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Quite a grouping of XXXL teenager d-men at start of 2nd round. All small compared to that 7-footer than just joined the OHL i suppose.

Same article. Go Marty!

I agree with this. If we get a 2C then Matheson can go. Otherwise Im holding him.

A surprisingly realistic list.

Good post. The thing is, with MM we probably have one of the league’s better (maybe one of its best) defence corps. Subtract him, and suddenly that advantage goes away for just the reason you state. So, yeah. Trade him for that C if the unicorn appears. Other than that, well, lean into our competitive advantage at D.

Agree 100%

"This doesn't necessarily mean that Canadiens management intends to turn Zachary Bolduc into a centerman, or at least to move him back to center for the first time in a long while."

Smart move to have the left handed wingers go through intense faceoff training. Bolduc taking the faceoffs instead of Dach would be helpful - if Bolduc turns out to be good

2C found. Canadiens Management Make First Key Decision Involving Newcomer Zachary Bolduc

Way-too-early predictions for the 2025-26 NHL season: Stanley Cup winner, awards and more - The Athletic

AHL names 2024-25 winners of excellence awards | TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League The Rocket won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for finishing with the best record in the AHL during the 2024-25 regular season before advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in four seasons. Off the ice, they remained a model of excellence in all areas of their operation, seeing continued business growth and providing a first-class experience to their fans at Place Bell where they averaged better than 9,900 fans per game during the regular season (including 23 sellouts).

Matheson is indeed a tricky read. On one hand he absolutely stands out as prime trade bait with his age, last year of his contract and his diminishing role. But on the other, were just not in a situation where subtracting him from our lineup makes sense (at least not to start the season). With Matheson still in our top 4 (I don't know how it'll all pan out, but I assume that one of Guhle or Matheson will pair with Hutson, the other with Dobson), it slots Carrier down onto the third with either one of Xhekaj or Struble. With Matheson removed (before Reinbacher or Engstrom are ready to make a jump into our top four), I assume this bumps Carrier back into the top four. Which might not be the best look if we are aiming for a step or two of progress. It'll be curious to see how it all plays out, but personally, unless a Matheson trade can be used to truly address the need at Center, I would lean in favor of holding on to him. At least to start the season.

That is true. It's a quiet time of year for hockey writers, they need to find something to write about.

St-Louis got Matheson to play a more defensive role--and, yes, Hutson's arrival was one reason why, but Savard's decline and Kovacevic's departure would also have been factors. Matheson talked about his new role in multiple interviews during the season.

He's a superstar. Can't see it myself.

i can see Hutson being a Beast on the right side as long as the D breakdowns that happen dont reach to his head too far

Matheson #s dropped, assume some must be the Hutson-factor. 23-24 82gms 25:33 62pts PP-3:41 PK-2:59 24-25 80gms 25:05 30pts PP-1:57 PK-3:28 Who knows, maybe he and Dobson could be a good pairing and just stick Hutson on right-side with Guhle?

Yes, good post. What do you do with Matheson? If he is willing to accept a lesser roll with a bit of a hometown discount then perhaps you extend him. If not then you have to look at trading him. I am sure Matheson has had discussions with Hughes about his future. His next contract will also likely be his last chance at making good money. But if he can help get somebody to fill the 2c role then he is likely gone.

So what do you do with Matheson? Used to playing 25minutes/game but no longer will, he will get zero PP time anymore and his contract is running out. So trading him at some point still makes sense, be in now, mid-season or at deadline (least preferred if in a playoff spot). BUT, he is the only Hab d-man over the age of 28, so creating an even younger d-core likely not recommended. Will be interesting and are always injuries so need depth also.

OK, so I started with a list of the NHL starters (30 goalies who played at least 41 games) and narrowed it to the younger ones (more recent picks); I used 28 as the cutoff, which gave me 17 goalies. Five Canadians, five Americans and seven Europeans (two Czechs, two Russians, two Swedes and one Finn) Six from CHL (1 OHL, 1 QMJHL and 4 WHL), four from NCAA, three from Liiga, two from SHL and one each from ExtraLiga and KHL. Four out of five US goalies chose the NCAA route, in Europe Liiga was a popular option for young goalies. List, sorted by games played: Rank Country Name League Team Age Games GAA SPCT 3 CA Samuel Montembeault QMJHL MTL 28 62 2.82 0.901 6 SE Filip Gustavsson SHL MIN 26 58 2.56 0.914 7 US Jake Oettinger NCAA DAL 26 58 2.59 0.909 8 US Jeremy Swayman NCAA BOS 26 58 3.12 0.892 9 CZ Karel Vejmelka ExtraLiga UTA 28 58 2.58 0.904 11 US Joey Daccord NCAA SEA 28 57 2.75 0.906 13 CA Mackenzie Blackwood OHL COL 28 56 2.55 0.912 14 FI Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Liiga BUF 25 55 3.2 0.887 16 CZ Lukas Dostal Liiga ANA 24 54 3.1 0.903 17 US Dustin Wolf WHL CGY 23 53 2.64 0.91 20 CA Stuart Skinner WHL EDM 26 51 2.81 0.896 22 CA Adin Hill WHL VGK 28 50 2.47 0.906 24 RU Alexandar Georgiev Liiga SJS 28 49 3.71 0.875 25 RU Pyotr Kochetkov KHL CAR 25 47 2.6 0.897 27 SE Samuel Ersson SHL PHI 25 47 3.14 0.883 29 CA Logan Thompson WHL WSH 27 43 2.48 0.91 30 US Joseph Woll NCAA TOR 26 42 2.73 0.909

I get the argument for the players locked at old-market rates, but we went from 3 assets I was willing to trade for a real #2C (combination of 1st picks, Mailloux + and Matheson +) to only one. So I feel trading Matheson + for another winger is what kinda derails (or rush) the rebuild.

What is track record of CHL vs NCAA goalies upon graduating to pros? Seems most of best goalies are European, arnt they? Who do play more games/season than NCAA also.

I'd also add that maybe Gorton and Hughes still rate our guys better than we do as fans a) Dach is still highly rated regardless of knee issue B) they consider Newhook more of a C than a W, as his history throughout his career in all leagues suggest (including the NHL) C) expecting Hage to jump straight into the NHL from NCAA D) Beck and Kapanan as quality depth centers

I'm curious to see how people view goalie development. Playing more games and facing more shots in the CHL may be a better option for many goalies.