Leaderboard

Seems like will be a smart player. David Reinbacher’s time in Laval will benefit his transition to Montreal in many ways - The Athletic "Rocket coach Jean-François Houle provided a lucid, straightforward assessment of what he saw from Reinbacher over 11 games. “I like his gap control a lot. I think his stick is really good,” Houle said. “He needs to get stronger. I think he can provide even more offence and I think he was maybe cautiously playing back a little bit, which is normal.” "As he adds muscle — something Kaiden Guhle also said he hopes to do this offseason despite having two years of NHL experience under his belt — Reinbacher’s aggressive nature in battle situations will become that much more effective."

Great to see Reinbacher get a dozen games in Laval under his belt, on smaller ice and intro to NA pro game. Laval Rocket eliminated from playoff contention with loss (habseyesontheprize.com) Luke Tuch stood out for me quite a bit among the forward group. He plays somewhat of a thankless game that probably won’t show up on the scoresheet a lot, but he back checks like his life depends on it, and is very capable in the dirty areas. If he keeps bringing that level of effort at both ends of the ice, he’ll eventually find himself getting a chance in the NHL. David Reinbacher is just so quietly effective. Outside of his assist, what really stood out for me was his puck distribution in his own zone. He seems to have an innate sense for where his teammates will be, and his first pass on the breakout is almost always right. He’s on the right track, and it will be interesting to see how he develops next season.

We need your A game tonight buddy. Habs can’t afford a win…

"My son weighs about 25 pounds and I struggled to hold him in my arms for more than a minute without discomfort," he said Tuesday morning during a lengthy interview with La Presse. Despite a "daily routine" that allows him to cope with pain, sitting or standing for a long time is now painful. Air travel, therefore, is "difficult". "I got to a point where I couldn't go on," he says. "I spoke with the medical staff of what my life after hockey could look like if I didn't stop. There was a lot of doubt about how it would affect me in the long run. When we started talking about it, it became real. Life is long after the end of a career."

Years ago, on this very site, I crunched a bunch of numbers on Koivu and discovered that he produced like a PPG player, except that he would have long slumps of, like 10-15 games per season where he would basically produce nothing. 🤷‍♂️ Hence the endless argument over whether he was a #1A or a #2C. The other thing about him was that (with all due respect to Commandant) he was a playoff beast. I mean, he put Joe Thornton in his back pocket even while playing through a cracked rib. The tragedy of Koivu, as I’ve lamented many times, is that he was never the same after his knee was destroyed. I am sure he could have been a top-10 player if not for that. He was that dominant before the knee injury.

If Kotkaniemi teached us something, it's not to take too much from the results at this U18 tournament. Guessing the scouts go there to evaluate some specific skills and character aspect of players' game more than how they actually perform.

If I was convinced Mailloux would be an all star then perhaps I would not make this trade. I am not as convinced as you are. If you make this trade a) you are almost guaranteed to end up with a stud forward at #3 (Demidov or Lindstrom) b) you have more choices at #5, a stud defensemen or maybe Iginla, Helenius c) plus you have Zegras who might be really motivated to prove himself with a new team It hurts to give up CC but overall this might be a better team. Trades like this are fun to talk about. In any event I do see possibilities of an Anaheim/Montreal trade as they do have pieces that compliment each other.

I'm not rooting for Roy. While he was a superb player for the Habs, ultimately he put himself ahead of the team and left. It wasn't all him, but the decision was his. Had he stayed, we might have won another Cup. I understand the situation, so I'm not holding a grudge, but neither am I going to root for him.

It may have taken me 18 attempts but I am glad I was able to finally pull it off. It didn’t look promising after the second to last game because the Habs needed only 1 point but Detroit’s miraculous comeback with 3 seconds left, followed by the the Habs’ overtime/shootout loss in the final game sealed the deal. Thank you @alfredoh2009 for the congrats and @Peter Puck for hosting, as always. GHG

Go Bruins, Sweep it up.

I heartily endorse the general sentiment. The Bruins are an authentic rival, and a truly great (and duly hated) opponent over the years; the Leafs are a creation of the TO hype machine. No amount of suffering is too much for them. And I know that if they win, we will NEVER hear the end of it - celebrated over and over on HNIC and the national media as the Greatest Day in Hockey History, universally beloved, blablablablah. Over and over, year after year, until we die. No thanks. The two worst things that could possibly happen to me as a hockey fan are these: 1. The Habs fold and leave town. 2. The Leafs win the Cup. I'm pulling for the Bruins 100% in this series. I'll cheer against them thereafter.

No it's not. It's an easy decision. I find it easy to cheer for the Bruins in this series.

Keep in mind any comparison is a stylistic comparison, not a talent one.... so just cause someone is compared to Aho doesn't mean that the point totals is what we are comparing. He's a centre IMO. Yes, I see him in the NHL in 25-26, but I wouldn't say regardless of who takes him. Every team has different philosophies on what they do for development, but I'd think barring injury and lost development time in 2024-25, he'd be in the NHL by then. Some teams might even put him in the NHL 2024-25. What are people missing? I think he has almost no weaknesses. He does everything you need a player to do at an above average level, while still being elite in a few areas

Arizona should celebrate with winning their last two games 🎉

WHY in the world would the Habs want to "ice their best lineup"? Wins only have the potential to worsen their draft position. Hutson is getting at least one game because that burns a year of his ELC ... THAT and getting some $$$ in his pocket immediately is why he signed now ... there was always the "possibility" of his waiting and ultimately deciding to play another NCAA season. Struble is with the Habs because they only have 7 healthy defencemen and one of them could be injured/get sick before the game roster is submitted. @dlbalr made it clear that Baby Xhekaj is playing because Stephens can't, not to "give him a game". So, not the management screw-up you seem to so often hope for.

Boy, look at Morgan Reilly's numbers. I always liked his game - my kind of defenceman. For a guy in TO, where they pump the tires of every bum who cycles through the lineup, he seems almost underrated. And that's the only nice thing I'm gonna say for the next 12 hours. F**k off, Leafs. I hope Boston or whoever takes a leaf-blower to you and sweeps you in 4.

A team filled with NHL prospects is not the way to succeed in the AHL, though, that's a different type of team construction.

College free agency has started up. I've done a series of pieces for PHR with an overview of some of the better options by position. Some goalies/defence have signed since posting while the forwards were just posted this weekend so they're all still available for now. Gorton mentioned recently that they were doing some planning for college free agency so it appears they'll be trying to sign some players, likely some of the ones in these columns. Goalies: https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/03/2024-college-free-agency-preview-goaltenders.html Defence: https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/03/2024-college-free-agency-preview-defensemen.html Centres: https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/03/2024-college-free-agency-preview-centers.html Wingers: https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/03/2024-college-free-agency-preview-wingers.html

It was a fun game to be at last night. First time in eons the Habs came away with a win in Colorado. There was a nice tribute video for Newhook, and he interacted with a few fans wearing his jersey during warmups. I was a bit surprised at the amount of "give me a stick" type signs that folks were holding up during warmups, I guess pictures or pucks isn't enough anymore to satiate some greedy fans. The Habs have a strong skating defense. Guhle and Matheson are fun to watch.

I'm quite OK with other people being excited about it now, and I'll get excited about it myself come draft day. But, for now, I'm not going to invest a ton of time learning about prospects that may never pull on the CH sweater. That's just me. 🙂 And I'm still keenly following all our prospects, and especially those that might be joining the team for the final games of the season. That's excitement enough for me!

$8.5m for 7 years for a guy who doesn’t show up in more games than he does? No thanks. If he wasn’t French there wouldn’t Ben be a discussion about trading for him.

Im looking at the trade this way. (And yes i realize its all one trade, but this is just how i evaluate it). 1) 3rd overall for caufield. 2) mailloux and a pick in the 20s for Zegras. Part 1 i absolutely would not do.. give me the guy who has already shown signs of being a stud and is signed long term at fair value. Part 2) i would do but im hesitant as Zegras had an awful season, and there is a real chance hes just a flashy guy who gets 60 points and cant play without the puck. Id do but its not a slam dunk. I consider this somewher in between what we gave up to get dach and newhook. I think dach is much better than zegras. Zegras is better than Newhook but its not that big when you consider 2 way play. To me the loss in part 1 is bigger than the gain in part 2.

They have him at 81st, so a NHL long shot depth player am assuming. 81. Aatos Koivu, C — TPS (U20 SM-Sarja) Anni Karvinen – Aatos Koivu is a strong-skating center that has had a steep development curve during the season. He is physically quite raw which partly explains why he flew under the radar for so long. Koivu possesses a plus tool in his shot that he likes to fire frequently, especially from the half-wall. He also has a quite good hockey sense especially in the offensive zone where he is good at making himself available as an option to pass the puck to. He can play responsible two-way hockey and he’s already developed some mature habits like good scanning.

Utah is not going to be run the same way phoenix was, talking everyones bad contracts. That ends with the new ownership who are going to spend on actual players

He has already bathed in that cup and I blame Vancouver for letting that injustice happen. We can’t have that majestic trophy be further soiled by leaf stink.

I'm 40 yo. I've never seen the Leafs have any success, I've never been upset at the Leafs for beating us. I will never understand the hate until they elimintate us. This is why I want them to clear Boston. Once this is done, they can get beaten by anyone else, but I don't want the Bruins anywhere near another Stanley Cup.

Syracuse is leading Utica 4-3 at the end of 2. Utica could be eliminated today

This was from April 15, I looked it over several times as I couldn't see Konsta Helenius in the 1st round. Am I going blind? How could you possibly not have him in the 1st round? Crazy. Then I did some research and this guy Jake Rill is a baseball reporter, maybe shouldn't write about things you don't have a clue about. 2024 NHL Mock Draft: Full Round 1 Projections for Every Team | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report

Offensively, not a bad comparison. He's good on board work/cycling with a decent enough shot (not quite as strong as Armia's though). He might be a 10-goal guy in the NHL. Defensively, I'd be pleasantly surprised if he got to Armia's level.

that is a great observation on the Newhook line. Anderson was considered by many as a glorified 3rd liner that had an outliers season before getting injured in CBJ MB touted him a à player that helps you in the playoff and often pushed criticism on regular season dry spells he had. He was overpaid because the Habs needed that type of player during the Price-Weber window. In the current team’s context, Anderson is useless. Playing 3rd line will not raise his trade value, unless he has an unselfish centre like Evans to do all the dirty/defensive work for him. my hope is that the Habs get an uncontested top-6 forward that pushes Anderson out of the top-6 and out of the team on a trade

Mailloux has a new number. I hope he scores and looks good in a losing effort.

I think it's just a case of alternating the goalies like they have been doing and it's Primeau's turn.

Hoping the Habs pair Mailloux with Hutson. They can score four goals and let in six, it would be perfect. Yes I know it’s not happening

Yes. But PK will be needed in in 2025-26 as well. Possibly after that, too. 🙂 My point really is that players like Evans and Armia do have value beyond their point production. And that we'll need some capable PK players as well. We'll see what Hughes decides to do in this regard.

Andersson and Heineman score in the 3rd as Laval takes it 5-1. https://theahl.com/stats/game-summary/1026269 Laval is now two points behind Belleville. The Sens have a game in hand still but Laval has the tiebreaker.

Yup ... and just because he is evil doesn't mean he isn't sometimes right.

It's funny how this goes. For some time, I've been excited about what I've heard about Hutson. He seems like a 'Quinn Hughes A' type, not a franchise player like Hughes but potentially a truly elite offensive defenceman. Now that he is on the Habs, my optimism immediately shriveled into anxiety: "What if he disappoints? What if he's overwhelmed?" Etc. Fan neurosis brought about by too many disappointing prospects over the years, I suppose.

As sacrilegious as rooting for Ottawa sounds that’s is exactly what we all should be doing tonight.

I think Mailloux needs a bit more work on his defensive game. He's only spent one year in Laval and this is a guy who basically missed two full years of Junior Hockey due to Covid, his arrest and suspension, and then his shoulder injury. He hasn't made that up yet.

Actually, I believe Torts has been most successful with young teams. Rebuilding Rags, rebuilding Columbus, Tampa when they were developing into champs. He completely flopped with a veteran team in Vancouver. And he had great success in Philly UNTIL, as others noted, he crapped on and humiliated the veteran captain. Veterans probably tire quickly of his ego and his abuse. Young players, hungry and eager, are probably more willing to follow him, especially when his demanding style has them suddenly winning games after years of failure. He's a jackass in my book, anyhow, so I'm not shedding tears over his problems.

Even Anderson scored! We need 4 game losing streak please.

If we're going to blow the draft pick, might as well blow it in a big way!

Dvorak and Anderson and Gallagher all scoring in the same game? I think philly has to be relegated to the AHL now since that happened. Im pretth sure its a rule. They have totally quit on Torts. This is the 8th straight loss... only 1 win since healthy scratching Couturier. This is full rebellion against the coach.

Koivu elevated his game to elite levels at the Olympics and during the playoffs. Remember how dominant he was the year he got his eye carved out? He was leading the league in playoff points. Koivu always had an extra gear or two for the playoffs. Don’t think that’s “clutch” I think it’s pushing your body through injury limits (like his knee). Price did that during our cup run and so did Weber

We are trying to build an NHL team - that’s the ultimate goal. I isn’t give a rats ass if we win the Calder Cup in Laval very year but don’t win the Stanley cup. I hated the rush and no development model under Bergevin - I don’t think other than Lekhonan there is not a player he drafted that he was also successful in developing into a good NHL player - notice I didn’t use the word elite. Next is Evans as a decent NHL player. Therrien developed no one. I can’t really remember Julien being all that successful either as far as developing a young player. The AHL team was not only shit, but it wasn’t even used for development. Mailloux has been in Laval all year because that’s where he belongs. Ditto with Barron being sent down. Wifi as sent down to refine his game, and came Back a better player. Armia was garbage and Laval was used as a wake up call. Roy deserved to be promoted. He has shown he is an NHL player. The AHL is to prepare players for the NHL. If we win - great - but that’s a bonus and nice to have. It’s not the end goal. guys that needed to be sent down have been. Others like Guhle have shown they are NHL players. He is not Mete - who had no business being in the NHL - let alone on the first pairing. The only player I think belongs in Laval and isn’t is Josh friggin useless Anderson. Personally, even though I think that’s where he belongs and should have been there three months ago, I think he’d probably hurt Laval rather than help it. If he isn’t traded over the summer (highly unlikely unless we gave up major picks, pick up 50%, and have another team pickup another 25%), I hope his useless ass is buried in Laval. Feel free to buy a Josh Anderson Laval jersey in anticipation! Hell, the only mistake they probably made this year is not having Josh Anderson and Lia’s Andersson swap roles!

Well, we might as well make this the GDT since it's close to puck drop.

Hey just remember what our lineup used to be. Price was supposed to lead THEESE GUYS??? to a cup? Pacioretty-Desharnais-Cole Cammalleri-Plekanec-Kostitsyn Moen-Eller-Gionta Darche-Gomez-Leblanc Palushaj, Blunden Markov-Subban Emelin-Gorges Gill-Diaz Y. Weber Price-Budaj I’m definitely happier with where the team is now and the upward trajectory that the team is on.