Your Canadiens for December 15, 2011

The Montreal Canadiens host the Philadelphia Flyers this evening at what would seem like the best possible moment. The Flyers are without their #1 defenseman Chris Pronger and also without the NHL's leading point-getter Claude Giroux, both sidelined with injuries. But we've all seen enough from the Habs to know that nothing is a given, so it's sure to still be a challenge tonight, as the Flyers come to town on a 6-game win streak and holding the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

- Travis Moen, Brian Gionta, and Scott Gomez are all out with injuries tonight, meaning the following forward lines after Mike Blunden was called up yesterday:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Andrei Kostitsyn

Max Pacioretty - David Desharnais - Erik Cole

Mathieu Darche - Lars Eller - Louis Leblanc

Mike Blunden - Petteri Nokelainen - Yannick Weber

Don't expect that fourth line to get much ice time, even with Petteri Nokelainen coming off his best game as a Hab. If all three injured forwards are going to miss considerable time, it seems that Pierre Gauthier will have no choice but to bring in some added depth.

With injuries to Gionta and Moen, the team is scrambling to find replacements for the penalty kill. It seems Louis Leblanc may have earned a shift down a man, while Blunden may be tried there as well. Leblanc's two-way play leaves little doubt that he will eventually be a strong penalty killer, but it is perhaps uncharacteristic of Martin to trust a green rookie with such duties.

Blunden's call-up poses another issue, in that after playing tonight's game he would have to clear waivers to re-join the Hamilton Bulldogs. While I don't think there is a huge risk of him being claimed by another team, given the lack of depth in terms of bottom 6 toughness at the pro ranks, Gauthier may decide to keep him in Montreal for a while rather than risk losing him.

- On defense, Raphal Diaz is out sick. That means Alexei "BOOM!" Emelin returns to the line-up, again forming the vaunted #KabBoom pairing with Tomas Kaberle. The full D looks like:

Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban

Hal Gill - Chris Campoli

Tomas Kaberle - Alexei Emelin

Since Emelin is again stuck on his uncomfortable right side, I am very curious to know what Jacques Martin would have done had Diaz been healthy. Emelin's size, strength, and physicality are needed all the more against a team like the Flyers, so one would hope he would found a spot in the line-up either way.

I still think the team needs to find a way to play him on the left. Many are opposed to splitting up Josh Gorges and P.K. Subban, but I see no issue with it really. They may log big minutes, but they haven't even played 30 games together, so it's not like they're joined at the hip. Martin has referred to them as a top shutdown pair, but Subban doesn't belong on a true shutdown duo at this point. Gorges is the left D who is most comfortable on right, so I'd like to see more balanced pairings with him shifting over.

- The Flyers are part of this season's "24/7," the HBO documentary series that follows the two teams playing in the Winter Classic as a build up to the actual game. Thus, there are camera crews following the team in Montreal, and the Habs will be "featured" in one of the show's episodes.

- I wonder if Flyers forward Jaromir Jagr remembers this #EmelinBoom from the World Championship. Hopefully Mr. Emelin can give us a repeat tonight.

- Last night, the Hamilton Bulldogs dropped a 2-1 decision in a shootout to the Lake Erie Monsters. Alexander Avtsin, with his 4th of the year, on the powerplay, had the only tally for the 'Dogs. Gabriel Dumont was awarded a penalty shot with 46 seconds to play in regulation, but was stopped by former Hamilton star Cedrick Desjardins. All 5 Hamilton Bulldog shooters were stopped in the shootout, while notorious first round bust Hugh Jessiman was the only player to beat Nathan Lawson, good enough for the win. Despite being held off the scoresheet, leading all skaters with 6 shots on goal, Bulldogs leading scorer Brian Willsie was named the game's first star.

- As I covered yesterday, the Canadiens will have three players on Team Canada for the upcoming World Junior Championships (Brendan Gallagher, Nathan Beaulieu, and Michael Bournival). This is more than any other NHL team, and is the first time the Habs have had 3 prospects on the club since 2000 (Mike Ribeiro, Michael Ryder, and Eric Chouinard).

Two other young future Habs seem poised to make their national teams, being defenseman Jarred Tinordi with Team USA, and center Daniel Pribyl with the Czech Republic. Tinordi should be an important shutdown d-man for the Americans with some talk he may get consideration for team captain. Tinordi, captain of the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League, previously captained the U.S. Under 18 team. Pribyl, who turns 19 in 3 days, seems penciled in for a 4th line role with the Czechs.

Habs Rumour Update: Stamkos, Gorges, and Grinders

Contrary to the belief of some impatient Habs fans, Pierre Gauthier has not been asleep at the switch the past week. He continues to work on a number of dossiers on a daily basis. That said, if he is to make a move, it must be one that makes sense both for the Montreal Canadiens and the other team or player(s) involved. Let's dissect some of the buzz going around the net.

1) Steven Stamkos

Habs followers were right to be skeptical when internet rumour pundit IncarceratedBob floated a rumour that Stamkos had asked his general manager Steve Yzerman to look at 4 specific teams for a possible trade, one of which was the Canadiens. I've spoken out in defense of IBob in the past, and still prefer his sources to those of Eklund or most internet rumour mongers, but like any good businessman, some times you just gotta build the hype. Stamkos is NOT coming to Montreal.

Why not, you ask? The reasons are many. For starters, why would Yzerman listen to Stamkos's request on where to be dealt. He doesn't have a no trade clause, and if he were to be dealt, there would be interest in his services league-wide, with the Lightning going with the highest bidder. but most importantly, why would Tampa Bay trade him? Even if negotiations are progressing very slowly - which I think we can all agree is the case - they would be stupid not to explore every other avenue before dealing one of the league's premiere young superstars. In Tampa, it's not about fitting under the Salary Cap (they have almost $15M in space), but rather working with a moving target soft cap imposed by management. I'm sure there is some interest out there in Pavel Kubina who has but a year remaining till UFA or retirement, or Ryan Malone who makes what this summer's market would tell you is a reasonable salary for a player of his caliber. All Stevie Y is doing is playing it cool, seeing how things develop, and waiting for the best offer for his team to make everything fall into place.

But let's fantasize, for just a moment, that Yzerman was forced to deal Stamkos. What would Montreal have to offer? Keep in mind that the Lightning want to win NOW, not collect a bunch of draft picks and prospects. Martin St. Louis is 36 and their starting goaltender for next season is 41. Not quite a team that is going to ask for Jarred Tinordi and Danny Kristo. Clearly the request starts (and from Montreal's perspective, ends) with P.K. Subban. You have to give to get, and Stamkos, a young phenom, will require star power in return. You want to keep Subban? Ok, now you're looking at Pacioretty, Cammalleri, their choice of Eller or Desharnais, and Gorges. Yes, all four. And likely a high draft pick or top prospect on top of those guys just to balance it out. Stamkos is a young, scoring center, so you compensate the Lighting with young (Pacioretty + pick/prospect), scoring (Cammalleri), and a center (Desharnais/Eller), while sweetening the pot with a defensive D the team could use. Maybe they toss a salary dump like Brett Clark back your way along with #91. Now there may be some Habs fans who would be ok with this trade. No guarantee that Tampa would take it, but even if they did, it would decimate the Montreal forward core. You're stuck with over $20M committed to three centers, with your starting goaltender and stud d-man needing huge raises next summer. And don't even try to suggest the Lightning would take Gomez back in any such deal. If that were an option, Stamkos would long be signed. Nor will Gauthier make a separate trade to deal Gomez on top of this blockbuster after emphatically stating that he doesn't foresee major change for a team that has been together for such a short period of time as the Canadiens.

2) Josh Gorges

Gorges' arbitration date was set for July 28th, yet I still hear people complaining and worrying daily that a deal is not yet done. The 28th is 2 and a half weeks away. A contract takes only minutes to sign. Get back to me at 4:00 PM on the 27th without a deal completed and then we'd have something to talk about. This file is progressing as we speak and the two sides will work it out with plenty of time to spare.

3) Mike Blunden

Few batted an eye when the Canadiens slyly dumped a prospect with no future in the organization in Ryan Russell for a player who fills a team need. If Gauthier does not add another forward before training camp, Blunden has a very good shot at making this team. A 6'3" winger who in 2005 was considered a hot enough prospect to represent Canada at the World Junior Chapmionship (alongside some names that may seem familiar to you in Tom Pyatt, Benoit Pouliot, Guillaume Latendresse, Dustin Boyd, and Kyle Chipchura), Blunden is no stranger to dropping the gloves at the professional level. If third and fourth line toughness is what's missing, he can fit the bill, even if he drops a majority of his bouts. That never stopped us from loving Tom Kostopoulos, after all. And hey - you never know - there just may be some late-developing offensive upside there as, despite his meager NHL totals, Blunden registered 12 goals and 21 points in 37 AHL matches last season. If the Canadiens have a fully healthy roster on opening night, it is very possible Blunden starts out in the AHL, but don't be surprised to see him dressing for the team at some point.

Habs sign B. Willsie, trade for M. Blunden

For a second consecutive day, Montreal Canadiens General Manager Pierre Gauthier was busy in preparing the roster of the Hamilton Bulldogs for the 2011-12 season. Today he announced the signing of forward Brian Wilsie to a 2-way contract, and announced the team has traded forward Ryan Russell to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Michael Blunden.

Wilsie, 33, has played 381 NHL games. Though few may remember, he did the Habs a huge favour on April 17, 2006. He scored the game-winning goal in a 6-4 Capitals victory over the Atlanta Thrashers - a win that clinched a playoff spot for the Canadiens in the 2005-06 season. That was a career year for Wilsie, who topped the 40 point mark for the only time in the National League. The 6'1", 202 lbs forward is nearing the end of his career, appearing in only 5 NHL contests in total over the last 2 years, but being a dominant AHL scorer, with 57 points last season. He will be a great replacement for the likes of Dustin Boyd who moved from the AHL to the KHL.

Blunden, 24, is an intriguing acquisition at a minimal cost (Russell had no future in Montreal) and on a 1-year, 2-way deal. A 2nd round pick in 2005, the 6'3", 207 lbs winger has 51 NHL games to his name between the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets, but has shown little offensive upside at that level. Still, like Wilsie, he is productive in the American League and will add size and experience to a young Bulldogs team. Most notably, as a big body who can drop the gloves to defend teammates, Blunden fills a bigger organizational need than 5'10" Russell, providing fourth line depth in case of future injuries.