone’s pick was not from a mock draft, but an observation made in one of his blogs.

You can check the complete mock draft lists and the NHL Central Scouting reports by clicking on the panelist and choice links respectively.

Here they are, in no particular order.

Panelist	Choice	P	Team	Comments
Mike Boone(HIO)	Dylan McIlrath	D	Moose Jaw (WHL)	“When was the last time the Canadiens had a bona-fide intimidator, à la Chris Pronger, on the back-end?”
MyNHLDraft.com	John McFarland	C/L	Sudbury(OHL)
Adam Kimelman (NHL.com)	Stanislav Galiev	RW	Saint John (QMJHL)	“Russian-born sniper has had two years to hone his dynamic North American skills”
Brad Holland (NHL.com)	Stephen Johns	D	US U-18(NTDP)	“After watching Hal Gill shut down Ovi and Sid, Habs look to shut down future stars with Johns.”
Mike Morreale (NHL.com)	Alexander Petrovic	D	Red Deer (WHL)	“Strapping 6-4 defender can skate, handle and distribute the puck well off the transition.”
James Murphy (NESN)	Tyler Pitlick	C	Minnesota State (WCHA)	“The Habs have long coveted a big center to go with their skilled and speedy wingers, and at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Pitlick can play that role.”
FanHouse.com	Jaden Schwartz	C	Tri-City (USHL)	“The Canadiens have never shied away from smallish forwards. Schwartz will attract teams with his great playmaking skills and speed.”
Respect Hockey	Ludvig Rensfeldt	C	Brynas Jr.(SEL)
Hockeys Future	Alexander Petrovic	D	Red Deer (WHL)	“A right-handed shot, Petrovic has earned comparisons to the Chicago Blackhawks Brent Seabrook, also a WHL product.”
Shane Malloy (Sportsnet.ca)	Jaden Schwartz	C	Tri-City (USHL)	“Schwartz could be an offensive force in time and will be well worth the wait.”
Jeff Marek(CBC Sports)	Calvin Pickard	G	Seattle(WHL)	“The Habs won't be fooled by Pickard's average numbers. This kid saw a lot of action this past season and didn't crack.”
Scott Cullen (TSN)	Tyler Toffoli	RW	Ottawa (OHL)	“knows what to do when (he)gets around the net and he plays a good two-way game.”
McGuire and Button (TSN)	Evgeny Kuznetsov	LW	Chelyabinsk (KHL)	McGuire: “This is a talented player who can produce offense and has balanced speed”
SBNation	Ryan Spooner	C	Peterborough (OHL)
MA Godin (La Presse)	Tyler Pitlick	C	Minnesota State (WCHA)	“This is the type of big man the Habs lack.”
The Sporting News	Jaden Schwartz	C	Tri-City (WHL)	“Schwartz would fit right in with all the other small forwards in Montreal.”

Well that’s who they’re choosing. Every position is covered,even a goalie. All but two North American skaters (Spooner and Johns) were in the top-30 on the NHL’s Central Scouting Rankings and only two skaters play in Europe.

As for me, I’ll go on a real wild limb and say Charlie Coyle. Of course Pierre Gauthier holds the real cards on who the Habs will take, when the official announcement is made on Friday evening, unless he makes a move beforehand.