All-star defenceman Sheldon Souray has been given a vote of confidence by Canadiens management, Sportsnet has learned.
The team has no intention of shopping the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent going into the NHL trade deadline on Feb 27. With the impression Souray will now finish the year with the Canadiens, sources are telling Sportsnet the club will make every conceivable effort to ink Souray to a long-term deal.
Souray has vehemently denied that he has ever approached Habs GM Bob Gainey asking for a trade. Again, after yesterday's game, reports were surfacing once again that demands had been made on the part of the big defenseman. Souray is likely anxious to put the whole deal behing him.
While the behavior and actions of certain team mates such as Alexei Kovalev are questionable at best, Souray has stood up for the team. He is the first face present to media after each loss, underlining the positives he sees, and acting like a captain would in light of the mounting adversity on the Canadiens team. His leadership and performance have been one of the few bright spots on the team this season.
3 comments:
RDS was quick to ask Souray about the report after Saturday's game and he denied it.
Now, that could mean that it's not true, or that he's simply not supposed to talk about it.
Didn't the Habs learn anything from the McCabe deal by the Leafs? Now is the time to cash in on Souray. He is a terrible defender and he is playing the softest minutes. The Habs need to cash in on this asset the same way the Leafs should have.
It won't do Habs' fans any good to see five more years of Spezza deking Souray out of his jock strap.
p.s. loved the Alanis song.
Well Souray isn't a pussy like McCabe. His odd defensive lapses are of small consequence to his upside. While the highlights people west of here get to see of Souray, such as goals, fights, and the odd undoing, Souray is a lot better than you think. If he could be replaced with another backliner that can anchor the power play and score 20+, drop the gloves when his team mates need him to, and be a general all around leader on and ice the ice, then by all means they'd deal him.
The problem is, that player is rare to non- existant.
Comparing his to a chickenshit like McCabe is practically insulting.
As the Canadiens go down for the count this year, Souray has been the only good constant. Markov is who I'd turn into prospects. His demeanor has been one of complete disinterest and he lacks the fire to improve beyond what he is. The promise is always there, but he is Vladimir Malakhov in disguise!
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