A Montreal Canadiens fan blog
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Brian Gionta plays big
Jul 17th
So by now we’ve all heard about ESPN’s predicting that the Montreal Canadiens would miss the playoffs this year. If you haven’t, All Habs have the eastern conference predictions here.
And I’m sure that many of you have heard how Gainey went out and got smaller (at least at first… since then he’s actually made the team bigger and tougher).
Well, one guy who has been mentioned as a new UFA signing and as many have said of him that his “offensive production” has been down the last 3 years… his name is Brian Gionta. I thought I would spend a little bit to get to know him a little better by numbers and try to see a bit more of him in action.
When I looked at his numbers here’s what I saw:
2005-2006 – 82 Games – 48 G | 41A | 89 P | +18
2006-2007 – 62 Games – 25 G | 20A | 45 P | – 3
2007-2008 – 82 Games – 22 G | 31A | 53 P | +1
2008-2009 – 81 Games – 20 G | 40A | 60 P | +12
As we can see, he had his big season in 05-06 where he scored 48 goals and 41 assists for 89 points. Super year.
The next year, he missed some games in an otherwise quite durable career if we were to look at previous years as well as the ones I’ve listed.
Gionta certainly has not produced as much as that super year back in 05-06. But, although his goals have gone down in the last 3 years… his assists are up the last 2 (and of course points totals) as were his +/-.
Gionta at 30 years of age still has some good years ahead. And if Jacques Martin puts him in a system that was similar to the one he played in with the New Jersey Devils along side a familiar player like Gomez… then who knows. I think with the right linemates and system, Gionta can score some goals. I have no doubt.
One thing I like about Brian Gionta is that he plays bigger then he is to. Check out these videos… Gionta will stand up for himself. And that’s important.
Gionta vs Comrie
Gionta vs Marchant
Gionta vs Chara
Winning or losing these fights are irrelevant.. the point is that he’s got a little sandpaper in him.
And here’s a few goals by Gionta:
So welcome Brian Gionta!
Andreas Engqvist signs with Montreal Canadiens
Jul 13th
Heard the news about this signing.
Andreas Engqvist is a 6’3 center…. he’s 21 years old and sign a 2 way deal for 3 years.
I’ve never seen this guy play, unless he was playing some of the world junior games when I was watching or something…. but as far as I’ve read, this guy was undrafted. At least over on hockeydb.com , there is no listing of any draft information.
http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=94546
And his page on Eliteprospects.com:
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=6626&lang=en
Timmins must have seen something that he really liked in him (Gainey too) to offer the 3 year deal.
He’s definately a type of player that they need… he’s got pretty good size, and the scouting report is that he’s got good vision and passes well.
Will he play in Montreal this year? Probably not. But this move does accomplish something… helps add pieces in Hamilton…. Montreal has a few prospects on defense that could possibly see some ice this year… Mathieu Carle, Yannick Weber, P.K. Subban (can’t wait to see you in Montreal PK!)… Engqvist adds a big young center in development. Possibly taking a future roster spot.
And as I saw posted in a couple of spots… here’s a video of Andreas Engqvist.
Welcome Paul Mara
Jul 13th
The first of the 2 players announced as signed by the Montreal Canadiens at the end of last week was Paul Mara.
Now I’ll start of by saying that about the only thing that I know about Paul Mara is that he’s played with a few different teams, he play defense and he’s about 6’4.
I haven’t really dug around to much for any information on Paul, but I found this great little video on YouTube and I gotta tell you that after watching this video on Mara.. I’ve grown to like him a bit already.
Plus, being a Habs fan, who can resist a guy that fought Tucker.
I’m really lookin’ forward to seeing that enthusiasm in the upcoming season. He could be a solid pick up in the new Jacques Martin system which I’m sure insulating Carey Price is part of the plan.
So welcome Paul Mara!
Welcome Travis Moen
Jul 13th
At the end of last week, it was announced that Gainey signed to more players.
One of these is Travis Moen.
Travis Moen will likely be the replacement to Tom Kostopoulos… he’s a real team guy who will try to block every shot he can and certainly won’t back down in the rough stuff.
Here’s a taste of Travis squaring off with Carcillo (from Pheonix):
I’ll say it again, because I have said it before, that I’m impressed with the changes that Gainey has been able to make. In a mere few weeks the team has a new coach and coaching staff, a whole new look when it comes to the players on the roster (10 guys not back…. maybe more to come??)…
Unreal.
The addition of Moen goes to address alot of the early comments that the team will once again be too small…. champions aren’t always the biggest team. But Gainey has certainly added some pieces to make sure they’ll be able to mix it up a bit more physically. So those Montreal VS Boston games, Montreal VS Toronto games will be lots of fun.
Plus, Moen has playoff experience. His name is on the cup. I’m not sure how much that really matters… but at least some experts can say that he is a tough customer… and knows what it takes to win.
So, Travis Moen…. welcome to the Montreal Canadiens!
Another win for the habs (VS Nashville)
Jan 16th
Posted by Yves in Game comments
Comments
So the habs win again. Despite key injuries to Koivu, Tanguay and Higgins… the habs keep it rolling.