hockeyrealist

Definitely. KK seems willing to put in work, although seems it may have been a little misguided in the past it is still a great trait to see in a young player. I say that As there were reports he put a little too much emphasis on muscle-building in the past at the sake of his agility, speed. He seems to be finding a balance, good on him. He’s got talent so having a work ethic to match gets me excited about his future in bleu,blanc et rouge.

I agree he should play lots of minutes in all situations in Laval, I don’t think that should happen regardless of how he does in camp. As in, if he doesn’t prove he wants it by making it hard to not keep him in NHL then I don’t think he should be handed anything, even in AHL. I like Evans, agree he is likely to step up and seems to be ready for the chance. If the wingers are indeed Lehks, Byron; whomever plays centre is better off than most fourth line centres would be. So, They may end up playing more than the typical fourth line which may not end up being a big impediment to Poehling’s development, again if he surprisingly makes it impossible to send him down whether at wing or centre (of which, Centre appears to be the most likely room for him).

Interesting, KK, Toffolli, Anderson could be one dominant line indeed. All are pretty heavy players who can skate, could be terrors on opposing d. Poehling intrigues me too, he went from having a pretty clear path to the the big leagues to seeming redundant. From rumours it seems he has contributed to that himself with poor conditioning, so agreed that I am also curious how he shows up. I wonder if his first game success made him think he didn’t have to put in the mandatory effort off-season? kinda sucks as I had high hopes for him but seems we are better off without him in lineup given the recent level of depth at forward. With the Toffoli, Anderson additions I love the top 9, assuming TDG line continues to be reliable, productive. It is like having 1A,1B,1C lines and a scary Quick fourth to boot.

This has turned into a interesting conversation that I have some experience/learned about from some semi-pros/university players. It seems largely dependent on the individual. Players with great balance, Independent hip/leg Strength, core strength and excellent edge work can constantly modify their personal position relative to the puck/play so it almost doesn’t matter where they are on the ice. This is a skill all elite players have but can vary greatly b/w players from adequate to excellent. It doesn’t matter if it means body positioning to box out/open yourself up, making/accepting passes in all three zones or unloading a vicious off-side one time a la Ovie the mechanics have to be second nature and strong. The other side is mental, all players I know and have spoken with mentioned the additional Micro-second of time that you are less aware of your surroundings when on your off-side, simply due to blind spots that exist at all times are now coming from even more dangerous ares of the ice relative to you. Part of what makes some excel in these situations is a comfort with heightened risk/calculated risk. Some people are slightly quicker pulling in, processing the info around them that it minimizes this threat. wow sorry to rant but got excited as have had convos about this recently. I was lead to believe it is a great example of a player who needs strong mechanics, physical skills (puck skills), and a mental fortitude with quick processing power. The elite do this in all three zones, snipers do it offensively. the little i know of toffolli lends it to see why he could do this well. That leads me to wonder about lines if: Danault/Tuna/Gally trio is to remain intact. And Drouin is given a chance to Reconnect with Suzuki since they showed chemistry and we need Drouin to produce, and if Indeed Toffoli is best option to play off side wing, he may be defaulted to playing on another line centred by KK. If that happens I see Anderson going RW With JoDro and Suzuk. Anderson pots 20g 20a and eliminates anyone who takes a run at his line. Suz hits 60 pts, Drouin 55-60. which leads to: Would Armia then play RW w/ KK, Toffoli on his off wing at LW to round out top 9? Tha could be a hard line to play against. 4th of Lehks,Evans,Byro? Also hard to play against.... I kinda like the looks of it, assuming the Danault line continues to be a strong line. Loving this Toffoli acquisition.

This isn’t even the correct thread for this whiner opinion, gotta complain about something. As if you have near the breadth of knowledge or research as the management team that does this for a living. There is next to no concern about Anderson’s health and he provides exactly what Habs have been desperately missing. The guys has wheel and can straight up beat goalies off the rush or in close, get off the negative nelly hormones or at least use the right thread to spew your negative bs. All kinds of league professionals see Anderson signing as a good move, but let’s stop and listen to some schmo who wants to shit on anything apparently. Must suck to not even find joy in the Habs moves this past month, feel bad for ya.

Good points, like this move more now.

Amen to that

Indeed, semantics matter here. Expandable versus expendable are both very different than replaceable. Question is, if our current 30-35 goal scorer expects a certain dollar value that aligns with market value how do you expect to replace that Without paying a similar amount? to answer the original question, no Gallagher and Danault have not been made expendable, but like 99.9% of people they are replaceable. But to replace a quality asset with an equally quality, yet cheaper asset is asking a lot of a manager.

I can’t recall ever being impressed with Domi as a goal scoring threat, more of a playmaker imo. meanwhile a review of Anderson’s goals show a legit snipe of shot (snap shot from both wings and strong backhand). Given that I think the Habs have more playmakers than goal-scorers, I think he has a strong chance to thrive and contribute more than Domi could have. Domi carrying the puck through the neutral zone or entering the o-zone reminded me of watching Gomez do the same, it would get exciting for a moment and then generally fizzle. The lack of shooting strength and skill is similar, takes away options, makes defending easy once identified. Anderson can beat a goalie off the rush and in close.

Noticed that too and the big dollars come on later (years 3,4,5 I believe) when cap will be rising again, hopefully/probably.

Haha great point. while 5.5 aav looks high at first. if he ends up a real top 6 forward for many years this will look like a good value. Also, could blow up but I think he will be worth it. I have seen him drag his teammates into games single handed, plays Big like Gallagher but Is actually big, and pretty mobile to boot. Gally, Armia and Anderson are gonna wear défenses down.

Haha that is gold Jerry, gold.

Agreed, had high hopes and think he can still be a valuable piece. seems better than Mete, Fleury when he was healthy.

He should have chosen to sit out then or been preparing on his own like a professional. he also should play where he is put and put in a consistent effort regardless of position/line mates. Like a pro, and an adult. good riddance.

Haha I love this line and agree. not sure if this poll is supposed to reflect this off-season or all of 2020 as a whole? Either way, that comment kicks ass and agree too that some of these opinions are cherry picking numbers that fit their argument rather than looking at the whole.