MTL Post Trade Deadline Press Release
Jan 20, 2016 23:32:07 GMT -5
bjernagris (PHI) and JasonG like this
Post by mattgough60 on Jan 20, 2016 23:32:07 GMT -5
M. Gough: First of all, Good evening, hope everyone has had their coffee 
, we don't usually do these things so late, but considering the deadline this year, we made exception.
As most of you know we didn't have a particularly exciting draft day today. That's not to say we weren't involved in some discussions, but at the end of the day we liked our club moving forward. We have confidence in this team, and being able to acquire a few key players in the earlier months with Ryan, Eberle and Girodano, it helped us today to maybe avoid making some impulse moves and getting lost in the shuffle of it all. So that being said, I will take questions from this point.
Pat Hickey: Matt, your club has been relatively successful over the past 20 games posting a 13-6-1 record. But with losses to teams like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Nashville, do you feel this team will be able to go far in the post season?
M. Gough: Well its difficult right now to analyze so far ahead, Pat. I think we can compete with these teams, but our club is still coming together as a group, and so there are going to be games that just get away from us. Right now our main concern is making the playoffs. Ottawa has been hot on our tail for the last month, and though they have sold some major pieces, our club isn't entirely comfortable with our playoff seat. We need to keep pushing, continue to gain chemistry, and hopefully we can go into the post season on a bit of a roll for when we compete with some of these clubs.
Renaud Lavoie: Was there any point today where you felt you might make a move? Was there any major talk on the table?
M.Gough: We had talked with some GM's about the prospect of certain players, but deadline day is a difficult day to get things done. We feel fairly confident about our club moving forward, and so there wasn't a panic for us today to do something. We did discuss some game changing players with some organizations, but again, deadline day can be hectic, and it generally means the price is going to be a little bit higher. There was discussion with a few teams who are in the playoff chase. At the end of the day both sides weren't willing to part with key pieces due to their importance for the playoff run, there really isn't much more to say.
John Lu: Some have questioned the amount of future picks that have been moved to bring in players to win now. Do you feel those were the right moves, and do you have any intention in bringing in some future picks in the off season?
M.Gough: At the beginning of the season, Geoff (Molson) and I had a discussion about the direction of our club. We both felt that considering the substantial talent we had on our roster, and the uniqueness of our cap situation, it would be smart for us to mortgage our short term future to bring in players that will help our team become not just a playoff contender, but a Stanley cup contender. These decisions are never easy to make, especially considering how deep the draft will be this year. When you look at our roster right now, Alex Galchenyuk is on a bridge deal and we hope he will show us that he is deserving of a first line center payroll. Carey Price will be due for a pay raise in a few years. Max Pacioretty will be due for a raise at the end of the 18/19 season. So these were things that we took into consideration. Even with the cap going up this year, we needed to decide whether or not we thought the core pieces of this club were pieces we believe we can win the Stanley cup with, and we do.
Luc Gelinas: What was the asking price for bringing an impact player to MTL?
M.Gough: The asking price was an impact player on our side. It didn't make sense for us, we understand the price, but it didn't make sense for our club.
Louis Jean: Carey Price has picked up his play of late, but there was a period of time where he really struggled. There were rumors that his name was being tossed around, is there any truth to that?
M.Gough: ... Would you trade the best player in the world Louis? Thanks everyone.
End of interview
, we don't usually do these things so late, but considering the deadline this year, we made exception. As most of you know we didn't have a particularly exciting draft day today. That's not to say we weren't involved in some discussions, but at the end of the day we liked our club moving forward. We have confidence in this team, and being able to acquire a few key players in the earlier months with Ryan, Eberle and Girodano, it helped us today to maybe avoid making some impulse moves and getting lost in the shuffle of it all. So that being said, I will take questions from this point.
Pat Hickey: Matt, your club has been relatively successful over the past 20 games posting a 13-6-1 record. But with losses to teams like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Nashville, do you feel this team will be able to go far in the post season?
M. Gough: Well its difficult right now to analyze so far ahead, Pat. I think we can compete with these teams, but our club is still coming together as a group, and so there are going to be games that just get away from us. Right now our main concern is making the playoffs. Ottawa has been hot on our tail for the last month, and though they have sold some major pieces, our club isn't entirely comfortable with our playoff seat. We need to keep pushing, continue to gain chemistry, and hopefully we can go into the post season on a bit of a roll for when we compete with some of these clubs.
Renaud Lavoie: Was there any point today where you felt you might make a move? Was there any major talk on the table?
M.Gough: We had talked with some GM's about the prospect of certain players, but deadline day is a difficult day to get things done. We feel fairly confident about our club moving forward, and so there wasn't a panic for us today to do something. We did discuss some game changing players with some organizations, but again, deadline day can be hectic, and it generally means the price is going to be a little bit higher. There was discussion with a few teams who are in the playoff chase. At the end of the day both sides weren't willing to part with key pieces due to their importance for the playoff run, there really isn't much more to say.
John Lu: Some have questioned the amount of future picks that have been moved to bring in players to win now. Do you feel those were the right moves, and do you have any intention in bringing in some future picks in the off season?
M.Gough: At the beginning of the season, Geoff (Molson) and I had a discussion about the direction of our club. We both felt that considering the substantial talent we had on our roster, and the uniqueness of our cap situation, it would be smart for us to mortgage our short term future to bring in players that will help our team become not just a playoff contender, but a Stanley cup contender. These decisions are never easy to make, especially considering how deep the draft will be this year. When you look at our roster right now, Alex Galchenyuk is on a bridge deal and we hope he will show us that he is deserving of a first line center payroll. Carey Price will be due for a pay raise in a few years. Max Pacioretty will be due for a raise at the end of the 18/19 season. So these were things that we took into consideration. Even with the cap going up this year, we needed to decide whether or not we thought the core pieces of this club were pieces we believe we can win the Stanley cup with, and we do.
Luc Gelinas: What was the asking price for bringing an impact player to MTL?
M.Gough: The asking price was an impact player on our side. It didn't make sense for us, we understand the price, but it didn't make sense for our club.
Louis Jean: Carey Price has picked up his play of late, but there was a period of time where he really struggled. There were rumors that his name was being tossed around, is there any truth to that?
M.Gough: ... Would you trade the best player in the world Louis? Thanks everyone.
End of interview