[Commercial ends and the screen goes to the stylized logo of the EEHL Tonight program. The logo fades away, showing the show’s anchor, Reme LaBouche, sitting behind a desk.]
Welcome back to EEHL Tonight here on The Sports Channel. Early in the day, the Montreal Canadiens announced that they had dealt Nathan Horton to the Dallas Stars, in return for James van Riemsdyk and a 3rd round pick in the upcoming entry draft. Here to discuss the trade is our EEHL Tonight experts panel.
[The scene changes to show three men dressed in suits, sitting behind a long table. The person on the far left of the table starts to speak.]
James Muffie: James Muffie here, along with the EEHL Tonight panel: Kick Nypreos and Doug Mckenzie. The Montreal Canadiens made a bit of a surprise move on the eve of Free Agency, dealing a top line player in Nathan Horton to the Dallas Stars for James van Riemsdyk. Is this a strange move considering the timing of it, and the fact that Horton is signed to a long term contract and is not a pending Free Agent?
Kick Nypreos: This move makes no sense at all. The Canadiens are starting to get a reputation around the league for being a tough team that is going to physically punish you regardless of the score, and Nathan Horton is the right kind of player for that game plan. At 6’2” and 229 pounds, with a mean streak, he is a player that the opposition has to be aware of when he is on the ice. Sure, van Riemsdyk is a bit taller, at 6’3”, but he gives up 29 pounds and doesn’t play as physical a game. He only had 54 hits in 82 games, compared to the 186 Horton had in only 59 games.
Doug Mckenzie: I think that there are a couple of factors that are coming into play with this move. While Horton does fit the mold better than van Riemsdyk, Horton had a very slow start last season and often looked out of place with his linemates Tavares and Landeskog. Then, as he was started to find his game, he suffered from a number of injuries that kept him out of 23 games. In comparison, van Riemsdyk played every game for the Dallas Stars, and he played with players in the same mold as the Canadiens top line, so he should be able to gel with them more naturally than Horton did. There is also the simple matter of age and contract. Horton is 29 and signed long term to a contract around $5 million. Van Riemsdyk is 25, and his contract is also a long term one at around $3 million.
Nypreos: The fact remains that while Horton didn’t have a great start to the season, he still put up a higher points per game average than van Riemsdyk, regardless of how well or poorly he gelled with Tavares and Landeskog. He also contributed some timely goals in the playoffs this season, and was looking better and better on the top line in Montreal. They gave up too fast on him. Montreal will be looking for more veteran leadership this season and Horton showed some strong leadership. And it comes down to the simple fact that they are going to continue to play a physical game in Montreal, but you will not want Landeskog or Tavares being the ones having to stick up for themselves when teams are looking for payback.
Mckenzie: Horton played on the top line every game he was in the lineup, with two of the top players in the game today, for the team that finished second in the East. I am not taking anything away from his talent, but that will have an effect on points per game average. Van Riemsdyk put together a good season bouncing between lines and linemates, playing less minutes for the Stars than forwards Henrik Sedin, Phil Kessel, Joe Pavelski, and Patrick Elias. And the Dallas Stars finished 13th in the West, and 24th in the entire EEHL. He is now going to be in a situation which will take better advantage of his abilities, and give him the time to produce points on the ice.
Muffie: Varying opinions from our panel here, but at the moment, it appears that this is a trade that will benefit both of the teams involved. Time will tell who wins this trade. Back to you, Reme.
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