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Date Posted: 23:10:47 06/18/04 Fri
Montreal - The Marauders continue to tweak their roster in preparation for the new season. After taking a pass on free agency, as predicted, the Marauders made a couple moves to strengthen their position in a strong Eastern Conference.
"The competition will be tough, as it was last year," said GM Sean Gallagher, "we've made some moves and I expect to make some more."
The two trades that occurred in the last week saw the Montreal GM move Bryan Berard and prospect Mike Komisarek for Simon Gagne and their own 1st round pick in next year's draft. The move was seen as a future-only prospect, as Komisarek isn't scheduled to see significant GWHL ice time for a couple years. Berard, while a very useful defenseman, simply didn't fit well into the Montreal lineup.
"It was a good move for both teams," summarized Gallagher, "Gagne was lost on their roster and Bryan was lost a bit on ours. They get the better side on the pick vs Komisarek, but we got a younger player on the front side, so it's pretty even in our eyes. We'd like to see Simon earn a spot on a top line this year."
Gagne joins a left wing side that was bolstered by another trade that saw the Marauders move Brendan Shanahan and two good young prospects to Winnipeg for Keith Tkachuk and the ability to bring up Dan Boyle.
"Tkachuk is a guy we've had our eyes on," confirmed Gallagher, "we like his game. Combined with Bertuzzi on the right side, I love our options in the power forward game. He's nasty and he's hard to contain. We lost a couple great young guys, who I'm sure will be great for Winnipeg, but we like what we got, too."
The moves make it likely that the team is not done dealing. It's rumored that the acquisition of Gagne will mean that Paul Kariya will be on the block as the season opens. Kariya's contract is large, but it is only for one more year. Sources within the organization indicate that the superstar winger could be had for picks or prospects.
"The team would listen to any offer that included a young guy or two or a couple decent picks," reported the source.
Also available are defensemen Pavel Kubina and Bryan McCabe. The team is rumored to be fielding offers for the two that include young defensive prospects or decent draft picks.
With the waiver draft on the horizon, the Marauders are still well under the protection limit and may see some trades occur with teams that don't have the same luxury.
"Let's just say that my phone lines are open and I'm ready to make moves to strengthen our position," said Gallagher "this off-season is making me anxious to get going."
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