NHL Trade Deadline: Bob Gainey's No Fool

As the NHL trade deadline clock ticked down to three, the only move Canadiens' GM Bob Gainey made was shipping off the team's number one goalie, Cristobal Huet, to the Washington Capitals for a second round pick in the 2009 draft. 

For many it was a disappointing day. Up until 2:58 p.m. it was believed the Canadiens were still in the running for Atlanta Thrashers' wingman Marian Hossa. It appeared all the drama leading up to that particular moment would culminate with a last second announcement from the hockey gods on high (or at the very least those guys at TSN and RDS), indicating a deal had been reached.

Adding fuel to the fire, the Canadiens called up Mikhail Grabovski from Hamilton prompting the rumour-mongers to speculate a deal was imminent. There were even whispered hopes that Hossa would be skating with the team that very night as the Thrashers were already in town, Hossa just down the street at the swank hotel near the Bell Center.

Besides, didn't he already have a set of gloves with his name on them?

Alas, the Pittsburgh Penguins, named after a bird that can't fly, swooped in and took the prize away, dashing the hopes of all who thought Gainey had space to rent.  

If you analyze the day a little further, Gainey did the best with what he had and, in the long run, did little to disrupt the team. In fact, it's fair to say Gainey made it stronger.  

Let's be honest, Huet wasn't going to be sticking around Montreal anyway. His contract was up come July and Gainey decided it was better to get something for him rather than nothing. Sure he could have paired Huet with Michael Ryder, Maxime Lapierre, Mikhail Grbovsk, or any combination of the three to land a strong offensive player, but obviously there was little out there that piqued Gainey's interest enough to develop such a deal. 

With Huet off to Washington, Carey Price is anointed number one goalie. It was going to happen eventually and this way the pressure is on Price to perform. He's run both hot and cold this season and under the glaring media spotlight in Montreal it'll be a pressure cooker.

Some work well under pressure and it remains to be seen if Price will be able to handle it. Gainey seems to have faith in the young goalie and that, more than anything, counts for a lot. Perhaps when Gainey indicated he was looking for an impact player he was looking at Huet's backup.

At the end of it all Gainey accomplished what he set out to do: secure an impact player and not disrupt the chemistry of a team that works well together. Now all the team needs is consistency.

Chemistry is great, but consistency wins Stanley Cups. While the Habs aren't yet Stanley Cup calibre, the team is certainly on its way.