Blogging About The Montreal Canadiens and Canadiens Hockey

Although this was a small suprise for me, I realy felt that it was inevitable. Chipchura has done very little for this team in the past few years and I was completely expecting him to be traded away much much sooner.

In return for Chipchura the Montreal Canadiens will recieve a fourth round draft pick.

In the three seasons that he’s playing with the Montreal Canadiens, Chipchura has scored 4 goals and added 10 assists in 68 games. That falls very much short of what is expected of him.

Oh well, hopefully he does something in Anaheim.

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I honestly never would have though that this would happen. Finally, someone has decided that Latendresse just wasn’t capable of playing on this team.

Guillaume Latendresse has been traded to the Minnesota Wild in return for Benoit Pouliot.

The 6′7″, 195lb left winger is currently nursing a hand injury that placed him on the injured reserve last Friday.

Pouliot has 2 goals, 2 assists and 12 penalty minutes in 14 games with the Wild this season.

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Well, according to several different sources(RDS, HabsInsideOut), it looks like Sergei Kostitsyn didn’t didn’t report to Hamilton after being sent down last Saturday, and has been suspended by the time.

It’s also reported that he’s refusing to report to Hamilton and is requesting a trade! This is absolutely huge!

This just shows to me his lack of commitment to the team. I think we messed up by bringing this kid into the NHL too early, but I also think he never really showed any improvement. Oh well.

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We haven’t heard much from Bob Gainey in the last couple of weeks so I thought this might be a good opportunity to discuss the current team build and what possible changes Bob Gainey might be looking to do.

Defensively I believe that Gainey has done everything that he wanted to do picking up Jaroslav Spacek, Hal Gill, and Paul Mara. I’m glad to see that he added some grit because the effects will be notable after losing Komisarek at free agency.

Offensively I think Bob might have one more trade in him. It’s likely that this trade may involve Tomas Plekanec and/or Jaroslav Halak, but a big trade that would probably occur isn’t really Bob Gainey’s style, this year notwithstanding. Personally, I would really like to see a second line center be brought in, because I don’t think Plekanec is going to do as well as people expect. Package him and send him out.

Carey Price is our solidified starting goaltender and with the expectations lowered I can guarantee he’s going to play more like he did during his rookie campaign. Halak is probably one of the best backups in the league, but unfortunately will never really get a legitimate chance playing in Price’s shadow.

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Official Release from the Canadiens:
Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey announced today the acquisition of defenceman Doug Janik from the Dallas Stars, in return for forward Steve Bégin.

“Throughout his five seasons in the Montreal Canadiens’ jersey Steve Bégin has been a proud competitor who dedicated himself to the team,” Gainey said in a statement. “As an organization, we are grateful to Steve for his play on the ice as well as his involvement in the Quebec community. We wish Steve the very best with the Dallas Stars.

“Doug Janik, obtained by the Canadiens in return for Bégin, is a solid defenceman who brings 159 games of experience at the NHL level and who will add depth to our group of defencemen.”

Janik, 6-foot-2, 211 pounds, recorded one point (1 assist) and served 2 penalty minutes in 13 games with Dallas this season. Drafted in the second round by Buffalo, 55th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Janik amassed 16 points (3 goals, 13 assists) with 121 penalty minutes in six NHL seasons, with Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Dallas.

The 28-year-old signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent on July 6, 2006. Janik will join the Canadiens’ America league farm team in Hamilton provided he clears waivers by Saturday at noon.

Bégin, 30, registered 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) with 27 penalty minutes in 42 games with the Canadiens this season. The left-winger, claimed by the Canadiens from the Sabres on waivers on Oct. 3, 2003, also played in the NHL with the Calgary Flames from 1997-98 to 2002-03.

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Way to Gainey. The Montreal Canadiens receive Mathieu Schnieder and a conditional pick for 2nd in ‘09 and a 3rd in ‘10. Schneider has played 44 games with the Atlanta Thrashers this season notching 4 goals and 11 assists, with 15 penalty minutes.

5′11, 195 lb Schneider will add some great depth to our Defense and should make an impact right away. The last few years he’s had 40-50 point seasons.

TSN.ca

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The Montreal Canadiens have acquired 27 year old T.J. Kemp from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 7th round conditional draft pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft. Kemp has 9 points in the 22 games he’s played with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and has a +5 defensive rating.

Kemp will be joining the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Frankly, this is a weak move, a career AHL’er is not something that we need at the moment. He should be a good addition to the Bulldogs however.

Player Links:
HockeyDB Stats
AHL Player Profile

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