Habs Fan in Edmonton

Totally understand.

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This will very likely be Klingberg's last big contract so I assume he is asking 8M plus and will likely get it as he has been a consistent point producer from the back end.

Agreed, no man's land is the worst place to be, not great, not terrible and always getting middle of the road picks. Hard to say what next year will look like, I tend to agree that we won't be at the bottom unless they really clean out the veterans, no Price etc. but who would have thought we would be where we are right now? Not me.

I don't think anyone wants the team to not try, that would be a disaster and ingrain bad habits. It's great to see Suzuki and Caulfield play the way we expected/hoped and it gives us hope for the future. I hope they continue to work hard and have fun for the rest of the year. I also don't want them to win too many games as we need to come away from this disaster with something that will really help going forward. You can say "draft/smaft" but the "draft/smaft" is how teams like Pittsburgh/Chicago were competitive for so long with the top 5 picks they nailed. But the Habs need to get it right whether they draft 1st, 3rd or 5th, the higher we draft, the better shot we should have.

Agreed, that would make more sense for the Leafs although it's hard to say what Dallas will do as they are very much in the hunt for a wild card spot.

That is true but there have been many examples (Marleau as you pointed out) where teams have taken the "lets win this year and worry about the cap next year" approach. Not a great strategy but that approach has happened before and will happen again. Leafs have about as much pressure to win as any organization right now.

Agreed, there is a lot of pressure on the Leafs to advance this year, Dubas must feel like his time is running out. If Muzzin is on LTIR until the end of the year then it is almost guaranteed they will make a big move this year and try and work things out next year for the cap. I thought the trade proposal was pretty reasonable and I would take it if I were the Habs GM.

Yes, Toronto would have some work to do to make it fit next year. I guess it might depend on what Muzzin decides to do long term if his health is compromised, hopefully he recovers fully. Petry is not an easy trade to make to almost any team for just that reason.

I think that would be a good return for Petry, I just don't think he would want to go to another Canadian team.

If we really want the tank to work we can trade Suzuki and Caulfield. LOL Seriously, I think Hughes is working hard at it but the right offer hasn't happened yet.

Joshua Roy 1G 2A tonight, back leading the Q in scoring. Logan Mailloux is back and had an assist, was +2 in a 3-1 win.

Yup, Pacioretty and McDonagh (although traded) was a big haul for a 1st round. I think of Anaheim getting Getzlaff at 19 and Perry at 28 the same year, set them up for a long time. It's a big draft year for the Habs and hopefully more 1st round picks to come although I would be good with them getting an extra one in 2023 instead of another one this year.

True, but perhaps the Olympics were his coming out party.

That's good to hear. Josh is a keeper, when he is going they aren't many wingers that can do what he can do plus he makes Suzuki and Caulfield play with a little more confidence knowing he has their back.

After Ottawa they head out West to face some hungry teams, I don't expect the winning streak to last much longer but it's good to see them having a little fun.

I think it's about time to talk about who the Habs should take not only with their first pick (likely top 5, hopefully higher) but with their other 1st round pick and a high 2nd. The top consensus picks seem to be; 1) Shane Wright - Centre 2) Logan Cooley - Centre 3) Juraj Slafkovsky - LW 4) Simon Nemec - RHD 5) David Jiricek - RHD 6) Mathew Savoie - C I have to admit, I have become fond of Slafkovsky, a rare combination of size and skill. I think he could be a beast in the NHL, led the Olympics in scoring as a 17 year old. Any other thoughts? Who could fall later in the 1st round that could be a steal?

I like to think that Guhle and perhaps Harris are potentially top 4 defenseman and that Farrell and Roy are potentially top 6 forwards. I emphasize potentially as we don't know for sure how they will progress. I have probably missed a couple.

That was my thought, you don't get Samsonov if you are keeping Price but you can't believe everything you read either.

I am guessing that Hughes hasn't received an offer close enough to what he is looking for regarding Chiarot. He may have to wait. I guess it's a bit like a game of chicken. There is a risk of Chiarot getting hurt, of course other defenseman could also get hurt (ie. Muzzin) which could drive up his value. If he doesn't get at least a 1st then he might as well wait a bit longer.

I prefer quality over quantity this year.

I agree 100% on that.

True, he needs to get 100% healthy so he can either help the team/or be attractive in a trade. Just being mediocre and using up 10.5M in cap space doesn't help anything except his bank account.

They should get a good player in the draft this year, they need to nail it. I remember a year ago a lot of people were saying 2022 would be a good draft year. I guess you don't really know until a few years after how good it really was. I don't expect the Habs to be as bad next year, perhaps Price will be back so getting a top 2 pick next year might not happen. It will likely be Buffalo/Arizona/Seattle battling it out for Bedard/Michkov.

I think those are some good comments. It is a short sample size but it is great to see Caulfield playing with a smile on his face again. There is no doubt DD had a good coaching resume prior to taking the head coaching job with the Habs and deserved the opportunity. I think DD was dealt a real crappy hand this year and I think it was tough for him to deal with after last year's success. Did he make lemonade after being given a bunch of lemons? No he didn't and the management team realized a change was needed. It was probably good for DD's mental health to be relieved of his duties. It looks like the players enjoy playing for Martin St. Louis so far and it's always fun to beat the Leafs. So far so good but let's not win too many the rest of the year.