Gainey Gets His Centre

Like the rest of you, I had a bit of trouble getting to grips with this trade at first. I mean, at first glance, it goes against conventional wisdom – and on several levels.

It is at once adding an overpaid player and a long-term contract in a time where flexibility is being touted everywhere. It also puts in place a #1 centre who is no bigger than Saku Koivu, thereby either blocking, or certainly reducing the chances of installing someone really big. Finally, I suppose the timing. It does really smack of a move that could have been made after Gainey tried his luck with the UFAs.

A good night's sleep has me thinking a little differently this morning.


Trade reports were misleading

The first we heard of the trade was Higgins for Gomez. Fair enough. But later it came out that it was Higgins, McDonagh, Valentenko and Janik for Gomez and others.

Psychologically this was bruising. Higgins for Gomez at first sounds great, though there's anxiety about the salary. But McDonagh as a throw-in reeks of Rejean Houle, and Valentenko to top it off.

My rest has given me new perspective. First of all, I think realistically this trade was McDonagh for Gomez, or at best McDonagh and Higgins. For their part Janik and Valentenko were already nothing to me. They were never to play for the Canadiens, so trade chips for the league, they might as well be. But just switching Higgins to the throw-in, from McDonagh puts it all in a new light for me. It's hot prospect for top centre. Fine. Throw in a winger who can be replaced by almost any number of the draft picks we've made from the last 5 years (since he's no longer a talented top-liner).


Trade in full

Perspective renewed, I looked again. I even bothered to check what the other two guys have done and why Gainey might have been interested in them instead of just fretting at losing a Russian I liked.

There's no doubt from anyone here that the best player in the trade is Scott Gomez. If Sam Pollock was evaluating the trade, he might say that Montreal won on the basis of that fact alone. Luckily for Sam he didn't have to weigh up for salary eaten.

Seriously though, Montreal did alright here. Gomez is a top-line player, and though Pyatt and Busto haven't an NHL game between them, there's reason enough to believe at least one of them will one day.

Tom Pyatt for his part wasn't a standout in his draft year so fell. But despite his small stature, he managed to cobble an excellent 40+ goal season in the OHL 2 years ago to go with 2 WJC gold medals for Canada. Two team Canada appearances alone show there's something to him. I wouldn't be that surprised if he replaces Higgins outright – after all what's 11 goals and 12 assists?

Michael Busto is a lower leaguer, so written off in a flash. But was he selected or was he a throw away? The simple fact that he played for the Kootenay Ice in 2006-07 tells me that he was hand-picked by the Habs, simply because they will have watched that team quite a bit scouting Ben Maxwell and Ryan Russell. In some ways, I see this then as a bonus draft pick. He's a big enough defenceman who could conceivably one day play in the league. It's as good as Janik, and realistically better than Valentenko. Not a bad upgrade.

The Canadiens for their part gave up less than our initial emotional outpouring suggests, I think. I mean look at it from the Rangers point of view. Sure, they're happy about ditching a $7.3 million salary so they can waste all the cap room by the end of today on another Roszival, but take the salary aspect away and it's a different picture.

First, they get Ryan McDonagh who at this point can't be called anything more than a prospect. No offense to Ryan, but how does one expect him to be the next Chris Chelios when it's debatable whether he's even a top 3 defender on his own team, let alone the league. And it's not like Wisconsin were the top team in the league. Add to that the fact that Markov is a fixture in Montreal, Gorges has progressed and Weber and Subban have easily leapfrogged him in the pecking order, McDonagh was not value enough to fetch a Gomez.

Chris Higgins of course is a known quantity for Canadiens fans. But this season, I think was a little closer to the truth than Chris might like to admit. To say we were surprised when he notched 22 goals as a rookie would be an understatement. Nothing in his past suggested he could or would do that. He solidified his reputation as a twenty goal threat the next two seasons, with 23 and 27, but to go to thirty? It's a stretch. Ironically, the only way Higgins might do that is with a supreme passing talent like Gomez, since he needs open nets on most nights, usually 3 or 4 per goal. Seeing as his unreliability with the finish probably meant his career path now reads 3rd/4th liner, where's the harm in losing him? After all, as we know, 3rd/4th liners are truly the only commodity that one can pick up with any success in this league. Losing Higgins for the Habs means creating a place that a Hamilton player can fill almost right away. For the Rangers, picking up Higgins means they get a lot of energy and a bit of hope.

Finally, Valentenko and Janik. Valentenko is likely in Russia for good now, since he's too good in his own mind to take a tryout at this point, yet not good enough in the eyes of NHL execs to get guaranteed money. Why the Rangers wanted him, I'm not sure. one to watch. Janik, the forgotten man, was never going to play in Montreal. He failed a tryout where all he had to do was outplay O'Byrne.


Salary balance

I can't convince you or myself that we're better off with salary today than we were yesterday. The Gomez salary is horrendous. It is, however, about par for the course for top players who've received a contract in the past 3 seasons. It is worse than say Sundin, Richards, Briere, Richards and any other number of top centres.

I will also suggest that Gainey is reshuffling his salary so that players are paid in the old-fashioned top-heavy way. Getting rid of Higgins (the potentially $3 million 3rd liner), Bouillon and Dandenault ($2 million spares) is the indication for me. We should know more by the weekend.

For another thing, Gainey must surely know by today that salary flexibility isn't all it's cracked up to be. Nor will it be next year, in all likelihood. I wouldn't say you want to fill your cap up with overpayment, but it seems having loads to spend on July 1 is a false promise, to say the least. Might as well gamble with a player instead of gambling with bargaining power again.


Saku Koivu

The hardest aspect of this trade to take is the chance that Saku Koivu might have been replaced with a younger and heavier version. Gomez, from all accounts is a bit of a Koivu with his tenacity, his playoff performance and his incredible passing vision.

Many fans are visibly upset that we have gone for the Koivu "upgrade". But unlike me, it's not because they are sad to lose Saku (RDS poll showed that).

I think many fans presumed that the small skillful centre era was coming to an end. I think most fans deemed that era to be a failure. Personally, I'm glad Gainey is not so closed-minded as that. And, frankly, I think blaming Koivu for the lack of Stanley Cup parades even over the last 5 years is wholly unfair. In fact, if there were one thing I'd take from these last ten years of Koivu, it's that the whole big centre myth is a bit bogus. Someone competitive, given wingers with enough talent to bury a chance (see not Higgins) is what you need. After all it was Briere/Richards to beat the Canadiens one year and Savard/Krejci the next. Datsyuk's been to the Stanley Cup final in both years, Joe Thornton never got a sniff.

So sadness then? Koivu's gone?

Well he ain't gone yet. And, depending on the results of today's efforts, he may not be gone for this season either. I've seen others who agree that Gomez, Koivu, Plekanec would be nice. I think so too. I also think the possibility of future trades is there either way too.


Obviously I had a good sleep. As I can see from comments all around, many of you didn't. I wish you a better day and a sleep just like mine after the fireworks have gone off this evening so that you can start to see something positive in supporting this team (with Gomez at the helm) for the next 9+ months.

Happy Canada Day all.

KHL PoachersNorth American Elitist Attitude Not Helping

It's happened to us. We've lost a Russian. One that was actually in our plans.

Back in May, I touched upon the topic of losing Europeans and Russians from the NHL on a couple of occasions (here and here).


Since then, some of the predictions have, well predictably, come to fruition. The biggest scalp for the KHL remains Jaromir Jagr, who even in his late 30s would be an offensive juggernaut in this season's NHL. And an almost as impressive catch was young Alexander Radulov, already an NHL star a mere season and half into a career. In truth, the NHL has been bleeding quite a lot of talent since May.


North American response
Back in July, I touched upon the issue again. This time it was because I was incensed by the attitude I saw permeating the big-wigs in charge of holding this NHL of ours together. They took a very elitist and dismissive tone that I didn't think could be helpful in any way:

"We don't view them as a threat," (Bill Daly) said. "We still believe the best hockey players in the world will continue to want to play in the NHL."

The NHL can stay on their high horse if they want to, but I'm not about to agree with them. For one thing, the fact that only 26 Russians play in the NHL today (compared to 77 in 2001) shoots down any retort in my mind. There is no way anyone could convince me that a member of Russia's National taxi squad (back-ups) would not play better and more exciting hockey than most of the guys on Vancouver, Florida, LA or Phoenix. I don't think an NHL coach would be able to keep a straight face while saying he'd rather play Vernon Fiddler than Radulov or Aleksey Morozov.


Valentenko and the Canadiens
Late last week, it was Pavel Valentenko (heir apparent to Francis Bouillon) who would fly the coop. At this stage of his career, it is true he is a mere AHL farmhand, but looking at things that way is naive and deceptive. My assessment of the situation is that Valentenko was one season at most from being a capable defender on the Canadiens (a team currently setting their standards a little higher than most). What that probably means is that he could play for some NHL teams right now. That in itself (if you accept my talent evaluation of Pavel) means that the Canadiens lost more than a Bulldog, they lost potential trade currency as well.

The situation is actually compounded for the Canadiens because 2 of their other top 4 prospects on defence are actually also plying their trade in Mother Russia at the moment. The famous name for casual Habs fans is that of Alexei Emelin – he who is already a fixture on the World Champion Russian National team. The other player is Konstantin Korneev – an impressive offensive defenceman.

At a time when Canadiens fans are coming to realise that Ryan O'Byrne, while big, may not be Mike Komisarek II, and Yannick Weber still needs time a mere 5 months removed from the Memorial Cup. It certainly would be nice to call upon the services of Emelin or Korneev right now. Never mind that in the future it would never hurt to have a bit more choice to put together a seven-man crew that does not include Brisebois, Dandenault or in all likelihood Bouillon or Hamrlik (obviously this is years away).


Following the Valentenko manoeuvre, I saw some of the very same North America elitism around. I point you here to my esteemed fellow blogger Arpon Basu (who normally I agree with, but not today). He had this to say as he waved Valentenko good riddance:

"But what I find difficult to believe is that Valentenko was unable to convince his family that in the long-term, staying the course with his NHL career was the right move here."

Valentenko's decision was the right one financially, I think. Without much doubt. After all, he is playing against a loaded deck when the Canadiens dress two players worse than himself and those ahead of him in the queue for a spot on a near-nightly basis. And to say that he will be banished to the KHL forever as he suggests is fine for now. But it will be an attitude the NHL will find hard to stand by once the exodus intensifies.

Arpon's basis for this statement, to be fair was a thesis that the KHL was more unstable and could collapse over the coming years and the salary structure with it. But, even this I find too simple.


The KHL plans
You see the KHL has their sights set on bigger things. And to be frank, they have better leadership with which to achieve their goals than does the NHL. Fetisov, a pioneer of international and Russian NHL hockey knows more than marketing textbooks:

“I warned Gary Bettman five years ago,” he tells me, referring to the N.H.L. commissioner. “You’ve got your business model, but if you take the best players out of Europe and Russia for cheap — you’ll kill the game, and your own market.” North America, Fetisov argues, is “a small hockey market.” He continues: “For years I’ve tried to tell the Americans to think big. Look beyond Russia and Europe. What about Asia? China? Even in India they play field hockey. Why can’t the N.H.L. see it? They’re afraid. They want to preserve their market. Now it’s too late. We’re gonna take our market share. And you’ll see, it’ll be good for the game.”

For one thing, Russia is trying to change its image. And sports is one of the ways it has targeted to do this. This comprehensive piece from the New York Times gives some good background on ways in which the central government, and indeed the President Putin himself has played a role in this (it is essential reading for anyone who shares my view or intends to slug it out in an argument over it):

"In 2002, Fetisov returned to Russia at Putin’s behest, to head up Rossport, a new federal agency dedicated to reviving the country’s sports infrastructure."

That's why this quote, which holds true for the moment (5 months into a new league), is frustrating to see from someone who should know better:

"As long as the KHL is around, it will be a haven for washed up NHL guys looking to extend their careers by being overpaid over there, or as a second chance for guys who have been banished like Ray Emery."

It is at once terribly dismissive and also lacking a bit of imagination. Yes, Ray Emery, Radivojevic and Stumpel are over there. But consider for a moment all the Russian talent never exposed to North American hockey fans (Emelin and Korneev come to mind).


The future
Lose Valentenko and I lose perspective?

It's a fair point. This stuff, though, is not really about Valentenko. Yes, his leaving costs the Habs a chance at not playing Patrice, but the current open door to Russian millions is far more of a concern considering the core of our team (Kovalev, Markov, Kostitsyn).

And, though the KHL is considerably shaky, even on the best days through its existence. Personally, I don't think it really matter whether the KHL survives or not. I think, what the NHL could experience is the generation of super clubs such as CSKA Moscow, Avangard Omsk, AK Bars Kazan. Frankly, if the NHL is relying on the KHL folding, it should realise that certain mega clubs within it are aiming to become as strong as the mighty Red Wings.

Looking beyond the sheltered North American view of the sporting world and its 5 sports, I look to football (the real version). There, the English Premiership currently enjoys top status in the world (revenue and player salary-wise). But saying that obscures the fact that there are really only 4 mega clubs in England with a couple more that could even hope to bridge the gap one day. The other European countries have their mega clubs too, Milan (X2), Roma, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich. The success of these clubs is barely tied at all anymore to the success of Serie A, La Liga or the Bundesliga.

Hockey too, if the KHL clubs are left to poach, will go this way too. The difference with football is that the NHL operates in a system that props up its weaker members to sustain the integrity of the current league alignment.

The attitude taken by the NHL leadership here only promises to let this situation get out of control. It is appeasement in the face of real power. Reinforcing their laissez-faire attitude when the commissioner needs to do a good few days work here is not helpful either, I feel.

So, instead of dismissing these consecutive events as silly curiosities. I think we (and hopefully someone with power to do something) will face reality: what will we do to help our franchises hold onto the top talent in the world?

More importantly for us, where will the Canadiens be when CSKA (operating with a much looser cap structure) come looking for Andrei Markov?


In related news, I stumbled upon this little piece as I was doing due diligence for the current one. It appears Young Perezhogin is no longer banished in some fans' minds. I guess 17 goals in 23 games will do that...

Valentenko in RussiaHas A Trip To See His Family Led to A KHL Contract?

Precarious times with the KHL have left the door open for this sort of thing.

Now, I don't read Cryrillic, or understand Russian, so I'm trusting this link, but there are murmurings that Valentenko has flown the coop.


His name has indeed been removed from the Bulldogs roster page and now has an ominous (X) beside it on the stats page. so either someone has been hacking the Hamilton website for a bit of fun, or he's gone.

Big loss
This represents a big loss for the Canadiens franchise, as he was a very strong prospect who could have fit nicely into the 4th, 5th pr 6th defenceman role in the very near term.

It just goes to show that there are plenty of consequences to signing and sticking with washed up ineffective veteran Dmen. Some rookies must just not see any future in it.

When some prospects don't look as good as before, and vets look like they've played a few years beyond their best before date, can we really afford to lose this (from Hockey's Future):

Valentenko is blessed with a big shot -- one that earned him hardest AHL shot honours in the 2007-08 season. He combines that with a physical game that borders on, but never crosses into, dirty play. Valentenko's been described as one of the most-hated players in the AHL and combines an ability to get under opponent's skin with the willingness to back it up.

His offensive abilities are limited, but he's able to play a solid fundamental game: making the smart first pass, starting the rush, and taking care of his own end.

I think I will now informally rename this old article. I guess we'll wait for the big websites, though, to confirm it before giving it the old E5...

Look to the East: The Looming Threat of European Money

Having briefly touched upon the subject of IIHF treaties and transfer agreements in a piece more than a week ago (see The Future Habs D: Transfers and Treaties).

Interestingly for Tobalev and I, this sparked a number of conversations with people actually at the tournament and who had been reading our piece. What's more, one friend who is closer to the game than us was able to enlighten us quite a bit on this topic. He mentioned that he found our piece timely, seeing as the IIHF transfer agreement was the talk of the town in Halifax and Quebec, where the Europeans were gathered for the games.

Obviously since I wrote that last piece, the championships have ended, Russia has won and celebrated like it mattered to them and no Habs are playing hockey anymore. Even so, the transfer agreement looms over the NHL, and indeed the Canadiens off-season planning, and deserves a second look.


The talk of the tournament

At the moment, apparently most of the talk on the transfer agreement is focused on which players from the NHL will jump ship and take a payday in Russia. This is because Russian teams, already in their off-season, have been making offers to many top players in Europe and North America. The money may be such that NHL will be left with no choice but to let these players go.

Far from being the only concern for the NHL, the Czechs are already looking at not entering into a new agreement, and the same might be true of Sweden. The general feeling at the tournament, apparently, was that no agreement would be reached in the near future, at least. So, one would speculate that even the teams from other leagues in Finland, Germany and Switzerland wouldn't be far behind either once the big players drop out.

Personally, I think this is serious, and I see the absence of the agreement with the European clubs potentially affecting the league in three ways:

1) A temporary drop in Europeans across the league

2) More aggressive (and possibly longer-term) NHL contracts with flight risk players

3) A shift in power among clubs (those that can still tap European talent vs. those that resort to North Americans who would be classed as minor leaguers at the moment)


Less Europeans

A drop in the numbers of Europeans in the league could be viewed as a good or a bad thing. I can hear Don Cherry's "Let them go!", even now.

For me, I would consider it to be a large step backwards. After all, the last time the NHL was replete of Europeans, there were only 21 teams. At that time, the top teams were the top teams, but the argument could have been made that there was still not enough NHL-level talent coming out of Canada and the US (to some degree) to support so many teams. Imagine now trying to stock 30 teams with Canadian and US players only. The initial drop in play would be difficult to take. Never mind that many European players are also among the more skilled and most excellent at skating – the direction we thought the league was meant to be headed.

Interestingly, in our discussion it also came up that Russia, after all, is not currently the greatest place in the world to spend your youth. This is particularly true of the Siberian towns where the oil magnates operate their mega clubs. Other than Russians, the feeling is that no one wants to sign for more than one year in Russia right now. The lifestyle has not improved to the point for anyone to go there too long.

NHL GMs should not be resting on their laurels,though. This situation could, and will likely, change as Russian living conditions improve and as the list of overseas options includes countries like Sweden and Switzerland. Indeed, one need only ask the North Americans who have made tracks over to those leagues rather than toil in the AHL or lower leagues. We speculated about Finns and particularly Swedes (who already show their desires to return home on plenty of occasions – Naslund, Forsberg). If Sweden and Finland drop out of the agreement, the problem of losing players could get more serious.

The inevitability of the drop is real, though – even with only Russia and the Czechs on the outs. People in the know keep stating how the money coming out of the European leagues is bigger than before and those teams can afford to poach a player or two from "big" NHL clubs. The simple fact there are many times more clubs in Europe will put the onus on the NHL to stem the tide – as opposed to hoping all European clubs run dry of cash.


More aggressive contracts

An initial reaction will no doubt be to hold onto the Europeans who figure large in the plans of your club. Pittsburgh and Washington will likely ante up big for Malkin and Ovechkin, and why shouldn't they. However, teams like Montreal, New York, Dallas, etc. who are currently riding a cast of middle range European talent may be asked to pay over the odds for their players.

While the tactic of aggressive contracts to Europeans could indeed help to stem the tide of Europeans out of the NHL initially, there are only so many big contracts a team, and the league can sustain.


Power shift

Following a partial loss of talent and vain attempts to offer contracts, I see certain clubs giving up on the Euro game. Others will stick it out. This is the power shift – with access to more talented players open only to those willing to put up with the hassle. I spoke about this potential shift in power in the last piece as well. I truly believe that with any change in circumstances there comes a pressure to adapt. The teams that adapt the quickest and best will be the ones who form "dynasties" in the near future.

I cited the scouting of Detroit (particularly in Sweden) as the foundation of their rise to prominence once the NHL opened its doors wholesale to the European leagues in the early 1990s. Similarly, a team who positions itself to perform real and serious negotiations with Russian teams now – and other European teams later – will reap the harvest of European surplus fed by the exodus of Euro NHLers.

When asked, our friend in the know agreed that having someone who knows how the system works would be very valuable to any team. He noted how teams in Europe do things so differently, an NHL team trying to negotiate the situation would need an insider who knows how the system works.

"Everyone calls it the wild west cause there’s no rules, it’s all gangsters and making/taking bribes."

Really, he said, it’s just a matter of being smart and getting a good Russian (for the current situation anyway) on your side.


What now for the Habs?

Obviously, it comes back to the Canadiens. While I am concerned about the NHL as a whole in so far as it provides the Canadiens with a league to compete with the best clubs in the world; I am not overly concerned with the plight of teams who may fall down because of a resistance to change or lack of adaptability. What concerns me is that the Habs get a leg up here for the next 10 years.

In terms of current players, the Habs probably have to resign themselves to losing Grabovski. We have been hearing that the word on the street is that he is at least entertaining offers. The writing seemed on the wall for him, as he keeps coming up short on lower lines and is not likely to unseat either Koivu or Plekanec for a top line spot.

The Habs will have to make serious strategic decisions, however, about key players like the Kostitsyns (are both to be kept???), Halak, and the youngsters in the pipeline (notably Valentenko.

As for mining the Russian league for talent at the current time, my friend and I were at a loggerheads. I suspect this is because there is no right answer.

My feeling is that the Habs should take advantage of the mass of NHL clubs who are clearly shying away from Russians by having a look at what's available – or at least letting young Russians know that Montreal is interested in players who want to play for the Stanley Cup.

My friend, who not only works in hockey, watched the World Champs and just generally is much better versed in this kind of stuff than I am warns the Canadiens GM to stay away:

There’s a reason these guys don’t play in the NHL. They aren’t driven by being the best in the world, or part of the best team in the world or a need to be challenged by the best. You don’t need someone or your team who plays the game for a living and cause it’s all he knows.

While I find his argument very convincing, I still find myself looking at Detroit again and thinking about finding the Russian Kronwalls, Franzens and Zetterbergs.

I don't know. What do you all think?

If nothing else, I think we'll all be talking about this soon enough, if not just now...

The Future Habs D: Transfers and Treaties

No more than a blip on most peoples' radar during our ongoing playoff run: at the end of April/beginning of May it emerged the IIHF transfer agreement was heading for collapse, in all likelihood.

The Hockey News carried the story.

The article notes how the Czechs are stepping into line with the Russians in their boycott of an uneven playing field with piddly transfer money for young stars. It also notes that should the agreement fall down (as seems likely), the current flat fee for players will be a thing of the past and player transfers will be negotiated on an individual basis – much like the world of soccer.

Spector of FoxSports also addresses the issue of international transfers. While his take on matters is altogether correct for the transfer of superstars (suggesting the NHL money will win the day), he does little to acknowledge the way the landscape will change for NHL clubs looking to populate their support positions with more talented Russians, Czechs and Swedes. The individual negotiation of terms for terms for transfers of 3rd and 4th defencemen and 2nd line wingers could be a turn off for the lazier NHL GMs, and the cheaper of the owners.

On the flip side, while reluctant teams withdraw, there could be a boon for teams who choose the stick with the recruitment of Eastern Europeans. The simple mechanics of supply and demand governing the process over time.


So where does this leave the Canadiens?

Like the Detroit Red Wings, the Montreal Canadiens are becoming a poster franchise for the use of intelligent European scouting teamed with effective integration strategies for the players once they arrive. While Detroit uses its expertise in Sweden to exploit the top Swedish leagues, Montreal has been plucking diamonds from the rough in Russia and former Soviet republics like Belarus.

The franchise currently has three defensive prospects from Russia (already balking at flat fees) in the development pipeline:

1) Pavel Valentenko

2) Alexei Emelin

3) Konstantin Korneev


Valentenko is currently under the Habs tutelage in Hamilton, with a North American contract assuring his availability to the big club for the near future. However, if he isn't resigned, he could fly the coop rather than stick around for life in the AHL.

Emelin is the great white hope, and is technically bound to his RSL club through next season. While Korneev (little Markov) is playing with CSKA for the foreseeable future, as well as demonstrating his worth with the Russian National squad in Quebec City.

The Canadiens could conceivably have all three players lined up on the blue line next season, though that seems very unlikely indeed. Partly due to seniority, mostly due to transfer arrangements. However, over time it seems that at least a couple of these three young Dmen would prove to be significant upgrades on other available options like Cote and Carle.

I would be happy to see any of the three with the team as we move away from washed up veterans (Brisebois, Dandenault) and make the Bell Centre a defensive fortress. I hope the first steps are taken this summer with some resolution on the best of the three (Emelin), and who wouldn't want an offensive youngster like Korneev on that second PP?

If I had Gillett's ear, I would be preparing for a presentation on the benefits of being at the vanguard of transfer activity as the new NHL system moves to a world soccer transfer market. I would suggest the following strategy:

1) Hire a transfer specialist – preferably someone who can speak Russian or Czech

2) Begin to make inroads with mega-clubs like CSKA, AK Bars Kazan and Avangard Omsk

3) Foster good feeling with Russian teams by presenting fair offers for Emelin and Korneev (maybe that Huet money he saved could come to good use after all)


The NHL:Euro environment is in the throes of change and the teams that adapt quickest will stand to gain the most (much like Detroit's scouting visions from the early 1990s).

The immediate impact of being at the vanguard of this movement for the Canadiens could be a superb defensive backline. The long-term benefits could lead to them playing with a stacked deck for years to come. If the Habs don't, some other team will.