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Gotta agree, wouldnt equate you with a couple of others who tend to be over the top cynical about anything or everything Habs-related, wouldnt be fair as you are objective about most things Hab and NHL prospects for sure.

Man, do we have to be critical of EVERYTHING, or side-eye all of Bergevin's signings? This isn't Plex at $6M a year. It's Byron, at $3.4M. If it's not dollars, it's term. If it's not term, it's dollars. He's a hard working vet. It's not like that's a bad thing to have on the team. He's not at a debilitating salary. CC and Commandant, I used to enjoy your posts as insightful, thoughtful and interesting reading. But the absolute 100% glaring negativity of EVERYTHING Habs has worn thin.

I am honest in my assessments. I'm not a cheerleader If you no longer find things insightful because I'm critical, that's on you... not me. As for being critical of EVERYTHING, that is not true at all. I loved the draft. I loved the Pacioretty trade. I loved the move to use cap space to get Armia and Draft picks and buy out Mason. I like Matthew Peca. I liked not forcing an O'Reilly trade or overspending on Stastny. There is a lot I've liked in the off-season. So sorry, it is not 100% glaring negativity of EVERYTHING Habs coming from me. I'm critical on what I don't like. I've had praise for what I do like too.

I get the concern on term, but we are talking about a guy who worked his ass off in rehab to come back several weeks early from shoulder surgery. To me, that means he is going to stay in shape which lessens the chances of a precipitous decline. Plus, this is not a long-term deal to a player already in decline. I think Byron is a good bet to deliver value for the length of this contract

Definitely not a Bergevin supporter, but I find it hard to criticize this deal. Byron is reliable, relatively low cost secondary scoring who can occasionally play up in the line-up and kills penalties. Even if we are “re-setting” we still need a supporting cast and some veterans. Byron ticks all the boxes. If you think Byron is overpaid check the comparable. He is value at 3.4 mill aav

I'm not gonna act like I don't enjoy fighting. I've watched pro wrestling my whole life, watched UFC since the first show went on VHS, I've watched the precursor to UFC like RINGS and UWF-i and Pancrase. One of my earliest memories is when Nolan Ryan put Robin Ventura in a headlock for running up to him after a bean pitch (the best part of that story is that the dugouts cleared and there was a pileup with Ryan on the bottom. Ryan said he was suffocating underneath and going dark and if it wasn't for Bo Jackson grabbing guys by one hand and tossing them off him, he believed he would have died) I have been in fights, I've broken up fights, I've had to stand up for friends. Fighting happens. While I believe the momentum thing is BS and just an old wives tale we have told to make it seem like fighters are necessary (if players need a fight to realize they need to win something is wrong), I understand when a game reaches a boiling point and tempers explode. It happens in any Athletic competition and it is not just a men thing (I used to goto girls softball games in high school because there was a better chance of seeing two people punch each other in that than our junior B hockey). But with hockey we mythologized the fight. We act like if there isn't some meathead on the bench to punch someone then every star player is going to die on the ice with no call. We act like if someone does throw punches after a player on the team got hurt it makes anything better. It doesn't. If we were honest and said it was just two people getting way too angry to play hockey and that's it, I wouldn't have so much of an issue. And as someone who has had a serious concussion, and has watched people I know who had serious concussions begin to deteriorate in their 30s mentally, and fear of it happening myself, I just can't watch a hockey fight anymore and think I'm seeing just some gladiatorial battle with everyone hunky dory after. I think back to the former NHL hockey player I met two years ago at a banquet in his 40s whose wife had to tie his shoelaces privately because he couldn't do it, with her repeatedly telling him to go see the specialist again. You can still watch his fights on YouTube though. And people came up to him to tell them how much they loved watching him play hockey. And I wonder if he could go back and protect his brain, would he? And better question, would any coach or locker room in the 90s/early 00s even allow him to play safer?

If mb could sign a top 6 centre, this team would have some solid forward depth. Lehkonen is missing from this list. The garbage fire on defense is another story.

Check for blackouts if you use Rogers. I have been very happy with it over all. Don't think I will do it this year. Trying to reduce subscription costs. Cell, cable, netflix, Amazon, gamecenter, Sirius, multiple hockey and football pools + kid in university = broke dad. The marxists believe I owe them, so I will have to consume less to fund marxist ideals.

I love Byron, but this is another example of Bergevin overpaying 'his guys' against better judgment. We need to be acquiring youth, assets, and flexibility, and this deal makes it harder for a contender to trade for him.