The big question in Montreal going into the draft was, ''If Angelo Esposito is available at #12 will the Canadiens draft him?'' I thought the answer to that would be Yes; that being said I didn't think Ryan McDonagh would be available at #12. The majority of teams had MacDonagh in their Top 10. He is the best puck moving d-man in the draft and he has NHL size and strength. Those are 3 key attributes. I am not surprised the Canadiens selected a defenceman and a forward in Round 1. Thats the direction I thought they would take. But like I said, since I thought MacDonagh would be selected early; I thought Montreal would take Esposito at #12 and defenceman Tommy Cross at #22. The Canadiens scouted Cross a lot and he was on their list. But their #1 choice was Ryan McDonagh and I agree with their pick.
As for Angelo Esposito; my heart went out to the kid when the Canadiens passed on him at 12. There were a lot of reasons to draft him: local kid, habs fan, wanted to play here, already 6ft1 185, centre, talented, etc....etc...Once again, I wont blame the Canadiens for passing at 12; but I believe they should have done everything possible to make a move to grab him right after. We're hearing the Canadiens tried to make a move but couldnt find a partner. I think they waited too long. I will give you an example. Edmonton had the #15 pick. They selected d-man Alex Plante from the WHL. The Canadiens could have offered Pick #22 and #43, in exchange for Edmonton's #15. Chances are Edmonton would have made the trade. Why? Because Plante was rated #28 by ISS; chances are he would have been there at #22. One day, if Esposito has success the Canadiens will tell you that he wasn't available at #22. The fact of the matter is the Canadiens didnt want him bad enough. If they did, they could have swung a deal. What's funny is Esposito wasn't good enough for Montreal, but he was for Pittsburgh, who already has Crosby, Malkin and Staal. Angelo, congratulations! Going to Pittsburgh will be great for your career. One day, you will win a Stanley Cup. Good Luck.
On another note, the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to make the wrong choices. The Leafs were looking for a goalie. They swung a deal with San Jose and obtained goalie Vesa Toskala and forward Mark Bell. In return, they gave up their 1st round pick and other picks. Think of this: Toskala makes 1.4 this year and is UFA after that. Mark Bell, is a problem player and expensive at 2.2. Thats a total of 3.6 for a problem player and a goalie you might only hold on to for 1 year. Later in the day, the Florida Panthers obtained goalie Tomas Vokoun, in return they gave up a 1st round pick in 2008 and 2 other picks. Whats important here is that Nashville didnt want a 1st round pick in the O7 Draft. Vokoun, is one of the best goalies in the league. He has a contract for the next 4 years at a cap hit of 5.7 per season. Basically, instead of picking up 3.6M in Salary; Toronto could have traded for Vokoun, only costing 2.1M more per season. Toronto, would keep their #13 pick and could have selected Russian winger Alexei Cherepanov. Think of it: Toskala and Bell or Vokoun and Cherepanov. Toronto blows it again!
Speaking of Cherepanov. This kid has unbelieveable skill and the NY Rangers got an absolute steal at #17. This kid will make a lot of teams regret their selections.
Im filling in for Mitch Melnick on Monday, June 25th between 4pm and 7pm; we'll talk more about the draft then.
Enjoy your day...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I really liked your Toronto segment. It exposes why a famed team like Toronto hasn't been having the success it should've in recent years. Although Montreal can't brag, the team at least stayed away from drafting according to social backgrounds and drafted according to the team's needs, on the ice. Fans will fill the Bell Center and interest will be maintained with on ice success, not with locals struggling to make the playoffs. If both criteria can be met, sure (eg, Latendresse). If not, pick the guy that contributes on the ice, not to le Journal de Montréal articles.
I listened to you for the first two hours of the Melnik show and I must say I can't believe the crap I was hearing from you and all the other homers that called up.
I understand that Esposito is a "local kid" who wanted to be drafted by the Habs, but rather than repeatedly ask why the Habs didn't trade up to get him before Pittsburgh TOOK A CHANCE ON HIM (more on that later) why not ask this question: Why would the Habs want him?
You yourself acknowledged that the Hab's need more D-men in the system. Do the Habs really need Esposito? More precisely, do they need to take a chance on a local kid who could end up being a floater who can't stop reading about his shortcomings in the papers, or watching 110% hoping he isn't being pooped on just because he's a local kid. Let's also not forget that he fell in the rankings due to his play, not because of his hometown or his last name.
This is where I clarify my earlier assertion that Pittsburgh is taking a chance on Esposito.
Esposito was not chosen by many more teams than the Habs. Why? Because they felt, as I believe the Habs scouting team did, that he was too much of a risk. Why then did the Pens draft him? THEY CAN AFFORD TO TAKE THE RISK!
If the Habs draft Esposito and he flat-lines, they're screwed; they needed D-men but drafted a local kid who turned out to be a wasted draft pick. If he flat-lines with the Pens NO ONE WILL NOTICE.
I respect your years of experience as a radio columnist and talk-show host. It is not easy to come up with hours of material without recycling certain topics, and I know how important listener participation is to the life-blood of AM radio.
I just wish you could be more balanced and objective about this topic. I think your need to have a local kid on the Habs' roster for great sound-bites has overridden your sense of objectivity.
The Habs did what a team MUST do during a draft, fulfill their needs. The Habs don't need another Ribeiro.
I'm sorry, but, I have to disagree with your Esposito segment. First off, I don't think anyone knows how hard or little the Habs tried to move up in the draft - so, I don't think anything can be said about that. Second, if they didn't try hard and that's an 'if' then maybe since they're in the hockey business, they realize that Esposito wasn't the right fit for what they wanted. All accounts say he's the type of player that needs players around him to make him better, that he doesn't make others around him better - case in point his last couple of years in Quebec - this past year, when he lost some of his teammates, couldn't that be attributed to his statistical drop?? Pittsburgh is the best place for him, cause he won't need to be 'the man'. So, the statement you made about why he's good enough for the Pens and not for the Habs doesn't really wash - both teams simply recognized the puzzles that would fit and did something about them....
Hey Tony listen to u everyday
I just wanted to tell everyone that me and this guy,NextGretz have started a website:http://thehockeyspot-c.blogspot.com/
Although all the rumors might not happen they are true
Post a Comment