xXx..CK..xXx

Scherbak is going to be a stud.

He may not have character, but I like his attitude.

I haven’t caught a minute of preseason yet, though I’d love to change that tonight. The only highlights I’ve seen so far are Kotkaniemi’s goal as well as this Domi thing. The worst part of it was the outcome. Something that led to Eklbad being that bloody should be suspended. We’ve seen that situation before though, with a less severe outcome and nothing more than a 2 minute penalty comes from it. If you’re Eklbad in that situation and smiling at Domi’s frustration, you might expect a punch. I think the rest of the preseason suspension is a good sentence.

Do you enjoy fighting in the game, Brian? I can’t tell.

I’m not saying this to be negative or to argue this specific scenario but you can’t really evaluate how the Habs have handled their centers in the recent past with any consistency. Galchenyuk, for instance,couldn’t crack our lineup as a center while we were in desperate need of one, and now may find himself as a top 6 center on another squad. I’m indifferent towards De La Rose and McCaron, relatively speaking, but it’s certainly possible that another team would handle them differently than the Habs have. Overall, I wouldn’t expect either of them to get claimed should they have to clear waivers. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

Good thing Zadina’s skating wasn’t/isn’t great either. I know that’s who we both wanted.

Tatar played in a couple of games against the Caps in the final last year.

It’s a fact that 5-10 years ago our team was defined by and even criticized for being full of ”Smurfs”. I never once used the term myself but it seems we’re heading back in that direction regardless. I never minded being a quick team. It always worked against the Bruins. The only downfall is longevity as small teams can face more injuries (I know it can be arguable) and it’s important to be able to last through four rounds come playoff time.

Zub(from)Rus

Yes but in their first 6 seasons in the league... Gallagher: 239 points / 408 games = .5886 ppg Marchand: 228 points / 377 games played = .6047 ppg Marchand has a few extra seasons under his belt and only started blossoming after this period. Let’s see if Gallagher can keep it up.

Drouin is the answer, and the one you’re looking for. I despised his play last year but in Pacioretty’s absense, Galchenyuk was the next closest thing in terms of replacing his goals. After that, Drouin’s the one who needs to be that player. Not as a result of goal scoring but the one who can take over a game. If Gallagher shows two or more seasons of promise, it could be him as well. Is Marchand a franchise forward? Gallagher is on a similar path.

Nice to see MB is taking clutchness into consideration when deciding who to invite.

Based on the pattern of our own recent history, I expect there to be no captain. With that being said, I don’t see any issue with naming Weber captain once he’s back and healthy. We’re not likely to trade him in the near future but if we end up trading him a few years, or even within a few months of his captaincy, I don’t see the issue. If there’s a circus because the Habs “keep trading their captains”? So be it.

All I know is that Michel Therrien had a .567 points percentage with the Montreal Canadiens whereas Julien has something like a .515. I’m not convinced that with our unfortunate French speaking prerequisite for the head coach, it’s so obvious that we could have easily hired a better coach. Guy Boucher sure isn’t doing much with the Sens at this point in time and someone like Gallant? Well, we’ll see how his longevity holds up and we didn’t hire him anyway.

So much for Pacioretty apparently seeking out max term and dollar after his last contract negotiation. 7 mil x 4 years seem reasonable.

The question is who should be the successor of Pacioretty. It doesn’t specify a time. Those who say no one, are saying no one should ever replace him, or that someone who isn’t currently on the team should be our next captain. I don’t see why either of those should be the case.

I don’t see any criticism of the move as purely being negative. The move isn’t an absolute home run when considering that Pacioretty is a truly elite goal scorer in the league. If Tatar puts 30 goals in this year, the move looks like an absolute home run in the short term considering we also acquired Suzuki. In the long term, the move will largely depend on how Suzuki pans out. It may not be fair, but at that point, Suzuki should be capable of being a 1st line player. If he turns out to be, the trade is fine. It’s far from an obvious homerun in my books though, despite the fact that Pacioretty was an impending free agent. If there weren’t anything to question o be behind this deal, Pacioretty would have been dealt at the deadline.

I voted for Weber. I’m not concerned as to when it happens.

It’s not absolutely clear that Suzuki is even one of those sure fire centermen. He plays LW/C/RW.

I’d keep both.

A large majority of the fan base would have been happy regardless of the return and so in all honesty there’s nothing out of the ordinary happening here. I actually have always liked Tatar but when comparing him to Pacioretty, they are on a different level. Suzuki’s future on the Habs will be the main determining factor. I look forward to hopefully liking him a lot. As for the Zadina/Kotkaniemi debate, one can argue all they want but the statistics clearly show that Svechnikov was on a higher level than the rest and Zadina is well above the expected statistical output of Kotkaniemi. If they were to have played last year, Svechnikov would have gotten roughly 40 points in the NHL, Zadina would have had slightly over 30, and Kotkaniemi would have had somewhere around 22. Sure, they play different positions and center is more valuable. What I don’t see is how one could ever argue that Kotkaniemi will be a better point producer than Zadina. Kotkaniemi will improve throughout his career, but Zadina and Svechnikov will as well. In terms of pure offensive threat, as well as statistical output, I see no reason why by the end of their careers the order won’t remain the same. Svechnikov > Zadina > Kotkaniemi.

I think they should be called the Seattle Sonics

Sounds like Desharnais to me. It shouldn’t be hard for Drouin and Pacioretty to you know, talk to each other out there if it were the case.

I think the initial question included a situation where we may not get good value in return for Pacioretty. There are also people who will be happy Pacioretty is traded as long as a 1st is involved in the return. Judging by some proposals I’ve seen, it absolutely doesn’t matter what the add on(s) to that first rounder would be. When contrasted against this mindset, I don’t think it should be absolutely out of the question to have entertained signing him to an extension. Pacioretty shouldn’t just be traded away for a “well it was the best offer we received” scenario. We don’t need to throw away such a good player in order to get a 1st rounder and “whatever else”. The main obvious issue is that Pacioretty would likely tie in a no trade clause to his deal if he were to sign an extension with the Habs. Otherwise, it should be one of the main considerations at this point. All that being said, 95% chance he’s move by the deadline.

#2k19