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I thought it was 4 years but I could be wrong. Anyway your posting of the JFresh rankings is something I look forward to every year so please don't stop. Hopefully either Alderney Ferry or Hampton Gregwater are available when the Habs draft in the 2nd round.

Huh? You mean the players that signed team friendly contracts because they want to win? If you can move him for a player that helps the team, I think the guys in the room would appreciate it.

If hes a starter this is on the cheap side. If hes a 1a/1b this is fair. If hes a backup we overpaid. I think 1 and 2 are more likely than 3 but goalies are voodoo.

A very nice piece on Gallagher by Oren: Brendan Gallagher Was Never Supposed to Mean This Much to Montreal – HabsWorld.net

Kind of sad. Dude was all heart. Always liked him.

By the way, I am doing my usual Day 2 article on the main site, lots of stuff on Runtso in here: https://www.habsworld.net/2026/06/day-2-of-the-2026-draft/ Also, Runtso is another Dan Milstein client, just like Pugyachov, Zharovsky, Demidov, and Texier.

The first game isnt til late Sept and the first playoff game not til April. There are places to address them including the deadline. No reason it has to be at the draft.

FFS I FELL FOR IT THREE YEARS IN A ROW 🤯 Every year I think, you’re not getting me next year JFresh 🤔

I dont buy it being about keeping him up at 18. I just dont think he was ever willing to work hard enough to do what was necessary to improve. Look at joe thornton, kept up ar 18, had a horrid season with just 6 points and still became a Hall of Famer. Or Carey Price who was brought up too soon and still became a Hall of Famer. Development is important but I dont buy that he was ruined by playing NHL games where he was doing well defensively and showed some offence. Regression and failure to take the next steps and build on that can be partially on coaching and partially on the player, but when we look at all the players who grew under Rod Brindamour and we see hes regressing with that regime, Im leaning on it being more on the player side. Its the difference between guys who never stop working to improve like Hutson and Demidov, and guys who are lazy in the offseasons. Thats something a team has to identify about a player, but i dont think you can ruin him (barring injury) by calling the kid up too soon if hes getting the minutes. A young enough player can always still put in the work to improve on weaknesses and maximize.strengths. The.truth is he never should have been the pick, and guys like Hughes and Tkachuk were just better, but more importantly more dedicated. The fact he took the easy way with the offer sheet said a lot about his character.

Let's hope so. But nothing is guaranteed at this point--so many prospects look great and then hit their ceilings in the AHL (see Beck, Roy, RHP for recent examples).

Well, depends on how highly you rate Desharnais's chances ... 😊

I think the number 2 C on day 1 of the season will be one of In order of likelihood Kapanen Outside Acquisition Newhook Dach Evans Hage (changes mind and signs.. input this here to show how low a possibiity i consider anything below this) Danault Beck Zharovsky leaves Russia and signs. Habs trade for Sidney Crosby Habs trade for Macklin Celebrini Tomas Plekanec David Desharnais Arber Xhekaj Florian Xhekaj

I think we have more than 3. Again its mentality You need one or two guys who can play the game and fight anyone in the league. In terms of fight anyone thats Arber and Anderson, but the play of arber is debated. But when i say mentality, im talking Jayden struble or Kaiden Guhle or Slafkovsky who may not fight the Oliver, or tom wilson types but will not back down if they have to fight a middleweight on the other team and will get themselves in the middle of scrums. Guys like Bolduc also fit this mold and there are a few more. And then when they get involved it brings everyone into the fight. Dobes isnt backing down, Hutson isnt, caufield, suzuki, etc... not fighters and i dont want them fighting but they are in a gang mentality where everyone on the ice jumps into every scrum. And so you find guys who can play in a top 9/top6 role and play minutes and also fit paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of this post. Thats team toughness. I fully believe when players see teammates standing up for each other, they do the same. Doesnt matter if its arber or hutson, they get in the fight and it drags others in. On the same side if there is a couple soft players who shy away, that can spread through the team. So that has to be maintained with players acquired in free agency, trades, draft picks, etc... get guys who have their teammates backs. So this is what we talk about with Character and Compete and Heart and all those adjectives we love to use.

I'd be stunned if Danault had 45 points in him next season. He had 17, a bounce back could be 25. He had every chance to be the 2C in LA and was for a bit but over the last couple of years, he has faded. At his age, that's hard to turn around. For someone whose profile isn't as an offensive player anymore, I can't see them moving him up too often beyond some situational faceoff situations. Had the coaching staff thought he could do it, they probably would have tried him over Evans in that spot in the playoffs.

I hope Danault does not need to play top six.

The advanced stats show he is considerably worse than the defencemen you compared him to, in much more sheltered minutes. Everyone makes mistakes... what the stats show us is he makes them more often, and in areas that lead to more scoring chances against. The problem is that we see all the mistakes and think the players making them are the same. The advantage of tracking the xG against per 60, and xG% is it gives us something to differentiate from our impressions of the mistakes we see.

Sure. And maybe it isnt worth spending that cost and just hoping Reinbacher becomes a top 4 D. my point though is if you cant trust xhekaj on the ice against top players the physicality is of limited value

Mintyukov is a LHD with offensive skills and defensive questions. This report makes no sense especially since hed cost basically the same cap as Guhle.

Dobes: “At the end of the day, I feel like everyone wants to win, which is really important to get the deals done and keep the guys together…I’m just excited that everyone is on the same page. We want to do what’s best for us and we think as a group.” “I feel like we have a lot of potential in the next couple of years to get something exciting done…”

This deal looks even better with Leo Carlsson about to nearly double his cap hit.

And it worked out pretty well

I think the signing bonus is taxed at a lower rate then the salary. Someone can correct me if this is wrong. But this helps mitigate the high tax rate in Montreal versus the no tax states.

Two really high skilled players battling each other in practice in early July LOVE IT

I think the idea is that the Habs are giving tons of bonus money up front, which the player can then invest immediately to benefit from the compounding interest.

Yeah, I can't see this ending well for Toronto. Also, Hughes is doing a press conference at 3 PM with Demidov. That suggests there isn't much going on in free agent talks at the moment.

GREAT move for The Rocket

I would have guessed wrong too. This wasn't a HAHA you were wrong post, this was a Kent Hughes is a ####ing wizard post.

Suzuki, Caufield, Hutson, Slafkovsky, Demidov, Dobson, Matheson. All locked down long term below market values Kent Hughes is better at this than other GMs

Yesterday was medicals so my guess is Montreal's staff got a look at him and decided surgery was better than rehab.

I dont want any of them. Just play Reinbacher.

Given that Boone Jenner is 33 years old. Has the same injury issues as Dach.... hasn't played 70 games since before Covid and that includes seasons of 26 and 41 games. I think Dach would get a longer term deal for more total money (but maybe less AAV) than Jenner if he was a completely Unrestricted Free Agent open to all 32 teams. We will never know for sure though.

27.) Gleb Pugachyov, Centre/Right Wing, 6’3″ 198 lbs, Torpedo Nizhny Novogrod, KHL Pugachyov plays a very strong two-way game. His skating allows him to get up the ice and create offence, and also get back and help out the defence in his own zone. He uses his big frame to battle for loose pucks in all three zones, often creating turnovers and turning them into offence via quick transition and smart passes to teammates. Pugachyov is almost always in the right position and makes the smart play both with and without the puck. He never quits on a play, and his non-stop motor allows him to constantly harass opponents with the puck and create turnovers. Pugachyov uses his size to his advantage, getting to the front of the net. He creates havoc for goalies, screening and distracting them. He also has the ability to pounce on rebounds and other loose pucks and create offence that way.

Then not likely on a line with Florian

Damn, it’s super hard to win anything with the salary cap parity these days!

Did that ever turn out to be bad asset management for the Leafs, I believe they gave up a 1st and Fraser Minten for him (basically 2 firsts) and they get 2 thirds back.

Pugachyov sounds like a Russian version of Tom Wilson. If he develops into that type of player, this pick is a win!

Habs have awhile to wait for their 2nd pick ... unless trade up again i suppose. When does the run on goalies start? 2026 NHL Draft best available players tracker - The Athletic

No one drafted at 28 would address a current roster need.

I love the Tom Wilson comparable being thrown out there. Doesn’t address the immediate need, but good to see we have a good mix of players and skillset being accumulated in our prospect pool.

Kazakhstanderson

I'm thinking of maybe painting a bedroom or something while I wait for the Habs pick. Would be more exciting than this draft.

Just having some fun, it's Friday afternoon. If I had to guess I am saying he keeps the pick as there don't seem to be any great deals out there.

Couldn't resist https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BRxmBHD2G/

With the way prospects climb and fall come mid-late round I'm not even seriously paying attention to probable/possible picks until about 9:15 (guesstimate for pick #20) ... not that speculation and even possibl;e "bragging rights" aren't fun ... I'm sort of cheering for Maddox Dagenais as I have a soft spot for "local kids" and anyone from Trois Rivières.

The Berger rumour post was moved to the Trade Rumours thread where I thought it fir better

The first two posts in the thread have been updated. I've also updated the contract page with all the new AAVs thanks to the minimum salary changes in the new CBA (there were quite a few Laval players who got boosts): https://www.habsworld.net/2007/08/montreal-canadiens-salary-information/

Frank Nazar was 5'10 180lbs at the NHL draft combine. I'm sure he's gained weight since then, but how much is really impossible to know. I don't treat the numbers NHL teams release as accurate. The last accurate number we have for 99% of NHL players is their combine number. Watching him on the ice though, he doesn't look like the type of player that Hughes has been targetting to be in his top 6 (Slaf and Dach were his first big two acquisitions for this, then Bolduc was added with a possibility of it, and we know he went after Knies.) I think with Suzuki and Caufield already in the top six they are looking to add a big body. Not just average size... but BIG and skilled, to fill out the rest of the top 6.

His career high is 15 goals and 41 points. As of now... he hasnt proven to be better than Kapanen or Newhook. Hes only 22 so he might be. But no, he hasnt done it yet. Plus hes yet another small forward which isnt something I think Hughes really wants in another top 6 forward.

OR ... Rutger McGroarty, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Noah Ostlund, Joakim Kemell, etc., etc., etc. And, as yet, has he shown he is a 2C?