Habs Fan in Edmonton

That is the least of my concerns. He seems happy to be in Montreal, his teammates seem happy to have him. My only concern with Laine is staying healthy

Good point, I realized that later upon further analysis. My post was misleading. My bad.

Good post, agree 100%. We beat a strong Toronto team, Winnipeg was a really strong team but they fizzled after beating Edmonton 4 in a row. I think they went downhill after the Scheiffle suspension (well deserved) and never recovered. And of course Vegas was really good, Tampa just too strong for everybody. The Canadian Division wasn't nearly as bad as some suggest. The Division itself was 35 games over 500 so far from the worst division.

Thanks. Definitely sounds like Guerin was very interested,

We will find out the answer pretty soon, I would be thrilled with a PPG.

Over the course of his career Laine has scored 388 points in 480 games which is .81 pts/game and would work out to 66 pts. in 82 games. Now being an optimist, if Laine stays healthy and Dach stays healthy and Marty can work his magic on a player who hasn't been mentally healthy then certainly 75-80 pts is not out of the question. I think Marty is a confidence builder and will play a huge role in Laine's success this year. Finding a good fit on the other wing will also be important (assuming Laine and Dach play together). I find it interesting that in Laine's 1st 3 years he had more goals than assists whereas the last few years he has had more assists than goals. Perhaps his passing ability is somewhat under rated as we tend to focus on what a good shooter he is.

I can't pull up the article without registering but it does seem strange that a team with less than a million in cap space could pull off a deal when Waddell was pretty clear he didn't want to retain. I guess they would have to include some significant contracts. Certainly possible I guess if Guerin really wanted him.

I don't think they had a deal, perhaps Minny expressed an interest but they have almost zero cap room. It would have taken a whole lot of juggling to take on his contract.

Yes, he made it quite clear in the interview after the trade that he was happy to come here. I think his exact words were "it didn't take much convincing". The players seem happy to have him. I think Marty will be a great coach for him. Let's get going!!!!

It does sound very good. Could the Habs have too many good centres in a couple years with Beck and Hage also coming up? What a nice problem that would be.

Maybe with the Calgary pick if Florida misses the playoffs? Wishful thinking I know.

Florida did ok for a light team but it proves that skill/IQ is more important than size but if you can get both it's nice.

I was watching Marinaro's podcast recently where he and McCagg were talking about Reinbacher and McCagg said he had definitely grown so it will be interesting to see how he measures up at camp.

Good idea, but I like Orville as a nickname better, a good old fashioned name for an old school (maybe) type of defensemen.

Agree on both points. Oilers had no choice but to sign Draisaitl. If he goes then McDavid likely goes.

If that is correct then Hughes might end up looking like a genius for locking up his guys to long term contracts.

I think the number is no surprise, I expect McDavid will get in the 16M range but that will depend to some degree on what happens to the salary cap.

Draisaitl signs extension, no surprise. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/edmonton-oilers-sign-leon-draisaitl-to-eight-year-112m-extension-1.2168722

I don't think the skating analysis was way off. No question he is shifty and his cuts are very good but speed has to count for something and he is no Cale Makar in that department. I think above NHL average is pretty accurate.

I agree 100%. I think Marty is the perfect coach for a young, smaller, talented player who wants to get better. Nobody knows better than Marty what it takes for a smaller player to survive and thrive in the NHL. Plus Hutson is such a smart kid that I expect he will learn quickly from his mistakes.

I would have probably put his puck skills at above average and his shot as NHL average but I am no scout by any means.

And that is the key, if Protz can improve his skating then he will be a very interesting prospect. Romanov was definitely a better skater at the same stage of his career but Protz is still young, has a great attitude and built like a tank. Improving his skating is what he needs to do.

Yes, Armia can do a lot of things. It will interesting to see what version of Armia we get this year. He had 17 goals in 66 games which is pretty decent. It is the last year of his contract so you would think he will be very motivated.

Don't know what else to add. Another terrible tragedy because somebody decided to get behind the wheel while impaired and so many lives affected.

Richer was a ridiculous talent but inconsistent as you say. Muller is the kind of player you go to war with.