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Habs trade for Eric Staal


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Staal isn't on the CPRA list today which is quite odd as players having to quarantine go on there.  That suggests that he hasn't made it to Montreal yet which means his countdown wouldn't start until tomorrow.

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48 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

Staal isn't on the CPRA list today which is quite odd as players having to quarantine go on there.  That suggests that he hasn't made it to Montreal yet which means his countdown wouldn't start until tomorrow.

Could he be quarantining somewhere en route? Assuming that he drove rather than flying.

 

I assume the government doesn't care what city he does that in.

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38 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

Could he be quarantining somewhere en route? Assuming that he drove rather than flying.

 

I assume the government doesn't care what city he does that in.

 

I think he has to be at the hotel before the countdown clock starts.

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Now Staal is on the CPRA list so the 7-day countdown should start today.  That would then end Saturday the 3rd.  The Habs play the 5th but that would only be one practice so that may be too early.  That would then make his potential debut April 7th against Toronto.

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36 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

Now Staal is on the CPRA list so the 7-day countdown should start today.  That would then end Saturday the 3rd.  The Habs play the 5th but that would only be one practice so that may be too early.  That would then make his potential debut April 7th against Toronto.


Toronto would be a fitting debut. Old guy line vs old guy line

 

I like our old guys

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Well, Staal's debut practice was with:

and on the powerplay:

 

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Interesting to see Dom is keeping Suzuki-Anderson together and giving to talented wingers to Staal.

I am impressed by how much he is willing to switch the lineup around quicker that CJ used to. I like it

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Am very very surprised Staal isnt on 4th line?

 

Tatar-Danault-Gallagher

Drouin-Staal-Toffoli

Perry-Suzuki-Anderson

Byron-Kotkaniemi-Lehkonen

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4 minutes ago, DON said:

Am very very surprised Staal isnt on 4th line?

 

Tatar-Danault-Gallagher

Drouin-Staal-Toffoli

Perry-Suzuki-Anderson

Byron-Kotkaniemi-Lehkonen

 

You’re not alone, I was quite startled. And the demotion of KK is a bit worrisome, in principle. I didn’t see Staal as an upgrade on Kotkaniemi, and if that’s how the Habs see it, then their faith in the kid is not super high.

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4 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

You’re not alone, I was quite startled. And the demotion of KK is a bit worrisome, in principle. I didn’t see Staal as an upgrade on Kotkaniemi, and if that’s how the Habs see it, then their faith in the kid is not super high.


I think is the old trick of lighting a fire under certain player’s skates

KK is the future but not currently playing as a top 6 NHL Center 

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34 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

I want wins so I hope the lines work out but what has KK done to warrant 4th line minutes? I think KK has been better than Suzuki for much of the season. 

 

I'm fairly confident that Kotkaniemi won't be playing strictly fourth line minutes.  If I'm not mistaken, no forward has had a bigger increase in ATOI since the coaching change since Kotkaniemi.  That's not going to change overnight.  And with how that line performed against Edmonton last week, it's no wonder they're being reunited for another game against Edmonton.

 

This feels like an attempt to get back to the beginning of the year where they run four lines.  With so many games in a compressed timeframe, it's something they're going to need to do.

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It doesn’t matter where the lines are slotted as long as all 4 lines with this configuration get approximately equal ice time. If you recall, the KK line as currently configured had a monster game against Edmonton. A little more surprised to see Evans sitting given his recent play, but it is obvious that Durcharme wants to give Leks, Byron, Kk another kick at the can  vs Edmonton. I like it if only because it demonstrates that Durcharme really is an innovative thinker and completely unafraid to take risks based on his knowledge of the team. 

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15 minutes ago, PMAC said:

A little more surprised to see Evans sitting given his recent play, 

 

This one is cap-driven.  With the current roster configuration, they can't afford Evans on the active roster.  With Staal and Toffoli back to give them 12 forwards, they don't have the exempt recall option anymore and can only afford 13 forwards on the roster - the 12 playing tonight plus Armia.  If they want Evans in, they have to sit Byron and put him on the taxi squad and if they want Byron playing, Evans can't suit up.

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28 minutes ago, PMAC said:

It doesn’t matter where the lines are slotted as long as all 4 lines with this configuration get approximately equal ice time. If you recall, the KK line as currently configured had a monster game against Edmonton. A little more surprised to see Evans sitting given his recent play, but it is obvious that Durcharme wants to give Leks, Byron, Kk another kick at the can  vs Edmonton. I like it if only because it demonstrates that Durcharme really is an innovative thinker and completely unafraid to take risks based on his knowledge of the team. 

 

It’s a fair point about ice time, but putting KK with Lehkonen and Byron is hardly a recipe for building his confidence or skills as an offensive player. 

 

I don’t want to make too much of it, as it’s just one game (and indeed, line configurations can change within a single game, let alone between them). Still, the longer-term question with KK is whether he will ever become a top-6 C or whether he is basically the second coming of Lars Eller. Bumping him down to the 4th line with plumbers because Old Man Staal showed up is slightly worrisome because Staal is *clearly* no longer a top-6 C and yet Ducharme’s initial response to him is to have him displace KK. In other words, DD is very far from convinced that Kotkaniemi is top-6 material. It might be a signal that the coach inclines towards seeing the kid as Eller 2.0.

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6 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

DD is very far from convinced that Kotkaniemi is top-6 material. It might be a signal that the coach inclines towards seeing the kid as Eller 2.0.

 

With 5 goals, and 17 points in 34 games...it's not unreasonable for Ducharme to be wondering if KK might be Eller 2.0  It's on KK to produce enough offence to convince him otherwise, and so far, he has not.

     
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7 minutes ago, sbhatt said:

 

With 5 goals, and 17 points in 34 games...it's not unreasonable for Ducharme to be wondering if KK might be Eller 2.0  It's on KK to produce enough offence to convince him otherwise, and so far, he has not.

     

 

I’m not really blaming DD. The point is just that it’s a bit of a troubling sign re: KK’s development. 

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19 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

I’m not really blaming DD. The point is just that it’s a bit of a troubling sign re: KK’s development. 


Gotcha, and I share the sentiment: so far I KK looks far from a sure thing to develop into a good #2 center.  Concerning indeed, considering we could have drafted Tkachuk instead...who is already a productive top 6 winger.

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49 minutes ago, sbhatt said:

With 5 goals, and 17 points in 34 games...it's not unreasonable for Ducharme to be wondering if KK might be Eller 2.0  It's on KK to produce enough offence to convince him otherwise, and so far, he has not.

     

So far, in the Ducharme era, Kotkaniemi has been getting more ice time and more responsibility than Julien ever gave him. He's scored 10 points in 16 games under Ducharme, or 0.625/game, in spite of not always having the highest-scoring linemates.

 

For perspective, Gallagher is at 0.68 this season, Suzuki 0.65, Drouin 0.62 and Anderson 0.58.

 

I don't see anything in his game performances that would have caused Ducharme to suddenly write him off. But maybe Ducharme will tell us more this afternoon, or after the game.

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2 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

So far, in the Ducharme era, Kotkaniemi has been getting more ice time and more responsibility than Julien ever gave him. He's scored 10 points in 16 games under Ducharme, or 0.625/game

 

It could very well be a ploy to get KK out there against the Oilers' weakest line and defense pairing...we will see.

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Quote from Ducharme's press conference this afternoon:

Quote

I'll tell you after the game tonight who was our first line, decond line, third line, fourth line.

Arpon Basu translation: The line that plays the best will play more.

 

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1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

It’s a fair point about ice time, but putting KK with Lehkonen and Byron is hardly a recipe for building his confidence or skills as an offensive player ...

MB made it clear with what he did in the off-season that this is no longer building/development time ... however, if Caufield shows enough in Laval to be brought up that will change the mix/concept of the 4th line

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