Montreal Canadiens

The 2010 draft crop may not be as deep as the Canadiens would like as they only picked five players in seven rounds.  But the Canadiens made their their move to take the 22nd pick and got the man they wanted in Jarred Tinordi.

In all, the Canadiens draft year in 2010 included two defenseman and three forwards.

Did Montreal address all their needs?  Most importantly size, strength, and speed in a package?

Here's an overview of the 2010 Canadiens draft class.

No. 22: Jarred Tinordi - Defense (6'6", 204 lbs)

The 2010 NHL amateur draft is upon us. All Habs wants to help you get ready, starting with a brief overview, player previews, and prospects currently in the system.

It's fair to say that Bob Gainey and Trevor Timmins have done a very good job re-stocking the Canadiens talent pool that had been depleted prior to their arrival. The Gainey/Timmins team has not always followed popular opinion, but their selections have often received praise from experts.

A few weeks ago on morning sports talk radio, the hosts were preparing for the 2010 NHL amateur draft by offering their own thoughts on the Taylor (Hall) or Tyler (Seguin) choice.

Greetings folks! It's time for the penultimate question in the five-question survey I ran a few weeks ago. The survey was asking fans what they would do this summer if they were the Montreal Canadiens' GM.

For question number four, I asked how you would make the Habs a bigger team for the upcoming season. Below is a sampling of the responses I received. You'll notice some of these options no longer hold water as some of the players mentioned have already been moved.

A day before the draft and all the Montreal Canadiens could use is some size up front. Trading playoff hero netminder Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis has helped with acquiring two 6' plus forwards in Lars Eller (6'0) and Ian Schultz (6'2)

But the draft has many big players who could make the impact the Canadiens need in the future.  

Not known for their shrewd drafting in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Canadiens have moved up the ladder of success with top picks including Carey Price, Danny Kristo, and Louis Leblanc.  

The Canadian Press reported yesterday that Tomas Plekanec will be an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2010. Plekanec signed a six year $30 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

The diminutive second line center joins Mike Cammalleri (four years left at $6 million a year), Scott Gomez (four years left at $7.3 million a year), and Brian Gionta (four years at $5 million a year) to be the core of Montreal's front line offense for the next half decade or so.

Today, the National Hockey League and their fans witnessed a myriad of action, including a major trade, signing, hall-of-fame inductions, and the retirement of a marquee, veteran defenseman. Last week, TSN’s Bob Mackenzie said this coming week leading up to the draft would be busy, and boy was he right!

Early in the day the Bruins and Panthers swapped cornerstones when Florida traded center Nathan Horton for defenseman Dennis Wideman. This is a very even trade as the Bruins can use the offensive help, and the Panthers have always been in search of defense.

While many Montreal Canadiens fans will scream at general manager Pierre Gauthier for trading recent playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues, Gauthier actually made the right decision in moving the Slovak goalie.

And the timing couldn't have been better.

With Halak and Carey Price both under the age of 26, the question came down to which goaltender would offer better potential.

In question three of my five-part survey on what fans would do they were the Habs' GM, I asked readers what they would do with Andrei Markov. Sign him? Trade him? Wait till the trade deadline?

Here's a sampling of what fans had to say:

Question#3: Re-sign or trade Andrei Markov?
1. Re-sign Markov. He's a top five D-man year in and year out, and he's a huge impact on the rest of the D corp. Also crucial to PP and PK special teams.

On Thursday, Montreal Canadiens’ General Manager, Pierre Gauthier made a big move when he trade goaltender Jaroslav Halak. Here is the trade made:

To Montreal Canadiens

• Lars Eller (C)
• Ian Schultz (RW)

To St. Louis Blues