Josh Gorges approves trade to Buffalo; Montreal signs Gilbert as replacement
The Montreal Canadiens traded defenseman Josh Gorges to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday for a second-round pick in 2016.
Which means that the Sabres were on Gorges’ approved list of teams to whom he’d accept a trade. Which means he’d rather be a Buffalo Sabre than a Toronto Maple Leaf, a team that he refused to waive for, despite the current respective directions of their franchises.
Ouch.
The Canadiens wanted to move out the popular defensive defenseman, and P.K. Subban’s frequent partner, in order to get out from under the final four years of his contract at $3.9 million annually. There was talk about the Habs strong-arming Gorges by threatening to put him on waivers. Instead, he waived for the Sabres.
He said the ordeal was "a part of the business" but that there wasn't time to "be angry."
"I still think as much as Buffalo has some good young players they want to develop, the goal has to be to make the playoffs," said Gorges on Sportsnet.
HAHAHAHAHA ... uh, no.
For the Sabres, it’s a nice block for a rebuild and, perhaps most importantly, a character guy on a team that’ll need some veteran teachers and some positivity as it drives the tank to one of the top two picks next season.
For the Canadiens, they managed to snag Tom Gilbert for just two years and $2.8 million annually, which is a tremendous replacement for Gorges both in ability on the ice and in friendly contract terms.
Why it’s almost like GM Marc Bergevin has a plan or something!
