G Man

Good news is that at this point in the season there are no moral victories... whether you lose 2-1 or 5-1, it doesn't matter. A loss against PIT is disappointing but not unexpected. And it's not a 4 pt game to me as they're not one of the teams I'm hoping the Habs can beat out to make the playoffs. CBJ lost, and they are the team I'm focused on beating out to make the playoffs. Adding that many big pieces at the deadline it takes a while to gel, you have 2 stars publicly wanting out at season's end, and a coach that has a history of not getting along with players.. has all the makings of flaming out IMO. Tough schedule as well. If not, I'd look to CAR as their schedule is brutal.. almost lost a point tonight, but pulled it out in OT. They're at 5W in a row, once that good run finally ends they're due a cold spell.

Yeah EOTP is the only decent one I know of.. thanks. I remember that dlbalr handle.. one of the originals when there was no site, we just had the message board. Trying to figure out how long that was, time flies Thanks!

Haven't been around for a long time.. does HW have an org depth chart? Love knowing about our prospects though articles & board discussions.. but really nice to be able to see an overview in one page to appreciate the big picture. Looking forward to next draft already.

Projecting forward I don't see Gorges on this team if we are going to move the needle towards eventually contending. Markov, Subban, Emelin, Tinordi needs to become our top 4 sooner rather than later. Pateryn/Beaulieu can become your bottom pairing... ...and you hope Beaulieu can develop his game enough to take a top 4 spot once Markov retires. You have to make room for those players, Gorges will have to be one of the guys who will have to leave. He could be a bottom pairing, but not at that cap hit. Anyhow.. while he is good, personally I need my defensive Dmen to be bigger and bring a more physical element to the game. Tinordi, Emelin, Pateryn better fit that mold. Diaz will have to go as well.. not sure he has much value but I'd like to see him traded, or simply not re-signed this summer. It will be time to shed low-ceiling veterans like Gorges, Diaz, Bouillon and make room for Tinordi, Pateryn, Beaulieu. Risky to bring up so many kids at the same time, but if we're not going to contend.. I'd rather start counting on them now and accelerate the learning curve, even if we have to live with some growing pains. Unloading Gorges' salary will also help absorb Subban's new massive cap hit.

You only trade Plekanec now if you've given up on being competitive and going for a rebuild.. I don't favor such move, nor do I think the Habs are thinking rebuild. The mistake was re-signing DD to that term.. he shouldn't be on this team past next season, or even past this season perhaps. My top 3 centers would be: Plekanec Galchenyuk Eller Put Plekanec in a more offensive role, with better offensive talent. Galchenyuk settles in as 2nd offensive line. Eller is molded into Jordan Staal role. As Galchenyuk game's evolves, and Plekanec's starts slowing down.. #1 & #2 roles are reversed.

Or if he'd play with top level talent.. he'd would have better point production than the 50-60 he has averaged over the years. Can we get this guy something better than Bourque, Gionta, Moen please?

I agree the best argument I can think of is that he gets a chance to get back in and play a game without likely having to fight. The 7 Dman experiment didn't work anyway.. so why not do this. Special teams gotta be good tonight just for us to stay in it.. players have just a little more motivation as their GM likely wants this one a little more vs. former employer, and conversely might be just a little more upset if they don't show up for this one.