Player Review-Plekanec, Cammalleri, A. Kostitsyn

Tomas Plekanec-"Will He Stay Or Will He Go"
The 2008'09 season for Tomas Plekanec was a disaster. He scored just 39 points, a 30 point drop off from the previous season and was signed to a 1 year contract by the Canadiens who refused to give him a long term deal. Fast forward a year and Pleks is in line for a big raise. He led the Canadiens in scoring this year with 70 points, and played every game. He was the Habs top 2 way forward and even became a bit of an agitator. Some will question his production in the playoffs, 11 points in 19 games, but it should be noted he was going head to head with Crosby and Ovechkin most of the time. Tomas has expressed his desire (at least to the media) to remain in Montreal, but the question remains, can the Canadiens fit him under the salary cap. Then the size issue comes up, with the Canadiens top 4 forwards all being "undersized", although as we saw in the playoffs, size doesn't always matter. Plekanec proved this year he is among the top two way forwards in the game. He is durable (he has missed only 4 games the past 4 seasons) and well liked by his teammates. It's up to the Habs management to determined how much those qualities are worth.


Mike Cammalleri-"As Advertised"
When Mike Cammalleri signed a 5 year contract last summer with the Montreal Canadiens, you could immediately tell how much playing in Montreal meant to him. He seemed to be in awe of the storied past and was excited to be a part of the greatness. Cammalleri was brought in to score goals, and that's just what he did. He finished the year with 26 goals, good for 2nd on the team despite missing 17 games with a nasty knee injury. Upon his return form injury, Cammalleri didn't score in the final 9 games of the season and looked like his timing was off. The playoffs were a different story. Cammi scored 13 times in just 19 games and led the league in postseason goals. He is a candidate for the vacant captaincy and should be an important part of the Habs for the next 4 seasons at least. He has a nose for the net and never takes a night off. Chalk one up for departed GM Bob Gainey on this one.

Andrei Kostitsyn-"Head Case?"
When Andrei Kostitsyn scored 26 goals in the 2007'08 season, with several of those coming on dazzling end to end rushes, fans of the Montreal Canadiens thought they had a star. The following season his production dropped from 53 points to 41 points and he was KO'd with a devastating hit in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes. Since that hit, he hasn't been nearly as physical and his touch around the net seems to have disappeared. He scored just 15 goals this season and just 3 in the playoffs, all in one game in round 1. I'm sure the fact that his brother has been a huge distraction hasn't helped things, but it is time for Andrei to return to the form that made him a legitimate top 6 winger. He would certainly be considered the weak link on his line and for $3.25 million a year, the Habs need more than 15 goals out of him.