Gionta Signs with Habs

davetherave wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:I like that Gainey re-united Gomez and Gionta. They need more offensive depth, but I didn't mind this move. They overpaid, but that's how it works sometimes.

I'm still a little bitter than Gainey helped out Sather though. He was diddled.

SpezD> NHL GMs actually do help each other out when it serves their purposes.

Yeah, Gainey might have 'overpaid' to get Gomez...but it allowed him to put together the components of what could be a very productive line for the Habs. Gionta-Gomez-Cammalleri is a trio that can skate circles around the opposition, score big goals, forecheck and backcheck. Hey, how about that...

And all three are nasty. Call it hacking and stick work, whatever you want, these guys aren't floaters. Gionta, in particular, crashes the net like he's six inches taller.

Gomez and Gionta are also Cup winners.

No predictions on how the Habs fare next year, of course...but IMHO the Canadiens now have the potential to play as a team again...with the distractions subtracted.

You know, i've always found the Cup winners argument to be pretty weak. I think it's valid if they put up good numbers the year they won the Cup, but otherwise it's just overvalued. Both Gionta and Gomez put up paltry numbers the year they won the Cup. It's like saying you'd want Joe DiPenta because he's a cup winner. Well no one wants him, he's in Europe playing. I'd rather have all our defenceman over him. In my opinion, he would be about 9th on our depth chart. I'd have Bell over him, and I'm not a Bell fan.

Gomez was rookie of the year in 2000 when NJ won the cup... Gomez is over paid but the guy is a legit winner. Never missed the playoffs.

Neely4Life wrote:Gomez was rookie of the year in 2000 when NJ won the cup... Gomez is over paid but the guy is a legit winner. Never missed the playoffs.

That's kind of my point. He put up some great numbers in his rookie year, 70pts in 82 games. But when it came to the playoffs, he kind of disappeared, getting 10 pts in 23 games. Since his last cup, he's been dynamite in the playoffs. But during his 3 cup runs, he was pretty invisible.

NJ shuts it down in the playoffs, and the times they won it was because of steller defense. Gomez can play on both sides of the puck which is why he is such a solid player. Just an awful contract though...

Anyways, Gomez is going to make MTL better and more than likely a playoff team.

I agree about that. I'm not trying to take away from him, he's a phenomenal passer, and if he ever did play for a team that was offensively minded, he would put up some premier numbers. I'm just saying you can't value him based on his cups won. They may have been valuable experiences, but fact is, he didn't step up those playoffs... Even the later of the two playoffs, he was tied for 6th in scoring with Jay Pandolfo.

But I agree, he will make montreal better.

Fair enough. Ottawa is gonna get trounced this year.

Bass Destruction wrote:I agree about that. I'm not trying to take away from him, he's a phenomenal passer, and if he ever did play for a team that was offensively minded, he would put up some premier numbers. I'm just saying you can't value him based on his cups won. They may have been valuable experiences, but fact is, he didn't step up those playoffs... Even the later of the two playoffs, he was tied for 6th in scoring with Jay Pandolfo.

But I agree, he will make montreal better.

BD--the playoff experience is not about the numbers. It's about knowing what it takes to the get to the top of the mountain.

You win a Cup, you know what it takes.

You realize numbers mean squat...except that your team won four games, and the other team didn't. So you get the prize.

Whether you score, whether you don't, whether you play twenty five minutes a game, or just one shift.

Champions know something the others don't.

Not just in hockey...but in every walk of life.

One of the things they know is that success is as fleeting and fickle as it is intoxicating...

Gionta and Gomez are hungry to win. That hunger is what Gainey is paying for.

That hunger was missing last year from the Habs...in a way that was embarassing at times.

Bob Gainey is a Champion. So he wants Champions on his team.

The rest, is just working your a$$ off...and hoping it all comes together.

davetherave wrote:

Bass Destruction wrote:I agree about that. I'm not trying to take away from him, he's a phenomenal passer, and if he ever did play for a team that was offensively minded, he would put up some premier numbers. I'm just saying you can't value him based on his cups won. They may have been valuable experiences, but fact is, he didn't step up those playoffs... Even the later of the two playoffs, he was tied for 6th in scoring with Jay Pandolfo.

But I agree, he will make montreal better.

BD--the playoff experience is not about the numbers. It's about knowing what it takes to the get to the top of the mountain.

You win a Cup, you know what it takes.

You realize numbers mean squat...except that your team won four games, and the other team didn't. So you get the prize.

Whether you score, whether you don't, whether you play twenty five minutes a game, or just one shift.

Champions know something the others don't.

Not just in hockey...but in every walk of life.

One of the things they know is that success is as fleeting and fickle as it is intoxicating...

Gionta and Gomez are hungry to win. That hunger is what Gainey is paying for.

That hunger was missing last year from the Habs...in a way that was embarassing at times.

Bob Gainey is a Champion. So he wants Champions on his team.

The rest, is just working your a$$ off...and hoping it all comes together.

So, why is Joe DiPenta playing in Europe?

asq2 wrote:So, why is Joe DiPenta playing in Europe?

Who the heck is Joe DiPenta?

won a cup with mtl in 93

Neely4Life wrote:won a cup with mtl in 93

Maybe we're talking about different DiPentas. The one I'm referring to won a Cup with Anaheim a couple years ago.

Either way, it's a Cup-winner out of NHL-work.

Neely4Life wrote:won a cup with mtl in 93

Is this the guy?

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=35562

...if it is, HockeyDB says he was a Duck.

We are... that's my bad.

davetherave wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:won a cup with mtl in 93

Is this the guy?

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=35562

...if it is, HockeyDB says he was a Duck.

Wow, didnt know he palyed for SMith Falls.

asq2 wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:won a cup with mtl in 93

Maybe we're talking about different DiPentas. The one I'm referring to won a Cup with Anaheim a couple years ago.

Either way, it's a Cup-winner out of NHL-work.

Yeah, OK...and? There are probably more than a few Cup winners out of NHL work.

Doesn't change that what I said is true.

Out of work Cup winners would know that more than anyone... 'cause after you've been part of a Championship team, nothing ever comes close.