Habs Fan in Edmonton

Yup, plus Ottawa and Philly win. A good night.

Will the Pitlick's pummel the Panthers tonight?

There is a big difference between being strong (ie Struble) and being speedy for a hockey player. It's also too early to say about Struble, it seemed like he had a strong latter part of the year. From what I have read it seems like the top 40 is pretty good this year and the Habs will have 3 picks in the top 40, likely top 35. Also the Oilers 2nd round pick should around the middle of the 2nd round if they go out early or if they don't make the playoffs.

It is a bad contract. You would think that Dorion is one GM who will be on the hot seat next year as this is their 4th bad season in a row. How long do you give a guy to rebuild?

Good interview, seems like a really nice young man, certainly understands French well as he took French immersion.

I expect Hughes will be patient and will look for the right opportunity to move guys like Hoffman/Drouin. I think Gallagher needs a bounce back year before there is any chance of moving him. I think he is here for a while. The important thing now is drafting/development. It is a big draft year coming up and they need to get it right/wright. I don't think they will rush Barron but they will obviously want to have a look. He has had a pretty good 1st year in the AHL. It's exciting to me to see how Suzuki/Caulfield have responded. I have no doubt they will be/are studs and are the main building blocks up front. If we can get another stud forward in the draft to eventually anchor another line then I think we are well on our way to some exciting times.

I tend to agree with Commandant on this in that it's so hard to figure out what goalies will end up making it in the NHL. Of course you scout them and perhaps target one or two, I just don't think you use a high draft pick on them as it's such a gamble. Carey Price was the exception.

Does adding Barron change our approach to the entry draft as we seem to have a lot of good young defense prospects or is it still BPA? I hope we draft high enough to get one of Wright, Cooley or Slafkovsky.

I can't see us finishing below Seattle and Arizona. We are just a better hockey team especially with Jake Allen back to provide some stability in goal. Jersey and Ottawa are only 5 points ahead. Marty is doing too good a job behind the bench.

That's true, you have always been higher on Kulak than the rest of us. We know that at least Ken Holland agreed with you (and he likely wasn't the only GM after Kulak). I never thought we would get a 2nd for him. I am happy to be wrong about that.

I think they are both pretty good returns. Hard to compare Barron (somewhat of a known quantity but certainly not fully developed) to an unknown (1st round pick). Some have argued that Hughes would have got a better return for Toffoli if he waited. Maybe, maybe not. I think Hughes struck a good balance between striking while the iron was hot and waiting to get maximum return on the crazy last day. Sometimes you get a better return by waiting, sometimes you get left holding the bag if teams go in another direction. You never know how the last day will go. Bottom line, I am thrilled with what Hughes has been able to accomplish so far.

I had almost forgot about the game tonight. Hope the Habs lose a hard fought battle 5-4 in regulation. And the kids play well.

That's right. Somehow I don't think the Oilers reach the cup finals but they do have Kulak now.

Bottom line, you have to be really pleased with everything Hughes has done. A lot of good prospects to follow, entry draft should be fun and we will see what free agency brings.

100%, Hughes did a terrific job today. Justin Barron's and 2 x 2nds for Kulak and Lehkonen, pretty impressive.

Plus we replaced the 2024 2nd we gave up in the Dvorak trade. Nice work!

Wow!! I don't know much about Barron. Commandant help us!!

A 2nd for Kulak is pretty darn good. Did anyone here think they would get a 2nd for Kulak? I didn't. Hughes did a great job pumping his tires. Well done!

A 2nd rounder is more than decent value for Kulak. It would be more than I was expecting, still waiting for confirmation though.

I noticed TSN removed the trade from their trade tracker so obviously not done yet.

I hope you are right. That would be the best case scenario.

I don't think Hughes would trade Kulak unless he got at least a 3rd, a 2nd would be a miracle, a 4th would be disappointing.

One thing I didn't know about Jordan Harris is that even though he is left handed, he has played the right side for most of his college career, very useful.

I am betting his doesn't get traded. Management really likes him and the price is high. He is playing like he really wants to be here. I could easily be wrong but I think there is only a small chance he gets traded.

If that is true (we will never know) then I am glad Hughes didn't make a deal.