huzer

Yep: Kiszla: As goalie Philipp Grubauer loses grip on starting job, should Avs explore trade for Carey Price? The biggest hole in the team’s Stanley Cup dream is between the pipes https://www.denverpost.com/2020/01/09/kiszla-philipp-grubauer-avalanche-starting-job/

Gallagher back out, it appears. Headaches after the game.

It probably reads along the lines of “great depth, but few blue chippers in the system. Caufield has the tools to be an elite scorer, but we’ll have to see how his game translates to the NHL.” I hope I’m wrong, but like CC, I’ve heard for years how the youth is coming....and it never comes.

We are so far removed from those picks. 2010 (Gallagher) being the most recent. Then 2007...2005, 2003. But hey, we won the Cup in '93!

Sorry for being literal. You literally said "the last 2 drafts have been great" then list 5 guys taken prior. Of your list, only Romanov, Caufield, Kotkaniemi come from the last 2 drafts. And again, only 1 has played in the NHL, and has not been a world beater by any stretch. That said, if 3 of 21 picks from the last two drafts become NHLers, that's a better conversion rate than they've had historically since 2008. Recency bias has happened with every draft, with most fans. I remember when Collberg was a steal, shoulda been a 1st rounder. I remember when De La Rose and Fucale were first rounders we got in the 2nd round. Heck, even pundits like Button when doing a 2012 redraft were saying Galenchyuk would've been the 1st OA pick a couple of years after the draft. Instead of improving the scouting department, it appears as though our drafting strategy is simply to increase the amount of darts we're throwing at the dart board. More picks isn't a bad thing, but I'd prefer if the staff making those picks was better at their job.

Really? our 2009 team of Gomez, Cammalleri, Gionta, Metropolit, Hamrlik, Spacek, Moen, Gorges, etc was "full" of drafted players? Go back and look at that draft list, from 08-15 4 current full times NHLers exist out of 51 picks. Two of those four are still on the team. The other two are Beaulieu and Galchenyuk, who are both on at least their second team since being traded by Montreal. Your recency bias is showing. One player in the last 2 drafts has played in the NHL. Romanov MIGHT be the second next year. Nothing guarantees any of the other players.

Chiarot out, Fleury draws back in. Gallagher should be back as well. Since I posted in a GDT, that guarantees a loss.

It seems as a fanbase we're at our usual impasse. There are the "just a couple of missing pieces" people, and the blow it up and start over people. I have a couple of questions: What exactly is a "retool"? Is it merely trading expiring contracts to acquire a couple of extra draft picks and hoping that having more picks increases the odds of someone developing? Move prospects in to those spots as they become available. It seems like that is what the Habs definition is, which would explain Molson's "8 year" comment. Whatever a retool is, the Canadiens don't seem good at it so far. Which leads to... How often does a full blown rebuild happen, and how successful is it? What are the odds that gutting this current team and "starting over" results in a contending team? Do people REALLY think trading Weber, Price, Petry, etc will lead to a plethora of 1st round picks and prospects that would turn things around within 2-3 years? It doesn't seem teams are capable of absorbing those types of salaries with minimal salary coming back. I'd like to know logistically how this would work WITHOUT retaining a crap ton of salary. What is the root problem of the Canadiens lack of high end NHL talent/prospects? Is it that Timmins is now in his 17th year with the Habs? Was it Lefebvre? Is it time for a turnover in the amateur scouting area? Other than a home run 2007, let's look at an average count of NHL games starting in 2008 (going from 08-15 gives age ranges of 22-29 YO) 2008 - Number of Picks - 5 Total NHL games played - 0 (No first rounder) 2009 - Number of Picks - 8 Total NHL games played - 141 Most games/player Dumont -90 (1st rounder Leblanc, picked 18) 2010 - Number of Picks - 5 Total NHL games played - 588 Most games/player Gallagher -528 (1st rounder Tinordi, picked 22) 2011 - Number of Picks - 7 Total NHL games played - 366 Most games/player Beaulieu -353 (1st rounder Beaulieu, picked 17) 2012 - Number of Picks - 7 Total NHL games played - 643 Most games/player Galchenyuk - 524 (1st rounder Galchenyuk, picked 3) 2013 - Number of Picks - 8 Total NHL games played - 769 Most games/player Lehkonen - 265 (1st rounder McCarron, picked 25) 2014 - Number of Picks - 6 Total NHL games played - 58 Most games/player Scherbak - 37 (1st rounder Scherbak, picked 26) 2015 - Number of Picks - 5 Total NHL games played - 48 Most games/player Juulsen - 44 (1st rounder Juulsen, picked 26) For those core years, the Habs have yielded two "core" players, and a solid player in Lehkonen. A lucky 5th rounder in Gallagher and a bad 3rd overall in Chucky that has turned into Domi. Four of those predate Bergevin. A total of TWO first round picks in 8 years are current NHLers (including Beaulieu). It's too early (for me) to rate the last three drafts, but basically, we haven't had a "good" year that has produced more than one regular NHLer in 13 years. I don't have any faith in our amateur scouting/development department that hasn't been any good in that long.

Who would trade for Byron at this point? $3.4M cap hit for 3 years beyond this season, missed a 1/4 of last year and looking to be about the same this year. I'd say we're stuck with him unless Seattle takes him in 2021.

No team is going to trade an unprotected lottery pick for Domi. Even a lottery pick isn't a guarantee...Yakupov, Galchenyuk...

I have no words. Wow.

Which is it? Will he move the Habs up from a “top 10 pick to picking 15-20” or will he be a non factor?

You can’t have it both ways. In one thread people talk about rushing kids rather than letting them develop in the AHL. In the next, people want to call them up and play them on this dumpster fire of a team to get “NHL minutes”. You’re rather optimistic (ha) if the addition of Kovalchuk vaults that Habs 5-10 spots in the standings. Who would you call up? Evans? That’s about it that I can think of from a “kid” standpoint, There are already 5 Rocket players with Montreal (Vejdemo, Weise, Peca, Barber, Poehling)...you want more of Hudon?

Too bad we couldn't count on the Leafs to tire them out a little for the front side of the back to back.

Next up in the rotating cast of D.