By Patrick Powell

On Friday morning, Pierre Gauthier took the bait that the Carolina Hurricanes had been reportedly dangling for weeks: defenseman Tomas Kaberle.

As a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kaberle distinguished himself as one of the premier, offensive defenseman in the League. Considering the Leafs’ failed to make the playoffs since the lockout, Kaberle was the subject of trade rumors for years. The Boston Bruins paid a bounty for his services and the Czech defender hoisted the Cup for the first time in his career last June. However, most people will tell you they won in spite of him, not because of him.

Kaberle left the Leafs in second place on the club’s all time scoring list among defensemen (Borje Salming is the current leader). His primary assets are his vision and passing on the power play, as evidenced by his career stats.

Nevertheless, the deficiencies in Kaberle’s game have been his decision-making in his own end and his proclivity to making turnovers. In an interview with TSN following his retirement, former Flyers’ captain Keith Primeau discussed how one of the Flyers’ primary strategies in the 2004 Eastern Conference Semis against Kaberle’s leafs was to put the put into Kaberle’s corner and make his chase the puck. The Flyers’ strategy worked well, and other teams have challenged Kaberle early and often as well. Since the 2007-2008 season, Kaberle has had but one plus season — plus-4 last season, minus-2 with Leafs and plus-6 with Bruins. Kaberle did post a plus-8 in the Bruins’ Cup run last spring, but he averaged less than 16 minutes per game in 14 of the 25 games played.

Despite not signing a contract on July 1st his reputation and family ties to the organization was enough for GM Jim Rutherford to offer the 33-year-old a three-year deal worth $4.25 million per season. Given his defensive issues and offensive inconsistency, most NHL insiders wondered who would take a shot at him, most felt no team would take on his contract. Gauthier rolled the dice by dealing oft-injured veteran Jaroslav Spacek for the Kaberle knowing he only produced nine assists in 29 games with a poor minus-12.

Kaberle becomes the primary quarterback on the Canadiens’ power play with Andrei Markov expected to miss closer to nine weeks following this week’s surgery. The Canadiens’ power play has suffered with the absence of Markov, operating at only 11.4 percent which ranks 28th in the NHL. Without Markov the team desperately needed a left-handed shot to take his place at the point.

These Habs have struggled but are hoping they can get by with a little more offense. Adding Kaberle makes the team a bit more skilled but it could also add another liability to the lineup. Canadiens’ fans on Twitter already started the #FireGauthier hashtag which clearly summarizes their feelings on the deal.

Kaberle will need time to adjust to a new system. He may not have that time due to the impatience of the team’s faithful and panicked management.

By Jared Book
NHLHS Montreal Canadiens Correspondent

Boy, did that look familiar. The Canadiens used their key to success last year in the first two rounds to extend their first round matchup to the distance. Goaltending, blocked shots and timely goals.

Except for a lapse early in the second period, it was perfection for the Canadiens. I’m not talking about a perfect game in terms of domination – don’t get me wrong. I mean that they played their game perfectly from start to finish. It was similar in Game Five in that regard. The difference is that the Bruins gave the Canadiens a couple of 5-on-3s and they were burned by those penalties.

The big stories were the quick whistle in the first period, which cost the Canadiens a goal. It was obviously the wrong call but in the third period, the whistle was blown when there was a loose puck in Carey Price‘s crease. The penalties that were called against the Bruins were not controversial. The only question was on the check by Milan Lucic on Jaroslav Spacek. Personally, that was the definition of check from behind. There was no doubt it should have been five minutes. This was all about intent and not result. As for a suspension, it’s possible but I don’t think the NHL will go that way.

The biggest concern from a Canadiens standpoint is that they worked their horses hard in this game. Tomas Plekanec, Mike Cammalleri, Andrei Kostitsyn, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta all worked major minutes and one has to wonder what they have left in the tank for their game tomorrow night. I don’t blame Jacques Martin for doing it – he had no other choice. But it will be an interesting story line going into tomorrow’s game. A storyline that won’t only affect them in game seven. If they do move on, will they be able to perform in the second round.

I said after game six that it would be desperation vs momentum. Now, the roles are reversed. Montreal carries momentum into what basically turns into a home-and-home series and Boston is the desperate team. Will they finally break their 0-5 record when facing the possibility to win a series over the last two seasons? It might even be a more pressure-packed situation than Vancouver faced going into their game tonight.

Twitter: @jaredbook

Pierre Gauthier is known around hockey circles as a quiet operator. He isn’t outspoken and he isn’t one to volunteer himself to the media. But something about his silence the last 24 hours says more than I think even he would want to let out.

According to Francois Gagnon of La Presse, the team said that he will only address the media on Monday. That means one thing. He’s still working. It could have been very easy for him to say “We’re done for all intents and purposes,” but he didn’t. A lot of GMs say that they don’t think another move would get done before the deadline. And it’s obvious that the team still has holes to fill so put two and two together and I would expect another move from him before the end of the deadline.

Even with Brent Sopel‘s arrival, there are options for Gauthier with the salary cap. If Jaroslav Spacek is indeed out for the season, which has been reported several places, and placed on the LTIR, the team would have a little over $5 million in full-season cap space to play with which is enough to go after another player and Chris Phillips from Ottawa has been mentioned, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a forward added, perhaps a bigger move with roster players going the other way.

Gauthier has made five trades that have come out of nowhere (Halak, Wisniewski, Lapierre, Mara and Sopel).  With the trade deadline approaching, don’t be surprised if another deal is struck without a bunch of rumours circulating beforehand.

The Sopel deal is not something that has Canadiens fans ecstatic, but it isn’t supposed to be. Sopel will play a role similar to Hal Gill in the fact that he will be solid in his own end, help kill penalties and block shots. Those are three things the Canadiens need right now especially as ice time starts to pile up for Gill and Roman Hamrlik. It also doesn’t force Jacques Martin to play Paul Mara, who while just acquired, is clearly there for depth and not to play a big role.

You also have to think that while the Canadiens are adding defenceman after defenceman, they still don’t have any more under contract for next season as James Wisniewski, Mara and Sopel are all unrestricted free agents at season’s end.

Jared Book
Twitter: @jaredbook

There is a lot to like about the Montreal Canadiens lately. They are getting good play from their defence despite the fact that they are without their best offensive defenceman in Andrei Markov and their best defensive defenceman in Josh Gorges. James Wisniewski, P.K. Subban and Yannick Weber are helping the veterans Hal Gill, Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek on the backend, and the forwards are also helping out in their own end.

On the offensive side, Lars Eller is playing the best he has played all season now that he is in a scoring role with Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn had a good couple of games with Jeff Halpern and will now be expected to step up in the absence of Mike Cammalleri. However, any team would struggle with the people who are missing out of the lineup. Cammalleri is expected to miss two weeks, and Max Pacioretty has escaped serious injury and is back in Montreal.

The question now, with those possible injuries, is who the Canadiens will go to. Benoit Pouliot should recover from the flu but the well in Hamilton is running low. Dustin Boyd and Ryan White are probably the top choices to come up if need be and then the onus would be on Pouliot to step up in a role with, most likely, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez until Pacioretty were to come back.

The difference with this team and past Canadiens teams is that this team has organizational depth in case of injuries, and there is a long list of NHL-calibre players in the organization. However, it’s one thing when you are replacing Alexandre Picard with Yannick Weber then when you are replacing Mike Cammalleri with Benoit Pouliot or Lars Eller.

The Canadiens had a good effort against Buffalo despite playing with 10.5 forwards in the second half of back-to-back games. Who knows how the game would have ended had Scott Gomez kept his cool in the third period. With a 5-1-1 record in their last seven games, the Canadiens are moving up in the Eastern Conference and giving themselves breathing room over ninth place. It will fall on guys like Eller, Kostitsyn and Pouliot – not Plekanec, Gionta and Gomez – to keep them there.

The NHL has some early surprises this year so far in several categories so let’s take a look at my top 5 “nice surprise” teams and top 5 individuals thus far in the 2010/2011 season

Teams

1. Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0-1 for 1^st place in the Eastern Conference

The much talked about storied franchise ran by one of the most assertive and straight to the point General Managers in Brian Burke are off to a hot start at 4-0-1. The goaltending, most notably Jean Sebastian-Giguere, has been excellent which is obviously key to a fairly young and new team. The defense as expect has been very good with the likes of Tomas Kaberle and Dion Phaneuf and the forwards have been contributing throughout lines 1-4 with Phil Kessel the leading scorer and the surprising Clarke Macarthur following suit right behind him. Do the Leafs have what it takes to keep this torrid pace up? The question may rest on the forward depth, the concern of solid Defense and good goaltending should be fine in Leafland.

2. New York Islanders 3-1-2 for 3^rd in the Eastern Conference

The Islanders are a young exciting team on the rise but started in bad shape with their top blue-liner in Mark Streit (shoulder), Kyle Okposo (shoulder), and Rob Schremp (back) all on the injured reserve. They have had recent injuries to leading scorer Josh Bailey and solid 2-way player in Trent Hunter, yet these young kids from Long Island continue to get the job done and have managed a 3-1-2 record through their first 6 games. The often injured Rick Dipietro and aging Dwayne Roloson have supplied the Islanders with a great 1-2 tandem in goal. It’s doubtful the Islanders can keep up this pace throughout the entire 82 game schedule but one never knows they may just surprise some people. The horrific issue with NYI is lack of fan support, for their home opener they had a touch over 13,000 fans in attendance and that number is slowly, but surely, decreasing. Islander fans really do not know what they are missing with this young exciting team.

3. Dallas Stars 4-1-0 for 2^nd in the Western Conference

Many predicted this club to finish 30^th overall in the NHL, myself included. However, Dallas has bolted out of the gates with an impressive 4-1 record with star forward Brad Richards averaging 2 points a game with 10 points in 5 games and a nice supporting cast of Mike Ribeiro, James Neal, Loui Eriksson and Brendan Morrow contributing game in and game out. Kari Lehtonen has been solid in goal playing all 5 games with a 2.91 G.A.A. and a solid .921 save percentage. I am sticking with my pre-season prediction and saying Dallas will have a legitimate shot at the 1^st overall pick in next seasons NHL entry draft but we all know “predictions are for gypsies”. Still, Dallas has been a nice surprise for Stars fans and could not ask for a better start to the season.

4. Nashville Predators 3-0-1 for 4^th in the Western Conference

Head coach Barry Trotz implements one of the best defensive strategies in the game and so far in this NHL season it has worked perfectly. Not only do the Predators have a solid 3-0-1 record but they have had solid goaltending by rookie Anders Lindback filling in for an ailing Pekka Rinne. The Predators have been in rough shape with injuries to Rinne, Jamie Lundmark, Martin Erat, Marcel Goc and one of their off-season acquisitions Matthew Lombardi has a concussion. Nashville is getting equal contributions on the score sheet from players like veteran Steve Sullivan, J-P Dumont, and Cal O’Reilly but the scoring is spread out through lines 1-4. Shea Weber, one of the best 2-way defenseman in the league, is also having a nice start to the year with 3 assists so far in 4 games. While I don’t think Nashville will contend for the 1^st position in the Central I do think they will have a solid year and make a huge push for the playoffs plus might just finish middle of the pack in the Western Conference standings.

5. Montreal Canadiens 3-1-1 for 6^th in the Eastern Conference

Les Habitant have started off strong with a 3-1-1 record giving the devoted Montreal fans something to cheer for, not only are they getting solid goaltending by the much talked about and questioned Carey Price but getting some solid defensive play led by Josh Gorges and rookie P.K. Subban. Montreal’s best defenseman Andrei Markov is still nursing a knee injury but is supposedly close to returning to the lineup but with the solid play of the aforementioned Subban and Gorges along with Hamrlik, Spacek and Gill the Habs have not had to rush Markov back. The offense is not exactly lighting up the score sheet but they are scoring enough to get the job done. Montreal should make another push for a playoff position as they have 3 pretty decent forward lines with a nice complimentary checking line. If they keep getting the goaltending from Price and stay healthy on the blue line the Habs will make the post season.

Honourable mentions: Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lighting, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues.

Individuals

1.  Marian Hossa – Chicago Blackhawks

Hossa is off to a hot start for the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks amassing 7 goals and 4 assists for 11 points in 7 games. Not only is Marian contributing offensively but has been solid in all 3 zones of the ice. Hossa, being on pace for a goal a game, is looking to repeat his 2008/2009 goal totals in which he scored 40 goals for the Blackhawks arch rival Detroit Red Wings. Hossa has scored 30+ goals in 7 of 11 of his past full seasons plus scoring over 40 goals in 3 of those seasons with Ottawa and Detroit.

2. Brad Richards – Dallas Stars

As mentioned before Richards is off to a torrid pace with 2 goals and 8 assists in only 5 games and is currently 1 point behind Marian Hossa for the early scoring race. Richards has always been a very good point producer with Tampa Bay and Dallas plus if he keeps up with this pace and the Dallas Stars fall from playoff contention you can bet teams will be trying to acquire Brad for a playoff run and possibly as soon as the all-star break depending on the position of the Dallas Stars in the standings.

3. John Michael-Liles – Colorado Avalanche

John has not only contributed offensively with 8 points in 6 games with 6 of those points coming at even strength but is also a solid +6. John is the Avalanche top defender and plays in all situations and is averaging around 22 minutes of ice time per game. If Liles keeps this pace up you know he will get some big time Norris Trophy votes but of course there is a long way to go in the season. Nevertheless, Liles is off to an all-star start to this season providing Colorado with some much needed offense from the back end.

4. Brent Johnson – Pittsburgh Penguins

There is no doubt Marc-Andre Fleury is the starting goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins…or is there? Johnson has stepped in for Fleury and provide the Penguins with some excellent goaltending to get the Penguins out of the cellar in the Eastern Conference. Fleury started for Pittsburgh and his stats spoke for themselves, 0 wins 3 losses, a 3.41 G.A.A. and a dreadful .853 save percentage whereas Johnson has come in and gone 4-0, a 1.49 G.A.A. and an unheard of .950 save percentage. The numbers speak for themselves, Johnson is off to an incredible start and really Pittsburgh cannot sit Brent until he falters. Right now Brent Johnson is playing like the best goaltender in the league and thus far, he is.

5. Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning

All the hype over what Stamkos could do this season from all of the fans and prognosticators is coming true, Steven has already potted 5 goals and added 4 helpers to an up and coming Lighting team. Like Hossa, he is a goal per game pace and 60+goals are not out of the question for Stamkos this year. With offensive juggernauts like Lecavalier, St.Louis, Gagne, Malone and yes…Steve Downie, we may see Stamkos finish atop the scoring leaders this year in the NHL. Keep in mind Gagne is pointless so far and Lecavalier is not exactly lighting it up with 2 points but when those 2 get scoring the rest of the NHL better watch out for this explosive team, especially Steven Stamkos.

Honourable mentions: Patrick Sharp, Alexander Ovechkin, Kari Lehtonen, Sidney Crosby, Mark Letestu.

Trent Kondo
NHLHS  Correspondent
tkondo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @TK0N

Atlantic Division

• Martin Brodeur had an explanation for the Devils’ 5-4 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in which they blew a late 4-2 lead. “You’d definitely like to be solid against every single team. For some reason, especially in this building, we always have weird games against these guys. We have for years,” Brodeur said. “I think we thought the game was over. You could tell with the intensity. We didn’t have any more forecheck. They were forechecking and we turned the puck over a bunch.” Four points from the man of the night, Travis Zajac, is not to be overlooked.
• Despite benching Wade Redden for the final 37:55 of Wednesday night’s 5-1 defeat against the Hurricanes, coach John Tortorella and the Rangers headed west for a three-game road trip, beginning tonight in Phoenix (8:00, MSG Plus, WNYM), with only six defensemen on their roster. The Rangers have carried only six defensemen all season, in order to allow their younger blue-liners to have plenty of playing time with Hartford.
• The Islanders still haven’t made a trade to improve themselves as they try to stay in the playoff hunt, but with coach Scott Gordon bemoaning the team’s lack of physicality, they should have a new face on the ice when they visit Philadelphia today (1 p.m., MSG Plus, WHLI 1100 AM). In calling up the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Trevor Gillies from Bridgeport, the Isles add size to the lineup as they look to break a three-game slide in the second of a four-game trip.
• Flyers coach Peter Laviolette used more or less three words yesterday to describe the way his team has been playing of late: Not good enough. As they prepare to play the New York Islanders today at the Wachovia Center (1 p.m.) and then head out on a three-game western swing beginning in Calgary on Monday, the Flyers have lost four of seven games. And on Thursday evening against Atlanta, they blew a 3-1 lead in the third period to lose, 4-3, and lose their second consecutive home game.
• Great teams win on the road, and the Penguins are no exception. But winning at home has been a completely different story. The Penguins aren’t exactly sending Mellon Arena out in style, producing one of the league’s most mediocre home records. “This is our building,” defenseman Jay McKee said. “This is the place we practice every day, the place where we play all of our home games. We’ve got to start playing better here.”

Northeast Division

• Whether it be the impressive grinding and playmaking of the Kings’ Dustin Brown or the superb goaltending of Buffalo’s Ryan Miller, after losses Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson sometimes opines that he’s hoping for similar brilliance two weeks from now when those opponents are on his U.S. Olympic team. It’s sort of a consolation prize.
• No offense, all you folks once again filling HSBC Arena on a nightly basis. The Buffalo Sabres know you’d like to see some style points when they hit the ice downtown but they figure you’ll be happier in the final analysis with plain old winning points. The results are hard to argue. The Sabres made it 12 straight games without a regulation loss at home Friday night, getting a pair of first-period goals and holding on to grind out a 2-1 win over the reeling Boston Bruins.
• The Canadiens will have a depleted blue line Saturday afternoon when they play the Ottawa Senators (2 p.m., CBC, RDS. CJAD Radio-800). Jaroslav Spacek, who missed Wednesday’s game in Tampa because of the flu, will miss Saturday’s game with a mysterious upper-body injury.
• The effort was there last night. So were the grit and tenacity. Unfortunately for the Bruins, the finishing touch yet again was not, and, because of that, neither was the result they wanted. After spotting the Buffalo Sabres a two-goal, first-period lead, the B’s tried mightily to come back, only to lose, 2-1, at HSBC Arena.
• Within a week, the Ottawa Senators will have something they’ve only rarely had this year: a completely healthy roster of players. Goalie Pascal Leclaire, out with a concussion since Jan. 14, practised with the team for the first time on Friday and is expected back within the week, while centre Jesse Winchester, who injured his right knee in a Jan. 9 game against the Florida Panthers, is available to play whenever coach Cory Clouston wants to use him — or can find a spot for him in the lineup.

Southeast Division

• When he’s not around ice, Thrashers coach John Anderson prefers moving water. He always keeps a boat, and part of his history and heart is on the water. He talked about this after a recent practice at Philips Arena, while watching a fishing show on his office TV.
• Mike Knuble recorded another multi-goal game, and Jeff Schultz became the latest low-scoring defenseman to end a goal drought Friday night at Verizon Center. But the focus after the Washington Capitals picked up their ninth straight victory with a 4-1 triumph over the Florida Panthers was the uncertain status of Mike Green.
• For the Lightning, it was hard not to be a bit disappointed.What had been the team’s most successful homestand, which included a season-best three-game winning streak, ended Friday night at the St. Pete Times Forum with a 2-1 loss to the Ducks in a shootout.
• There’s still a lot of hockey left, but the Carolina Hurricanes could wind up with one of the top three picks in the NHL Entry Draft this year. Do that and the Canes might be able to get a sudden-impact kind of player. Someone like, say, Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks. Or Jonathan Toews, also of the Blackhawks. Four years ago, when the Hurricanes were on their way to winning the Stanley Cup, the Blackhawks were NHL afterthoughts. They finished 26-43-13, 28th in the league.
• Scouting report: The Panthers are 6-1-2 in their past nine games and have recorded points in four of their past five games (3-1-1) despite just six goals during that stretch. …The Capitals have won eight consecutive games, their best run since a franchise record 10 consecutive during the 1983-84 season, and 11 of 12. …They scored three goals in two and a half minutes during the third period of Wednesday’s win against Anaheim and have scored in 21 of their past 23 periods. …The Panthers are 0-3-1 against the Caps this season, losing the last matchup 5-4 in a shootout after leading 4-1. …Caps LW Alexander Ovechkin leads the league at plus-32 and is second in goals with 34. …Michal Neuvirth will start in goal. Jose Theodore (hip flexor) might dress as his backup.

Hat tip to the now defunct Illegal Curve for their permission in taking over this daily series.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC