The only trophy that any Montreal Canadiens player will get this season (other than the hopelessly goaltender biased Molson Cup) has been given to Josh Gorges.
To quote HI/O: "The honour goes to a member of the team whose contributions have been under-recognized in the course of a season."
Not that I have any grudges with Josh Gorges, but this trophy is silly. All of the Canadiens are unrecognized this season, are they not? Apart from Carey Price, no one will get an award from either team or league. Diaz was the only one who was even honoured with an invitation to sub in at the All-Star game.
This trophy probably made a lot more sense when it was devised for the inaugural season of 1981-82. In the 1970s, there was plenty of Canadiens recognition to go around and the sight of a Habs player giving an acceptance speech in June was not so rare.
But nowadays, the Canadiens as a group are rarely recognized. Subban got a nod for the All-Rookie team last season. But the last trophy won by a member of the Montreal Canadiens was the King Clancy trophy in 2006-07. The last trophy for hockey related achievements was the Roger Crozier award to Cristobal Huet in 2005-06. And the last major trophy won by anyone in bleu, blanc, rouge was taken in by Jose Theodore a decade ago.
As I said, nothing against Gorges, but this season has been watchable thanks to three major contributors, only one of whom is being recognized (and that's that flawed process again). The team, or the media, or whoever, needs to adapt to the times and recognize the major contributor before bestowing the only trophy of the season to the a man who has worn the underrated tag like a badge of honour for 6 whole seasons now. Can you even be unrecognized or underrated anymore if every story about you touts you as one of the most underrated players in the world? Maybe having won the trophy for being unrecognized (the second to last trophy won by anyone on the team) should be a hint.
Recognition first for the "recognized". We'll do it here once all the games and stats are in. That's something I guess.
Showing posts with label Josh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Josh. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
On The Defensive
More tears have been shed in the past few days over a signing that some disagreed with the terms of than I remember for a long time.
The injustice: Josh Gorges, offered a mere 1-year term at double his previous salary. It's easy to see why that would be more troubling than the non-tendering of a contract to the second-longest captain in team history.
While we expect there to be factions of fans that attach themselves to one idol or another, what so surprised me was the response of the beat journalists on this one.
Eric Engels spent a whole weekend trying to work this one out (so he claimed). Glad I didn't give it a second thought now that I hear the turmoil it created for him:
Habs Refuse to Commit Long Term to Gorges
The always level Arpon Basu was nearly capsized by the sounds of it. Puzzled he said by the result of this affair:
A head scratcher
And Pat Hickey warns the Habs of stormy times ahead without the "ultimate team guy" they just signed for double his previous salary.
Short-term Gorges deal may end up hurting the Habs
Really? Really?
I don't mean to belittle the real anguish that fans and reporters alike felt for #26, but really?
Josh Gorges just signed a contract for double his former salary. He signed in a summer where other good team guys were just let go without so much as a wave: Halpern, Auld, Hamrlik, Sopel. He was the only Canadiens player to sign for a raise over qualifying. He got a raise despite his injury, despite his decisions about that injury (not getting surgery in an offseason).
If not that, I guess what we're beating ourselves up about is the term. A year. What an insult. For a team that hands out exuberant contracts to all of its up and comers every year. Oh wait...
So, if a year is in fact in keeping with the short length of many previous signings of similar nature (Koivu, Plekanec, Price), then what is all the fuss about?
Josh Gorges is back and there's nothing to say he won't be signed again and again and again. If he plays well, the Habs still get the first option. If he doesn't then they get the luxury of not having a Gomez clause factoring into their decisions about their future with Josh. It's good for the team and their prospects at improving their personnel. It's good for the chance of signing Subban and Price and maybe others next summer. It's good for the young guys to see an opportunity. It's even good for Josh who doubled his salary, did I mention?
In the end, it's salary cap world guys. No lifetime franchise players, maybe one or two. It might be painful, but "ultimate team guys" who play the role Josh Gorges has played will come and go, and keep coming and going, for as long as this league operates under this system.
No need to get defensive any about defensive defencemen.
The injustice: Josh Gorges, offered a mere 1-year term at double his previous salary. It's easy to see why that would be more troubling than the non-tendering of a contract to the second-longest captain in team history.
While we expect there to be factions of fans that attach themselves to one idol or another, what so surprised me was the response of the beat journalists on this one.
Eric Engels spent a whole weekend trying to work this one out (so he claimed). Glad I didn't give it a second thought now that I hear the turmoil it created for him:
Habs Refuse to Commit Long Term to Gorges
The always level Arpon Basu was nearly capsized by the sounds of it. Puzzled he said by the result of this affair:
A head scratcher
And Pat Hickey warns the Habs of stormy times ahead without the "ultimate team guy" they just signed for double his previous salary.
Short-term Gorges deal may end up hurting the Habs
Really? Really?
I don't mean to belittle the real anguish that fans and reporters alike felt for #26, but really?
Josh Gorges just signed a contract for double his former salary. He signed in a summer where other good team guys were just let go without so much as a wave: Halpern, Auld, Hamrlik, Sopel. He was the only Canadiens player to sign for a raise over qualifying. He got a raise despite his injury, despite his decisions about that injury (not getting surgery in an offseason).
If not that, I guess what we're beating ourselves up about is the term. A year. What an insult. For a team that hands out exuberant contracts to all of its up and comers every year. Oh wait...
So, if a year is in fact in keeping with the short length of many previous signings of similar nature (Koivu, Plekanec, Price), then what is all the fuss about?
Josh Gorges is back and there's nothing to say he won't be signed again and again and again. If he plays well, the Habs still get the first option. If he doesn't then they get the luxury of not having a Gomez clause factoring into their decisions about their future with Josh. It's good for the team and their prospects at improving their personnel. It's good for the chance of signing Subban and Price and maybe others next summer. It's good for the young guys to see an opportunity. It's even good for Josh who doubled his salary, did I mention?
In the end, it's salary cap world guys. No lifetime franchise players, maybe one or two. It might be painful, but "ultimate team guys" who play the role Josh Gorges has played will come and go, and keep coming and going, for as long as this league operates under this system.
No need to get defensive any about defensive defencemen.
Monday, June 20, 2011
$20,000,000 Should Do It
Your news for today:
- Cap set to rise to $64 million (floor to $48 million)
- Pacioretty signs for $3.25 million over a couple of seasons
- Markov still unsigned
That together with other non-news like Gomez not traded, Moen still inexplicably employed by the Canadiens, Jagr never to sign in Montreal and Pouliot without a contract gives us the grand sum of news which is this:
The Canadiens have about $20 million to spend on 4 defenders, 5 forwards and a back-up goalie.
Now, we know that one of these defenders is Andrei Markov, and we think his contract is being negotiated now. We don't know what the delay is or has been, but it's conceivable the team and the player have been waiting to see what the salary cap will be for the future of this contract.
Knowing now that the cap is high and $6 million is now a mere 10% of the team budget, the playing field is clearer.
Knowing this ourselves, we feel that there is little reason that Andrei Markov and whatever salary it takes to get him won't fit into the team's new budgetary calculations.
For the sake of argument, let's pull $6 million-ish as his cap number. With Andrei signed, together with the top two lines as they look like they will be going forward, PK Subban and Yannick Weber, Hal Gill and Carey Price, there is also little reason to believe that any of the remaining restricted free agents would be lost against the team's own strategic desires.
A remaining $14 million is more than enough to cover off Josh Gorges, Benoit Pouiot, David Desharnais, Ryan White, Alex Picard and Tom Pyatt. This illustrious list even gives hope that there would be plenty left over should Gauthier want to re-acquaint himself with someone like Roman Hamrlik, Brent Sopel or possibly even James Wisniewski.
A rising salary cap world
Now that the Canadiens have been in a rising salary cap world for 6 years, does anyone else think it's high time they started acting like they are?
Every team that we think is under threat of being dismantled come spring (barring the stacked Blackhawks) always seems to get their reprieve by the bustling budgetary numbers from the revamped league. The Philadelphia Flyers, serial cap violators all of a sudden have all the money they need to sign Ilya Bryzgalov and keep their roster mostly intact. It almost seems like they knew that a cap determined by their budget combined with other teams would get a boost. it almost seems like they read the market and learned that caps usually go up in June.
The Canadiens are doing better. The Plekanec contract for example, looks a lot better today than it did yesterday. Ditto Cammalleri. But the recent Kostitsyn signing (at an NHL median $3.25 million a year) seems like a very conservative bet on a clearly above average player.
In this rising cap world of nice surprises and unexpected cap space, I wouldn't mind seeing the Canadiens get a bit more crafty when their annual May break comes around.
Still, I'll be more than happy at this point with a Google search that turns up news for Andrei Markov before the end of June.
- Cap set to rise to $64 million (floor to $48 million)
- Pacioretty signs for $3.25 million over a couple of seasons
- Markov still unsigned
That together with other non-news like Gomez not traded, Moen still inexplicably employed by the Canadiens, Jagr never to sign in Montreal and Pouliot without a contract gives us the grand sum of news which is this:
The Canadiens have about $20 million to spend on 4 defenders, 5 forwards and a back-up goalie.
Now, we know that one of these defenders is Andrei Markov, and we think his contract is being negotiated now. We don't know what the delay is or has been, but it's conceivable the team and the player have been waiting to see what the salary cap will be for the future of this contract.
Knowing now that the cap is high and $6 million is now a mere 10% of the team budget, the playing field is clearer.
Knowing this ourselves, we feel that there is little reason that Andrei Markov and whatever salary it takes to get him won't fit into the team's new budgetary calculations.
For the sake of argument, let's pull $6 million-ish as his cap number. With Andrei signed, together with the top two lines as they look like they will be going forward, PK Subban and Yannick Weber, Hal Gill and Carey Price, there is also little reason to believe that any of the remaining restricted free agents would be lost against the team's own strategic desires.
A remaining $14 million is more than enough to cover off Josh Gorges, Benoit Pouiot, David Desharnais, Ryan White, Alex Picard and Tom Pyatt. This illustrious list even gives hope that there would be plenty left over should Gauthier want to re-acquaint himself with someone like Roman Hamrlik, Brent Sopel or possibly even James Wisniewski.
A rising salary cap world
Now that the Canadiens have been in a rising salary cap world for 6 years, does anyone else think it's high time they started acting like they are?
Every team that we think is under threat of being dismantled come spring (barring the stacked Blackhawks) always seems to get their reprieve by the bustling budgetary numbers from the revamped league. The Philadelphia Flyers, serial cap violators all of a sudden have all the money they need to sign Ilya Bryzgalov and keep their roster mostly intact. It almost seems like they knew that a cap determined by their budget combined with other teams would get a boost. it almost seems like they read the market and learned that caps usually go up in June.
The Canadiens are doing better. The Plekanec contract for example, looks a lot better today than it did yesterday. Ditto Cammalleri. But the recent Kostitsyn signing (at an NHL median $3.25 million a year) seems like a very conservative bet on a clearly above average player.
In this rising cap world of nice surprises and unexpected cap space, I wouldn't mind seeing the Canadiens get a bit more crafty when their annual May break comes around.
Still, I'll be more than happy at this point with a Google search that turns up news for Andrei Markov before the end of June.
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Curious Case Of Gorges
The Canadiens made a lot of moves this season. Seemingly all on defence. Rookies and minor leaguers showed good signs of progress too. Seemingly all on defence. And the free agents that one would put near the top of a list to re-sign are all on defence.
There's some interesting arithmetic going on in the Candiens organization as they bring in assets before deciding which ones they will need to part with.
After the Emelin signing, it was assumed (probably rightly) that the Russian was going to be in North America to play for NHL dollars.
One can add the courting of Andrei Markov (though as yet unfulfilled) as as a sign that he too is part of Plan A for Martin and Gauthier. I wouldn't disagree with the management there.
Subban is signed and unquestionably on the team.
That's three.
A fourth, like it or not, will likely be Jaroslav Spacek with a signed contract, an NHL education and the coach's trust already in hand.
The rest
The remaining two (really four, if you think about it) places will be taken up by the free agents and minor leaguers.
There are any number of unrestricted free agent defencemen around the league, and there are 5 on the Canadiens: Hamrlik, Wisniewski, Gill, Sopel and Mara.
In the restricted camp, the team has Josh Gorges, Alexandre Picard and Yannick Weber.
Hoping for their chance from Hamilton will be Brendon Nash, Mathieu Carle and even Raphael Diaz with contracts, and possibly more if signed.
From the names above, most sages seem to be coming up with the combination of Gorges, Gill and Weber, with an 8th to be filled by someone cheap I presume (Picard?).
But is this right? Are these the right players from the bottom list to go with the players in the list above?
Gill we know is a right answer. For Subban, for Price, for Martin. He doesn't look pretty doing it, but when the rules are curtailed, Hal Gill puts a pretty wide blanket over some threatening attacks. He's been the main reason that the team can even think about playing the way they do.
Weber started shakily, but made great strides I thought towards the end of the season and in the playoffs. He's versatile, has a good shot and has that underlying offensive side that tempts many a GM to hang on.
The case of Josh Gorges is curious, I think.
A fan favourite to be sure, most assume his place has been cemented for a decade to come by now.
Not that I think the fan admiration is misguided in any way, I'm a big fan myself of Josh. But, and it's a big but, I believe the value of Josh Gorges is intrinsically tied to the cap hit on his contract.
Josh Gorges is a solid defenceman, a very solid one. Having him on the team allowed many of us to see that our previous definitions of solid (Komisarek) were off the mark. For the past three seasons, the Habs have been getting this solid play for a bargain price. At the bargain price, it was inevitable that Gorges would show up in all kinds of lists like most-underrated in the NHL, best cap bargain, etc. That alone made him a big star, the anti-Sather signing.
But while his clockwork proficiency is wanted, needed by the team. Unfortunately the Canadiens have to live in a salary cap reality just like everyone else. And in their salary cap reality they have some pretty hefty salary cap clangers to account for (Gomez, Spacek, Moen, the guy they sign this summer who is meant to be "big"). In this world, the Canadiens need to be aware of more than the ability to make a simple pas safely.
The unknown here, I suppose is the mind of Josh Gorges. He's not a UFA so he can't get whatever he wants, but with RFA status comes a bit a of leverage and the possibility of arbitration. It is not inconceivable to think that he might double, triple or multiply his salary by some big factor.
Let's say for the sake of argument that the Habs are forced to face at least face the threat of arbitration in his case and the salary he ends up with is in the neighbourhood of $3 million. Let's say there's a few years on it. It's not an unreasonable salary for a player like him. It's less than Johnny Oduya.
But at $3 million is Josh Gorges the untouchable cornerstone of the Canadiens backline for years to come? A back line that may already include Subban, Markov, Emelin and Gill?
If Gomez is your benchmark, he'd still be a bargain. But what if Hamrlik does cut his rate in two? What if Sopel would stay for Gorges former salary? What if the team wants to see about Mathieu Carle at some point? What if the team needs those extra two million to address a forward hole?
Trade value
The other very interesting thing about Josh Gorges is that he is one of the few pieces the Canadiens have in their hands right now that has any sort of foreseeable value on the market.
Armchair GMs would all trade Spacek, and I'd applaud them if they could. But in all likelihood his contract is untradeable. The UFAs have no value at all to anyone of course. And Weber for all our praise is still largely unproven.
Gorges signed or unsigned provides a suite the three-fold advantage of age, non-UFa and proven NHL play. If the Canadiens really want to upgrade at forward, and I hope someone has keyed on that need, then a trade has to be in the mix. If a trade's in the mix, I can't see how Josh Gorges isn't on the table.
If I were GM, I wouldn't trade him now or at the draft, or before signing him (cap be damned until fall). I'd keep him and play him and see how the whole corps pans out. But hey, I'm not Gauthier. Sometimes the man makes trades earlier than I would.
Anyway, the point here isn't that I want to see Gorges go. I don't. The point is that based on the order negotiations have taken place, a fan needed to raise the possibility that perhaps the dogma that Josh Gorges is here forever might be in question. It's curious that the log jam on D never really raised a discussion on him and his place.
There's some interesting arithmetic going on in the Candiens organization as they bring in assets before deciding which ones they will need to part with.
After the Emelin signing, it was assumed (probably rightly) that the Russian was going to be in North America to play for NHL dollars.
One can add the courting of Andrei Markov (though as yet unfulfilled) as as a sign that he too is part of Plan A for Martin and Gauthier. I wouldn't disagree with the management there.
Subban is signed and unquestionably on the team.
That's three.
A fourth, like it or not, will likely be Jaroslav Spacek with a signed contract, an NHL education and the coach's trust already in hand.
The rest
The remaining two (really four, if you think about it) places will be taken up by the free agents and minor leaguers.
There are any number of unrestricted free agent defencemen around the league, and there are 5 on the Canadiens: Hamrlik, Wisniewski, Gill, Sopel and Mara.
In the restricted camp, the team has Josh Gorges, Alexandre Picard and Yannick Weber.
Hoping for their chance from Hamilton will be Brendon Nash, Mathieu Carle and even Raphael Diaz with contracts, and possibly more if signed.
From the names above, most sages seem to be coming up with the combination of Gorges, Gill and Weber, with an 8th to be filled by someone cheap I presume (Picard?).
But is this right? Are these the right players from the bottom list to go with the players in the list above?
Gill we know is a right answer. For Subban, for Price, for Martin. He doesn't look pretty doing it, but when the rules are curtailed, Hal Gill puts a pretty wide blanket over some threatening attacks. He's been the main reason that the team can even think about playing the way they do.
Weber started shakily, but made great strides I thought towards the end of the season and in the playoffs. He's versatile, has a good shot and has that underlying offensive side that tempts many a GM to hang on.
The case of Josh Gorges is curious, I think.
A fan favourite to be sure, most assume his place has been cemented for a decade to come by now.
Not that I think the fan admiration is misguided in any way, I'm a big fan myself of Josh. But, and it's a big but, I believe the value of Josh Gorges is intrinsically tied to the cap hit on his contract.
Josh Gorges is a solid defenceman, a very solid one. Having him on the team allowed many of us to see that our previous definitions of solid (Komisarek) were off the mark. For the past three seasons, the Habs have been getting this solid play for a bargain price. At the bargain price, it was inevitable that Gorges would show up in all kinds of lists like most-underrated in the NHL, best cap bargain, etc. That alone made him a big star, the anti-Sather signing.
But while his clockwork proficiency is wanted, needed by the team. Unfortunately the Canadiens have to live in a salary cap reality just like everyone else. And in their salary cap reality they have some pretty hefty salary cap clangers to account for (Gomez, Spacek, Moen, the guy they sign this summer who is meant to be "big"). In this world, the Canadiens need to be aware of more than the ability to make a simple pas safely.
The unknown here, I suppose is the mind of Josh Gorges. He's not a UFA so he can't get whatever he wants, but with RFA status comes a bit a of leverage and the possibility of arbitration. It is not inconceivable to think that he might double, triple or multiply his salary by some big factor.
Let's say for the sake of argument that the Habs are forced to face at least face the threat of arbitration in his case and the salary he ends up with is in the neighbourhood of $3 million. Let's say there's a few years on it. It's not an unreasonable salary for a player like him. It's less than Johnny Oduya.
But at $3 million is Josh Gorges the untouchable cornerstone of the Canadiens backline for years to come? A back line that may already include Subban, Markov, Emelin and Gill?
If Gomez is your benchmark, he'd still be a bargain. But what if Hamrlik does cut his rate in two? What if Sopel would stay for Gorges former salary? What if the team wants to see about Mathieu Carle at some point? What if the team needs those extra two million to address a forward hole?
Trade value
The other very interesting thing about Josh Gorges is that he is one of the few pieces the Canadiens have in their hands right now that has any sort of foreseeable value on the market.
Armchair GMs would all trade Spacek, and I'd applaud them if they could. But in all likelihood his contract is untradeable. The UFAs have no value at all to anyone of course. And Weber for all our praise is still largely unproven.
Gorges signed or unsigned provides a suite the three-fold advantage of age, non-UFa and proven NHL play. If the Canadiens really want to upgrade at forward, and I hope someone has keyed on that need, then a trade has to be in the mix. If a trade's in the mix, I can't see how Josh Gorges isn't on the table.
If I were GM, I wouldn't trade him now or at the draft, or before signing him (cap be damned until fall). I'd keep him and play him and see how the whole corps pans out. But hey, I'm not Gauthier. Sometimes the man makes trades earlier than I would.
Anyway, the point here isn't that I want to see Gorges go. I don't. The point is that based on the order negotiations have taken place, a fan needed to raise the possibility that perhaps the dogma that Josh Gorges is here forever might be in question. It's curious that the log jam on D never really raised a discussion on him and his place.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Habs Review 2007-08:
Josh Gorges
Habs Review 2007-08:
Josh Gorges
The numbers
2007-08
62 GP: 0 G, 9 A, 9 Pts, 32 PIM, E, 41 Shots
Career best year
This season
2007-08 playoffs
12 GP: 0 G, 3 A, 3 Pts, 0 PIM, -2, 7 Shots
Career best playoffs
This season
Plays of the game: 4
Game pucks: 0
Domes: 16
3 Star selections: 0
The story
Where he started the season
Josh was new on our team having only featured in 7 games the previous season after coming over from San Jose. I got the impression that the Habs weren't too impressed with his play in those 7 games and I got the feeling that he didn't fit into the teams long-term plans. It seems silly to trade for a 22 year-old and give up on him after only watching him in 7 games, I mean why did you trade for him then? This uncanny ability to give up on prospects way too soon is something that has hurt the Habs for years, so I wasn't surprised to see it happening again. Josh would start the year in Montreal, but it would be as a spare, our 7th defenceman.
The season
It may be hard to believe now, but Josh played in only 8 of the Habs' first 25 games and only averaged about 13 minutes per game during that span. In his first couple of games he looked bad - he was making all kinds of mistakes and wasn't really making up for it with any toughness or offence. He basically had no confidence (no thanks to the orginization) and it was showing. Luckily for us and Josh there was one defenceman who was actually playing much worse (need I say who?), so he had a chance. His confidence seemed to be coming back by late November and the team took notice. At the beginning of December he was given his chance - the chance to be an everyday defenceman. He would play alongside Bouillon for most of the season and actually played in 66 of the team's last 69 games. His play from that point forward seemd to improve exponetially. By the end of the season he was averaging over 20 minutes per game and was becomming one of Carbo's go-to guys in tough situations. His defensive play from December onwards was quite simply spectacular as he proved he was indeed an NHL-calibre defenceman.
Highlights: Smoothe skating, head up. Good solid stuff from Josh.
Gorges by the numbers: Canadiens.com
Lions' links on Gorges:
Josh Gorges: A Forgotten Prospect
The Trouble With 8
Grade: B
Everyone had written this prospect off at the start of the season, including Gainey. Because of his wealth of NHL experience people were forgetting just how young he was. He is still only 23 which always amazes me as I have yet to see a Habs defenceman so young be so good. NHL defence isn't a talent, it is more of a skill, something that you learn while in the league. Unlike offence or goaltending, defence must be learned and forever practiced. Komisarek is a good example of how good a bad defenceman can become with a little bit of patience and I think Gorges is following Komi there, but is a few years ahead. He is such a smart defender and despite the low offesive numbers seems to understand the breakout and offensive games. He is a youngster that I am very excited to have on our team as I believe he will just continue getting better. One great thing about trading for players as young as Josh is that when you trade for them you still don't know how good they could become. You are really trading for potential at that point, so I think that trading Rivet for Gorges (and a 1st round pick!) will turn out to be one of the great Habs moves of our era.
Where we'd have him next season
Josh will either fill Streit's void as our 4th defenceman or may slip into the #5 spot if we make another acquistion. His play last year has put a lot of minds at ease, because if we don't make anymore moves we know that he can indeed be that #4 man as he is becoming very, very good in his own end. I believe that he has the potential to become a top-3 defenceman in this league and quite possibly on our team; at the rate he is going that could happen this year. It is really satisfying to see a player develop and improve right before your eyes and that is what we saw on a game-by-game basis from Josh. His left-hand shot may be the only thing keeping him off Markov's pairing as they would make a very quick, defensively responsible and dynamic pairing.
2007-08
62 GP: 0 G, 9 A, 9 Pts, 32 PIM, E, 41 Shots
Career best year
This season
2007-08 playoffs
12 GP: 0 G, 3 A, 3 Pts, 0 PIM, -2, 7 Shots
Career best playoffs
This season
Plays of the game: 4
Game pucks: 0
Domes: 16
3 Star selections: 0
The story
Where he started the season
Josh was new on our team having only featured in 7 games the previous season after coming over from San Jose. I got the impression that the Habs weren't too impressed with his play in those 7 games and I got the feeling that he didn't fit into the teams long-term plans. It seems silly to trade for a 22 year-old and give up on him after only watching him in 7 games, I mean why did you trade for him then? This uncanny ability to give up on prospects way too soon is something that has hurt the Habs for years, so I wasn't surprised to see it happening again. Josh would start the year in Montreal, but it would be as a spare, our 7th defenceman.
The season
It may be hard to believe now, but Josh played in only 8 of the Habs' first 25 games and only averaged about 13 minutes per game during that span. In his first couple of games he looked bad - he was making all kinds of mistakes and wasn't really making up for it with any toughness or offence. He basically had no confidence (no thanks to the orginization) and it was showing. Luckily for us and Josh there was one defenceman who was actually playing much worse (need I say who?), so he had a chance. His confidence seemed to be coming back by late November and the team took notice. At the beginning of December he was given his chance - the chance to be an everyday defenceman. He would play alongside Bouillon for most of the season and actually played in 66 of the team's last 69 games. His play from that point forward seemd to improve exponetially. By the end of the season he was averaging over 20 minutes per game and was becomming one of Carbo's go-to guys in tough situations. His defensive play from December onwards was quite simply spectacular as he proved he was indeed an NHL-calibre defenceman.
Highlights: Smoothe skating, head up. Good solid stuff from Josh.
Gorges by the numbers: Canadiens.com
Lions' links on Gorges:
Josh Gorges: A Forgotten Prospect
The Trouble With 8
Grade: B
Everyone had written this prospect off at the start of the season, including Gainey. Because of his wealth of NHL experience people were forgetting just how young he was. He is still only 23 which always amazes me as I have yet to see a Habs defenceman so young be so good. NHL defence isn't a talent, it is more of a skill, something that you learn while in the league. Unlike offence or goaltending, defence must be learned and forever practiced. Komisarek is a good example of how good a bad defenceman can become with a little bit of patience and I think Gorges is following Komi there, but is a few years ahead. He is such a smart defender and despite the low offesive numbers seems to understand the breakout and offensive games. He is a youngster that I am very excited to have on our team as I believe he will just continue getting better. One great thing about trading for players as young as Josh is that when you trade for them you still don't know how good they could become. You are really trading for potential at that point, so I think that trading Rivet for Gorges (and a 1st round pick!) will turn out to be one of the great Habs moves of our era.
Where we'd have him next season
Josh will either fill Streit's void as our 4th defenceman or may slip into the #5 spot if we make another acquistion. His play last year has put a lot of minds at ease, because if we don't make anymore moves we know that he can indeed be that #4 man as he is becoming very, very good in his own end. I believe that he has the potential to become a top-3 defenceman in this league and quite possibly on our team; at the rate he is going that could happen this year. It is really satisfying to see a player develop and improve right before your eyes and that is what we saw on a game-by-game basis from Josh. His left-hand shot may be the only thing keeping him off Markov's pairing as they would make a very quick, defensively responsible and dynamic pairing.
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