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The Chicoutimi Cucumber

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Everything posted by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

  1. I hadn’t realized that Jacob is Yannick Perreault’s son. Now that takes me back…
  2. Agree. In an era of player mobility, it is important to be seen to treat people in classy way. The key is to not allow that to undermine your wider organizational goals (as MB did, for example, when he gave Gally a ridiculous contract, seemingly out of a sentimental attachment to the guy).
  3. I expect a very quiet deadline from HuGo. Even the rumour mill is quiet. Next year, when expectations shift and some contracts are expiring, should be much livelier. But who knows.
  4. Yeah. Sometimes I think Slaf is going to become one of the most physically dominant players in the entire league. I mean...doing that at 19? Damn.
  5. Primeau was strong all night. The important thing is that this no longer feels surprising. Allen (who has given fine service) can leave any time. I found it frustrating that Suze, after causing SHGA with a brutal giveaway, made a driven, dominant play to get it back and unleashed a howitzer past the G...only to ring it off the post. F**k. He deserved that one and it would have been a real "statement" goal. Slaf quietly made a huge defensive play along the boards in the dying seconds of regulation. He just overpowered everyone and would not be denied. Interesting stat about the Habs having the most one-goal games of any team. That does afford some hope that we may not be THAT far from reaching the tipping point into being decent. A few % improvement in a few areas, and the worm could turn. Maybe.
  6. Hahahaaa love it. That's what makes a team unpleasant to play against
  7. How many 2 goal leads have we blown this season? I wouldn't be surprised if we lead the league in that category. All TB has to do is wake up and they'll win; but that lackluster effort was very out of character for the team we've watched for the past few years. So who knows, maybe we have a chance.
  8. Tampa seems absolutely asleep so far. WiFi should avoid dropping the mitts lest he wake them up.
  9. WiFi and Cernak are going to have a serious tilt before this is over
  10. I swear, since we called him up Armia has been one of our best FWs 🤷‍♀️
  11. I'm not 100% sure it's valid to point to Slick Nick's linemates. He's played a lot with CC and a lot with Slaf. Those are quality linemates. Besides, has Pettersson benefitted from stupendous linemates every single night? His linemates over the last two, 100-point seasons have included names such as Hoglaander, Conor Garland, and Ilya Podkolzin (now in the minors). Not to slag Suzuki, just to say that I don't think this excuse holds too much water.
  12. I don’t know what “geiggon” means, but I agree with that ranking (McDavid > Pettersson > Suzuki) and that overall assessment. Hard to believe that we once had Koivu, Turgeon, and Damphousse down the middle and managed to trade away the latter two on discounts, without having adequate replacements in mind. Good ol’ Reggie 🙄
  13. I think Montreal fans have sort of forgotten what a truly elite-level offensive talent looks like. I saw the same sort of thing in Vancouver regarding Quinn Hughes…the fans here have never seen a truly elite defenceman before, and quite a few of them failed to appreciate exactly what they had in Hughes for quite a while. By contrast, the minute I saw him, I knew he was the real deal…but then again I’ve seen Markov, Subban, and Weber on the regular. Pettersson is an elite, top-end offensive talent. Suzuki clearly isn’t that yet, at least not yet. He may become arguably a better “overall” player in the sense of combining very good offensive chops with elite two-way acumen (although I really think this board is downplaying Pettersson’s defensive game). But I doubt he is ever going to be in the conversation with Pettersson when it comes to being an offensive dynamo.
  14. The contract is fair value for an elite, franchise #1C. I’m happy for Vancouver, really. This is one traumatized fan base (although also a fairly stupid one, on the whole) and, while I’ve ranted and raved against them over the years, I sort of feel they’ve suffered enough. And as a hockey fan, I love the troika of Pettersson, Hughes, and Demko - splendid players, each of them. As for Suzuki, he is not going to outscore Pettersson, who is a true, star offensive talent of the sort the Habs have not had since Guy Lafleur. (Not that he is as good as Lafleur!). But yes, with his rise to PPG production and elite two-way acumen, Suzuki will be the franchise cornerstone for the next 6-7 years and a defining player of the rebuild. Hopefully the Habs can do for him what they never did for Koivu, i.e, put him in a legitimate position to win the Stanley Cup.
  15. Even so, I don’t think they’re getting that for Savard. Adjust all those scenarios downward to a 2nd-rounder and I think it’s more plausible. Savard’s stock seems to be lower than it should be, given how much GMs like blood-and-guts veterans for the playoffs. I wonder if that’s because the Habs have priced him out of the market.
  16. TBH I kind of respect the Leafs' determination to break through with this core. I mean, they DO have a frigging powerhouse crop of FWs and they do finish consistently top-5 to top-10. No doubt they see themselves very much like Yzerman's Wings were before they finally won: a strong team that kept falling short in the playoffs but eventually got there. The longer this goes on, though, the likelier it becomes that they are the 2020s version of Joe Thornton's San Jose Sharks, i.e., an elite team that never makes it.
  17. Agree, although I'd try to barter them down to Wifi, LOL. More likely they insist on Suzuki plus. I don't quite get this turn in the thread, though. Yes, Friedman (an impeccable source) has reported that the Canes but a VERY serious offer on the table for Petterson. But the Canucks leveraged the threat of accepting that offer to force Pettersson back o negotiations. That means, in effect, that Pettersson has conceded that he wants to stay in Vancouver, and accepts that he will need to negotiate during the season, which he was loath to do. The general media chatter here in Van is that it is now a question of WHEN, not if, Petey signs - and for how much term. (12 million per seems to be the agreed-upon number). All told, then, it is much less likely that we can prise him away from Vancouver than it was three or four days ago.
  18. Just to be clear, I'm not saying I've given up on CC becoming a heavy-duty elite scorer. I agree that his game has become more complete. Yes, the surgery was a factor. And heck, he is on pace for 30 goals pro-rated, so it's not like his season has been bad. I've just never seen him as topping out as an "elite 2nd-line W." I want him to become an elite 1st-line goal-scorer who scares the sh*t out of other teams. I'm not talking Auston Matthews, but definitely a reliable 40+ goal guy. Those are lofty expectations, but CC has it in him IMHO.
  19. Bit early for post-mortems, but off the top of my head I’d say POSITIVES -Suze emerging as a legitimately elite 2-way C -Slaf’s growth into a serious top-6 FW, with more to come -Monty solidifying his standing as a legit #1 G -Guhle solidifying his game -Huge pro season by Mailloux in the minors -Great season by Monahan, followed by solid trade return NEGATIVES -Caufield not being elite -Ridiculous injury to Dach, plus the resulting doubts re: his durability -Massive Newhook injury -Regression by Kovacevic -Vets struggling, especially JA and maybe Allen The top two positives and negatives all concern the young core. Frustrating that we can’t bump more of those into the “positive” column.
  20. I think our reaction to this trade hinges on our view of Tanev. I don't really see him as an impactful top-4 guy at this stage - I could be wrong, of course - so the return seems solid to me. Sorry to talk about Van so much, but I was very interested to note that, amidst much speculation of who the Canucks might go after now that Tanev is off the board, I haven't heard Savard's name come up once - even though he seems like a perfect fit for them 🤷‍♂️
  21. Oops, I thought he was up next year. My bad. He will certainly be traded before his contract is up; it's a question of when. If we wait until he's 32 he might have begun his decline, so maybe next year will indeed be a good target? Or, we just see him as a guy who plays out the string with us - allowing Hutson a luxurious, low-pressure entry into the NHL - to be moved as a rental in two years, even if that means not maximizing return.
  22. Boy, trading Matheson would be a ballsy move, given what he means to our D. Despite all the points from the back end this season, none of our young guys plays that kind of puck-controlling, offence-generating game. Moving him out would likely transform us from a bad team into the worst team in hockey right now. On the other hand, he’s 30, and although his game feels to me like it will age well, he’s hard to imagine as part of the long-term plan. I have a higher opinion of him than some, and think that if the Habs really were shopping him around, he would be subject of pretty hot rumours. So my guess is the Habs will wait until next season, then move him as a rental. Whether that’s the way to maximize return on a player who should bring back a solid haul, I don’t know.
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