THE KONOPKA NON-DEAL...A HEAD-SCRATCHER

Today came news that Zenon Konopka had signed with the divisional-rival Ottawa Senators.  That is not good news for Habs fans.  Seeing that it only took a 1-year deal worth $700K to ink Konopka, I'm really quite befuddled that Habs management didn't up the ante a bit and secure his services.  I was really hoping that Konopka was in Gauthier's target list of players to acquire during this off-season.  I also thought that someone would overpay him in dollars and term and thus make it a difficult signing to accomplish.  Obviously, this didn't happen so from my point of view, today's failure falls squarely on the GM's shoulders.

Other than the obvious toughness and fighting element that Konopka brings which is important and needed, he also brings another essential skill, prowess on face-offs.  This particular facet of his skill-set is why I thought Konopka would be a perfect fit for the Habs.  Considering that face-offs were a major area of concern for the Habs last year, it boggles the mind to not add depth in that area at such a reasonable cap hit.