Habs Fan in Edmonton

I think most would say that Hughes has elite skating ability which allows him to make up for any other deficiencies he might have. Hutson's skating is not quite the same level. I think you could say the same kind of player in that their offensive game dominates. Hutson needs to get stronger and he certainly could.

I think of Hughes as being bigger, stronger and faster. Hutson has tremendous creativity and smarts. I just worry that Hutson will be easily pushed around at the NHL level.

That's great to see, especially beating Winnipeg.

Agreed, it is a question of timing. They gain some salary space this year with Edmundsen, Alzner and Pearson coming off the books (approx 5.7M) although Monty's new contract at 3.1M kicks in. However they do gain a lot of space after next year with Petry, Allen, Armia and Dvorak all coming off the books (approx 12M) plus the cap is going up so a year from now they should have the funds for a big free agent acquisition if they want to go that route. The wild card is that a lot of the young defensemen will be coming off entry level contracts and will need raises.

I wouldn't call it garbage. They just need some secondary scoring. They are headed in the right direction. I am not surprised that this game was a bit of a letdown as they put up a tremendous effort in Edmonton and were the better team in most of that game.

Good point, forgot about that.

Four to six weeks? Why didn't they just say the rest of the season or do they still have hopes of making the playoffs?

That is a risk but it comes with the territory of being a GM and some defensemen will get traded (I am betting this summer) if Hughes can come up with some sort of package deal to improve the top 6 forward group.

Of course, the opinion of the BPA is going to vary from team to team, it might be the same when the pick is obvious (ie. McDavid, likely Celebrini) but it's not always obvious.

Evan's strength is in his hockey IQ/anticipation (his stick got in the way of many Oiler passes), his faceoff skills and work ethic. He did score 13 goals a couple years ago which probably had many of us thinking that his offensive game would have more to it than he has shown the last couple years but he hasn't been blessed with great linemates either. His +/- is usually among the best on the team (some think that stat is useless, I think there is some merit to it). I think at this point in his career he is what he is, a very responsible 4th line center who you like to have out there when you are protecting a lead late in the game. He will never hurt you.

Good question, I think Mailloux has the most value of that group and would get the most in a trade but he also has a lot of value to the Habs with his offensive skills. I think Engstrom is the sleeper of that group but obviously 1 or 2 of those guys will be gone at some point. Guhle, Arber and Reinbacher are likely the keepers and we need to find out if Hutson's skills are translatable to the NHL. I can see Barron being moved as I just don't think his defensive skills are good enough but his offensive skills might interest some teams.

I think Evans is the perfect 4th line centre, Beck will be the 3rd line center. We just have to figure out #2, hopefully a healthy Dach.

Arber is a keeper!! At some point the Habs will have a decision to make on what defensemen to keep and he is not going anywhere.

I think we are getting a little off topic, maybe a cold shower is in order for some of you??

Monty continues to look like a #1 goalie, the young defense is coming along, just need a 2nd line that can score and this team is pretty close to contending for a playoff spot.

Habs played a terrific game, tough penalty on Armia. I thought Evans and Armia were tremendous tonight. Oilers were fortunate to win.

A very interesting top 15, makes me wish the Habs could trade up with the Winnipeg pick and have a 2nd one in the top 15. Again it shows how all over the place the picks are after Celebrini. Demidov looks like a ridiculous talent. I think he had Silayev at 13, have seen him #2 or #3 in some mock drafts, that is quite a difference. Parekh is a wild card, such amazing offensive skills. It will be a very interesting draft.

I hope so as I like Lindstrom. Size without skill is useless but if you can get both!! You also don't need to be a monster. Suzuki is only 5' 11" but he is over 200 lbs and has excellent core strength and balance. He is hard to knock off the puck. A lower center of gravity is not a bad thing if you are strong. Certainly part of the reason Suzuki doesn't seem to get hurt much. I would take another Suzuki in a heartbeat.

I don't think a 17 year old can lead the Olympics in goals and be MVP playing on a big ice surface without having a fair bit of skill. I just think there was too much hype regarding Wright because he peaked early (declared a generational talent when he was 16). He still may be a very good NHL player but the hype was a little much. Obviously the Habs went with BPA instead of worrying about position. It's still early though.

Interesting to read the posts after they drafted Juraj. It's obviously not an exact science when you are drafting 17/18 year olds. I think they got it right.

A good article, could be one of these guys unless we win the lottery. How Catton and Lindstrom compare against each other in the 2024 draft class (nhlentrydraft.com)

Agreed, we hope and pray for a good outcome.

Thanks for the detailed update. You always get a different and better perspective when you can see the game live and watch plays develop as well as see stuff away from the play. It seemed like a game where the effort was there but the execution was not. I agree about Harris, smart player, mobile but I think other teams know that playing the body on him is very effective, I see him as the odd man out. As frustrating as it is to watch Gallagher and Anderson sometimes, it's too early to buy them out, too much dead cap space.

The Oilers-Avs game was about as good a game as I have seen this year. The OT was phenomenal when you get 3 on 3 with McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon and Makar. Arturi scores with a second left. I still say without a doubt that McDavid is the best player in the world but MacKinnon is certainly number 2, a phenomenal player.

Sens win, Coyotes win and Blue Jackets win, not a terrible night.