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UFA defenceman Mara signed for a year
posted by Dave Stubbs at 12h25 EST on Jul 10
Canadiens release:
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Dave Stubbs has been a sportswriter since 1976, which was roughly a decade after he wore the first of many holes through the knees of his jeans playing nets in road hockey (using a modified butterfly popularized by Hall of Famer Glenn Hall). He still has the welts to show on his shins from that rotten, frozen orange ball.
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FYI $1.675 million.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4319569
Hey guys, great video here of Mara.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX_pylSbJK4&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhfboards.co...
Check it out if you haven't seen it, the Habs are going to have some character this year with all the new additions (Moen, Mara, Gill, Gomez, Cammalleri especially).
G R R R E A T ! !
I see only good things in signing Mara and Moen... Nowadays it doesn´t bother me at all, that our first line is going to be seafood. There is going to be MEN in the dressingroom, hopefully not too often via penaltybox... Today is the first day after july the 1st, when actually feel thrilled to see Habs on the ice taking care of Maple Syrups... Thanks Robert! :)
Hey JJ, it's great to see that you're still with us even though Saku is now with fellow countryman Teemu on the Ducks. I am sure you'll be following that team, as will we all, with great interest. Point being, it's nice to see that you still feel at home here with the rest of us Habs fans. You're a very welcome addition and I hope we see you here often. Olet aina tervetullut tänne!
Thanks! My father said to me once: "there is one thing in the life you don´t chance, your favorite hockey team..." It´s really nice to feel welcome here!
Go, Habs GO!
Interesting piece on Komo...
http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/pgStory?contentId=9792718#sport=NHL&photo=9789032
Good news, RDS saying Mara signed with us for LESS than he made with the Rangers which was around 1.9mil. He says he believes that Montreal is the biggest contender for the Cup this year and that influenced his choice to come over. Also he puckered up and added we had the greatest hockey tradition :P
Seriously? I mean I'm not so sure about that, but I love his enthusiasm. Sounds like a guy we need.
trust me he didnt come here to win the cup.
and he only took less money cause nobody was offering more.
still a good signing though.
"Mon agent a discuté avec quatre à six équipes, mais avec la fondation qu'ils ont mis en place grâce à l'acquisition de nouveaux joueurs, Montréal est la formation qui offrait la meilleure opportunité de remporter la coupe Stanley", a déclaré Mara."
Ok.
Stop pretending to be a Habs fan.
Too bad Gorges gives up the puck way too much, that's the only weak spot on defense is when he gets knocked down or coughs up the puck and Price gets caught unaware of this and lets in the floater shots, this is part of the time, otherwise Price lets in floaters regardless. But honestly, Gorges should play up and not on defense.
When did they get the internet in Iqualuit? :)
You're way off base. So far out of left field you're in the ghetto. Gorges is going to play hard and tough with this team. No more pansy-*** no sticking up for your team-mates.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The new Habs; more scoring punch, more punch scoring!
Repeat after me, I will not feed the troll, I will not feed the troll...
Let me be like Don Cherry, "I told you so"...lets see the play by play for Gorges and the color commentary for Gorges all the way up from when he was a Timbit. "Its Crosby with the puck, and Gorges skating on defense, and a poke check but Gorges misses, then he falls down and knocks over his own goalie and Crosby scores!!!! not bad for a five yea old!" and later in the juniors...."Its Gionta rushing, he deaks and manages to squeeze over the blue line, and theres Gorges, with a poke check and Gorges falls down and knocks over his goalie and Gionto floats the winning goal in!".....geeze, looks like Gorge's classic move is the poke check and knock your own goalie move, heck he should patent that, oh wait, Sheldon Souray already had that patent before!
i hate this nuna wtf is a nuna!!!!!!!
Still pretending to be a Habs fan?
LOL!
..............
i wanted to ask all my fellow habs fans what numbers do they think the new guys will wear? we already know that cammalleri will 13 and gomez will 91
here's my picks on the other guys:
gomez 91
cammalleri 13
spacek 6
gill 8
mara 27
gionta 11
these are just my guesses and for fun and debate i'd like too see what you guys think?
I hope no one has the temerity to put on Koivu's number 11 - it should be retired.
__________________
Just as no culture has a monopoly on beauty or value, no religion has a monopoly on truth - Voltaire
Gomez 91
Cammalleri 13
Spacek 8
Gill 21
Mara 72
Gionta 41
Gionta won't wear 41, that's Halak's number. Spacek will wear 6, his # in Buffalo.
Spacek-6
Gill-22
Mara-8
Gionta-14... because Pleky goes out west ;)
No way anyone wears number 11 as a Hab until well after Koivu retires from hockey.
Doubt very much that anyone will be weaing 11 for a few years.
i doubt gionta will wear 11...he probably has more respect than that...
mara neither...
my guess is gionta will wear 24 (he wore 14 in NJ)
- thanks for everything, saku koivu.
S O W E E E E T !!!!!!!
Surpise us some more Bobby! Suprise us some more!!!!
"We will win the Cup one day only with a mature Carey Price in the nets"
I just love it when a GM "goes postal" on an underachieving roster!
I agree. Good one!
All thats left is to trade Gorges for heck, another wimpy prospect maybe, or do they need a garbage can in the new training centre, or how about a tub massage unit (aka Semi-Pro style) and next we'll see if Crazy Bob outfits the new Habs in costumes and makes them dance between periods~!
..........
Wow...Gil, Mara, Moen, Lats, George...nice offset to Gionta, Gomez and Camillarri. Nicely done Bob! Keeps the suprises coming!
DD...
moen as in travis moen? am i missing something?
rumoured to be signed... not confirmed yet by the big boys TSN/RDS/CBC
Check Boone's blog.
wow, Dandenault, Brisebois and Bouillon must really have been part of the problem since Gainey nevered offered them a contract, oh wait, no, thats only Saku!
i would still bring Dandy back for his versatility and experience.
You question last year's defense? Of course they were a problem! lol
sholi2000.com God Bless Our Infantry 2PPCLI
no doubt about it, but many people on here have said the changes being made are more so being done to change the leadership in the dressing room, and not the fact that this team just wasnt good enough last year.
It's both. Over-all the Habs are way better and way tougher. Many of the new additions have played together in the past so chemistry and more importantly, an esprit de corps, will exist. No more individual primma donna-ism or a factionized and fractured locker room.
For those interested, Mara signed for 1.9 million $.
I really hate to do this, but...Source?
It's not confirmed but I have read in two places that say it's in that range. Not confirmed yet, so I might be wrong. Sorry about that.
New update. RDS is reporting he signed for a slightly lower salary than last year, which was 1.95 million dollars.
Mara and Gill for less than Komisarek. Well done Bobby!!
A very reliable source has just told me that Travis Moen is going to sign with Montreal today. This gives us a Cup winning forward, who is tough, will fight anyone, and has some decent offensive upside. I was doubting BG on July 1, but I am starting to like what I see. We will be tougher and harder to play against.
Check out his career stats:
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=45163
This guy has won everywhere he played including a Memorial Cup with the Kelowna Rockets. I think that his ex-Rockets teammate Gorges did some groundwork to get him in Montreal.
Signing someone with +/- like this makes no sense on a defense first team.
I hope you're right, Charty. I also hope you're not Eklund in drag.
Boone seems to agree with the rumour.
I take back everything Charty.
Forwards:
plekanec, gomez, Akost, Cammalieri, gionta, Gui, Maxpac, Skost.
thats 8 solid forwards assuming Gui and Sergei getting it going.
Laps and Chipper are a good 3-4 centre combo with toughness coming from Laraque and Stewart with D'ags competing for playing time and filling in.
We have size and depth at forward, we have puck movers and toughness on the back end and hopefully a fully engaged Price.
We should have a good year.
We also have a coach with a defensive system and a plan.
Agree.....all those jokers at TSN and company know squat! They jus got a hard on for Burke no matter what he does!
Here's what hockeydb.com tells us about the Canadiens potential top 7 D in terms of size...
Hal Gill is 6'7" and 240 lbs
Ryan O'Byrne at 6'5" 234lbs
Paul Mara is 6'4" 210lbs
Roman Hamrlik is 6'2" 208lbs
Josh Gorges is 6'1" and 190lbs
Markov is 6'0" and 204 lbs
Spacek is 5'11" and 198lbs (with a double chin that should count for something)
This makes Komisarek's departure leave a little less of a bad taste in the mouth, I'd say.Don't forget Mara's only got a 1-year deal, too.
/\\ike
GO HABS GO!
This has got to put us right up there as one of the tallest D's. Maybe the old expression "build from the goalie out" is being interpreted as build from the goalie down? Very optimistic about the upcoming season. Price will compete for the Vezina.
in: spacek, gill, mara
out: bouillon, schneider, komisarek, brisebois, (dandeneault)
our defense may be a tad bit slower with gill and mara, but the level of moving the puck has gotten better and the overall toughness
way to go gainey, assessing our weaknesses and picking up players that can benefit the team. (weaknesses, size and toughness in the back line, and break out passes to get the puck to the forwards)
looking forward to a speedy team this year!
- thanks for everything, saku koivu.
about the second line...
it's obvious martin wants to have gionta and gomez play together...and cammalleri signed for playing with gomez...but martin doesn't want to put all 3 together due to size constraints...something's gotta give.
although, cammalleri did sign for 5 years so he must expect to not play with gomez at some point of his habs career, but it was the asset of gomez that brougth cammalleri to the habs immediately...i hope he doesn't become disgruntled cause of this.
- thanks for everything, saku koivu.
I'm sure they will at least play on the PP together.
He came over to play on the same TEAM as Gomez, not necessarily the same LINE. Martin has clearly indicated that he is looking for chemistry between pairs of forwards, the 3rd man being based on a rotation/production basis. Mike Cammalleri, after listening to him on OTR, is all class, and a team player. He also clearly stated that good defense produces opportunities for offense.
well...if you had the choice to play with the teams best centerman or not...then you'd rather play with the best...especially if you consider yourself that level
ribeiro didn't like playing in montreal cause saku got the best wingers...
dany briere reportedly rejected montreal partially because gainey couldn't guarantee him playing with his best wingers
as much of a team player cammalleri is...if he's only scoring 25-60 points without gomez...he's going to feel that he can reach the 35-80 with gomez and that plays on anyones mind, no matter how much of a team player you are
- thanks for everything, saku koivu.
Think TEAM hoy, team. I'd like to see MaxPac with Gomez and Gionta, Cam with Lats and Laps! Better to spread the offensive threats around. And if the Kosts and Plex can click, the Habs'll be dynamite.
i don't think maxpac will be able to be a first liner to start the season...too much responsibility considering he hasn't had much defensive seasoning yet (see: guillaume latendresse), imo the kid has to start in the AHL where he's playing big minutes, especially on the PK...wouldn't mind seeing him in around december
i don't think laps can get cam the puck either...laps and lats need less skill on their line...and just another work horse...you don't want to confuse laps and lats to thinking they'rekoivu and kovalev now
- thanks for everything, saku koivu.
Finally a move that doesn't stink of panic. Good signing as long as the money isn't crazy. Now for the trading of Pleks and the Sisters for some male hockey players...or Halley Wickenheiser.
I couldn't agree more. I think Plecks' heart is in the right place, but the sisters; cancerous with an overblown sense of entitlement. Halley Wickenheiser is tougher than any of them.
S.K was the only one to step in when Koviu was cheap shotted.
that 2nd line is really my only major question mark going into next season.
Allright, I've been talking this guy up for like a month. But, that does that mean the kids aren't going to get a chance? or is he planning on trading somebody? Unloading Hammer would be nice
This means we don't have to rely on the kids. They can still have their chance and healthy scratch one of the older guys, but if they don't live up we can easily toss in Gill or Spacek and not worry. You can NEVER have enough quality D players.
assuming Weber will be the one sent down, no reason to keep both him and O'byrne op
My new Habs motto: "More scoring punch, more punch scoring!"
Had to know and yep he is a left handed shot. Minor detail for sure, good signing, bob adding a depth defenseman as he stated he would. Seems like he's done now maybe see a trade or 2 closer to camp but we should be able to project some line combinations now.
nice.
In other news, Avstin indicated that his dream is to play in the NHL. He has one year left to fulfill his obligations with the Red Army team. In case people dont know, he got signed by Patrick Roy's Remparts, so hopefully we'll see him in the Q the year after next.
Thats good. But I hope he's not coming because he heard how good the nightlife is over here from his fellow countrymen.
Great signing, particularly because he was coached by Pearn last year, so you can bet he had some input in the matter. A one year contract leaves us flexibility as well.
If nothing else, let's hope that he can teach O'Byrne how to play an effective big man game...
Komi couldn't...I don't think anyone can
It's hard to teach when you've been schooled by Lucic!
If PK Subban has an outstanding camp, all bets are off. He will be the real deal in this league and is improving by leaps and bounds. I'm so glad BG resisted all attempts to pry him loose.
He has to play AHL hockey for a while, he is unreliable defensively and needs to learn the pro game. He is short to so he will need time to adjust to bigger stronger players, in the end you still only have a 5-6 D man in my estimation.
Please explain why you think he is unreliable defensively given his +/- stats last year (and the steady +/- improvement during his OHL career).
At least Bob noticed that our biggest issues last year were an undersized d-corps that couldnt fight, move men out of the crease or play the transition game.
Now we have two effective puck movers in Markov and Spacek and two good physical guys in Gill and Mara. Throw in Hamrlik and Gorges\OB and we have an effective 7 man crew.
Weber skates and shoots well and can quarterback a powerplay but is seriously undersized and overmatched against NHL forwards five on five. Im not sure he shows much on the depth chart except for pplay.
I would put Carle, Subban, Belle, and Pateryn ahead of him in the long term planning. Probably throw Fischer in for good measure.
But as far as today goes its a solid signing and our blue line is way better than last years one man show.
I'd only put Subban above Weber, with Fischer and Carle close behind. But granted I haven't seen much of them
I was at the camp on Tuesday. Max Pac was not there. Weber is by far the best skater and has the best hand with the stick. Fisher and Carle looked average. Subban was very energetic but is still quite raw in his technique. He is better one on one. Stejskal looked decent.
Have seen Webber play often as a Kitchener Ranger...he'll end up similar to Matthew Schneider...awesome when playing with a great partner, horrible when not.
Komisarek - expensive, non-fighter, no offense, big, PIMS
Mara - cheap (most likely), fighter, some offence, big, PIMS
In Bob I trust.
This makes up for Komo's walking big time. I'm willing to give Mara the benefit of the doubt :)
Carey Price has new babysitters now.