Redemption time!

So the Habs have seeded 6 and are meeting the Bruins again in the first round. They won the first game but I come back to this later. This is Redemption time for many Habs players.

Redemption list.

1: Carey Price (Status almost halfway there.) Great season with a team that came very close to fall apart many times. But to totally make peoples forget Halak he need that ring.

2: Scott Gomez (Status badly needed) Crap season need great playoff run badly before Gauthier find an European team to park his ass.

3: Jacques Martin (Status desperate) 600+ wins 20+ years in the NHL but no cup. Martin is not getting younger and with the crop of new coach's earning their stripes in the NHL right now is likely his last coaching job. Nobody want and need that ring more than Martin.

4: Mike Cammalleri (Status high expectation.) After an amazing Rocket Richard like playoff run last year Mike had a somewhat deflated season. He need to go Super Sayan again if the habs have any hope of going deep.

5: Tomas Plekanec (Status reputation on the line.) Slower season than last year plus many critic have been saying fairly or not that Plekanec did a disappearing act in last year playoff.

6: Hal Gill (Status UFA this Summer and not getting any younger.) On a team that could re-sign Hamrlik, Gorges, Markov not to mention Wisniewski and Sopel... USS Hal Gill need to remind the Habs and the rest of the league why he's still worth the big bucks at 36.

7: Hamrlik, Wisniewski and Sopel (Status UFA this Summer) See Hal Gill

9: The rest (Status highly motivated) The Montreal Canadiens are a team in transition with an aging blue line and many prime assets in the minors this team will change a lot in the near future so for many it now or never. The Habs could easily take a major step back and fall under the 8th line next season for the fans and management it would be a less bitter pill to swallow if they were to add a banner! 1 down 15 to go we can always dream!  

Habs aging blue line!

Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Špaček are 36 years old Hal Gill is just a year younger at 35 between them they will cost the Montreal Canadiens around 15 Millions of cap space this year! And two of the three are UFA next Summer.

Just saying that was enough cap space to keep Halak and still sign Plekanec last Summer with enough left for a top 6 forward to back up Gomez/Gionta and an extension for Markov and the amazing Andrei Kostitsyn next season. Gauthier gambled on Price and it look to have pay off so let sleeping dogs lies. It was a bold move and it a shame that it was the only one Gauthier is willing to make so far. The Habs have a lot of cap space that could be used right now to get out of their power play rot and maybe get two line that produce instead of one if they are willing to bury bad money!

If Gauthier was bold enough to sell it to the owners group one of these old horse could be put to pasture in the AHL for cap space now or better yet let find a sucker in the NHL for Spacek! The Habs have a really good defensive right now the problem is it not centered around these guys! Forget Hal Gill the Habs need his size and playoff clutch play but you could easily remove Spacek and Hamrlik from that blue line and the Habs will not be all the worse for wear! Even more now that Markov is back Subban and Gorges make whoever play with them look a hell of a lot better than they are. Bring Weber and Carle up and put Picard back where he belong with Subban.  O'Byrne deserve either a real shot or a trade and rumor as it he will get traded maybe the Habs could kill three birds with one stone! The future belong to those who are brave and bold enough to seize it! The question is will Gauthier move?