Psycing

Here's my analysis on the way in which they split the teams and what it means in terms of the "Depth Chart." Assuming that Therrien simplified the division of the teams, the lines can be numbered as follows: 1. Bourque - Plekanec - Thomas 3. Galchenyuk - Eller - Gallagher 5. Blunden - Dumont - Bournival 7. Reway - Tarnasky - Leblanc 2. Pacioretty - Desharnais - Briere 4. Prust - White - Moen 6. Hudon - St. Pierre - Andrighetto 8. Nystrom - MacAulay - McCarron Thus, the perceived Habs Depth Chart at the start of camp is: 1. Bourque - Plekanec - Thomas 2. Pacioretty - Desharnais - Briere 3. Galchenyuk - Eller - Gallagher 4. Prust - White - Moen --------------------------------------- 5. Blunden - Dumont - Bournival 6. Hudon - St. Pierre - Andrighetto 7. Reway - Tarnasky - Leblanc 8. Nystrom - MacAulay - McCarron No, Thomas isn't a 1st line NHLer. He's merely auditioning for Gionta's spot in the lineup as the Captain recovers. Obviously there will be some movement as some prospects outperform others (e.g. Leblanc). If I'm not totally off here, I believe this says a lot about how the team has evaluated its players and their point of development at this time. On a final note, veterans come into camp with their jobs intact, but if they are seriously out-performed they may found themselves on the outside looking in. That said, the only vets in danger of losing their spots are really White and Moen. This suggests that if a rookie is going to make the team out of camp, it will be a player capable of 4th line duty. This falls in line with the Blunden - Dumont - Bournival line, which includes players that may flourish given an opportunity on the 4th line. Leblanc may very well work his way into this as well, but a player with Hudon's skill set may not. The same process can be done with the defense pairings, but it's far less exciting. In either case, here it is for your viewing pleasure: 1. Gorges - Subban 2. Markov - Diaz 3. Bouillon - Murray 4. Tinordi - Drewiske 5. Beaulieu - Pateryn 6. Lashoff - Nygren And remember folks, this isn't set in stone by any means. It's merely a Day 1 analysis: subject to change.

Thanks for the question guys! I'm working on the article to sum up the Habs Rookie Camp and will be sure to feature some of your Qs with my As.

I've read a few comments on Vail around the web, and I have to agree that he played a bit "scared" during the scrimmages at the Habs rookie camp. I don't know if he's been hit too hard a time or two, but he has the body language of a player that hears footsteps every time he goes into the corner with the puck.

I just wish there was a way to purchase RDS to watch on my PC. I don't subscribe to cable or satellite and I'm not about to start, but I would gladly give RDS my $$ to be able to watch every game from my PC.

Here's a look at McCarron's goal in the penalty-shot, including the basketball-like rules: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiMRzH5AFfI

Since I don't think the Canadiens' site mentioned it, both Narbonne and McCarron's goals came on penalty shots. Rather than give penalties for infractions, teams were given penalty shots. It worked a bit more like basketball free throws since the rest of the players on the ice lined up at the opposite blueline and skated in behind the shooter to jump into the play if no goal was scored. Hope that makes sense... I'll have a video up on YouTube later to give the full effect.

The Habs have 40 players in their Rookie Camp right now (24 forwards, 12 defensemen, 4 goalies). Now if you split that evenly, you have two groups of 12 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goalies. Look familiar? There are 3 scrimmages scheduled over the final three days of the camp (today, tomorrow, and Monday). These intra-squad scrimmages will provide the opportunity to evaluate the players internally, without risking injury. I still expect there will be some physical play, but it won't be as dangerous as matching up your rookies against another club's entirely.

I think he'll like it over there. I imagine he's hoping it will be an opportunity to display his talent for a return to the NHL in the next year or two.

You can never have enough NHL-caliber defensemen. Murray gives the team some options on a game-to-game basis. Dress him against Boston and Toronto, but sit him against faster teams. He's the kind of guy you can flip at the deadline for a late draft pick if you want to, or simply toss him on waivers. I'm sure he'd be picked up given his well-priced, short term contract. Bergevin put himself in a position to have depth but also a way out if needed.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience attending practices and training camps at the Habs practice facility in Brossard? - How do you know when it is open to public / not open to public? - How early should one get there to avoid becoming part of the 'standing room' crowd? - Is the training camp mostly open to public? Or only scrimmages? I might have some more questions later - just curious as I expect to have some time to check it out this year. Any other general info would be helpful! Thanks! Looks like the website covers schedules, so that answers some of my questions. http://csbell.ca/en/ Still open to any tips some of you regulars might have.

Duck-Duck-Goosed

Greed?

Finishing up my Fantasy Focus article on Carey Price - how many wins do you guys think he'll get this season. In how many games?

Injuries are the biggest threat to reduce any player's production. Often a guy might only miss a handful of games to a dozen, come back, and take another handful of games to get back into the groove. With Therrien poised to roll three solid lines, I believe we'll see fewer players score over 55 points, but more guys landing between 35 and 50 points. Distributed offense is the way to go if you want to keep the team fresh for the duration of a long season. I guess we'll see if it pans out. I'm sure different players and line combinations will get hot from time to time, but I don't expect anyone to tear it up on a consistent basis. Pacioretty has shown the most promise in that department, and as dbalr mentioned, Subban.

When he laces up his stilt skates.

Eller's smart. He saw an opportunity to be the club's only big center and he grabbed it by the horns. The Habs have a need and he's helping them fill it internally. Can't wait to see if it pays off.

I think it's because his Habs stint is the most recent and it was in Montreal where his career took a turn for the worst and his production plummeted. That and if the articles are written in Canada, chances are they go with a title that will attract the most attention.

Our favorite, Scott Gomez, just signed a 1-year deal with the Florida Panthers worth $900K. A part of me is kind of happy for Gomer, but then I remember Ryan McDonagh in New York. At least his contract matches his contributions now. Story: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=428840 | $$ revealed by @RealKyper on Twitter.

Not looking forward to: 1) December road trip around Christmas 2) Metropolitan Division:

Nice! I picked up just the one pictured here, the white on black Violent Gentlemen. Love it. Shipping was a bit pricey though. Is that still going?

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned it yet - as I'm lazy and haven't read through the thread's entirety - but the decision to cut ties with Pierre Groulx and bring in veteran Stephane Waite as his replacement is worth mentioning. While I understand Bergevin kept Groulx at Price's request, he may have done so to avoid rustling the netminder's feathers. It was clear that Bergevin wanted to bring in his own team to help manage and develop the team, keeping Groulx around went against this strategy. In hindsight, I wouldn't be surprised if Bergevin regrets standing pat. That said, the intentions were candid and confidence in the GM was reinforced when he snagged Waite from Chicago. It's clear Marc Bergevin isn't afraid to take action and make the changes necessary to benefit both the club as a whole, and the players individually. Whatever his grade after this season, I have a feeling it will improve in seasons to follow.

Price has to have a great first half of the season for the Habs to be considered Luongo's backup and/or to compete for the starting role in Sochi. This means Price needs to rise up and steal some games when the team is struggling to score. If I were Carey Price, I'd use Henrik Lundqvist as my bench mark. Many times last season the Rangers failed to get many goals on the board, but Lundqvist kept them in it. While it must have been frustrating for the netminder to lose games 1-0 and 2-1, at least he matched the oppositions compete level with his own in hopes that the Rags offense would finally support him. I also have some concern for Price's health and wouldn't be surprised if he was injured at some point this season. He failed to finish the Habs' last two seasons healthy. Maybe it has to do with luck, maybe it has to do with poor habits. Here's hoping new goalie coach Stéphane Waite can keep him in top shape. At least a shot at the Olympics should give Price all the motivation he needs. And you've got to bet P.K. Subban will be in his hair about it too.

If I'm Bergeron, I'm offering two years at $3M per, or five years at $4M per. If I'm the Subban group, I accept nothing less than $4.75M per on any term four years or more. Subban could cash in later if he goes with a short-term deal now. Bergeron would probably be comfortable with giving a two year $3.5M per deal, but the Subban camp likely wants $4M+ in that scenario. If he takes the two years now, I don't see why he can't build upon his success and secure a deal in the $5M to $6.5M range once his second contract is out.

+1

Marian Hossa - and he'll get injured and ruin my work hockey pool too