dlbalr

He hasn't signed yet. It sounds like things are heading in that direction so I'm surprised it's not done yet.

How many of those are big and play with physicality? That's something the Habs don't have a lot of in their prospect pool.

Yes, Laval can finish ahead of Belleville with two regulation wins next week. However, that alone doesn't clinch them as I think Utica can still catch Laval.

Andersson and Heineman score in the 3rd as Laval takes it 5-1. https://theahl.com/stats/game-summary/1026269 Laval is now two points behind Belleville. The Sens have a game in hand still but Laval has the tiebreaker.

That's better than when they attempted to copy ESPN with the bubbles above whoever has the puck. It's goofy but at least it's subtle.

Now 3-1 early in the 3rd. Maillet (PP) and Andersson have the goals.

If he signs, don't be surprised if it's an NHL deal for this season. That's the only carrot left the Habs have to offer to dissuade him from going to free agency in August.

The one downside to the SHL report for Kapanen is that it might take finishing up this season with Laval off the table.

When I first saw the replay just after the goal, I thought there was a chance they could win if they challenged. Then I saw a few more replays after the challenge and it looked like a bit more of a reach.

Tonight's lines: 1-0 Laval after 20 minutes, Condotta from Durandeau was the goal. Meanwhile, Belleville got crushed 8-2 by Rochester.

I expect we're going to see some 'injuries' creep after tonight's game, creating (fabricating) emergency conditions for a player or two to come up for the Detroit games early next week. I think Mailloux is going to be one of those and then he'll be sent back down to Laval for the Belleville games later in the week.

Xhekaj will play tonight but it comes at the expense of Stephens who is out with an undisclosed injury. Not an ideal time to be missing your top two centres, that's for sure.

Harris has been waiver-eligible most of this season. Barron is exempt now, eligible next year. Struble and Xhekaj (and Guhle, for that matter) are exempt into next season but will likely become waiver-eligible at some point during 2024-25 based on games played.

That's actually a bit better than I was expecting in terms of the bonuses.

Why would Rochester rest anyone? They're one point out of the division lead; I'm sure they'll be playing their full available roster.

Looks like he'll join up with the Habs on Sunday in Detroit.

Definitely a harder path but still not impossible since Laval has the tiebreaker on Belleville if it comes to it. If Laval wins their last 3 games in regulation (2 against Belleville), Belleville has to get 5 points out of 6 in their other 3 games to beat the Rocket. The Sens have Rochester on the road for 2 starting tonight and the Amerks are a better team on paper.

You might not be seeing him, he hasn't played the last few games.

Well, what a barnburner of a period that was, especially in the first half where there were what, a whole three shots on net?

2-2 now.

Emmett Croteau (a goalie prospect for the Habs) has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

A small technicality but the Habs wouldn't really need a loan agreement to get him to Laval. Their contract supercedes the Sweden one with the transfer agreement between the NHL and the Swedish Federation. That said, if this is getting done (and it's reasonable to think it is), the Habs are involved with this and have signed off. NHL Plan A, SHL Plan B, goes to Laval when Timra's playoffs end. I don't hate that approach but I'm not thrilled that it burns a contract slot for next season. That said, I also think he'd have a semi-decent chance of making Montreal's roster so that last point could be moot.

Probably not. It sounds like as part of the sale, the current Coyotes owner will retain the exclusive naming/branding rights for Coyotes as well as a multi-year agreement for exclusive ownership of the expansion franchise that is widely expected to be granted to Arizona once the arena situation is sorted out and built. That way, the team moves now but they come back to the market in 2029 or so as an expansion team with a new arena in the TV market they don't want to lose.

And that's okay from a seventh-round pick. If he's a reserve forward who comes in when injuries arise and can kill penalties and play on the fourth line, there's nothing really wrong with that outcome. That said, his price point can't go much higher than it is now if he wants to stick around. Fortunately, management saw this as a possibility and slightly front-loaded his contract so he'll only be owed a $1M qualifying offer next summer.

Yeah, I think it's more this than anything. This is a team that was 'built' to contend for first overall in the lottery standings and even sold at the trade deadline when they were in a playoff spot. A letdown was bound to happen.