Scott462

I’m with you in spirit. But what if he forces the issue? Or maybe just give him the 9 games for the experience but like you said the Habs would be forced to waive a potential player. It’s an interesting situation. He has looked damn good though, I’m feeling pretty happy from what I have seen from him thus far.

Think he has earned it from what you have seen already? May be a bit early to ask that question.

I agree, I have said numerous times that he shouldn’t have thrown the punch. Giving him a face wash and a couple jabs would have done the trick in showing Ekblad that he wasn’t having it anymore. Also according to Claude Julien Domi regrets it now, was caught in the heat of the moment felt Ekblad was taking too many liberties and went a little too far. Domi is not a dumb guy from what I have heard I’m sure he will learn from it.

I like the Hudon/Kotkaniemi/Lehkonen line. Should be a good test, that top line for Washington is a scary thing though.

Domi will miss the rest of pre-season for the punch on Ekblad. Fair enough.

I didn’t know that, I was of the mind that a phone hearing was just not as bad. Guess we will have to wait and see.

Price is a big boy huh? Like how he had to “handle” that Jersey player because no one would do anything about them taking liberties? Nice. It was a pre season game where we had less than half of our roster against a full roster from the Panthers and we still kept it close until the very end when Niemi let in a couple stinkers. I fail to see how that’s relevant to this situation in standing up for yourself which automatically means you will lose the game.

But spearing / slashing bumping into Price is all fine and dandy. Our guys should just “take it” because that’s how you like your hockey where no one sticks up for himself and players just get rolled over.

From what I have heard it’s going to be a phone call disciplinary hearing which usually means it won’t be that severe. I doubt he will miss any regular season games. I’m actually not, players need to stand up for themselves not taking liberties all over the place. Ekblad was acting like an idiot and got gut checked and didn’t want any of it, if you don’t want none don’t start none. I have no Bruins envy pal but I enjoy watching teammates stick up for one another and refusing to get pushed around. For so long have the Habs had to put up with teams taking liberties without any fear of reprisal.

Ok but let’s not act like Domi is the only one at fault here. Ekblad was acting like a clown out there and Domi was having enough of it, I was glad he stood up to him, even funnier seeing him try to tuck his tail between his legs after getting challenged. I liked seeing all the guys standing up for one another, like others have said it was a refreshing site and hopefully gets the chemistry in the room started off right for the year.

He was slashing / cross checking and bumping Price all game. Like I said I don’t condone sucker punching because honestly it’s pretty cowardly but so is running around and acting tough and not answering the bell when challenged.

Fun game to watch. Loved how the guys were standing up for one another. Drouin looked good and so did Teasdale, will be interesting if he gets a contract.

Not excusing Domi’s actions but Ekblad was asking for it all game. Then when someone stands up to him after getting slashed on his wrist he doesn’t want to answer the bell.

Compared to Domi, Chuck is slow. It’s not just that either Galchenyuks overall skating game was never that good.

I’m not sure if he will be better but one thing Domi has over Galchenyuk is speed. And for a centre in today’s NHL that’s important, his dynamic skating along with Drouin seem to be what the team is looking for. Hope it works out.

Kotkaniemi has a hell of a game. It seems the more games he gets the better he looks. Once he fills out he will become a beast.

Heard Drouin/Domi/Armia line was buzzing out there today and they all had great chemistry. A lot to be positive about with our young players, Suzuki looked good too, wouldn’t be surprised if he forces the issue of making the team. Kotkaniemi you can tell will be a great player he just needs time which is expected.

I read that Montreal would have to pay 9.7 million or so to compensate for the state tax.

Shea.

In both cases yes. First because both goalies and defencemen tend to age well. In both cases with Weber and Price this holds true if the can stay healthy. In Weber’s case the young players we have will need a veteran presence to help along their progression into the league. Look at the Oilers for instance, no veteran presence with a wack load of young talent but it’s not working out so well. Weber still has a lot to give and I can see him going the way of Chara. In Prices case not having to worry about the goalie situation for your organization for the next 5-8 years is a good thing. A lot of contending teams right now are struggling to find a competent goalie, so if Price can stay healthy I’d say we ride it out with him. Obviously we have some good goalie prospects so in the case of Price falling off a cliff the situation is not that bleak. My two cents.

That seems to be the logical choice unless they go off the board with Gallagher. The refs don’t respect him so you inevitably land with Weber. Why ship Weber out? You need a strong veteran to help along the young players we have and Weber is still going to be a solid D man in years to come.

I disagree that the other guys were regarded as having a higher ceiling. The arguement was that Zadina and Tkachuk were already established and you know what you are getting with them. It was Kotkaniemi who had the higher ceiling but also a bit of a risk because he wasn’t as established. There was a lot of scouts that moved Kotkaniemi into the top 5 because of his potential, most notably Craig Button who said his highest potential could be the next Kopitar. So again I stress some patience in regards to our young blue chip prospect and now with the addition of Suzuki and Poehling in the wings it should take pressure off him and let him develop properly.

Let’s give Kotkaniemi the benefit of the doubt before we start claiming he wasn’t the best taken at 3. You guys honestly don’t know that yet and he has a lot of potential, he’s just not as rounded and developed as guys like Zadina and Tkachuk. Let’s give it sometime. He was a bit of a disappointment at the showcase but again that doesn’t mean much.

Good deal for Montreal, looks like MB still had something in him after all. Wish Max all the best in Vegas, they did just make it to the finals last year and he will make up for some of hit they lost in Neal and Perron. Wonder what his next contract will be. Surely they will announce it soon, I doubt we get that haul for a rental Pacioretty.

He looked very weak too, which is to be expected I guess. Probably very nervous and one game doesn’t mean much but it is a little concerning just how bad he looked considering he was a 3rd overall.