Habs Fan in Edmonton

I am surprised more people taking the Avs as Winnipeg is going into the playoffs on a heater and has far better goaltending. I will be very surprised if the Avs win that series. I think Boston/Toronto is a toss up. I think the Leafs superior talent wins out here.

That is true but I also think Barron has more trade value than a lot of people here think. He has 12 goals in 92 games which is pretty good for a 22 year old defensemen plus he is a right D. He could easily be a regular 10-15 goal, 35 -40 point a year guy. Some teams might really value his offensive skills. He has work to do on the defensive side but that is true of most 22 year old defensemen. By himself maybe not a great return but he could significantly enhance a package for the right player.

Perhaps but don't forget that Anaheim's best young D (Mintyukov, Zelleweger) are LD. Barron certainly may have some value after trading Drysdale and he did score 7 goals in 48 games with the Habs. They are weak on the right side as they picked up Lindstrom from Montreal on waivers. Barron and Kovacevic might solidify their right side, plus the 1st round pick has some value. Anaheim is loaded up the middle after trading for Cutter Gauthier. I think they trade Zegras somewhere. Is that offer enough? If it isn't it isn't that far off. I like the trade from Montreal's point of view. It makes it easy to draft a stud defensemen at #5 if that is the best player available. If a top forward falls to 5 then that is great to. It may be a crazy proposal and is a classic quantity for quality trade that I like from Montreal's point of view but there are also enough pieces for Anaheim to make them think about it. I am not sure how much more they get for Zegras.

I think we all secretly or not secretly hope/wish/dream that will happen, just don't want to get my hopes up when the odds are 8.5%

My hope is that Demidov or Lindstrom fall to 5 (assuming the Habs draft there). If not, I wouldn't be surprised if the Habs take Iginla or Catton or maybe Helenius. The top 10 is really tough to predict, mock drafts are all over the place after Celebrini.

Yes, will it translate and that's why you have scouts. There is a reason Corey Locke lasted until the 4th round. Catton is a tremendously skilled player, fun to watch. If Catton was a couple inches taller and 20lbs heavier I think he would be top 2 for sure.

Pathetic journalism.

Yes, Winnipeg needs to go out in the 1st two rounds and some of the teams that have less points than Winnipeg need to make the final four. It really helped that they didn't win their division. Go Avs but Winnipeg finished the season on a roll and they have much better goaltending than the Avs so I expect Winnipeg to win the 1st round.

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

Just to be 100% accurate, here is what Hughes said in his interview with Seravalli; " if somebody is clearly the best player available you're taking that player, for us if the best player available was a left shot D, I dunno maybe we would try and make a trade, trade up or trade back or something of that nature" I would guess that means they are less likely to take a Dickinson or Silayev.

I thought about the same thing, I am still thinking. I think it might have something to do with a team outside the top ten winning the lottery and can only move up 10 spots. So let's say they move from 12 to 2 and then the Habs win the 2 slot lottery but that is already taken so they move to 3 instead??? Maybe

Why would the Aves be favoured? Winnipeg is on a roll, has home ice advantage and has far better goaltending. The Aves have been mediocre lately. If I was betting man I would take the Jets in a heartbeat right now although I really hope they lose.

That's what he said, he also said in an interview with Servalli not that long ago that if the best player was a Left Defensemen they "might" consider trading down. I think the bottom line is that Hughes is a smart cookie and will keep all options open. Everything he says is carefully measured as most teams like to keep information about who they might draft hidden to maintain maximum leverage in case of any trading. Just glad the Coyotes won last night.

The Habs chances of having a top forward fall to them at the draft are much better at 5 than 6 or 7. Of course 1 would be nice.

Awesome, now to get greedy we need Vancouver to beat Winnipeg in a nothing game for both teams tomorrow night. Winnipeg can pass the 2 Florida teams in points with a win. Then we need Winnipeg to lose in the 1st 2 rounds but they seem to have found their game at the right time.

Go Yotes!! Win that last game for your fans!!

The thing I don't get with Dubas is that he doesn't seem to know which way to go. He trades for Karlsson which seems to indicate he is going all in with an aging core and then he trades Guentzel who is still in his prime for young players/picks at the deadline?? Is he all in or doing a rebuild?? I think you have to do one or the other not a bit of both.

They would likely be willing if they were going to a contender. They should trade them all this summer and do a complete rebuild. That way their 2nd round pick next year will be a good one.

Agree 100%

It's true nobody saw Dach or Newhook coming. Is there a similar trade out there this year? Maybe, maybe not. I know Carolina has some tough decisions to make this summer with all their UFA's/FA's. If not then concentrate on the draft and try like heck to get an elite forward that way. I think if there is one thing everyone on this board would agree with is the need for another elite forward or two. We need more scoring. It's exciting we finally have a true number one line that is young and going to get even better. We all talked a lot about Slaf's improvement but I also thought Caulfield looked terrific the last couple weeks of the year. Maybe next year is his breakout year. And please, a healthy Dach.

Agree 100% he is in a tough spot. The Penguins need to realize (probably the ownership needs to realize) that a rebuild needs to be done. This team is just not good enough, the stars are aging and should be traded while the market value is still relatively high. They will be another year older next year. Is the organization/ownership willing to accept some short term pain?

This was the absolute worst case scenario for Dubas, just missing the missing the playoffs and giving up a pick in the low teens. At least if they finished bottom 10 they would have kept their pick and got a good piece for the rebuild. I don't feel sorry for Dubas, he took the job and knew what he was getting into.

Oh man, that would be incredible. I wouldn't be able to sleep for a couple nights if that happened. What an incredible and fun team that would be.

Moving up is certainly a possibility. If they used the Winnipeg pick to move up then I see San Jose as a potential trading partner since they also have Pittsburgh's pick as well as their own. The Penguins pick will likely be in the 12-15 range.

Or lose in regulation. Arizona just needs 1 point for the Habs to drop to 5.