Here is an interesting perspective from
the Upper Canadian from Kuklas Korner on former Wild first round bust
Benoit Pouliot. In my opinion Benoit Pouliot is the “poster boy” of the failed days of former Wild GM Doug Risebrough. To this very day the Minnesota Wild are still suffering from Risebroughs days when he was the GM of the Wild… I can’t for the life of me figure out why Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli, fresh off winning the Stanley Cup would pick up this stiff?
Benny moves on
A small mention here of Benoit Pouliot, who goes to Boston on a one year contract. This is where the businessman inside me goes ballistic. How can a team deal an asset like Guillaume Latendresse, that cost a 2nd round draft pick, not to mention many hours of development on, for one as talented as promising as Pouliot, play him less and less over two years until his value is nil, and then let him go? If he didn’t fit, why not trade him last offseason, or this fall after a good few weeks? Surely they could have dangled him for a draft pick, or as part of a package at the deadline.
It’s not often you see a team take an asset once as valuable as Pouliot and turn it into dust, but the Habs did here, and it’s a real shame. Not only do I suspect he’ll do well in Boston and ply his trade as a solid NHLer, I hope he does. The Canadiens give up on players far too often, and that’s one thing, but acquiring an asset at a reasonably high value and letting it go for absolutely nothing is not only hockey, it’s bad business. Shame on Pierre Gauthier, Jacques Martin, and the Habs for letting this kid go for zilch.
