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A reminder... in the summer of 2021, instead of re-signing Vincent Trochek as their #2c, the hurricanes let him walk as a UFA, spending $6million on an offer sheet for Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Trocheck played over 35 minutes tonight and scored the double OT winner. Kk played 9:15 and was a -1 All cause Tom Dundon and Don Waddell were butthurt over the Aho Offer Sheet.

Seems like will be a smart player. David Reinbacher’s time in Laval will benefit his transition to Montreal in many ways - The Athletic "Rocket coach Jean-François Houle provided a lucid, straightforward assessment of what he saw from Reinbacher over 11 games. “I like his gap control a lot. I think his stick is really good,” Houle said. “He needs to get stronger. I think he can provide even more offence and I think he was maybe cautiously playing back a little bit, which is normal.” "As he adds muscle — something Kaiden Guhle also said he hopes to do this offseason despite having two years of NHL experience under his belt — Reinbacher’s aggressive nature in battle situations will become that much more effective."

Great to see Reinbacher get a dozen games in Laval under his belt, on smaller ice and intro to NA pro game. Laval Rocket eliminated from playoff contention with loss (habseyesontheprize.com) Luke Tuch stood out for me quite a bit among the forward group. He plays somewhat of a thankless game that probably won’t show up on the scoresheet a lot, but he back checks like his life depends on it, and is very capable in the dirty areas. If he keeps bringing that level of effort at both ends of the ice, he’ll eventually find himself getting a chance in the NHL. David Reinbacher is just so quietly effective. Outside of his assist, what really stood out for me was his puck distribution in his own zone. He seems to have an innate sense for where his teammates will be, and his first pass on the breakout is almost always right. He’s on the right track, and it will be interesting to see how he develops next season.

We need your A game tonight buddy. Habs can’t afford a win…

I often wonder why this is a narrative that is held by some. If it was not serious but rather a ridiculously low ball offer, then why did Aho sign it?

I think most feel that way about Dundon/Waddell as they tried to rub it in on the Habs at the time, good on them. Offer sheets rarely work out and I think Hughes knows this so I don't expect a repeat. Was KK immature when he was with the Habs? Yes Did the Habs make a big mistake keeping him here as an 18 year old? Yes Can you blame KK for jumping at the money? No Time to move on. He isn't coming back here.

He did? He brought in Chiarot, Edmundson, and Savard on NHL deals and signed Xhekaj to his ELC. If anything, I think he was a little too enamoured with the big, physical defencemen you're describing; he certainly didn't move away from them.

I don’t see how you “protect” a player from what are basically clean hits. Especially in the playoffs, when an instigator penalty is very damaging. I agree with Alfredoh that Hutson, like Hughes, will have to protect himself. And Habs29 makes the point that Hughes has never been targeted like this. Next time around, he’ll probably be more ready for it. Remember in 2014 when the Bruins’s game plan involved hitting the crap out of Subban? I think it was Game 5…the announcer declared early in the game, after watching PK dodge a few attempts, that PK was simply too quick for them to hit. That was the moment when I really began to believe that the Habs would win that series (which we did). It’s not ALL on the D-man, though. One of the talking points in Van is that you ease the pressure on Hughes by having a more effective forecheck, which prevents Nashville from winding up and driving into the zone with the crushing speed that leads their captain to get splattered. The Canucks implemented this to better effect last game. So, a combo of smart, prepared player learning to adapt, and smart team play, can help a Hutson to survive. I still think an under-played theme in all this is that Hronek, who wants a huge payday this summer, has not stepped up to take some of the burden off Hughes. If other teams target Hutson and, say, Mailloux is able to raise his game short-term, that would also help mitigate the danger.

He had just as many chances when he played for the Habs. Difference is that he is actually scoring off of those chances now. I think the entire board liked Lehkonen very much and were really happy when he won that cup.

"My son weighs about 25 pounds and I struggled to hold him in my arms for more than a minute without discomfort," he said Tuesday morning during a lengthy interview with La Presse. Despite a "daily routine" that allows him to cope with pain, sitting or standing for a long time is now painful. Air travel, therefore, is "difficult". "I got to a point where I couldn't go on," he says. "I spoke with the medical staff of what my life after hockey could look like if I didn't stop. There was a lot of doubt about how it would affect me in the long run. When we started talking about it, it became real. Life is long after the end of a career."

The leafs need toughness to win in the playoffs. They also were 1-4 with Auston Matthews in the playoff lineup and 2-0 without him Anderson and Savard for Matthews makes sense.

Where do you come up with this nonsense?? Still don’t get your hate for the mgmt group. They actually have plan, unlike their predecessor whose plan was hope that Carey Price is healthy enough to get them into the playoffs and than anything can happen.

What gives you the impression that this management is afraid of Mailloux. Was it that they called him up to play the final game this season, and got almost no media backlash for doing so? Where does this narrative that HuGo is afraid of how the media will react and trade him? Is this again just making things up out of whole cloth to take shots at management?

I am no Bergevin-lover, but I'll point out here, as I've done before, that this board was nearly unanimous that the Habs should NOT sign Danault to a long-term deal with that cap hit. We should remember that he had 5 goals and 25 points that season. And most of us thought that Kotkaniemi would grow into being the type of C Danualt now is. So moving on from Danault seemed like sensible cap-management. Were we wrong? Absolutely. But I don't think it makes sense for us to get in high dudgeon, retroactively, that Bergevin refused to sign a deal that almost none of us wanted him to sign.

crazy talk

I don't know who said he had no value (I know I didn't in the post you quoted). What is his standalone value? If it's a fourth-round pick, it's pretty inconsequential. On a playoff team, he's a 7/8 guy, that's not worth trading much of anything for. And for a rebuilding team, he's worth it as a depth piece but Winnipeg had no luck trading him which is how Montreal got him off waivers in the first place. Rebuilding teams will want a warm body for as cheap an acquisition cost as possible so while Kovacevic would indeed fit that bill, those teams won't offer much of anything for him. If they can't get him for dirt cheap, they'll just claim someone off waivers (like Anaheim claiming Gustav Lindstrom during the season). Suppose the Habs are in trade talks for an impact player and they're trying to find the missing piece to a package off. If Hughes offers up a fourth-round pick (or Kovacevic if that's his value) as that missing piece, it's probably not moving the needle. That's what I mean by close to throw-in value; he's not going to be the difference-maker to match up value in a bigger trade. He has some value, sure, but not enough to do anything of note which, as others have said, means it probably makes more sense to keep him at this point.

Draft lottery tomorrow 🤞🤞🤞🤞

The world is as it should be tonight.

The early signing sets it up that the Habs could issue him a qualifying offer to retain his rights, just in case something clicks over there and he becomes a bigger threat. Doesn't mean they will but it makes it easier to do so.

Its just jokes. No one actually thinks its a romantic thing.

Indeedy. "TORONTO — Eight years and nine playoff series into their shared tenure as saviors of the Maple Leafs, three of the best individual performers in franchise history were reduced to sniping at one another on the bench after bumbling through an ineffective shift together. William Nylander appeared to direct pointed criticism at Mitch Marner. Auston Matthews looked to have some words for his teammate(s), too. Marner turned and tossed each of his gloves to the ground in frustration...." Johnston: This is the end of the Maple Leafs as we know them - The Athletic

The misery in Leafs Nation is warming my soul.

I won't say too much until the Bruins win one more game. Then I will just smile a bit on the inside and have a nice restful sleep.

LMAO at the HNIC crew looking dejected as if all their dogs just died. Poor leaf’s are losing you homers 👌

If Kotkaniemi teached us something, it's not to take too much from the results at this U18 tournament. Guessing the scouts go there to evaluate some specific skills and character aspect of players' game more than how they actually perform.

$8.5m for 7 years for a guy who doesn’t show up in more games than he does? No thanks. If he wasn’t French there wouldn’t Ben be a discussion about trading for him.

If I was convinced Mailloux would be an all star then perhaps I would not make this trade. I am not as convinced as you are. If you make this trade a) you are almost guaranteed to end up with a stud forward at #3 (Demidov or Lindstrom) b) you have more choices at #5, a stud defensemen or maybe Iginla, Helenius c) plus you have Zegras who might be really motivated to prove himself with a new team It hurts to give up CC but overall this might be a better team. Trades like this are fun to talk about. In any event I do see possibilities of an Anaheim/Montreal trade as they do have pieces that compliment each other.

I'm not rooting for Roy. While he was a superb player for the Habs, ultimately he put himself ahead of the team and left. It wasn't all him, but the decision was his. Had he stayed, we might have won another Cup. I understand the situation, so I'm not holding a grudge, but neither am I going to root for him.

It may have taken me 18 attempts but I am glad I was able to finally pull it off. It didn’t look promising after the second to last game because the Habs needed only 1 point but Detroit’s miraculous comeback with 3 seconds left, followed by the the Habs’ overtime/shootout loss in the final game sealed the deal. Thank you @alfredoh2009 for the congrats and @Peter Puck for hosting, as always. GHG

Go Bruins, Sweep it up.

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.

No it's not. It's an easy decision. I find it easy to cheer for the Bruins in this series.

Keep in mind any comparison is a stylistic comparison, not a talent one.... so just cause someone is compared to Aho doesn't mean that the point totals is what we are comparing. He's a centre IMO. Yes, I see him in the NHL in 25-26, but I wouldn't say regardless of who takes him. Every team has different philosophies on what they do for development, but I'd think barring injury and lost development time in 2024-25, he'd be in the NHL by then. Some teams might even put him in the NHL 2024-25. What are people missing? I think he has almost no weaknesses. He does everything you need a player to do at an above average level, while still being elite in a few areas

Arizona should celebrate with winning their last two games 🎉

WHY in the world would the Habs want to "ice their best lineup"? Wins only have the potential to worsen their draft position. Hutson is getting at least one game because that burns a year of his ELC ... THAT and getting some $$$ in his pocket immediately is why he signed now ... there was always the "possibility" of his waiting and ultimately deciding to play another NCAA season. Struble is with the Habs because they only have 7 healthy defencemen and one of them could be injured/get sick before the game roster is submitted. @dlbalr made it clear that Baby Xhekaj is playing because Stephens can't, not to "give him a game". So, not the management screw-up you seem to so often hope for.

Yes but the odds of getting 3 heads in a row, before you throw the first one are .5 x .5 x .5 = 12.5%

No the Hawks have only moved up once so far. They can still win one of the upcoming lotteries (but not two of them). Winning the lottery is defined as improving your spot in the draft order.

Hahahahaha, I think they will do the classic thing and just fire Keefe. As the old saw has it, you can’t fire the team. They will keep tinkering around the edges with Reeves-type acquisitions being hailed as master strokes, and hoping that some way, somehow, this group finally goes on a run. That GWG was bizarre, but Pasternak showed incredible hands on that play. I also wonder whether it was a case of subtle home-ice advantage - maybe the Bruins know that the puck bounces that way when sent to that exact spot in that building. It’s possible. Certainly Pasternak seemed to anticipate it. Meanwhile, a beat-up Boston now faces bone-crunching Florida, and probable defeat. This is the best possible outcome as far as I’m concerned 🥳

Pk's reputation was bullshit. Evander Kane has earned his though with a number of run-ins with the law and off ice issues.

They have him at 81st, so a NHL long shot depth player am assuming. 81. Aatos Koivu, C — TPS (U20 SM-Sarja) Anni Karvinen – Aatos Koivu is a strong-skating center that has had a steep development curve during the season. He is physically quite raw which partly explains why he flew under the radar for so long. Koivu possesses a plus tool in his shot that he likes to fire frequently, especially from the half-wall. He also has a quite good hockey sense especially in the offensive zone where he is good at making himself available as an option to pass the puck to. He can play responsible two-way hockey and he’s already developed some mature habits like good scanning.

I dont end the rebuild with a 35 year old in stamkos or Kane. That doesnt make a lot of sense. I think you need someone who will be at least close to the age of your core and grow with them. Ending the rebuild isnt signing a 35 year old to a one year deal to try and win now and see them retire in a year or two. The goal.of the rebuild is to build a team that will be competitive for a longer window than they have left.

At first glance without giving it much thought: Xhekaj: 2 x $1.4 (the Harris deal) Barron: 1 x $900K one-way Guhle: If extended, 8 x $6.5 Slafkovsky: Don't think he'll extend, think Habs will offer 8 x $7.5-$7.75. That's on the low end for #1 picks so his agent may suggest waiting. Ylonen: Takes a year at the minimum or is non-tendered. Could also go overseas and Habs then retain his rights with a QO.

I was disappointed that Freidman went full "cruise control" just to get a mention of the Habs in the column ... ClickBait30 could have done as well.

Sometimes, it's not just the coach who decides who plays. Management will want the prospects in, not the veterans as that's what's best for the organization.

7:42 to play in the third. Laval leading by one. They are managing the clock well

This was from April 15, I looked it over several times as I couldn't see Konsta Helenius in the 1st round. Am I going blind? How could you possibly not have him in the 1st round? Crazy. Then I did some research and this guy Jake Rill is a baseball reporter, maybe shouldn't write about things you don't have a clue about. 2024 NHL Mock Draft: Full Round 1 Projections for Every Team | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report

And may be the smallest Hab d-man. Another fun game with lots of positives. Hutson 23:32; Mailloux 21:11 Matheson 27:32 5 shots, nice finish and I saw he recently said he knows his defense is an area for him to work on. Be nice to see him paired with a bonafide top pairing RHer at some point.

Players hiding injuries is something no training/medical staff can prevent and it means they can't protect the players.

I think Mailloux needs a bit more work on his defensive game. He's only spent one year in Laval and this is a guy who basically missed two full years of Junior Hockey due to Covid, his arrest and suspension, and then his shoulder injury. He hasn't made that up yet.