Should Montreal Be Keeping Gomez?

80 games. 7 goals. 38 Points.

Not bad for a fourth liner.

Oh wait, am I missing Something?

$8M for 3 more years? Yikes! Who is this player?

Scott Gomez? Uh oh.

Ever since Gomez had 84 points in 2005-2006 for New Jersey, his career has been in a downward spiral, with his best season being in 2007-2008 where he had 70 points with the New York Rangers.

What seemed like a good trade on June 30th, 2009, with Montreal getting Gomez, Tom Pyatt and Mike Blusto for Christopher Higgins, Ryan McDonagh, Doug Janik and Pavel Valentenko has not turned out well in Montreal’s favor.

Yet again, has any of the players involved in the trade made a big impact?

In my opinion, Tom Pyatt was the big player involved in the trade. While he doesn’t pile up huge offensive numbers, he played his fourth line grinding role very well and had a decent shot.

Gomez is locked up for 4 more seasons. Oh joy.

Here are a list of quality players Gomez makes more than, with stats.

Henrik Zetterberg-$7.75M, 80 Points

Marian Hossa-$7.9M, 56 Points

Steven Stamkos-$7.5M, 91 Points

Daniel Sedin-$6.1M, 104 Points (NHL LEADER)

Henrik Sedin, $6.1M, 94 Points (Fourth)

Martin St. Louis, $5.5M, 99 Points (SECOND)

Corey Perry, $5.375M, 98 Points (NHL MVP, Goal Scoring leader)

Tim Thomas, $6M, Vezina Trophy Winner, Stanley Cup Winner, Conn Smythe Winner

I think you get my point.

You may be tired of hearing everyone talk about his salary. But it’s not like he was going to decline that type of money. What was he supposed to say when New York Rangers GM Glen Sather offered him a seven-year, $51.1-million free-agent contract in July 2007: “Thanks, but that’s too much”?

Gomez’s play has affected more then just himself. Look at how his teammates played with hin. Andrei Kostitsyn requested to be moved to a different line after going -8 in 10 games on his line, recording a terrible 4 points. The first 3 games he played with Tomas Plekanec afterwards: 5. On Feb. 9 their line was benched mid way through the third period for having a minus-4 record in the first two periods alone! And that was the third line! How do you explain it?

Nobody can.

It’s pretty clear Gomez and Martin’s game style don’t mesh. The question then becomes what do you do. If I am Martin I need to get Gomez going. One thing you can’t deny is his speed and his passing so why not put him with some speed, a big body, and most importantly someone who can put it in the net -Erik Cole anyone? Stick Gionta on the right and lets see what happens.

So why wont Pierre Gauthier buy out the remaining 3 years of his contract?

Montreal thinks he still has some gas in the tank. But does he? He has gotten worse every year. How much worse can you ge when you had less then 40 points in 80 games MAKING $8M?

Chris Drury was bought out. JP Dumont was bought out. They are in an exact situation as Gomez.

Now think of this. After signing Josh Gorges last night, Montreal has $5,179,490 in cap space. Now you buy out his $7,357,143 contract. That would total to $12, 536, 633 in cap space. Brad Richards signed for a cap hit of $6,666,667. See where I’m getting at?

They could try sending him to Hamilton. But he would need to clear waivers. A player only has to clear waivers when being recalled or sent down if he is on a one-way contract or a two-way contract with an AHL salary >$95K. In this case, his AHL salary is $8M. So he would have to go through waivers. If a player is claimed on Recall waivers, his original team is still responsible for 50% of his salary and 50% his cap hit for the remainder of his contract. There is an exception to the $95K rule for veteran AHL players – 320+ professional games, NHL, AHL, or ECHL played (180+ pro games for Goalies), less than 40 games on an NHL roster the previous season, and less than 80 games on an NHL roster total the previous two seasons. Players meeting those criteria are exempt from recall waivers. Players who are still exempt from waivers when being sent down are also exempt from recall waivers. There are a number of teams who used the AHL option this past season to get rid of some big contracts, including the New York Rangers with Wade Redden ($6.5 million), the Edmonton Oilers with Sheldon Souray ($4.5 million), the Columbus Blue Jackets with Mike Commodore ($3.8 million), the Toronto Maple Leafs with Jeff Finger ($3.5 million), the New York Islanders with Michael Nylander ($3 million) and the Calgary Flames with Ales Kotalik ($3 million).

A team can claim him for $3, 678, 571.5, meaning Montreal would have to pay for the other $3678571.5. At that price, his 38 points become a bit more acceptable. Still not great, but maybe a change of scenery would be good for Gomez. It seems as though under pressure, he can’t perform. He never played well for Montreal, and was shaky in New York. Teams who need cap space, like Colorado and the Islanders can really use him.

Sending him to the AHL could be the end of his NHL career, one that was an All-star and Olympian at one point. There would be almost no chance of him getting called up again unless the purpose was to have him picked up by another team. That salary really limits what the team can do. They could trade for a winger to play with him, like Alex Burrows or Erik Christensen, or they can sign a player like Cory Stillman or Alex Kovalev.

Sources have almost no idea what’s going on with Gomez and the Canadiens right now. No talk of him getting sent down or bought out.  Martin may still have some patience left with Gomez. He may still think that Gomez has potential to thrive. The Montreal faithful defiantly doesn’t think so. With the boos constantly coming from the Bell Centre, its hard to find someone who has faith in Gomer.

In my opinion, I think they should give him a 15-20 game try-out, then decide what to do based on his play. If he struggles out of the gate, put him on waivers. Even if he gets claimed (which isn’t likely), it gives Montreal a chance to call up Brock Trotter, Aaron Palushaj or Louis Leblanc. Don’t bring the rest of the team down because one player can’t perform anymore.

Thoughts?

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