Goaltender Crisotbal Huet was traded by Montreal to Washington this morning for a second round pick in the 2009 draft.
This qualifies as a shocker on several levels...
- Montreal, with legitimate Eastern Conference championship -- if not Stanley Cup -- ambitions, have now turned over the keys to the car to a 20-year old rookie, Carey Price, who at this time last year was moving up from Tri-City in the Canadian junior leagues to Hamilton in the AHL. Yes, he backstopped the Bulldogs over Hershey for the Calder Cup champsionship, but this is quit a leap of faith for the Canadiens, who seem to be trying to catch lightning in a bottle once more (Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy) with a youngster.
- Olaf Kolzig is no longer the unchallenged number one goaltender for the Caps. Put another way, the club is not satisfed with the goaltending it's getting. Huet comes to Washington with a 21-12-6 record, 2.56 GAA, and .916 save percentage. He'll get action quickly.
- Huet is a rental (unless there is more to this breaking story). This is something we (meaning, well...I) would not have expected George McPhee to do. True, the price was rather modest -- a second round draft pick, but to pull the plug here, at this position, is a stunner. Huet is a UFA after this season, although Washington could be a good fit for him...he's 32, he could be the "bridge"goaltender between Kolzig and Macheslamovirth.
- Whither Brent Johnson? The Caps might be inclined to carry three goaltenders, but Johnson seems to be the odd man out, at worst. At best, he might be fighting Kolzig for time.
- Is there another shoe to drop?...Is there a Kolzig move yet to be made here? We would think not, given Huet's contract situation (although Kolzig is in the same one...), but today we're not going to say "not."
This qualifies as a shocker on several levels...
- Montreal, with legitimate Eastern Conference championship -- if not Stanley Cup -- ambitions, have now turned over the keys to the car to a 20-year old rookie, Carey Price, who at this time last year was moving up from Tri-City in the Canadian junior leagues to Hamilton in the AHL. Yes, he backstopped the Bulldogs over Hershey for the Calder Cup champsionship, but this is quit a leap of faith for the Canadiens, who seem to be trying to catch lightning in a bottle once more (Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy) with a youngster.
- Olaf Kolzig is no longer the unchallenged number one goaltender for the Caps. Put another way, the club is not satisfed with the goaltending it's getting. Huet comes to Washington with a 21-12-6 record, 2.56 GAA, and .916 save percentage. He'll get action quickly.
- Huet is a rental (unless there is more to this breaking story). This is something we (meaning, well...I) would not have expected George McPhee to do. True, the price was rather modest -- a second round draft pick, but to pull the plug here, at this position, is a stunner. Huet is a UFA after this season, although Washington could be a good fit for him...he's 32, he could be the "bridge"goaltender between Kolzig and Macheslamovirth.
- Whither Brent Johnson? The Caps might be inclined to carry three goaltenders, but Johnson seems to be the odd man out, at worst. At best, he might be fighting Kolzig for time.
- Is there another shoe to drop?...Is there a Kolzig move yet to be made here? We would think not, given Huet's contract situation (although Kolzig is in the same one...), but today we're not going to say "not."
2 comments:
Yeah this was shocking for both sides to say the least. A lot more questions then answers right now but maybe within a couple of hours the picture might become a little more clear.
I think if you're a Caps fan you have to be happy the GMGM went out and made a move to try to improve what's been the Caps most inconsistent position: their play in net.
Hooks, you nailed it. It's not like Huet has to come in here and stand on his head night in and night out.
If he can give us consistently decent goaltending, so that it's not something that we all have to worry about each night, the stability of that in itself is plenty worth it.
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