tomh009
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Posts posted by tomh009
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Who will still be waivers-exempt? Struble and Xhekaj?
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11 minutes ago, Commandant said:
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.
And Reinbacher is only 19.
So, the right side likely needs to be some combination of Barron, Guhle, Harris and Kovacevic. My theory is that they have played Guhle on the right in order to give him the flexibility to play either side. If that's the case, it should be Matheson and Guhle as the two top D on the left, along with Xhekaj and Struble.
Keep Savard until deadline? That's possible, but since Barron, too, will be waiver-eligible, we'll end up with the equivalent of the three-goalie-rotation but on D this time.
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Have been thinking about what the Habs' D corps could look like for the next two years. Not the cup contender version, but the transitional team that should start competing for a playoff position.
So, this is what I have on a (somewhat?) factual basis:
- Matheson has scored 60 points this season, no mean feat on a team that only has 224 goals, and does not look like he's slowing down
- Savard does look like he's starting to slow down
- Guhle is solid and reliable 1LD/2LD, now with some flexibility to play on the right as well
- Harris flexible on left/right, though better on the left
- Kovacevic is not stellar but quite reliable on the right
- Neither Reinbacher or Mailloux likely ready for NHL for another season or two
- Hutson is a wild card. He's only 20 and seasoning in the AHL would make sense but he'll surely be a target there
- Then we have Xhekaj/Struble and Barron
I'm thinking that Matheson likely stays with the Habs, unless another GM is willing to pay a king's ransom to get him. For all his defensive warts, he is in the top 10 in D scoring in the league, and that's elite D scoring. Maybe pair him with Kovacevic for stability and balance?
Our help on the right is a few years away, so does Hughes keep Savard? I suspect not, so that would mean that Harris and Barron need to be the other two RD, unless Reinbacher is stunningly good in training camp. I think very unlikely that they would bring him up at 19yo.
So, need a defensive partner for Barron, and a more offensive one for Harris. Is that Guhle-Barron and Xhekaj/Struble-Harris? Or is Hutson really a viable option here? I would think not yet.
Of course, if Hughes trades one of the young(ish) D, all this calculus will need to be redone. 🙂
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Kapanen 0g+1a in 2-1 win, 19:38 TOI (second only to one of the D-men at 19:42). They now trail 1-2 in the semifinals.
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4 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:
Not the end of the world with Ottawa winning, still 5th from the bottom. That's a big game in Ottawa on Saturday.
Can we dress some guys that will take unnecessary roughing penalties?
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4 minutes ago, dlbalr said:
Well, what a barnburner of a period that was, especially in the first half where there were what, a whole three shots on net?
Watching only the last five minutes of the period turned out rather well! 😂
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13 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:
What's interesting about that is Yakupov, Murray and Reinhart were all taken in the 2012 entry draft. Galchenyuk was 3rd that year. I think without a doubt the worst top 4 taken in any draft in recent memory.
One of the worst for sure. Things get better outside the top four, especially for D (Rielly, Lindholm, Trouba--and Matheson) but none of the the shiny top four picks turned out to be gold.
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2 hours ago, DON said:
Mesar 10pts in 6 games
Beck 7pts in 4 games
Mesar is pretty effective on the PP.
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If we're going to blow the draft pick, might as well blow it in a big way!
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I was away for twenty minutes or so and ... wow!
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1 hour ago, Commandant said:
Yeah, medicine in 2024 is so much better than it was 20 years ago or whatever we are comparing it to. Chances are he's ready to go in 6 months, but probably shouldn't fight as much in 2024-25
This. Fighting might be dumb but getting injured in a fight is outright stupid.
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6 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:
At least Dvorak only has 1 year left, the others have three. For Anderson I do have some hope that he can regain his form, for Gallagher not so much.
At the moment Anderson has a higher ceiling but his floor is also much lower than Gallagher's.
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1 hour ago, hab29RETIRED said:
Anderson, Gallagher, Dvorak. We have a complete overpaid 4th line.
At least Dvorak is tradeable, although it may take a sweetener to do it.
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1 hour ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:
Any particular reason for that? You just don't like the Flyers?
I particularly don't like Ovechkin.
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2 hours ago, dlbalr said:
Two-way bottom-six type of player, looked decent offensively at the Spengler when I saw him a couple of times. He isn't too far away from being NHL-ready.
Bottom-six players that can score are not a bad thing. 🙂 The only thing is that our bottom six will be a bit congested (at least next year) with players that have top-six contracts but don't play up to those.
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49 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:
Yes, a loss is better but this should be the easiest game the Habs have left. Philly is totally disintegrating and just got smacked in Columbus in an almost must win game. Maybe the Tortorella magic has completely worn off. I would be very surprised if the Habs don't win.
Personally I would be happy to see the Flyers finish ahead of the Capitals (but still out of the playoffs).
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2 hours ago, dlbalr said:
Guhle was boarded by Kucherov early in the TB game and didn't return. Xhekaj, I have no idea.
Kucherov, the "skill" player ... 😠
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12 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
True. An otherworldly goal.
And a superb play by Slafkovsky to get the pass to Suzuki.
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1 hour ago, GHT120 said:
It will be interesting to see if any other teams try to trade for him this summer ... if so, how low/demanding they think they can go with their offer ... and how these last couple of months impact what HuGo decide to do with him.
Most likely we will only know if there is an actual deal that is consummated.
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55 minutes ago, GHT120 said:
Bill Masterton Trophy: awarded to the player who "best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the game of hockey."
Joel Armia's reaction: This season I decided to give half-a-flying-%&^# for a change.
Not going to ask you to like Armia, but there is more to it than that. We say that goaltending is 50% mental and the rest is in your head; much of the same applies to many other pro athletes. Armia wanted to play well, but until he started working with the Habs' mental performance coach, Francois Menard, he could not make it work.
He's nominated because he didn't give up or sulk after being demoted, but worked with Menard to get to the point where he is able to consistently (at least for now) use his skills.
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1 minute ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
The bizarre truth is that Armia has had a hell of a half-season - ever since he was called up.
Mental performance coaching can be huge. More players should take advantage of it.
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2 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:
4 goals for Suzuki
4 assists for Slafkovsky
4 assists for Caufield
I like this outcome
It's looking like no points tonight, but unfortunately we need to adjust your scoring plan!
2 goals for Armia
2 assists for Newhook
2 assists for Gallagher
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10 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
I hear you! Although to be fair, 72 points is a nice total, and Domi did have a stellar year that season. Slick Nick looks set to pass Saku, and as much as I love Saku, Suzuki is a better overall player than he was. What a gem.
Koivu might have been more impactful, too, but sadly we never did find out.
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Mesar 0g0a this time but the Rangers win 4-3 in OT to take a 2-1 series lead.
Constructing the D corps
in Habs & Hockey Talk
Posted
Or the 2021 Habs!