Cornwall ON- If I had to name a MVP for the Habs so far this season it would be Roman Hamrlik. Salary sometimes in the NHL defines players and magnifies situations.
Many Hab fans wanted Roman gone because of his salary, but forget quickly that until recently a premium had to be paid to players to come to Montreal because of its circus atmosphere with the media and horrible tax situation. Not too mention that Habs weren’t really winning a whole lot until recently.
PK Subban was sat out again and I’m really starting to like Coach Martin and appreciate some of what he does. We may never “officially” know why young Subban’s been given time in the booth, but when a team is winning you don’t tinker.
Montreal showed why they’re winning last night and magnified why the Sens have been losing. Good coaching and a team buying into a system usually get good results and Montreal did with their 4-1 win over a chippy and frustrated Sens team.
Mike Cammallieri opened the scoring with goals followed by Jeff Halpern, Brian Gionta, and Roman Hamrlik who logged 25 minutes in the victory. Carey Price got the W, but more importantly the team just played good sound hockey, and that with Scott Gomez going down in the second. Now if he’s injured for the year Montreal has a huge cap window to go along with that for Andrei Markov to go shopping with.
What would you buy if you were Pierre Gauthier? While you can’t easily replace Markov, you can refocus your defense and still win as has been happening. Montreal’s biggest need is a top six forward; preferably a big centre and those are few and far between especially with the perceived good chemistry in the locker room.
And to those bring back Kovy rumours I’m not all that sure I’d go there……If I were to go after a Sen it’d be Mike Fisher as Ottawa fans love to complain about his salary….
In other NHL games Saku Koivu scored for the Ducks as they nipped Edmonton 3-2 needing a shoot out; Calgary doubled Tampa Bay 4-2; goalie Craig Anderson wasn’t enough as Florida nipped Colorado 4-3; and finally, Mark Recchi’s goal in OT gave Boston a 3-2 win over Buffalo.
What do you think Hockey fans? Who do you think Montreal should be looking for to fill those Markov dollars? You can post your comment below.
