Jacques Demers is the latest broadcaster/analyst to whip off a quick who stays, who goes article; despite the fact everyone stays until July 1 nearly two months away (barring trades of course, but this is Bob Gainey we're talking about).
His analysis over the season left me wanting, but I thought he improved with time. This latest analysis is his worst work in my working memory.
Now, I have plans and work in progress to present my own reflections on all these comings and goings, but I thought I would pick a few gems from Jacques to have a go at:
1) "Je n’hésite pas, j’accorde un nouveau contrat à Kovalev."
I wish I had the links (maybe I'll find them), but Jacques you hesitated massively. This is the manic depressive talking here. The minute Kovalev has 10 good games without a goal, Demers will have forgotten his sudden willingness to pay Kovy.
This comment goes with the rest of the article, in that you can see it was put together over a fifteen minute period.
2) "Il n’y a aucun doute, je garde les services d’Alex Tanguay."
Except that you seem to be willing to despatch our proven scorer and captain in Koivu. I think there's plenty of doubt, stemming mainly from the fact he was not a big contributor when he wasn't surrounded by the best. Can we afford to pay for someone who needs so much support to make goals? I think we probably can, personally. But there's at least some doubt.
3) "Je n’hésite pas une seule seconde et j’offre une nouvelle entente à cet ailier qui a démontré une belle progression." (Guillaume Latendresse)
Pardon me for noticing guys, but Guillaume did not improve this year. He certainly relished the chance to have his status downgraded from scoring prospect to checking line winger, but as he is not great defensively nor a great bodychecker (although a frequent one), one must surely question this re-up. particularly in light of Demers keeping both Higgins and Plekanec, both better players who'll also be looking for less responsibility on the third or fourth line.
There's a lot of hesitation here for me as it becomes clear that Guillaume may top out as a not-so-scary or physical winger who can score 16-18 goals from now on. I'd give him another chance (for obvious reasons), but would easily trade him if even a decent offer came through.
And the insane comment that kick-started this article:
4) "Je ne doute pas une seule seconde que Denis mérite un autre contrat pour servir de police d’assurance."
What on earth? More hyperbole from Jacques about no doubt. Funny the guys he has no doubt about...
Marc Denis, after Georges Laraque, was the unmitigated failure of a signing for the year. Can you remember when Halak was struggling to stop a puck in early January? Denis seemed to be in line for minutes (he got domes from the bench – that's how bad Halak was), but Carbonneau at the time would have none of this guy. There was no confidence whatsoever in the goalie from Hamilton.
Even his record in Hamilton is sketchy. He started out really well (as would be expected of a 31 year-old first round pick in a league beneath him), then e came up to Montreal. after his redemotion he had a horrid stretch and then bounced back. Hamilton squeezed into the playoffs where they were (and Marc in particular) a sorry bunch.
He is not an answer for Hamilton next year, let alone Montreal. It should be so long and thanks for all the fish...
Wow, that was heavy. Jacques Demers, being the Don Cherry of French Canadian TV is prone to saying stupid things off the cuff. But these were some of the worst. I'm just glad he's no longer associated with the decision making for this team and that he is kept at a safe distance from the ice in the RDS press box...
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