Emerging from this season's dark clouds has been a couple of rays of sunshine including the obviously phenomenal play of the Canadiens first line and more specifically David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty. And although Erik Cole has also been a stud throughout this season, the hope was that he would be - just that - considering the contract that he was signed for. But what I wanted to focus on was another bright light, a light that may not have shown earlier on in this season and may have faded a tad more recently but that light is just as important to the future success of the Montreal Canadiens and is there new hope, Alexei Emelin.
Alexei Emelin has shown that he can play in the NHL and play well. Has he made mistakes? Most definitely. Has he looked lacked consistency? He most certainly has. But what he has shown is the ability to play important minutes against top-tier players and adjust to a North American game in a relatively short period of time. It's important to note that it takes longer for a defenseman to develop than it does a forward in this league and at the ripe old age of 25, Alexei is just entering his prime.
It's been a few days now that Josh Gorges has signed his 1-year, $2.5M deal with the Montreal Canadiens and the reaction from Habs fans has been expectedly mixed. We've seen varied reactions but the general consensus (from what I've read and heard) seems to be that one year was simply not enough and that the Habs seem to have short-changed Gorges. Being a numbers guy through and through and looking at the deal, I cannot help but think that the contract seems like a fair one for both sides. And yes, I can already hear you yelling out, "but what about the intangibles" that Gorges offers. So you know what? Let's take a look at those intangibles on BOTH sides of the coin. Just as a disclaimer, I'll add right here, that I would've preferred to see Gorges signed for 3 years at $3M per (but not a penny more).
