sbhatt Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 6 minutes ago, Chris said: Drouin is primed to be stapled to the bench early on now. If he looks anything less than sharp even in the early going, that's the move to make. If it continues for an extended period, swing a deal with a floor team to dump him and cut losses. It should be poop or get off the pot time for Drouin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalhabs Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Maybe after our short but exciting playoff run Molson decided to tell MB to either reach the playoffs or be fired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 I found this great write up on Tyler Toffoli, I am liking this. https://www.nucksmisconduct.com/2020/2/23/21132879/toffoli-scouting-report 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Tatar-Danault-Gallywagger Drouin-Suzuki-Anderson Toffoli-KK-Armia Lekky-Evans-PoPo-Weal-etc Three lines that can actually score! And a solid, if not flashy, defence corps. And a real back-up for Price that can take over for periods of time when necessary. Call me optimistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trizzak Posted October 12, 2020 Author Share Posted October 12, 2020 11 minutes ago, Colin said: Tatar-Danault-Gallywagger Drouin-Suzuki-Anderson Toffoli-KK-Armia Lekky-Evans-PoPo-Weal-etc Three lines that can actually score! And a solid, if not flashy, defence corps. And a real back-up for Price that can take over for periods of time when necessary. Call me optimistic. I've generally got Armia bumped to the 4th line on my mock lines. Edit: Also I miss you bb come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Hmm, I Iikey a lot. I'm thinking that Toffoli might be able to reproduce his career high 2015 season totals every year with the Habs, or very close to it. If not he should at least get 25 g/25 a per year. After the Habs got Anderson I was thinking Gallagher might be expendable, but now that they have Toffoli I'm thinking that MB is probably looking to trade Tartar for a dman that makes 4.9 or under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Really like this deal. There are a lot of guys in this league with those kinds of numbers making over 5 million, so I think it is actually good value. He showed a lot of life after getting out of LA, which has just been crap for a number of years now. Montreal is closer in talent to Vancouver than LA at this point, so I fully expecting him to be in the 25-25-50 range this year. Better bang for the buck than Drouin! Going past this year, you gotta figure that Byron and Drouin are both on their way out if they want to keep all three of Danault, Tatar, and Gallagher. Unless Drouin magically wakes up, in which case it's probably Tatar or Gallagher who is gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Tatar is a ghost in the playoffs and is UFA next year. Don;t see him resigning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 All 24 of Toffoli's goals: 21 minutes ago, Fanpuck33 said: Really like this deal. There are a lot of guys in this league with those kinds of numbers making over 5 million, so I think it is actually good value. He showed a lot of life after getting out of LA, which has just been crap for a number of years now. Montreal is closer in talent to Vancouver than LA at this point, so I fully expecting him to be in the 25-25-50 range this year. Better bang for the buck than Drouin! Going past this year, you gotta figure that Byron and Drouin are both on their way out if they want to keep all three of Danault, Tatar, and Gallagher. Unless Drouin magically wakes up, in which case it's probably Tatar or Gallagher who is gone. You are totally right that Drouin is also a possibility of being moved, and about the contract, lots of guys easily make $1 mil+ more with similar stats, like Drouin and Tatar. However, after watching Toffolis goals, its sad but I believe that it will be Gally that gets moved. Anderson and Toffoli are bigger and are equally good around the net and which will make Gally expendable in that regard, plus they have close to the same goals as Gally too. Also, thinking ahead to Caufield out of Gally, Tatar, and Drouin; Gally has the least assists and Caufield will need to play with some great passers. Drouin is the best passer out of the 3, and Tatar is 2nd. Plus Gally will want more $ than Tartar or Drouin, and out of the 3, Gally has the highest trade value too so it seems likely that Caufield will replace Gally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 I love this signing - and I predicted all along that MB would try to bag Toffoli, LOL - based on how Toffoli stepped into Van's lineup and made an impact. He is a strong second-line W, physical, excellent two-way, can score. Good signing, reasonable ticket and term. My concern is positional. I thought Toffoli was a RW? I don't want guys playing out of position. Nor do I want guys who are hypothetically "multi-position" players who turn out to be way better at one of those positions. Anyway, assuming away the position problem, this really solidifies the new model Habs: we now have Anderson, Armia, Toffoli, Kotkaniemi, and Gallagher playing in-your-face hockey in our top nine. Add to that Weber, Chiarot, and Edmunson on the back end and we have legit size capable of playing quality minutes throughout the lineup. These are big guys who can play. This team has the potential to be a playoff nightmare. If they make the playoffs. And frankly, I think they now have the depth to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 I've never played hockey before, how hard is for a player to switch from one wing to the other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Its hard to be equally effective moving from one wing the other or LD / RD' It does make a big difference on in 3 zones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link67 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Not a HUGE fan of this move, just from a roster position It is kind of awkward now to figure out where he can get an opportunity to be a 20 goal guy with wingers like Drouin/Tatar and Anderson/Gallagher in his way. He is going to have a hard time justifying his cap hit with production from a 3rd line position, which at this moment is where he looks like he slots in our depth chart. We'll see what other roster moves will take place to give a better idea of how this all fits come Jan. 1st, but on a healthy line up, he is going to be playing a long side Armia and whichever center is in the 3rd slot between Danault and KK. While that could prove useful, to have such a formidable top 9, it could also come with its issues having inflated cap hits on your 3rd line. I don't hate it, but i'm not thrilled about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 6 minutes ago, Chris said: Its hard to be equally effective moving from one wing the other or LD / RD' It does make a big difference on in 3 zones 100%. It's very hard on D. Probably not so hard for FW, but still, I would appreciate it if any poster can shed any insight on Toffoli's merits as a LW specifically. 5 minutes ago, Link67 said: Not a HUGE fan of this move, just from a roster position It is kind of awkward now to figure out where he can get an opportunity to be a 20 goal guy with wingers like Drouin/Tatar and Anderson/Gallagher in his way. He is going to have a hard time justifying his cap hit with production from a 3rd line position, which at this moment is where he looks like he slots in our depth chart. We'll see what other roster moves will take place to give a better idea of how this all fits come Jan. 1st, but on a healthy line up, he is going to be playing a long side Armia and whichever center is in the 3rd slot between Danault and KK. While that could prove useful, to have such a formidable top 9, it could also come with its issues having inflated cap hits on your 3rd line. I don't hate it, but i'm not thrilled about it. This frees us up not to rely on Drouin to be effective or productive. Since Drouin is a perpetual basket case, that is a major improvement to the structure of this team's roster. Worst-case scenario (barring injury), this creates a healthy competition for ice at LW. An area of weakness is now an area of strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 The one downside of choosing to sign Toffoli (instead of one of the other remaining UFA forwards) is that he's strictly a winger, so we did not get any additional experience at C. Centre will be down to Danault and the kids (Suzuki, Kotkaniemi and Evans). And hope for no injuries! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 How does Drouin justify his contract? he is the one in trouble, he is basically useless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 When you think about it, 4.25 million\year for a guy who has averaged goals in the mid twenties, plays a 2 way game and we get him before his prime years expire (28-31), he will just be turning 32 when his contract expires and he has been pretty durable. It looks like a pretty good deal to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 What has the vets over the past 10 years produced exactly? poop, that's what Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Play the kids at center, the only ones who produced come playoff time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 23 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: My concern is positional. I thought Toffoli was a RW? I don't want guys playing out of position. Nor do I want guys who are hypothetically "multi-position" players who turn out to be way better at one of those positions. Yeah, it's not clear what the plan is there. I will assume that Bergevin and Julien figured it out before signing Toffoli, though. 23 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: This team has the potential to be a playoff nightmare. If they make the playoffs. And frankly, I think they now have the depth to do it. The Cucumber endorsements are not lightly handed out, so this gives me some added confidence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 As a fan, I have much more leeway with a younger player, learning on the job, than a vet making mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 8 minutes ago, tomh009 said: The one downside of choosing to sign Toffoli (instead of one of the other remaining UFA forwards) is that he's strictly a winger, so we did not get any additional experience at C. Centre will be down to Danault and the kids (Suzuki, Kotkaniemi and Evans). And hope for no injuries! Yep. The inexperience and lack of depth at C will bite us in the balls sooner or later. MB will need to make a further move to correct that, eventually. 7 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: When you think about it, 4.25 million\year for a guy who has averaged goals in the mid twenties, plays a 2 way game and we get him before his prime years expire (28-31), he will just be turning 32 when his contract expires and he has been pretty durable. It looks like a pretty good deal to me. This seems to be a prototypical case of a mid-range UFA getting less than he would have made on the open market pre-Covid. I find nothing at all to complain about in this signing. My only concern is positional. Shocking that Van traded assets to acquire Toffoli at the deadline and then was not prepared to sign him to a deal along these lines. More tomfoolery in what is shaping up to be a disastrous off-season for Canuckleheads' GM Jim Benning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 3 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: Yep. The inexperience and lack of depth at C will bite us in the balls sooner or later. MB will need to make a further move to correct that, eventually. It's a high-risk game there. The kids could ramp up quickly: they certainly looked good in the postseason. And maybe the faceoffs really aren't that critical (some analysts argue that the faceoff percentage is not all that important). But even if that works out reasonably well, sooner or later one of the four will be hurt, and we're moving Evans up and/or recalling Poehling, Belzile or maybe Khisamutdinov to fill in. Still, it's certainly no worse than the challenges we had this past season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 46 minutes ago, bar said: I've never played hockey before, how hard is for a player to switch from one wing to the other? It is common for many Russians to play their "off" side ... I believe that MB said they would leave it up to Romanov to show if he was most comfortable on the right or the left side ... but it is more common amongst forwards ... Ovechkin (and Kovalchuk), for example, over the years has preferred to play LW ... similarly, Radulov preferred RW ... four of the top 7 point scoring wingers in the playoffs played their "off" wing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 23 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: Shocking that Van traded assets to acquire Toffoli at the deadline and then was not prepared to sign him to a deal along these lines. More tomfoolery in what is shaping up to be a disastrous off-season for Canuckleheads' GM Jim Benning. Yup, Vancouver has 10 forwards making 3 million a year or more, Montreal now has 7 with Toffoli signed. Vancouver has no flexibility, MB kept some powder dry and finally used it for a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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