Longstreet

Hab draft is so underwhelming.... last week, if I told you that with 5 picks in the first 101 they'd end up just Newhook and Reinbacher and no one else you would have called me insane. I guess drafting Mittelstadt is a consolation but drafting three goalies? Come on man. When has that happened? Sorry, this brain trust has whiffed in what was one of the best draft years in recent memory. They need up front skill and they still don't have it.

Wright is Right! No hesitation.... pull the trigger. He is a stud. Let him play 9 NHL games next year and then go to OHL/AHL for the rest of the year and he'll be ready in 2023-24. You can roll with ?-Suzuki-Caufield with Roy-Wright-Ylonen and even throw in an Poehling-Evans-? and maybe Farrell-Kidney-? and your four lines are pretty set for years. Crazy not to do that when combined with the young defensive talent in Romanov, Barron, Harris, Guhle, Norlander, Xhekaj, Struble, and Mailloux marinating. A nice Goalie room, too. And much more talent on the way. Now bloody develop them! Come on Man...

They better not rush Norlander or Guhle after all the KK backlash. Let them marinate a bit. Romanov needs to elevate this year to help fill the void created by the Weber loss.

Gally is top six. Working with Hoffman and Dvorak should be an effective #2 line. Drouin is not top 6 at least to start the year. He and Anderson will wing on 3rd line with Poehling/ Paquette at C. I'm giving it to Poehling as its his year to grab it. He should be very motivated and the potential is there. If not, he'll move on and just be another #1 that didn't pan out. Paquette is a an OK backup but... Evans is a 4C and good with Lehtonen/Perrault and Armia.

Montreal player development, or lack thereof, is very evident by their draft success which has been very minimal and their AHL affiliate team success which has been abysmal since they've only made the playoffs once in the last ten years! Think about. The draft prospects eventually make their way to the minor league team along with career minor leaguers but their record has been terrible in Hamilton, St. Johns, and Laval since the 2011 season when they finished first in their division. All this talk by Bergy to develop through the draft has been empty. Timmins and his whole crew of scouts should be let go....

This is the optimal lineup, IMO. Evans is a 4C. Poehling seems to be ready now and is a great fit for Gally and Drouin. Paquette and Perrault are depth forwards only. It will be tough for Byron coming back from hip surgery and quite frankly they do not need him in 21-22 if ever.

This team is inadequate at the draft and not sure how Timmins seems to get a hall pass. They seem to use it as trading chips later. Their #1’s have not panned out anywhere since the 2007 draft but for Serge in TB. Hopefully Poehling and Caulfield do but it’s an OMG list. They draft KK ahead of Hughes and Tkachuk in 2018. WTF. Many were scratching their heads when they did that.

Dvorak replaces Danault as C2... Poehling replaces Kotkaniemi as C3 and Evans is C4. Paquette is in reserve. So habs go from Suzuki, Danault, KK, Evans, and Stahl to Suzuki, Dvorak, Poehling, Evans, and Paquette. I like it. The wings were set with Toffoli/Caufield, Hoffman/Anderson, Drouin/Gally, and Lehkonen/Armia with Perrault and Bryon in reserve. It’s a better forward group than last year. Hopefully the D rotation will be Edmundson/Petry, Romanov/Savard, and Chariot/Kulak or Wideman. Team is set.

Drafting KK was a mistake as Habs should have drafted Tkachuk. Most kinda knew that then. Strike one. KK should have been dealt early last year for PLD. Some were calling for that but didn't want to rock the boat with the strong start. Strike two. KK's offer sheet should not be matched.... He will become a problem in the locker room and has no motivation to play now. Take the picks and move on. He's Carolina's headache now along with DeAngelo. Three strikes and you are out if you do.

Not sure there is much to think about. KK is not worth $2m a year but good for him. He’s wise for signing. Carolina is the fool. That type of thing is bound to generate issues in their locker room because he’s a 3rd liner at best. Who says the 1st rounder is a lower pick? The Canes may not make the playoffs either. NHL is a crapshoot every year where very spots are gtd. The Metro is going to be a tough division, too. Maybe the leagues best with the Pa and NY teams, Wash, NJ, Cbus, and Carolina. Habs need to take the picks and move on. Maybe even re-engage in the Eichel sweepstakes and package the picks with a few prospects.

No way TT is a LW3! Drouin deserves no better than LW3 to start the season. He must prove himself. I think the 21/22 wingers are pretty set, with Toffoli/ColeC, Hoffman/JoshA, Drouin/Gally, and AL/JoelA. After Suzuki on the top line, the three center ice spots are still wide open amongst 5 guys... KK, Poehling, Evans, Paquette, Vejdemo and maybe Perrault. I'd expect no trades until camp as they wait to see who really wants the #2 Center spot. Somebody has got to step up and I hope its Poehling. On D, Savard should work well with Romanov who has to elevate to #2LD. Edmundson/ Petry is the top pair. Chariot will be a good match with Wideman as 3rd pair but I really hope Brook steps up to take that spot. Kulak is #7D and probably trade bait after camp. Goaltending is in very good hands with Primeau a very good 3rd option, if needed, but he should be the workhorse at the AHL level. His time is coming! This team has the potential to out perform last years team and hopefully the players come back in great shape and very motivated. Gally will be the Captain and well deserved. Suzuki will wear the A with Petry.

Move on from all UFA’s. Dump Byron on Seattle and find a home for Drouin (Colorado). Free up money to go after scorers. The back end is good although aging. But scorers are the priority. Minimal contracts for RFA’s AL, KK, RP, and CF. They are a dime a dozen. Hopefully MB doesn’t let emotions of the Cup run blind his decisions. They need more scoring up front and have to find it or they may be in jeopardy of missing the playoffs next year. Only Suzuki, Tofoli, and Caufield are top six. It is what it is. Anderson is a 3rd liner, Gally is no more than that. Evans is a 4th liner.

I’d definitely go after JLD. He’s a franchise center. Send KK, Byron, and Mete... not one who thinks KK is much more than #3. Not sure if Columbus would bite at that. I’d toss in some draft picks if need be. JLD is a horse.

I don’t know about how the numbers workout but this team is a SC contender and will get better as the season rolls along. They will be there in the end if they can get off to a good start and avoid any major injuries. First ten games will be key.

My mistake, as it was 87-88 when the Bruins finally beat the Habs.... I seemed to always bump into the Defensemen and Ludwig stands out as a good guy but all of them were most professional and it was a brutal series. Very intense. They looked like wounded soldiers returning with ice bags everywhere and most going into the training room immediately for treatment. Training crew were neat guys, too. Always had extra ice on hand. Pregame meal pretty much consisted of pasta and coffee! Postgame was much different. Those late eighties teams were bloody good ones, too.