xXx..CK..xXx

Him and Cozens are the ones who come to mind for me on a consistent basis. Cozens came at a steep price though so I’m not suggesting it should have happened. I do believe both players would have fit in nicely as 2C though (keep in mind Zegras is playing wing as well with Philly), despite each receiving unwarranted hate from time to time.

I think Dobeš has improved in the areas you guys are discussing. He’s more positionally sound than last season and while he may not be the best in that area, once again he has improved. He worked hard on his positioning over the summer according to himself and many reports. From a personal standpoint, I’d also rather a goalie who dives back to make a save and battles than a goalie who is positionally sound but gets beat a high percentage of the time when the puck doesn’t simply just hit him due to his positioning. Nothing to do with what anyone said, but there are goalies out there like that as well. Anyway, everyone will have their own opinion on that topic and the eye test is the eye test, but here are some stats that may hopefully ease any worries when it comes to Dobeš in the present (it’s still very early in the season). https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-edge-stats-jakub-dobes-montreal-canadiens-hot-start

There’s nothing to debate here and no one is including him in talks of great rookie talent. Hutson and Demidov are on another tier. Dobeš started the season 5-0-0 two seasons in a row as a rookie. It’s nothing extraordinary but it’s impressive and noteworthy and that’s all there is to it. In addition, I’d be perfectly happy if he turned out to be a Tim Thomas. Dobeš has also publically stated that he has worked during the off season on the things you are concerned about and that he feels as though he is more compact and losing his net less this season. Let’s hope that Dobeš isn’t delusional and that it’s merely fans phobias from last season kicking in whenever they bring it up. Either way, if it’s something he his conscious about and actively working on, it shouldn’t be too long before it’s not much of an issue for him considering his personality and seemingly positive level of work ethic.

Not to mention we have Dobeš who has started the season 5-0-0 two years in a row as a rookie. Not necessarily Hutson & Demidov level but that’s a forward, defender and goaltender.

Conor Garland most points on the Canucks (I actually like him) Keefer Sherwood most goals on the Canucks We’ll be okay 4-2 Habs?

How about having a Dallas throwback as Minnesota (North Stars) vs the Wild? Or the Avalanche facing New Jersey while wearing their Colorado Rockies throwbacks?

That’s the question I had a little as well. It was in a somewhat different way after I mentioned “He’ll have 60+ point seasons again depending on his deployment” above. This season, was he 4th line because they were trying to get him through some injury and ease him in with lower minutes and PP time or was it because as some would put it, Laine was being Laine? Basically, was the injury known from game 1, or did it happen recently?

At least it’s not too negative here. I saw a post on Facebook about Laine’s injury (which led me to come here) and while I closed the comments after reading about 5-10, most people were celebrating/taunting/making fun of him for the situation. Obviously, if he needs surgery then there’s something wrong and while someone could accuse him of being made of glass similar to Dach or Guhle, as an example, I don’t think I would ever go as far as to say “the Habs are better off without him” or “retire already, etc.” The again, maybe one or two of you will pop your heads out but it sometimes feels, at least online, that I’m the only one who likes him… and that includes everyone in Winnipeg and Columbus too As for the rest of his career, he’s 27. He’ll have some decent seasons again in his career in my opinion. If he were into his 30s, I’d be teetering. However, he’s two years removed from being a point per game player in 5 of his first 7 years (I’m being generous a couple of those years). He’ll have 60+ point seasons again depending on his deployment. In regards to this season, it will be nice to have a healthy Laine come playoff time as it may be tough to move him m even if that’s what some people would have wanted, depending on how close to the deadline he returns. Well hopefully be a playoff team come April so the more weapons the merrier.

Great goal by Caufield. Undressed Pickard. Evans is having a strong game.

I personally like all three players but one could say the same for all of them when it comes to “injury prone”.

A) 45-30-5-2 (97 pts) B) 3rd C) 7th D) 5 E) 58 F) 72

Dach with a nice goal, having batted the puck out of the air. Gallagher’s having a solid game including the alley oop assist on the Dach goal for his 3rd assist of the game.

Draisaitl is one of the most clutch players in the NHL. The counter argument seems to be that no one is clutch but only great. From that standpoint, it’s easy to dismiss every statement in regards to him because in reality he is a great player. With that being said, one can be a great player and clutch at the same time. The conversation seems to have taken a specific route into the definition of clutch relating to how someone performs in the regular season versus the playoffs but it’s more than that. It’s the mental state of how someone performs when there are key moments within a specific game. In one sense, all 60 minutes are equally important. In the other sense, there’s the shift where the game is on the line for both teams. There are plenty of good and skillful players who one wouldn’t necessarily want out in those moments. On the other hand, there are also less skillful players who one would want out on the ice because they seem to perform in those moments. To me, it’s not purely about a statistic but more-so a mindset. Because that mindset is not necessarily quantifiable, it’s easy to dismiss that it exists. There are plenty of players who suffer from mental health issues in professional sports, so it’s a lazy argument to state that the world has weeded out the mentally weak once it comes to professional sports and not true because once again, there are many different variables that make up a professional player. One may have the skill but not the mental ability to perform under pressure. One may have skill but lack the tactical and strategic defensive mindset of a clutch player on defense. There’s no one definition of what a clutch player is, but they do definitely exist. In terms of who is clutch, I could see how that is debatable. Here is a list of players who scored important goals this year. “Game ending goals”, “late game winning goals”, “game winning goals”, “late game tying goals”, “game tying goals” were some of the criteria used in determining who was clutch when it came to scoring important goals for their team this year. Are they all great players? Sure. Are players like Wilson, Rossi, Boldy, or even Nick Suzuki top 10 players in the league when it comes to “greatness”? Possibly? Swinging back to Draisaitl. He is at the top of the list. He is a great player but so is McDavid who doesn’t appear. The next player on the list was Marner, and that’s where the debate surrounding what clutch means comes into play because some argue that players like Marner cannot elevate their game in the playoffs, however it turns out that he scored important goals for his team this year, and he also scored an important overtime goal for Canada in the 4 nations cup. McDavid also scored the game winning goal for Canada at the 4 nations vs USA but is he clutch, or was being surrounded by other great players beneficial to both players discussed in this paragraph? I do believe there could be some variance when it comes to clutch related statistics and that it can be a somewhat difficult thing to measure. With that being said, I do believe it exists in sport and denying it is like saying not a single player feels pressure prior to the game. Yes, even professionals feel pressure and while some thrive off of it, others can be impacted. Just off the top of my head, Hellebuyck is an example that comes to mind in the reverse sense of being clutch and handling pressure. Anyway, like you said it’s a topic that has been beaten to death but it all stems from one’s perception of what clutch even means. If it’s based off of a specific mindset, then it exists. There are simply toooooo many circumstances where clutch can be used to deny that it fully exists. Clutch can be elevating your game when the games are more important (playoffs, game 7, etc.). It can be a player who seemingly makes key defensive plays when the game is on the line. It can even be a player who raises their game when the going gets tough, period. While all NHL players are professional athletes, not every single one of them has a growth mindset. A player with a fixed mindset, will think things like “I can’t” whereas a player with a growth mindset will believe “they can”. I already know that the rebuttal will be that all professional athletes have a growth mindset and that’s why they are professionals but considering my profession is being an athlete turned coach, I can say with 100% certainty that it isn’t the case. Most are, but some got where they are with pure skill rather than that elite mindset. If these negative thoughts creep into a professional’s mind, and they do, then the reverse is possible as well.

If there’s a mental aspect to sport, and there is, then there is clutch in sport. It’s easy to say that all players in the NHL, or any professional sport are great rather than clutch but there are different elements that allow someone to attain the level of professional. - Skill - Mental fortitude/Psychological capacity - Tactical ability - Technical ability - Physical attributes It doesn’t have to be defined or proven by statistical output. Denying “clutch” as an attribute is like denying that professional athletes are humans who have the same mental problems that the general public have. Anxiety, phobias, whatever it be. It is a fact that regardless of the fact these players are all professionals, some people play better when they are losing, some people play worse. Some people play better when the game is on the line, and some people perform worse. Some people want to take a penalty shot, and some people would rather not. There doesn’t have to be a precise definition, but having a clutch element to one’s game falls somewhere within that line. I think the side who argues against, perceives clutch as being something that results in success 100% of the time. I think it’s more than that as it stems from an emotion and mindset within an individual, even if the results don’t show it 100% of the time.

It’s a shame the Habs didn’t play within the division during the playoffs. Regular season stats: 18-7-1 within the division & 4-0-0 vs the Panthers. 9-12-3 against the Metropolitan division & 1-2-0 vs. Capitals.

I have the same feeling as a Habs win tonight and it’s all due to the Leafs being eliminated.

Hat trick for Granlund 🧢🧢🧢

Something that hasn’t been said enough and in fact the opposite has been stated more often than not… the Habs need some grizzled vets. We need that experienced player who people think are over the hill but scores that unexpected goal in the playoffs. No one loves signing 30+ year old players but eventually we’re going to have to, or we’re going to have to trade for one or two nearing a trade deadline. Habs youth surrounded by proven veterans from the outside = recipe for success. Suzuki, Canfield and Evan’s made the cup final early in their career, but they were surrounded by Staal, Perry, Weber, Price. Admittedly, Tampa’s older players were younger than the Habs but they had a bunch of 30 year olds (5) and Mcdonagh, Killorn and Maroon older than 30. The Habs do have a few 30+ year olds (Gallagher, Matheson, Armia, Anderson) but someone like Giroux, Crosby, etc. would be a step above in terms of point production. Not comparing Giroux and Crosby, but rather comparing them to someone like Armia.

Fleury - Garand is an interesting tandem.

Yeah I saw the Preds as well. It’s a combination of both and one could even throw a little bit of the Wild in there with them trying to incorporate nature within the logo. Mountains vs forest. They were apparently going to go with “Yeti” but a copyright infringement took that option away.

We took Caufield at 15 and Newhook was 16 that same draft.

Pacioretty’s game winner sends the Leafs to round 2.

While we’re at it let’s take Ovechkin out too… and then score some goals.

Dobeš is keeping us in the game.

Going to need our first line to step up to the plate.