Habs Fan in Edmonton

Definitely not optimistic but trying to predict how young rebuilding teams are going to do can be difficult. The Habs could surprise to the upside or not. Nobody predicted New Jersey would improve 49 points last year. I certainly don't think that will happen to the Habs but I think they could surprise to the upside. Every sports publication is going to make predictions and I don't really care much what they say. Just glad hockey is back.

If Armia didn't have 1 year left on his contract after this year then there would be a good chance to trade him at the deadline this year. I think we might have to wait a year.

Yes, he could be a very effective 3rd line player on a good team but good teams usually don't have 3.4M to shell out for a 3rd line winger.

Tampa is not giving up Gauthier for Primeau. Primeau has very little trade value right now.

It's so hard to say. Goalies are so hard to figure out. There have been so many 1 year wonders but goalies that have been consistent year after year (ie. Hellebuyck) are not that common.

I think Armia always looks good at camp. He is big and strong, skates well but when the games start he just can't seem to put it all together or he gets hurt just when he starts playing well. I think he is a classic case of the sum being less value than the individual pieces. We just need 1 GM out there to fall in love with his skill set. Maybe he gets off to a great start this year and it gives Hughes a chance to unload him. There I go dreaming again.

That's a pretty good synopsis of where Tampa is right now, it wouldn't be an easy deal to work out.

I don't think Hughes would give up a 1st and Guhle but certainly Zegras wouldn't come cheap.

Allen might be a good short term fill in for a couple months but when Vasilevsky comes off of IR then the Bolts have serious cap issues. The Habs might have to take some salary back and Tampa can't really trade away any more picks can they?

Interesting proposal. I would think Anaheim would want more given that Zegras has proven himself more at the NHL level. They would want Guhle and something else. Not sure Anaheim is ready to give up on Zegras but obviously negotiations aren't going well. Not sure what he is asking for. He would give Montreal's offense a shot in the arm and he is young. But at what cost (player wise and salary wise). Interesting to think about though as Montreal has a lot of good young defense prospects but Guhle is a good one for sure.

Agreed, his contributions go beyond his point totals. Plus he always plays well against the Leafs which is important. I remember a while back you referred to Anderson as a "high speed bulldozer". I always remembered that post because I love that characterization. It describes Anderson perfectly.

Thanks for the update on the game as I didn't get to see it.

I watched Davidson a few games during the WHL playoffs, thought he had a tremendous work ethic but it seemed to me his skating was average at best. Certainly expectations weren't high as he was a 5th round pick and I think he was completely passed over the year before.

That was a stupid remark by Bergevin when asked whether he expected loyalty from Radulov which is a whole other topic. He was loyal to Gallagher but I think we all agree that 6 years was too much. I think we had discussed the Markov situation to death so I won't touch that one.

I think we would all agree that Gallagher's contract is an albatross right now. I can understand a GM having a love for Gallagher back then. He had back to back 30 goal seasons, was an absolute warrior, a team 1st guy, always gave 100 per cent on a contract paying him around 3M/year. Any GM would have been happy to have him. I don't blame Bergevin for the dollar value but a GM has take to the emotion out of a decision (not always easy) and realize that Gallagher's style of play is a whole lot harder for a guy who is on the other side of 30. I totally get Bergevin's love for Gallagher but 6 years was simply too long for a guy who plays like Gallagher. Would love to see Gallagher rebound, stay healthy and score 20 this year but maybe that is wishful thinking.

Good post. I think we all want Mailloux to turn things around, good for society if he does and good for the Habs. I get the heat MB took for drafting him but there is absolutely no doubt that some other team would have drafted him if the Habs didn't.

Hard to say, might be close to being enough. However it would be the opposite kind of trade to what Hughes has been doing. He has been giving up cap room to get more picks, this would be the exact opposite. I guess it all depends on how things net out after all is said and done.

We might not have as much cap space as you think in a couple years as many of the young defensemen will be coming off entry level contracts and might be getting significant raises if they perform well.

He is a decent 2 way forward when healthy, I think a 2nd/3rd is more realistic at the deadline and that is assuming he is healthy and playing well. It's always hard to predict what the demand and needs are going to be like at the deadline, depends on injuries, how many teams in contention etc etc. I just hope that guys like Pearson, Monahan stay healthy not only for their own sake but obviously so the Habs can also maximize their return.

I think Pearson would need to have a heck of a turnaround to get a 1st but stranger things have happened.

Hughes has certainly accumulated a lot of picks for 2025. I like this trade especially if Pearson can turn it around. It does feel a bit like the Monahan trade.

Excellent post, totally agree. There is a huge difference between a 3rd line shut down center who can win key faceoffs (hopefully Beck) and a 4th line energy guy. I also hope that Beck can be Evans +++ and I think the potential is there to be that.

You would think he had learned something over the years. Probably more to this story than what we see. Who will hire him now? Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice........

I almost think after reading the comments here that expectations are a little too high for Mailloux. He has had 1 season of junior hockey, he needs playing time in the AHL, lots of it. It's probably not a work ethic problem it's more likely a lack of confidence, not sure where he should be so perhaps it looks like he is standing around. Defensemen take longer. I didn't see the game so just guessing here.

Yup. You can get frustrated, ticked off with management, ticked off with the players, etc etc but you always maintain some level of hope and faith that your team will turn it around and come back to the glory days we dream about. Again, FAN is short for fanatic so there is nothing logical about your commitment to your team (ie Habs), it's just there and it doesn't go away.