Habs unable to improve lineup up front

[Habsfan84]

A second-round draft choice might not seem like much of a return for a No. 1 goaltender, but the bottom line is that the Canadiens gave up on Cristobal Huet.
"It was a very clear and distinct decision to allow our goaltending net to be available to what we feel are two premier young goalies," Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey said, confirming that the decision to ship Huet to the Washington Capitals for a second-round draft choice in 2009 was a case of addition by subtraction.
"I think that between those two players and the competition that they can create and the ability that is between Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak that (they can do the job)," Gainey said. "There's a risk there. They're not experienced, but they are quality players. Just as we made a similar decision last year in Hamilton and decided to put Carey Price in the net, out of junior. It's a risk that we, I, decided to take."

Huet started the season as the Habs' No. 1 goalie and still held that position through January, when the National Hockey League honoured him as one of the league's three stars for the month.
Gainey said the Canadiens spent a good part of the season assessing Huet's ability. The key question was whether the team wanted to make a long-term commitment to Huet, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Gainey said Huet was given a chance to show that he wanted to stay here with his play, but came up short.
While Huet has limited playoff experience - a 2-4 record in six games with the Canadiens - it's six more games than the 20-year-old Price and the 22-year-old Halak have played in the postseason. But both have shown they can win at various levels.
The risk the Canadiens took with Price last spring paid off with a Calder Cup championship in Hamilton, while Halak ranks as the No. 1 goaltender in the American Hockey League for the second consecutive year.
While the Canadiens are hoping the youngsters do the job, Gainey was unable to improve the lineup in front of the goalies.
While he went into the trading deadline with the idea of adding an "impact forward," Gainey fell short in his bid for Atlanta's Marian Hossa, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Gainey coveted Hossa, but he has shown in past years a reluctance to surrender the assets who have been the key to his systematic rebuilding of the team.
"We talked with Atlanta and they wanted four elements," Gainey said yesterday. "Three of those elements will be skating with our team tonight. We weren't prepared to make that deal."
And the Thrashers weren't prepared to accept the Habs' offer.
Atlanta general manager Don Waddell played hardball, and there were seven minutes remaining on the clock when he accepted the Penguins' offer of two NHL players - Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen - junior prospect Angelo Esposito and a first-round draft choice.
"We had three dance partners in the morning and, as the day went on, we had more offers," Waddell said. "At 2:45, we were concentrating on the Penguins deal and we asked them for one other asset. We had some backups, including the Canadiens, who were in it until the very end, but we got what we wanted from Pittsburgh with seven minutes to spare."
Gainey admitted he was disappointed, but he has said all along he believes the team he assembled can be competitive without any outside help. Now, it's up to that team to make the boss look good.