1) The news of the late evening was the placing on waivers of underachieving Montreal forward Sergei Samsonov. Many were surprised by this move, as some had the Habs trying to trade away the cranky Russian, especially after he was held out of the lineup for the Canadians last game So many were taken a back when Bob Gainey decided to instead place Samsonov on waivers.
2) What does this all mean? Well, do NOT expect Sergei to be picked up by anyone. There are 3.75 million reasons. That being Samsonov's salary for NEXT season, in addition to the remainder of this year. With his paltry production he simply is NOT worth even 1/2 that figure. Which brings us to the next issue. Will he be allowed to come back through "re-entry waivers".
3) The new CBA is a bit complicated, but if the Habs demote Samsonov, he can not be recalled unless he passes through re-entry waivers. If a team snaps him up then, the Habs would be on the hook for 1/2 of his remaining salary, and lose the player for nothing. Even at that, we believe there will be few takers even at that reduced rate for the over paid Russian
4) We believe the Canadians are hoping the Russian declines going to the AHL, allowing the Habs to suspend the forward, eliminating his salary both on their cap and payroll entirely. Since he is under 35 the Canadiens could conceivably keep him demoted all next season without it counting against their cap even if he did report to the AHL(Which we feel is unlikely)
5) What this does is frees up considerable cap space for the Habs to add that second line center they have been trying to add. Published reports have mentioned Smolinski, and this remains a possibility, but Gainey has also his eyes on impending free agent center Petr Sykora of Edmonton. If the Oliers fall out of contention BG will try hard to pry the Czech center away from the Oil as a playoff rental
We’ve moved!
15 years ago
17 comments:
I have added Sykora to Montreal to your rumor chart.
That doubles your rumor total in the past 2 weeks!
Thanks for making things so easy to track! Must be slow in the world of trade talk...
;)
1) Must be slow in your world, period. LOL
wow, actually seems like a good idea for the habs for once..
1) Funny how Samsonov wanted to chance to play in a new city. We doubt he thought Hamilton would be that city! LOL
2) Guess we'll find out in a few hours if anyone picks him up(unlikely) AND if Montreal ends up sending him to the Bull Dogs(where he'll probably stay for the rest of the year)
Good riddance to bad rubbish. I don't care if a team decides to acquire Mr. Samsonov. I never believed we would get much in the way of a return on him anyway. Better to cut ties and dislodge some well needed salary cap space by unloading him.
1) Not to nit pick with our colleague FAUX RUMORS2 but Samsonov's salary for next year will be 3.525, not 3.75.
2) Still more than any team would be willing to pay for his paltry production
We stand corrected. ; )
1) Not surprisingly Samsonov has cleared waivers. Now the wait begins to see if:
a) Will the Habs demote him to the AHL?
b) If yes, will he report or be suspended?
c) Will the Canadians then try to bring him back (re-entry waivers) when a team can claim him at 1/2 his salary?
2) This did show clearly that there is virtually no market for a trade for this guy.
1) Why don't you all update FauxReligion anymore? Hate mail?
2) I like numbered posts.
1) We'll have to ask the folks who usually update/write that particular blog. We doubt it has anything to do with hate mail. LOL
2) Thanks for the kind words.
Bob placed Sammy on waivers not only to put him but also his agent on the spot...basically saying, okay okay you want to leave town, lets see if anyone is interested. He will not be sent to Hamilton, and will not have to go through re-entry..I suspect he will either be dealt (the best case scenario), or he will be back on the Habs squad in the next 2 or 3 games. Sammy and his agent deserve most of the blame in this saga, but the Habs organization also has to face up to the fact that he has been mismanaged all year long..very little p.p. time, no ice time with Saku..hell Striet has even got a chance to play with the captain. A Bob Gainey blunder...hear is hoping he can fix it.
Seems Sammy and the Habs management have already kissed and made up.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=195240&hubname=
and sykora..no thanks..he is as enigmatic as sammy..the habs need a player with some balls, a fella that is going to come to play every night..sykora is not that guy.
faux...
the TABLE is up on my blog for the
RUMOR CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD
I have posted all of Ek's rumors and both of your rumors since January 28th. I will track them till deadline day!
I have also thrown in a Monkey's predictions...ok...my neighbor's 1 year old...she has predicted the destination of 10 players I selected...
All that is left is to sit back and let the rumors FLOW!!!
To get there...click on my name at the top of this comment to bring up my profile...click on the IMhockeyNutz blog!
Enjoy!!!!
1) The waivers move may have been a wake up call to Sammy, but we doubt it will prelude a trade.
2) Why would a team trade for him now when they could have had him for free yesterday?
3) If this moves shakes up Samsonov to start to play better, then its a brilliant move by BG. Our guess is that it'll be effective for a week or so.
Sammy - one of the league's top UNDERachievers the last 10 years... Hey Faux, why don't you make that a new poll... The "NHL'S greatest underachievers"
Yes Faux, give us all some updates on the "Religion of Peace"
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