No one is going to say Bryan Murray has no guts.
First the trade deadline deal to move Antoine Vermette to Columbus for goaltender Pascal Leclaire. When healthy he has been one of the best goalies in the NHL. Problem is he hasn't been healthy enough over the past few years. Big gamble for Murray right there.
Now Alex Kovalev. When he decides he wants to play, he is one of the very best in the NHL. The skill level and strength are off the charts. Problem is, his game has been dotted with enigmatic play his entire career. He can do almost anything with the puck but on too many nights he looks like he doesn't want the puck.
The wild card for Bryan Murray is the Spezza factor. In his 6 years in Montreal, Kovalev never had a playmaking centre the caliber of Spezza. If anyone can get him excited to play it will be Spezza. The one thing that very creative players love is other creative players. Spezza is certainly all that.
Bryan Murray has been put in a horrible situation by Dany Heatley, but clearly he is not throwing in the towel. This Kovalev move is certainly high risk, but also has the possibility for high reward.
Say what you want about Bryan Murray, but he certainly has the guts.
See you at the rink.
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3 comments:
To be frank, he had to do something. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that Murray is in the last year of his contract.
If he doesn't win this year, there will be no next year. Might as well play roulette with Kovalev.
If he shows up to play, and Leclaire pans out, we could go on a nice playoff run. If not, we'll miss the playoffs again.
Kovy never really played with someone of his potential in Montreal, except for Markov. With Spezza and Alfie I think he will have of of his best season. Only if Heatley waives his NTC (EDM) He will have a heck of offence.
Kovy Spezz Alfie
Penner Fisher Coglianno
That is what I call Top six Talent.
Good Blog Dean
Bryan Murray has been put in this horrible situation by Bryan Murray.
He handed NTC like candy, he gave players that lost at crucial times extended raises and now his hands are tied.
If Murray had guts though...he would have waived goodbye to Neil, not to mention Kelly, Smith and heck even Fisher (yes, yes NMC...but you can bury a player's rep if you really want to).
This team needs change at the core level, where 'core' is the long-standing players that need a wake-up call. Murray either won't do this or can't and this team will be set behind another 4-5 years by these bloated contracts and aging players.
It's a shame because we were close once and now we are farther than ever. I am not even going to touch Leclaire until he proves himself with a good 35-40 win season and a minimum three rounds of playoff hockey.
Anything less than that is garbage.
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