Habs Fan in Edmonton

The point is we have no idea what the extent of Mathews injury is. If it's a really bad groin as some have suggested then that is really difficult to play through. You could go out on the ice but you wouldn't be much help. I am not going to beat up Mathews until I know the facts.

In fairness, I may have misread the intent of what @TurdBurglar was trying to say.

I am willing to bet it's much more than a cold.

I wouldn't agree that PK had an attitude problem. He had a flamboyant, outgoing personality that some people don't like. He didn't fit the mold that some expect a hockey player to have. He was certainly generous with his charitable giving. I definitely give him the benefit of the doubt on being a good human being. I can't comment on whether PK was a great teammate or not, maybe he was maybe he wasn't. Only someone who was a teammate for a period of time could give a good assessment on that.

All this talk about a total house cleaning in Toronto is bad karma. It almost guarantees a Leaf victory tonight. I will wait for another Bruin victory before I say too much.

It wouldn't shock me if the Leafs come up with a big effort tomorrow night and force game 6 (I am assuming that's the team you are referring to). They seem to play better when no one expects them to and are more relaxed on the road.

Agree about PK, having a dinosaur for a coach like Therrien didn't help much either. PK had great passion for the game and had a big heart. Evander on the other hand has worn out his welcome in many places. A lot of his problems are of his own doing. He has done some good things in Edmonton, got involved in some charitable causes but it seems like his popularity has waned with some teammates the last couple months. Had a terrific game three and can be a force when focused in the right direction.

I like the "hometown hockey" segments. Growing up in a small town I can tell you that without sports (hockey and curling in the winter) and ball in the summer, small towns would be "deadsville". I can understand why someone growing up in a larger center where there is more to do might not see that.

His name is Harnarayan Singh, a great guy and great story. No question that pro hockey in general had a lot of work to do to make people of other cultures feel welcome, the story of Akim Aliu is a prime example of that. But they are making progress.

I think the game is great as well. Maybe Cathal would feel different if the Leafs could actually win a round or two. His perspective is from Toronto where soccer and basketball are huge partly because large immigrant populations have settled there and enriched these sports.

The 1st round of hockey playoffs is one of the best times of the year. It's OK to have some unproductive time.

Exactly, they had a -37 goal differential this year, the worst goal differential for any team making the playoffs since 1990 or 1991 I believe. They just weren't a very good team.

Yes, if Winnipeg goes out in the 1st 2 rounds that pick will be 27 at worst possibly higher. Go Avs.

I think the easiest thing for an analyst to do is find a defensive breakdown somewhere, anywhere whenever a goal is scored. Giving up 3 goals is not awful, scoring only 1 is the problem.

The trades for Newhook/Dach were outside the conference. I think teams are more likely to trade a young player to a place where it won't come back to haunt them. Of that group mentioned: Krebs- 20 goals in 215 games, hasn't showed any sign of being a top 6 forward, has had 5 years to figure it out, pass Quinn - might be promising, but trades with division rivals are always tough, likely wouldn't come cheap Holtz - maybe the most promising, has shown signs of being a top 6 forward, depends on the price Kakko - certainly has some talent, depends on the price, has had 5 years in the NHL though so maybe there is something not quite right Kaliyev- has some talent but I think the Kings have soured on him, wouldn't give up much for him

No question, the top 13 or 14 are supposed to be really good this year.

If the Leafs go out to Boston, Berube will be the next coach of the Leafs. Or is he too smart to take that on??

The Calgary pick by itself might be in the 12 range next year so that seems a lot to give up top move to 12 this year however the Winnipeg pick plus a young defensemen plus maybe a #2 from next year. Maybe that isn't enough. It would depend on who the young defensemen is.

I expect major changes on the Leafs if they don't win. A defense of Lyubuskin, Benoit, Edmundson etc. is just not good enough. Those are journeymen defensemen!! They need to spend less money up front and more on the blueline (Captain Obvious statement). Treliving will not be afraid to make changes.

I won't say too much until the Bruins win one more game. Then I will just smile a bit on the inside and have a nice restful sleep.

Of course, that's what makes the draft so interesting.

Agreed, likely too high for the Habs to be able to trade up high enough to get another pick to grab him. I am thinking if you could get another pick at say 15 then you could grab someone like a Liam Greentree perhaps. I just hope the Habs can get an impact forward at 5.

There's another poster here that really likes him. LOL Helenius seems to have a really well rounded skill set, excellent skater, hard worker, high IQ. It blows my mind that in a couple mock drafts he isn't even listed in the top 30. I think this looks like the kind of draft where it would be great to have a couple picks in the top 15 to grab that guy that unexpectedly falls. San Jose already has a couple picks in the top 15 (thanks Pittsburgh), maybe they could be persuaded to trade their 2nd 1st rounder for the Habs Winnipeg pick (plus other assets of course). But that rarely happens.

Agree 100%, I had visions of the Habs signing him as a UFA or getting a good deal in a trade for him but something is just not right with him.

Yes, definitely want the Avs to win. Going in I really thought the Jets were going to win as they entered the playoffs on a heater (won 8 in a row) beats the Avs all 3 times this year and had the better goaltending. But the playoffs are always a new story and Hellebucyk has been less than stellar. Still a long way to go.