xXx..CK..xXx

I came into this thread kind of along the lines of this mentality as well as ill Will's. I'm not going to say I would never trade Markov but it more or less would depend on the return. Personally, I wouldn't trade him for draft picks because I think he's more valuable than a potential mid first round pick. If he were involved in a package or even one for one on a return that would help the club immediately, then I'd be interested in looking into it. We're all going to have our difference in opinion, but I don't like the thought of trading Markov at all. It's easy to look at only either his negatives or his positives. Sure he's lost a step... so what? He's still great in a lot of areas as well and those who think Beaulieu could be his immediate replacement are gravely mistaken.

I kind of like CC's assessment in that I think it's very unlikely that we would get fair value for Desharnais on the open market. I don't necessarily view the problem as having too many small players on our team. Rather, I think having too many natural centers on the team is more of an issue. My stance has not changed for over a year now in that if it's between Eller, Plekanec, Galchenyuk and Desharnais, then Desharnais should be the one to go. Sure, we could once again play Desharnais, or any of the other aforementioned players out of position, but really the question is why? Someone on here mentioned recently that their biggest problem with this season has been how many players have been playing outside their natural position. At some point, we have to start changing that reality. I'm not a big fan of being the type who says "trade this player and trade that player" but I do believe that those who think we should trade Desharnais while his value is high are spot on. From a neutral, league wide perspective however, it's hard to look at Desharnais and not underrate his value because of things like his size and one dimensional play, regardless of how many points he puts up. In the end, while I do think we could definitely win with him on the team, I also believe we're "better off" without him as long as we can start filling some other needs.

Not entirely sure this is applicable here but for awhile now I've been wanting to mention to all those who dislike Gionta and think that he has become mediocre; his success was always largely in part a byproduct of Gomez. Actually, perhaps the same can be said for Gomez's success as well. When the Habs acquired both of them, you could instantly see their chemistry. When Gomez began to slump and be taken off the top lines, Gionta's game (to a much lesser extent) was also affected. I'm not saying that Gionta's game hasn't regressed with age but I think there are other factors to be taken into consideration as well. Why would I bring this up in this thread? Well for starters, there are a couple of linear patterns between Gomez and Gionta and Desharnais and Pacioretty. In addition, a team with Gomez and Gionta won the cup. With all that being said, I don't think Pacioretty would be as affected as Gionta was if Desharnais were to be traded. Do I think we could win with Plex, Galchenyuk and DD down the middle? I certainly think so. Would I prefer Plex, Galchenyuk and Eller to be our top 3? Yes.

In my opinion, I actually think the first 20 games or so of last season was some of the best hockey Price has played in his career. If it is true that he was nursing a groin injury throughout the season last year, then I'm pretty optimistic about his future with us. If he was healthy, then I agree that there certainly is something going on between his ears that needs to be addressed. Actually, either way there definitely is a little something there that needs to be addressed but to say that he hasn't demonstrated what he did in '09 since then isn't accurate in my books... I saw some great play last season. The only question that really matters is whether or not he has what it takes to win a Stanley Cup... and with the proper team in front of him I definitely think he does.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this... I guess I'm watching a different league... I had no idea that trading for Hedman would instantly make us a contender... He must be really good. I know who Victor Hedman is. I know he was drafted 2nd overall and I also know he has the potential to be a solid (very) defenseman since I've watched him play since his junior days. But if people think you're overrating Pacioretty, then I think you're grossly overrating Hedman. He is a career minus player so I'm not sure how that really translates into providing us with the type of defenseman that would instantly make us a contender... something that you've constantly been repeating in your posts. This is a discussion forum so feel free to keep talking about this scenario, but it will never happen. Gallagher is not going anywhere.

I was just browsing the Anti-Maple Leafs thread and needless to say it's clear that people on here are are happy they are out. In recent months, I've seen the debate on here that while a team like the Bruins are a actually our rivals, a team like the Maple Leafs are more of a "mythical" rivalry or a one sided one. Personally, matches against both the Bruins and Leafs create unique emotions that I don't get versus other teams, so I'm not part of that belief. With that being said, I'm interested to know what 5 teams elicit these negative emotions out of you the most? In the past, I think there's been talk about this on here but teams like Carolina were brought up, who I don't think many of us have felt threatened by in the recent past. Whether it be our top 5 actual rivals or the top 5 teams that you hate facing the most, spell it out here. For the simplicity of my post, I'm just going to make one list but if you feel these are different things then feel free to create two separate lists. 1) Boston Bruins 2) Toronto Maple Leafs 3) Philadelphia Flyers 4) Pittsburgh Penguins 5) Buffalo, Ottawa and NYR I also hate losing to all Canadian teams, especially when we're on the road out west. I know I cheated for my 5th pick, but all of those teams interchange. I used to hate playing Buffalo a lot more when they had Roy, Pomminville, Vanek and Miller... but they're in our division and still will be next season. Hopefully you guys can be more concise!

See, I don't understand where you get out of my post anything about how I felt about how Price played this series because I didn't mention it. Regardless of how I feel about how he played this series, I am extremely happy that he is our goaltender in general. If you want my opinion on why I think we lost this series, it's an easy list: 1) injuries 2) officiating 3) Anderson And before you go on about #3, I don't think it would have been a factor without numbers 1 & 2. I wouldn't put Price on the list of reasons we lost this series. It's easy to say a bunch of players did poorly these playoffs because of a small sample size of 5 games. I believe that without our injuries and terrible calls on the ice, we would have easily won this series. So you can go on talking about Price all you want but he IS a great goalie... And I never get involved in these goalie debates. Like you said, it's about the team and if the team needs Carey to STEAL games in order to win, like you so badly want, then he is already being placed on a higher pedestal and we've got bigger issues to worry about.

2 of those 3 goalies have never got anything "done" in the playoffs. By your logic, you'd probably rather have a goalie like Bobrovsky over Price, who has good regular season numbers but doesn't even get that chance to fail or succeed in the playoffs. Personally, I'd rather Price or Luongo. It's clear as day through your posts that you're not being fair to Price. You are not judging him by any measure of rationality. You're not blaming him for being bad, you're accusing him of not being an inhumane saviour. Good for you but no one really cares. Great season overall and like most on here, I feel that there's for sure a lot to be excited about in the future. I'm always positive when it comes to the Habs but tonight's outcome was no surprise to me. We were way too decimated by injuries.

Subban or Gallagher for the winner

for sure a kick

It's really not that surprising to me. He averages about 4 minutes of ice time a period.

Before the game, I thought to myself "I have faith in the team even if they go down". I won't change my stance but they definitely have to pick up the effort level. They seem one step slower than usual for the most part.

He's not going to have surgery until after the playoffs. Wouldn't be surprised to see him in the lineup tomorrow.

Never thought I'd see you say something positive about Bourque.

Not going to lie, if true, the loss of Pacioretty and Gionta is a bit... irritating. But as the cliche goes, this gives a chance for other players (like Ryder) to step up. I'm already getting excited for this game. I expect good things from the team once again; we just need to find a way to get a few by Anderson. Go Habs Go!

We're still in the playoffs buddy. Playing Price next game isn't a tough call, it's the go to move. I missed some of the third period downfall unfortunately (and fortunately) but great game by Prust and Bourque.

I honestly would put more blame on Therrien than the players for the recent results. I am the last person to ever criticize a coach... Look it up and you won't find me ever having done so... And I actually dont mind Therrien at all... But resting our players for the playoffs and mixing with the team chemistry is actually what started this all. Hopefully it will pay dividends once the real season starts.

This is probably happening because no one predicted the Habs to get more than 59 points in the 7th annual season prediction thread. But on a more serious note, to those who think the Habs won't win another game this season, you're wrong. Not that that isn't obvious or anything.

I know dlbalr touched on it but any news on Ryder?

You never know. There is no empirical evidence to back this up but it's possible that he's producing at that rate in part because of his limited minutes. There are a myriad of reasons that this could be the case. Even Gallagher averages what, 13 some minutes a game?

For a few weeks now, I've felt as though there's not a single team in the East outside of Pittsburgh that should beat us in a 7 game series. When it comes to Pittsburgh beating us, I wouldn't necessarily say "should" is the right word, but they match up pretty well against us. Anyone on here who talks about the Leafs is biased in one way or another but I would love to face them in the first round. With that being said, if that means falling down to 4th place to face them, then my mentality changes. Between Ottawa, the Rangers and the Isles, I think the Sens would be the toughest matchup for us despite their injuries. When it comes to the Rangers, Lundqvist is the type of goalie that can steal a series. He hasn't really done it in the playoffs outside of maybe once but I'd like to stay clear of them as well. Finally, when it comes to the Isles, the only thing that really scares me is their solid road record but in the end I'd like to face them the most out of any team currently in the playoffs.

He's the captain of the 3rd or 4th best team in the NHL. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer Plekanec or Markov to be captain even though he suposedly doesn't want to be, but to see statements like these in an individual game thread are beyond me. Gionta is no less nor more streaky than Pacioretty in terms of goal scoring. Oh, and I'd love to beat the Leafs in Round 1.

I watched the game in two different segments so I'll admit it probably threw my judgement off a little bit but in the first period, the flyers barely got out of their zone. I felt like it was a period we actually dominated. The next two periods were not as good but like people have said the flyers were a desperate team and the game was still 50/50. Outshot or not, at least 3 of their goals went off our defenseman and another was an empty netter. I'm not saying that I'd be happy with the habs continuing to play the way they did, but in my opinion, (other than the lack of intensity late in the third) the habs have played a few games like yesterday's... They've just managed to walk away with a win. Perhaps my opinion is a little different because I watched the away broadcast and the announcers spent more than half the game praising the habs.

I personally don't have the same impression as most on here. I think the Habs played great at some points (especially in the first) and the game could have easily gone either way. Most of the Flyers' goals resulted from hard work but they were also lucky bounces. Saying that it was the worst game all season isn't too far fetched though seeing as we only have 7-8 losses in regulation. A couple of the losses against the Leafs were definitely worse than this one though.

Kind of a random play to take note of but I loved seeing White hold back and draw the 4 minute penalty. It didn't lead to a goal but it was a big moment for the team.