Leaderboard

Would love to hear someone ask Bergevin about Price's trade availability. If we get the same "Not shopping, but you always listen" response instead of "Are you ing high?!?" then we'll know if it's a cliche for sure.

I once got run over by an NHL defenceman. Does that count??

I was almost a superstar just like you are an arrogant, pompous dick who wouldn't have the balls to say the things you say behind a computer screen to someone's face. I guess we'll just pretend that a captain doesn't matter. That for generations it's been a part of the game and players talk about leadership and how important their captain is. That teams feel the need to name captains, or strip players of their captaincy to this very day. It has zero effect on anything because Commandant from the internet said so.

How much credibility does the organization lose if they strip Pacioretty of the captaincy after just one season though? Imagine Bergevin or Therrien going to him and saying "We had a bad year therefore you're finished as the captain". That wouldn't go over too well. I read somewhere today a decent comparison to this situation. Years ago, the Flyers brought in Chris Pronger, a well-respected leader, to a team captained by Mike Richards. Richards was coming off his first season as captain and Pronger was brought over to help in the room. Richards stayed as captain in title but Pronger assumed a big part of the leadership role. Here we are with Pacioretty coming off his first season as captain where there appear to have been some issues. The Habs have brought in Weber, a well-respected leader, but will run with Pacioretty keeping the C in title with Weber likely assuming a significant portion of the overall leadership role.

Apples to potatoes maybe?Then again the French call potatoes "apples of the earth". Maybe this is why Bergevin is signing all these potatoes.

Also Byfuglien isn't goonish... not in the least. The guy is tough, but can play hockey. If Byfuglien is a goon, than Shea Weber is also a goon.

Hi guys, haven't been around for months, but am enjoying reading this thread... My opinion on the trade... I love it! I am probably more glad to be back than you guys are to see me, but I sure did miss this place!

"Once again. Your acting like these players are the reason teams are or aren't winning a cup." I never said that their presence prevents you from winning a cup. I said that there is no reason to have them. They are not necessary to win a cup. J.T. Brown, Cedric Paquette, Dan Boyle.... these are not players I'm arguing against... these are players who actually provide some worth to a team Mike Brown does not. You are comparing apples and oranges. None of those teams have a player whose sole purpose is to have stage fights and run around like an idiot.

The last 4 teams in the Stanley cup final were Pittsburgh, San Jose, Chicago, and Tampa Bay. So clearly I wasn't talking about LA. That said... Jarret Stoll has 388 career points, a very high faceoff percentage and 0 NHL fights in 872 career games. I don't understand how he applies. http://www.hockeyfights.com/players/2103 Jordin Tootoo spent the season in New Jersey and was not a part of any of the three Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup winning teams. Again I'm failing to see how he applies. Tampa does just fine without a "sandpaper, energy guy"; Chicago has 3 cups without one, Pittsburgh just won the cup, and San Jose went to the finals after dumping Mike Brown for nothing. There are fewer and fewer teams carrying this guy on the bottom six, and there is a reason for that. You just don't need this type of player to be successful, and are better off with a specialist who wins face-offs, or kills penalities, or provides a little skill or isn't a total liability. A lot of these Mike Brown types are liabilities on the ice and yeah he doesn't play 20 minutes, but for the 6 to 8 minutes he does play, its almost like a power play for the opposition. Don't let the facts get in the way of the old Don Cherry style arguments about toughness being necessary though. With such reasoning as "the bottom six is soft as butter".... I don't know where that comes from but sure... Of course the bottom six was the farthest thing from a problem for last year's habs. How about 1) lack of scoring in the top 6, 2) lack of reliable goaltending, 3) injuries on defence.... those were all far, far greater problems than the group of Mitchell, Fleischmann, Weise, Byron, etc... who performed pretty well up to the trade deadline.

Captain Kirk is the answer. He will serve as an effective buffer between the buffoon (le genius) and the players. Hell we can't get any worse than last year, can we?

Hell no. No sarcasm at all. Anything to get people attention off that Subban trade thread and the eternal comparison between Subban and Weber.

meh

If the team doesn't start hot the blame will goto Pacioretty. Then Radulov. Next maybe Galchenyuk. Then probably Plekanec. After that I'm sure Bergevin and Therrien will convince Molson the problem was Kirk Muller.

Yes playing what tier ii hockey or aaa or something is the same as the nhl.