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xXx..CK..xXx

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Posts posted by xXx..CK..xXx

  1. 9 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

     

    Hey, I recognize that we have nothing to play for (apart from seeing young guys improve), and I recognize that the higher pick is the better pick. But I still don’t cheer for them to lose, when I’m watching games. “Frustration” is a bit of a strong word for it…but I feel a lot less motivated to watch under these conditions for sure. At least this game was pretty entertaining.

     

     

    Yeah, Slaf and CC both struggled, relatively speaking.

    Yes, I’m not frustrated as well but I was just wondering if it was normal for me to still have that competitive edge as a spectator of a team with nothing to play for. I still want them to win and found myself staring blankly at the screen for 10 seconds after the loss. I’m not delusional but while it’s certainly to a much lesser degree, I still have that inner child mentality within. Not that my mood depends on it but a win (even this season) makes me happy and a loss leaves me without seeing any saving grace.

  2. 5 hours ago, dlbalr said:

    A random note on an old friend in Pittsburgh's lineup, tonight will be Lars Eller's 1,000th game.  He may not have lived up to being a full-time top-six centre but he has had a pretty good NHL career all things considered.


    Eller scored the Stanley Cup game winning goal for Washington in their 4-3 win over Vegas to clinch the cup. Not a bad career at all.

     

    It’s fitting that his 1000th game is versus the Habs.

  3. I won’t be able to ever agree. It may be realistic to accept that we are not a contender but it’s getting to the point where any season we aren’t people are actually happy with losses. We are fans and are supposed to support our team. How many people actually attend a Habs game hoping we will lose simply because we have no shot at the cup? 
     

    The draft is not the only way to acquire top end talent. Trades exist as well. 
     

    Unfortunately with a cap and a growing number of teams in the league winning the cup is going to become even more difficult. If someone feels we should be tanking this year, they will likely feel that way 16 out of 20 years. Honestly, may as well find a different sport to watch with that perspective.
     

    This doesn’t even delve into the reality that some fans who will be wishing for losses are simply wrong about the potential of our team because they are just that, fans with their own opinion. Or maybe the fact that it would be good for the development of our young players to experience regular season success or even playoff failures. Happy with a 6-5 loss? Doesn’t matter that the 6 goals were against our developing goaltender, at least it was entertaining!
     

    Going even further, this was the same perspective of some the very year we made the cup final. Those same fans of our very own team then continue to point out that it’s not a valid comparison because it was the “bubble season”. We had a great playoff team that year and players fighting for Weber and Price’s final attempt. There’s no winning that debate or changing a tanker’s perspective so as I said, to each their own.

  4. On 11/15/2023 at 3:58 PM, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

     

    Not a great policy IMHO. I'd put in a 2-year rule, UNLESS you contributed to a Cup.

     

    Turgeon deserves zero recognition in Montreal, but hey, it's no skin off my nose. If the francophone community wants to pretend he was some important contributor to Habs history, let them so delude themselves 🤷‍♂️

    I’m not defending it and have very little memory of Turgeon’s impact on the Habs but he did play parts of 3 seasons with the Habs and has the 3rd highest points per game average ever amongst Canadiens players. Behind Newsy Lalonde and Guy Lafleur. I know, only 108 games. Just saying.

  5. 40 minutes ago, TurdBurglar said:

    Is it just me or in the few starts Primeau has started, there's signs of a decent goalie there, much more than last season.

    I mentioned it the other day as well. Over the years I haven’t thought much of him but he seems to be attempting to seize the opportunity right now. I’m beginning to be a believer in him. It has nothing to do with the sample size because for me a lot of it has to with his focus and compete level. That should continue.

  6. Do I think Montembault played well last season? No.

     

    He was:

    60th in the league in wins

    82nd in save percentage

    95th in goals against average

     

    When we had terrible seasons with Price, he would still hover around the top 30 in those categories at least.

     

    No, I am not comparing Montembault to Price. Yes, I understand that it is a team sport and do not blame Montembault for our results last year. Yes, some of the goalies ahead of Montembault on the stats I listed played a minimal amount of games therefore skewing Montembaults standing in those categories.

     

    Yes, I’ve seen Montembault have great games. No, I don’t think he has ever played very well over an entire season, in general.

     

  7. I just don’t get how so many people are so high on or even accepting of Montembault. In my opinion there’s not even a consideration of him being a flash in the pan because he’s never been good. This is coming from someone who usually defends our players so I am not, in general, a hater. 
     

    I understand that there are many factors at play and considering he is currently on the team now we have to work with what we have but I can clearly see that he’s not it and I watch every game.
     

    Some people here were also anti-Price because as a result of having him we had to rely too much on our goaltending, but I saw that as a good problem to have. I don’t expect our next goalie to be Price and don’t hold Montembault to that standard but I believe our current tandem to be one of the worst in the league and would like to upgrade. Otherwise, we will have to expect very little over the next few years.

  8. 5 hours ago, tomh009 said:

    That’s an awfully small sample size for Primeau. Allen is unlikely to be with the Habs two years from now, and younger prospects are unlikely to be ready by then. So, I can see why they are considering extending Montembeault.


    I mean the Habs brass are hopefully smarter and more informed than you and I so if they see something I don’t that’s fine, but you can see why they would want to extend Monty with his career .896 save percentage? 
     

    I’d rather have Primeau as a backup goalie than be “stuck” with Montrmbeault as a 1a or 1b goalie for the next few years.

     

    That’s where I see the difference. With Montembault, I worry that we’re going to have a tandem in net rather than a legitimate starter. With Primeau, I see him as a backup. Allen is not the answer either but short term he’s more of a starter than the other two.

     

    There’s been mention in the thread about the “new age” NHL having more teams going with multiple goalies so call me old school. With that being said, I’d rather have a Shesterkin or Vasilevskiy in net than a Michael Leighton circa 2010 Philadelphia Flyers.

     

    Finally, even with a tandem, one of the goalies is usually superior to both Allen and Montembeault. 
     

    I understand that it is unrealistic to acquire a Shesterkin or Vasilevskiy but my preference would be to look outward for our new starter or “1a goalie”. 
     

    The Habs are obviously on a different page than I am though because even DeSmith is a higher quality goalie than what we have behind Allen.
     

    In sum, if Montembault is a backup goalie for the Habs I have no problem with it. If he’s one of our starters, then we’re going to have to build a Colorado or Vegas strong team in front of him or the next few years will be very long.

     

    That’s also where I differ… many people are willing to rebuild for the next three years (when in reality that timeframe just keeps extending and extending.) I’d like to contend, thank you very much.

     

     

  9. On Saturday the CBC cast (I believe Eliott Friedman) said that the Habs were working on Montembault’s contract and eager to extend him and then cited his better than expected save percentage when faced with high danger situations.

     

    Personally while I generally back all of our players, I would prefer sticking with Allen and Primeau as a tandem if I had to choose. I’m not a big fan of Montembeault, even though I understand I’m in the minority. I haven’t been a big Primeau fan over the years either but he’s somewhat impressed me this year. It seems as though he is playing every game as though “it’s his chance” this year.

  10. My short opinion is that some put way too much emphasis on a single draft pick having such an influence on the future of our club.

     

    At one point or another, free agent signings as well as trades will have to be made in order to put any of our competitive clubs over the top. 
     

    I am always optimistic but I don’t see our current club as a contender. 
     

    My main concern in particular is our back end. (Goaltending) 

     

    With that said, in any given year management can make moves to bolster our club. I don’t believe one draft pick of any capacity will be enough to do it. It’s like an addiction to some. “I wasn’t happy with 3rd, let’s go for 1st.” We get 5th. “I wasn’t happy with 5th, let’s go for 1st overall draft pick again”. 
     

    Rinse and repeat.

     

    We didn’t make any major moves this off season so I have a tough time seeing us as a contender this year. Have an unexpected successful start to the season? Maybe some deadline moves make our team better than expected. Not this year? Maybe we sign some free agents next year and build off that. My educated guess was that we’ll make the playoffs again not this year but next.
     

    The team will go out there and try to compete this year. Tanking is not an option for them, nor is it a guaranteed recipe for success.

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