Great post, wright!  (You must be tired of hearing that these days.)

I really like the place the Habs are positioned these days, with a solid core, good youth group, good goaltending, and cap room for offseason UFA signings.

I noticed Yemelin (Emelin?) in the junior tournament.  He seems like an up & comer.  Maybe another Markov?

wright wrote:

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Bob Gainey has taken some criticism for trading jose Theodore for David Aebischer (not enough return value) and also for signing Theodore to a long term contract in the first place. Had Theodore played up to his perceived abilities the criticism of the long term contract would be a moot point. No one including Gainey could have foreseen the terrible drop off in Theodore's play this season. Unquestionably Gainey was bailed out of that situation by the brilliant play of Huet which made the trade decision of Theodore easier. To get a fairly reliable goalie like Aebischer and to dramatically cut payroll on the deal was a masterstroke by Gainey.Has Gainey made bad free agent signings in the past, yes (Turgeon,Kamensky,Audette during his Dallas tenure) but the sign of a good GM is to rectify those poor decisions quickly and just as he quickly got rid of Turgeon and Audette, he did the same with Theodore.     Gainey also had to recognize that he needs greater cap room flexibility as the Canadiens are faced with unrestricted free agents,Huet and Aebischer and Begin Boullion Bullis. Additionally Markov and Ryder are restricted free agents after this season. Suddenly the Habs present salary level of 31 million is going to escalate quickly to retain the above mentioned players and to possibly have room for a quality free agent signing.      Critics of Gainey will state that he overpaid for Koviu, perhaps he did but unlike the present goaltending situation he has no depth in that position and there will be a scarcity of quality free agent centers come free agency. So he had to bite the bullet on Koviu.      Firing Julien may have been unfair, but since Gainey has taken over as coach there has been greater on ice accountability from the players, improved performances from players that helped torpedo Julien. Gainey has given greater responsibilites to the younger players, and they have responded. The team looks more unified.      Within a couple of years Alex Yemelin ( a Gainey draft choice) will play a significant role on the Canadiens defence (if he keeps developing at his current pace) and there are signs of other Canadiens draft picks impacting on the teams future as well.       This is not to say that Gainey has done everything right, by no means, but under his direction this organization appears miles ahead of previous management. The Habs appear headed in the proper direction, perhaps not at the pace everyone would like, but certainly the proper foundation is being established.  

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