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HabsTrick450

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    Habs Trivia

    in Habs & Hockey Talk

    Posted

    Who are the 3 players who made up the line known as the PhD line?

    Which Lord of the Rings star wore a Habs jersey under his costume during shooting?

    What actor, known for roles in Goon, Million Dollar Baby, Undeclared and others, is originally from Montreal and a huge Habs fan?

    Who scored a hat trick on December 4th 2009, during the Habs' Centennial Game against the Buins?

    Who scored a hat trick during the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993 against the LA Kings?

    State of the team

    in Habs & Hockey Talk

    Posted

    When someone can tell me how always pissing and moaning about the past is going to help us , then let's piss and moan. First of all habs trick 450 there are guys on your list who were run cause they needed to be run out eg: the Kosty boys, where are they now? locke was never going to make and he hasn't. Perezhogin took his ouck and went home. latendresse has accomplished very little. O'byrne? valentenko? Fischer? come on. The draft is a crap shoot and every team has a list like ours. We, it can be argued , made these players better so they at least had a shot at the NHL. Just my different point of view.

    I'm not moaning about the past, I am very optimistic about the future of the team. However, Chicoutimi Cucumber asked why we are not an elite team yet and I offered my opinion, which is that the way some of the players I listed impacted the team (whether it be with their on-ice play or their off-ice attitude/behaviour), crippled the Habs' hopes to contend for the Cup during the late 2000s. Management is not fully to blame but some mistakes were made, namely rushing Latendresse to the NHL, trading McDonagh (who's now a legit top 4 defenseman in the NHL), not being more stern with players that had behaviour problems (such as the Kosty bros) and so on. I can't blame them for the draft picks they made, as they probably scouted well and drafted players they thought were the best available/suited the team's needs.However, I can't believe that Claude Giroux was drafted 2 spots after David Fischer or that Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Ryan Getzlaf, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards & Corey Perry were all picked in the 1st round after the Habs selected Andrei Kostitsyn. Just so many what-if scenarios. Still, this team has a bright future and I will enjoy watching it unfold.

    State of the team

    in Habs & Hockey Talk

    Posted

    It's an interesting question for wider discussion, why this franchise has not been able to make the jump from good team to serious contender in the Gainey/Gauthier/Bergevin years. I don't think our failure to tank is a fully sufficient explanation.

    If I had to posit a hypothesis, I'd say it comes back to terrible player development in the Gainey era. Maybe if our development program had been stronger, Rebuild 1.0 would not have floundered so spectacularly. Maybe Higgins, Latendresse and the Kostitsyns would have evolved into bona-fide top-6 forwards, for instance; maybe Price would have had a smoother arc. Throwing away a legitimate second-line C in Ribeiro, and then another one in Grabs, on a team that had an absolutely dire need for C, also didn't help.

    I always suspected that Rebuild 2.0 - the UFA frenzy of '09 - was intended as a stop-gap that would keep us competitive until we replenished the system. If it contended, that was a bonus.

    So what really happened was the failure of Rebuild 1.0. We've been riding a transitional structure ever since. The lesson here may be that, no matter how well you draft, don't neglect player development, or you're looking at a decade of being "merely good."

    Just think of the number of Habs-drafted players and that were let go/didn't pan out for various reasons in the Gainey-Gauthier: Higgins, McDonagh, Perezhogin, the Kostitsyns, O'Byrne, Locke, Chipchura, Grabovski, D'Agostini, Latendresse, Carle, Maxwell, Fischer, Valentenko. What a list.

    State of the team

    in Habs & Hockey Talk

    Posted

    We fans look at him like Philadelphia fans look at Morin, Lauridsen, Schenn etc. A good player, but a player that is totally redundant in our system.

    Morin redundant? The guy who hasn't even set foot on NHL ice for a game?

    Permanent Trade Proposal Thread

    in Habs & Hockey Talk

    Posted

    What exactly is in it for Winnipeg? They downgrade their franchise forward for Desharnais and a prospect/pick? That doesn't sound ideal for them (and I'm not a big fan of Kane, his off-ice issues will be a massive distraction in Montreal if they were to continue). As for centres, they have Jokinen, Little (RFA), Frolik, Slater, Thorburn, and Scheifele. I don't think they really need a centre - maybe a defensive #3 but that's not Desharnais - and Burmistrov played the wing a lot of the time anyways.

    I forgot about Scheifele, if anything, Burmistrov's departure gives him a better chance of finally playing a full season in Winnipeg if he's ready.

    State of the team

    in Habs & Hockey Talk

    Posted

    Montreal will hang onto Markov for the powerplay, but I agree about Gio and Desharnais.

    Gionta is untradeable at this point, if he stays healthy, we may be able to get a 2nd or a prospect for him at the deadline. (Assuming we're sellers.)

    Desharnais isn't untradeable, but at the end of the day, strength and size are winning the day with the GMs of the league. I could see maybe Calgary or Tampa Bay trading for him. (They are idiots).

    Nathan Gerbe-No contract. Same size as Desharnais, not the same production, but he's a borderline second liner, can get you 35-40 points (same as Desharnais going forward imo) and no one has signed him yet, even though he's worth around 1-1.5 million a year.

    Ryane Clowe/Clarkson-Grit guys who got the biggest contracts of the day.

    Ryder-Same money as Desh, proven 30 goal scorer, on a short term.

    I love how you're calling Steve Yzerman an idiot.

    State of the team

    in Habs & Hockey Talk

    Posted

    Not to fall back on a cliche, but Rome wasn't built in day.

    Bergevin replaced Ryder with Briere and Armstrong with Parros. And say what you want about height, but there is no way that Ryder plays a tougher game than Briere because he's 2 inches taller.

    So what has he done since losing in the first round? Drafted a 6'5" behemoth and a 6'2" centre with his first 2 picks, put himself in a better position to trade a roster player (probably one of Desharnais or Gionta) by bringing in a proven playoff performer, and replaced a player who lacked identity last season with someone who has a clearly defined role of protecting his teammates. And there are more free agents to come.

    There are plenty of players left out there, and there are great players that are gonna be had for cheap deals. Or, you know, just sign Clarkson to a 7 year deal. Whatevs.

    If the Habs start the season with this roster, you'll have more ammo to blow your brains out over size. Even then, I'm prepared to wait till the day after the trade deadline to see if we're too small for the playoffs.

    TL;DR: There is more to come, and what's already arrived is pretty good.

    Exactly. Bergevin and Therrien coming in meant the start of a new era. They want to take their vision and implement it to make a competitive team that will have a shot at the cup, that doesn't happen in a day. Pittsburgh sucked for years until they drafted the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Letang, Staal and they won a cup. Chicago waited 40 years until players like Kane, Toews, Seabrook, Kieth matured to get them a championship. Patience people, the Habs are on the right path and for the first time in a decade, we have a front office that seems stable enough and a future that never looked so bright.

    Tinordi alone isn't going to be enough. We lack balance and have too many wildcards on defense.

    Subban - bonafide #1 dman

    Markov - solid #2 pairing

    Gorges - at best a #4, on a good time, great 3rd pairing

    Tinordi - Will be a good partner with Subban one day, today, HOPEFULLY a solid second pairing

    Bouillon - seventh dman

    Diaz - 3rd pairing dman that would be good with Gorges and PP specialist

    Emelin - solid #2 pairing, but injured for around the first 3 months.

    What we are missing is a guy who for sure can be a solid shut down partner for Subban, as well as a plan B if tinordi isn't up to being a solid #2 pairing.

    Here's what I think of our defense.

    Subban - Solid net clearing dman

    Markov - Emelin (Gorges)

    Tinordi - Diaz

    Two wild cards are Belieau, who doesn't replace a physical net clearing need (would be a Diaz replacment) and Tinordi. He may be a solid partner for Subban and markov, but I'd be worried about starting the season by putting that pressure on him.

    Long term, if all goes well with Beileau and tinordi, I'd still move Gorges and Diaz and pick up a more physical dman.

    This is why a guy like Coburn/Edler would be welcome.

    We don't need more size, we need more skill.

    You know how we'll put more size in our top six? By putting two of our third liners from last season in it. You know, Galchenyuk and Eller?

    Also, we don't play a top six game anyway. We spread our forwards between three lines. Right now we're running with Galchenyuk, Pacioretty, Plekanec, Eller, Gionta, Briere, Gallagher, Bourque and Desharnais. Guys like Desharnais and Bourque need to be replaced by better players, not bigger players.

    Every division is tight right now, but for the new East I'd say we're definitely better than Tampa, Florida and Buffalo in our own division. In the other east division we're better than Philadelphia, Columbus, New Jersey and Long Island.

    YES!!! David did beat Goliath. For a team like us who spreads forwards between lines, skill and will should be prioritized. Sure, having a couple of big players to protect the small ones is helpful, but a player with heart and skill is 1000x better than a big guy. Moen? Plays like a wimp while Gallagher plays like he's a power forward.

    State of the team

    in Habs & Hockey Talk

    Posted

    With all the Trade/Talbot/Simmonds/Edler/Coburn/Jagr talk, I ask one question:

    Are we really such a small team?

    Forwards that are 6 feet or taller: White, Galchenyuk, Bourque, Eller, Moen, Pacioretty, Prust, Parros

    Forwards under 6 feet: Brière, Plekanec, Gionta, Desharnais, Gallagher

    Defensemen that are 6 feet or taller: Markov, Subban, Gorges, Drewiske, Emelin, Tinordi, Beaulieu

    Defensemen under 6 feet: Bouillon, Diaz

    Goalies: Both over 6 feet: (6 ft 1 Budaj, 6 ft 3 Price)

    A guy like Gionta, who everyone says is finished, still managed 14 goals, 12 assists for 26 points last season. In a full season, that's close to 50 points, which is the same pace he's been at since he joined the Habs. Gallagher plays like a big guy and I think no one will question Plekanec's heart. Brière is only here for 2 years and might return to his former self if played at center. Also, say what you will about Desharnais, but he still put up 10 goals, 18 assists and 28 points in 48 games. In full season, that's also about close to 50 points, which is just a little less then the 60 he scored the season before. I'm not saying that we shouldn't make ANY changes to the team: if we can trade Gionta or Desharnais for a good return, I won't object. However, we are not a bad team with the current lineup: Are we a cup contender? NO. But are we a team capable of making the playoffs and maybe winning a series? YES. Gionta's contract expires after next season, as well as Markov and Bouillon's contracts. Once this happens, Beaulieu will be able to be a full-time Hab and the likes of Nygren, Dietz, Ellis, Pateryn, Thomas, Leblanc, McCarron, Fournier, Collberg, Holland, will have a chance to battle for a spot. If they don't cut it, we will have cap space to get good players via free agency or trade. So my point is: the future is bright. If Bergevin can make a trade to improve the team, then do it. But not at the expense of our future. The Habs will be contenders in 2 years time.

    • Upvote 1

    Permanent Rumour Thread

    in Habs & Hockey Talk

    Posted

    Stephane Laporte (newspaper guy in Quebec I think?)

    Rumeur. Échange Montréal-Philadelphie. Coburn, Simmonds et Talbot pour Plekanec, Beaulieu et Moen.

    Thoughts? I don't like the thought of losing Beaulieu

    Me neither, but that's a solid return if true!

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