The Chicoutimi Cucumber

Both guys are in a Jonathan Drouin situation, back when MB acquired him. There was a reason TB was moving a 23-year-old 3rd overall pick. His relationship with management had soured - but also they may have wisely discerned that he was a basket case. Normally a 23-25 year old C with high pedigree is not going to be available at all, if their team has no concerns about them. (Exceptions do arise, e.g., the Black Hawks dumping Dach). I'd be worried about that trade disrupting our salary structure - Suzuki should be our highest-paid guy - but would probably make the deal. I don't see LA making it, though. Sure, they are relieved of five years of PLD's contract on the back end, but they want to contend now. This deal would commit them to $7 mil in cap costs over the next three years without making them a better team. That doesn't make sense to a team that wants to contend.

It's very interesting to note that there are two potentially high-impact, relatively young C who will likely be available on the market this summer: Dubois and Zegras. Of the two, whom would you rather acquire? Zegras is younger and a better contract, we know that. But then again you could probably get Dubois for far less valuable assets in return because of the salary. 🤷‍♂️ (I suspect HuGo will acquire neither, and will instead surprise us. But who knows).

I don't really hate Tampa, even though they've absolutely owned us over the years; but it's about bloody time the sun finally sets on them. It irks me, sort of in general, when soulless markets like Tampa or Vegas enjoy massive, bloated success for years and years. (I tend to think of Carolina the same way, probably unfairly since they did endure years of suckage). As for the Canucks, Pettersson - who I love as a player - looks completely lost. It's so bad that he'll probably need time to work his way out of it. The Preds have also done a good job of containing Hughes, JT Miller, and Boeser. But the Canucks will argue that they did show up last game - they had a ridiculous number of shot attempts and dominated possession. I think an underplayed story tonight is the return of Tyler Myers. His replacement, Juulsen, was putrid, and with Shakey DeSmith in net they cannot have a rodeo clown taking minutes on D. My other thought on that series is that it's a war of attrition. The Preds have been blocking insane numbers of shots and absorbing considerable physical punishment. They can win the series that way, but then again it might wear on them over time. Keep blasting pucks at them. And FFS stop missing the net when you do get a chance.

For my part, I couldn't care less about the whole "Canadian Cup" thing. Two of my most hated teams - Great Satan Toronto and minor irritant Ottawa - are Canadian. And I'd prefer that US teams win lots of Cups than that they win anything, ever. I'm indifferent to Winnipeg (but dislike Scheifle for his savage assault on Evans); and I don't like Calgary because they are from Calgary. Now EDM is OK because of McDavid and their history of winning with speed and talent. Van I've discussed above. So other than mild support for Van, my attitude to the other teams ranges from indifference to bile-spewing loathing. That said, I'm no enthusiast of these soulless American expansion markets. But we do see them win an awful lot. Carolina has iced multiple generations of contenders since coming into the league, while the Habs have not built a sustained contender once during that span. My general expectation in Bettman's NHL the Cup usually goes to the most soulless franchise possible. So by that logic, Dallas will win this year. Further thoughts on the Canucks series: 1. When Demko went down, the general tone was defiance: "hey, they have a winning record with DeSmith, etc." I told everyone that that was crap and that the Canucks are done. So far, so "good" for my prognostication skills...unfortunately. 2. Nashville plays exactly like the Jacques Martin Habs did. Collapse around the net, block shots like crazy, rely on opportunistic offence. Very frustrating to play against. 3. Mike McCarron has been doing a shockingly good job of neutralizing JT Miller, from what I can see. 4. Noah Julsuun was the worst player on the ice in Game 2. A cardinal example of the old saw about a team's weakest link being what ultimately defines its success or failure.

Agree. I'd be sorely tempted to make that trade, for sure.

I used to despise the Canucks. Moved to the Vancouver area during the "West Coast Express" era and was appalled when the fan base rallied in support of Bertuzzi when he viciously ended Steve Moore's career. Then I heard endless fan moaning about "the Sedin Sisters" (until 2011, when that garbage finally shut up). I wanted no part of Canuckleheads Nation. However, I find myself feeling these days that they've suffered enough. This is a traumatized fanbase, rife with pessimism and a sense of perpetual doom and gloom; and to lose the devastating way they did in 2011, to be followed by over a decade of complete managerial ineptitude, has been years of unremitting agony for these fans. Even this year - a magical year by any measure - huge chunks of the fanbase could not bring themselves to even hope that the team was for real. It was almost comical; I made money by betting my friends that the Canucks would make the playoffs. Naturally they couldn't make that bet fast enough. This fanbase is always waiting for the anvil to fall on its head. This team also has players on it that are right up my alley - particularly Quinn Hughes, who is a real artist. But they have a lot of quality players I either respect or like, including Demko. So yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing them go all the way this year. It's not going to happen now, IMHO.

The only scenario that could be worse would be to lose Hughes. I had a feeling about the Canucks this year - they look ready for a deep run - but I doubt they can survive more than a couple of games without Demko.

Nah, you're just a true-bleu-blanc-et-rouge Habs fan 😉 Welcome to the nether regions of the soul, brother!

I heartily endorse the general sentiment. The Bruins are an authentic rival, and a truly great (and duly hated) opponent over the years; the Leafs are a creation of the TO hype machine. No amount of suffering is too much for them. And I know that if they win, we will NEVER hear the end of it - celebrated over and over on HNIC and the national media as the Greatest Day in Hockey History, universally beloved, blablablablah. Over and over, year after year, until we die. No thanks. The two worst things that could possibly happen to me as a hockey fan are these: 1. The Habs fold and leave town. 2. The Leafs win the Cup. I'm pulling for the Bruins 100% in this series. I'll cheer against them thereafter.

Let's hope not. EA NHL 24 simulator has the Canucks vs Bruins in the Finals with Vancouver winning in 7 🤪 Naturally this has caused considerable amusement on my Facebook feed.

That's sort of the trouble, IMHO. We can talk about "flipping a D for a FW" but guys like Harris, Barron, Struble and Kovacevic are unlikely to command a significant return. The dudes who would bring back a major asset - WiFi, Mailloux, Hutson, Guhle - are the ones we would HATE to see traded. Perhaps the likeliest outcome is that one of our crown jewels on D is actually what gets moved in order to bring back an impact young FW. And we then trust that our blueline depth will allow us to absorb the blow to our D. Rebalancing the roster sounds good but it will probably hurt.

It will be interesting to see how opposing players adapt once the word gets out about him. But safe to say he bids fair to be, without question, the most electrifying Habs defenceman since PK Subban. His shiftiness in this video is profoundly reminiscent of Quinn Hughes - same kind of player. The video is also correct that a D-man like this will "open up the entire Habs offence." 100%. Hughes's supremacy has had a cascading effect on the entire Cancuks roster. I am NOT saying Hutson will be Hughes; rather the point is that a D-man that can manage the offence makes everyone better.

I'm pretty sure he will stop getting a pass next season. MSL may also have been aware that his own attempts to improve Anderson contributed to getting him off track. If your own meddling results in a player regressing, then you probably are going to give him some leeway. It also helps if you have a dearth of talent at W anyway. It's not as though Josh's ice time came at the expense of some elite prospect we're trying to develop. But next year will be a new page, and JA had better pull an Armia and come back with his A game. And I agree with you that Josh Anderson's A-game - while limited - has a lot of value. That player hits, is physical, grinds along the board, carves guys up, drives the net relentlessly with alarming speed and power, and scores 20 goals. I'd love to get him back.

He knows he sucked. From HEOTP: Josh Anderson has no excuses for his play this season.

Seems like a future Armia type? Hopefully "good " Armia, not like the bum we saw prior to January.