#21 - Christopher Higgins 2008-09 Options

[AK]

# 21 - Christopher Higgins



Position: Left Winger/Centre
Shoots: Left
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 199
Born: 02 Jun '83
Born in: Smithtown, NY, United States
Drafted: Montréal's 1st round choice, 14th overall, in 2002
Acquired: 1st pick (1st round, 14th overall) - 2002

[CanadianMike]

Here is to a great season Higgy! May his numbers be even better than last season (bury all those chances).

[roy_133]

Looking at the number of players up for expensive renewals next year, the depth we have in certain areas and lack in others, and his continuing to fall down the depthchart.

I think IF Higgins makes it through this season as a Hab he'll be traded next offseason.

[AlexK]

I believe Higgens is going to play with Koivu and Sergei to start the season unless they sign Sundin. He is still very young and will likely become a good player. It would be a bad move to trade him off unless there is no choice in the matter. Hopefully they can get something good in return if they do.

[CanadianMike]

I still don't know why his name is always thrown in trade talks. He is young, a 2way gem. He has to stay (especially if this might be Saku's last year as a Hab). Can't afford to let this guy go (just because his trade value is high).

[roy_133]

It would be a bad move to trade him off unless there is no choice in the matter. Hopefully they can get something good in return if they do.

It's not that they wouldn't have any choice, it's just of all the key guys who will need to be resigned for reasonably big money Higgins is the most expendable. The fact that Higgins has been rumored in basically every trade rumor that involves us leads me to believe that he's no where near untouchable.

I like Higgins, but in the cap world you have to manage assets... trading him after the season seems more likely to me unless we have a chance to land a stud type rental player again.

[roy_133]

I still don't know why his name is always thrown in trade talks. He is young, a 2way gem. He has to stay (especially if this might be Saku's last year as a Hab). Can't afford to let this guy go (just because his trade value is high).

It's just because he plays a position we're deep at, during a period when we have a lot of key guys to sign. I agree he's a good 2 way player but if this is Saku's last year as a Hab then we need to allot the money to another top 2 center and that will surely cost more then the 4.75 Saku is making. It just won't end when you have young guys coming like we do, now it's Komisarek Plekanec Koivu Kovalev Tanguay all needing to be resigned and then after we figure that out the next wave will come (the Price's and Sergei Ks).

We have MaxPac who's apparently close to being an NHL player, probably more in the Higgins mold then the Tanguay or Kovalev mold, so it makes sense to let someone else pay Higgins 3.5-4 million, use that money somewhere else (Center, D) while a kid fills the role for much cheaper.

[CanadianMike]

It's just because he plays a position we're deep at, during a period when we have a lot of key guys to sign. I agree he's a good 2 way player but if this is Saku's last year as a Hab then we need to allot the money to another top 2 center and that will surely cost more then the 4.75 Saku is making. It just won't end when you have young guys coming like we do, now it's Komisarek Plekanec Koivu Kovalev Tanguay all needing to be resigned and then after we figure that out the next wave will come (the Price's and Sergei Ks).

We have MaxPac who's apparently close to being an NHL player, probably more in the Higgins mold then the Tanguay or Kovalev mold, so it makes sense to let someone else pay Higgins 3.5-4 million, use that money somewhere else (Center, D) while a kid fills the role for much cheaper.

you make some good points, but I am nowhere being close to thinking the Habs should trade him. Nothing to do with me being a fan. Can you imagine if he gets as many chances this season as last and scores most of those?
He was unlucky, but he gets a lot os chances...that is a sign of a player creating something on the ice (knowing where to position himself etc..)
If an opportunity comes along to better the Habs by letting Higgins go...Uncle Bob should do so. As of right now though I don't think we should touch the Higgy-Komi connection we are lucky to have.
Time will tell how long #21 will be sportin' the CH.

[js2]

It's not that they wouldn't have any choice, it's just of all the key guys who will need to be resigned for reasonably big money Higgins is the most expendable. The fact that Higgins has been rumored in basically every trade rumor that involves us leads me to believe that he's no where near untouchable.

I like Higgins, but in the cap world you have to manage assets... trading him after the season seems more likely to me unless we have a chance to land a stud type rental player again.

Just because every fan on here wants him gone, doesn't mean Gainey thinks the same way.

[jennifer_rocket]

Just because every fan on here wants him gone, doesn't mean Gainey thinks the same way.

I don't think many fans really want him gone, they just see him as an obvious inclusion to any fantasy trade! Higgins, I'm sure, is going to be resigned when he becomes a RFA next season. Keep in mind that he is, after all, restricted, and when it comes down to it... Is anyone going to offer him a ridiculous offer sheet? Probably not, so Gainey and he will sort it all out themselves. Higgins stays with the Habs! That's my prediction!

[CanadianMike]

I don't think many fans really want him gone, they just see him as an obvious inclusion to any fantasy trade! Higgins, I'm sure, is going to be resigned when he becomes a RFA next season. Keep in mind that he is, after all, restricted, and when it comes down to it... Is anyone going to offer him a ridiculous offer sheet? Probably not, so Gainey and he will sort it all out themselves. Higgins stays with the Habs! That's my prediction!

I think the Islanders would jump on the chance to bring local boy to New York.

[DA_Champion]

Left-wingers with the habs:

Alex Tanguay, Christopher Higgins, Andrei Kostitsyn, Guillaume Latendresse, Steve Begin...

And Max Pacioretty knocking at the door.

[jennifer_rocket]

I think the Islanders would jump on the chance to bring local boy to New York.

Well, if they want to send us a ton of draft picks, then by all means... They can have him! I would take the same approach with any player. If another team wants to sign a player on our roster to an offer sheet and is going to give us a bunch of good draft choices in return (especially from the Isles), then I would let him go. However, the offer sheet is way overblown and I don't see it happening.

[muskeg]

Good luck on the upcoming season

point prediction: 25-29-54

[roy_133]

Just because every fan on here wants him gone, doesn't mean Gainey thinks the same way.

Like I said, it has nothing to do with "wanting him gone". I'd like to keep all or core guys, just like I'm sure Ottawa would have liked to of kept Havlat and Chara in 2006, the unfortunate reality is in the cap world you have to make awfully tough choices.

I think it's all but been confirmed Higgins has been offered in certain trades around the league (for marquee guys, not as a throw away) and that other then just the potential financial reasons, you also have to give something good to get something good. My thinking is we can better allot the money Higgins will be making on his new contract to a position we're a little weaker at. For example trade Higgins for a good center around the same age, and same cap hit. The fact is if we resign Higgins, Kovalev and Tanguay we'll be spending far too much on the wing and suffering at other positions imo.

We'll see though, for all we know Tanguay could end up being the winger we let go after this season.

[FlHabsFan]

Left-wingers with the habs:

Alex Tanguay, Christopher Higgins, Andrei Kostitsyn, Guillaume Latendresse, Steve Begin...

And Max Pacioretty knocking at the door.

Bye bye lats or begin, then. Higgins is way more important then either of those. People keep using "potentia" when describing Lats, well he isnt living up to it. He still trips over his own feet and gets beaten by smaller guys on the puck. And for Begin, as someone said last year, energy guys are a dime a dozen.

Higgins has way too much skill and heart to be given away for a rental player.

This post has been edited by FlHabsFan: Sep 10 2008, 08:09 AM

[weepingminotaur]

Higgins has way too much skill and heart to be given away for a rental player.

If that rental player can help us win the Cup, I'd do it.

I've always said that there is no point in going for broke at the trade deadline unless you are already a contender and just need those 1-2 players to put you over the top. This year, for the first time in my adult life, we might actually have that team. Personally, I don't want to trade Higgins, but if the opportunity to better our team comes along, we'd be fools not to pass it up. The fact that Higgins's name was already floated in trade talks at last season's deadline shows that Gainey doesn't think Higgins is untouchable by a long stretch.

As for trading Lats or Bégin instead, neither has much trade value right now. Latendresse is still young and fairly unproven and is worth more to us (as a prospect in development who is nonetheless familiar with our organization) than he is to another team. Bégin is an aging grinder in the final year of his current contract. Higgins, however, has substantial value, both in terms of his skill set and his contract status (he'll only be RFA this summer). He's a good two-way player, a good secondary scorer, a media-friendly team player, and an American to boot. He's exactly the kind of player around which a struggling American team might want to build. The reality is you have to give to get.

[jennifer_rocket]

If that rental player can help us win the Cup, I'd do it.

I've always said that there is no point in going for broke at the trade deadline unless you are already a contender and just need those 1-2 players to put you over the top. This year, for the first time in my adult life, we might actually have that team. Personally, I don't want to trade Higgins, but if the opportunity to better our team comes along, we'd be fools not to pass it up. The fact that Higgins's name was already floated in trade talks at last season's deadline shows that Gainey doesn't think Higgins is untouchable by a long stretch.

As for trading Lats or Bégin instead, neither has much trade value right now. Latendresse is still young and fairly unproven and is worth more to us (as a prospect in development who is nonetheless familiar with our organization) than he is to another team. Bégin is an aging grinder in the final year of his current contract. Higgins, however, has substantial value, both in terms of his skill set and his contract status (he'll only be RFA this summer). He's a good two-way player, a good secondary scorer, a media-friendly team player, and an American to boot. He's exactly the kind of player around which a struggling American team might want to build. The reality is you have to give to get.

Didn't Gainey also trade Iginla to Calgary, which helped Dallas win the Cup that season? Higgins is an awesome player, but he does have value on the trade market, and if we could win the Cup because of a deal Gainey makes involving Higgins... Well, then I make that trade. However, Higgins currently brings good things to this team, and I'm not sure Gainey is going to deal him for anything that, "Might," help us win.

[Innis_Mor]

Higgins is a great player, and well-liked, for all the right reasons.

But once (if?) Sundin signs, and assuming neither O'Byrne nor Gorges suddenly develop this season into a legit top-4 NHL defenseman, then BG will be faced come trade deadline 2009 with the need to fill that last gap for the play-offs. The need, particularly for playing the Western Conference champs (whoever they'll be, they'll be good -- Wings, are my guess) for that 4th top-4 D-man will be greater than the "hole" left with Higgins gone.

There's a decent chance that's how all this develops: Sundin signs, Habs chug along all season looking good, BG goes shopping for a 4th top-4 D-man at the trade deadline (or before) and the opposing team wants Higgins (plus prospect(s)/pick(s)). It is just all the more likely now that Tanguay was acquired.

We'll see. I am certainly going to be enjoying Higgins and cheering for him though, all season long. I just wish I didn't have this "vision" of him being traded! (recall, I am (still am!?!) a big Grabovski fan -- look where that got him!! Laff-land!! )

This post has been edited by Innis_Mor: Sep 10 2008, 11:03 AM

[brianw6]

If Higgins should not be needed as one of the top-six and firmly establishes himself as the third-line left-wing, I believe he will have a place in the line-up for a long time. The question on everyone's mind is who will be those top six players... with Sundin... or without him?

S.Kos makes a good case for being a top-six according to some and it would be a waste playing any role on the third and fourth lines... I tend to agree.

I would be quite happy keeping Higgins as the third line left-wing... he could also be available to step up if there was an injury among the established top-six in any case.