Plekanec had an abismal season last year after coming off and tremendous year when teamed with Alex Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn. On one had I don’t think he deserves much of a pay raise, but on the other hand he’s in the position with the team the way it is to request one.

The last two years Plekanec was making $1.8 million dollars playing as the second line center.

UPDATE: This is now completely resolved. Comment away!

Scott Gomez was ranked a top 10 WHL player in the 1998 draft but ended up falling back to 27th overall, due to his smaller stature, when he was selected by the New Jersey Devils. At that time he was making a big impact with the Tri-city Americans scoring 49 points during the 1997-1998 season, and then following that up with an amazing 108 point season.

Gomez stepped into the professional ranks for the 1999-2000 season and played all 82 games, scoring 70 points as a rookie center giving with the Calder trophy for the rookie of the year, as well as the Stanley Cup.

Gomez is a natural playmaker averaging 64 points in his nine seasons in the NHL but only having one year with 20+ goals in that span. Here are some great reviews of Scott Gomez from Hockey’s Future giving some insight on him during and after the 1998 season.

Gomez originally signed a verbal agreement to play for Colorado College but opted to play for the Americans of the WHL in hopes of attracting more attention. A dazzling playmaker and exceptionally fast and smooth skater, Gomez provides the offensive spark any team needs. He can carry the puck end to end but has only average finishing skills. While he is small, Gomez has added a physical edge to his finesse game and will get the job done. He’s shown a fierce temper but he has a long fuse.

8. Scott Gomez-C-Tri-City-5-11/175–Opting to go the major junior route instead of the collegiate ranks, Gomez is a shifty center with terrific acceleration and a fine passing touch. He is a bit undersized, but he rarely takes a big hit. He is especially dangerous when given time to set up in the
offensive zone.

27. New Jersey – Scott Gomez, C, Tri-City Americans (WHL)
158 GP, 33 G, 100 A, 133 P, 124 PIM

The New Jersey Devils selected an Alaska native in Scott Gomez of the Tri-City Americans of the WHL 27th overall. The Devils felt Gomez could develop into a 1st or 2nd line playmaking center in the NHL, and they were right on the money. Gomez stepped right into the Devils’ lineup during the 1999-00 season, and won the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year, as well as the Stanley Cup with New Jersey. Gomez scored 19 goals and added 51 assists for 70 points in 82 games. He scored 19 more points than the second rookie leading scorer, Alex Tanguay, who had 51 points. Gomez’s 51 assists alone would have tied him for the Rookie scoring lead. The 1st Hispanic player to ever play in the NHL, Scotty Gomez struggled a bit in his sophomore season, but still managed 14 goals, 49 assists and 63 points in 76 games. Gomez received an invite to Team USA’s orientation camp this September, and seems like a lock to make the team for the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Gomez should be a top flight center in a few years, and reminds a lot of people of Doug Weight. An excellent selection by the Devils and certainly one of the steals of the draft.

Am I the only one who thinks that Florida got fucked in this deal? Honestly guys, Bouwmeester, believe it or not, is an excellent defenseman. Thinking about Bouwmeester and Phaneuf on the same line gives me hives.

Christ almighty people, fire whoever made that fucked up decision.

All I can say is, at least we’re heading in the right direction! A six foot offensive power forward center is EXACTLY what we need, but we definitely could have used that individual this season and don’t tell me that Latendresse was that guy because he wasn’t.

Leblanc skipped the QMJHL to play in the U.S. Hockey League (USHL), with the Omaha Lancers where he netted 28 goals and added 31 assists with 78 penalty minutes, with another 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 playoff games.

What I really like about Leblanc is that this kid can skate! He makes quick strides and really gets up to speed quick. I see him as being a great second line center with 40-50 point seasons once he gets comfortable in the NHL in the next five or so years.

Wow. I absolutely hate Boston but I have to admit this is huge, and I believe that both teams would definitely benefit from a trade like this. Kessel could really beef up the Leafs scoring while Kaberle would beef up an already deadly offensive team in Boston.

This is a sticky post! I will be posting other individual posts below this one so don’t be afraid to check them out as well.

So I haven’t done many updates since the Canadiens started on the downward spiral that ended up with them leaving in the first round of the playoffs, but I figure a good time to start back at it would be the NHL 2009 Entry Draft. Tonight during the draft I will be updating this post with each pick as well as other draft information for those of you who aren’t able to watch it on television.

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1. New York Islanders: John Tavares
2. Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman
3. Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene
4. Atlanta Thrashers Evander Kane
5. Los Angeles Kings: Brayden Schenn
6. Phoenix Coyotes: O Ekman-Larsson
7. Toronto Maple Leafs: Nazem Kadri
8. Dallas Stars: Scott Glennie
9. Ottawa Senators: Jared Cowen
10. Edmonton Oilers: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson
11. Nashville Predators: Ryan Ellis
12. New York Islanders: Calvin De Haan
13. Buffalo Sabres: Zack Kassian
14. Florida Panthers: Dmitry Kulikov
15. Anaheim Ducks: Peter Holland
16. Minnesota Wild: Nick Leddy
17. St. Louis Blues: David Rundblad
18. Montreal Canadiens: Louis Leblanc
19. New York Rangers: Chris Kreider
20. New Jersey Devils: Jacob Josefson
21. Columbus Blue Jackets: John Moore
22. Vancouver Canucks: Jordan Schroeder
23. Calgary Flames: Tim Erixon
24. Washington Capitals: Marcus Johansson
25. Boston Bruins: Jordan Caron
26. Anaheim Ducks: Kyle Palmieri
27. Carolina Hurricanes: Philippe Paradis
28. Chicago Blackhawks: Dylan Olsen
29. Tampa Bay Lightning: Carter Ashton
30. Pittsburgh Penguins: Simon Despres

You so called “fans” who boo Price after making a simple stop of the puck should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves. If you’re really trying to find someone to blame this playoff series/horrendous season on than you can probably blame the fact that there were a lot of injuries to very key players on this team and we just never really got rolling.

I hope those people who were booing recorded those games and can watch those games and count the amount of times that Carey Price actually kept us in these games. What exactly can he do with absolutely no offensive support, horrid giveaways, and bad defensive coverage. The Bruins were doing everything right, absolutely everything.

If Carey Price was goaltending for the Bruins in this series I can guarantee that he would have had better stats then Tim Thomas, no doubt about it. Price has solid technique, but there are just some things that are out of the goalie’s control.

I would say that Price did a hell of a job for being a 21 and this being his second NHL season, his first as a starter. Giving up on this kid would be an absolute shame, I really hope it doesn’t come to that.