xXx..CK..xXx

Poehling > Danault

It’s one thing to lose. It’s another to let in 5 goals against on a consistent basis.

Just a random observation that this is how life without Price feels to those who have always wanted to trade him. Because the 1 or 2 elite players or prospects we would have (perhaps) received in return aint stopping the puck.

Since it’s so obvious, are the coaches simply too shy to say something to him? I’m not being sarcastic here, but it’s the coaches responsibility to take him aside and tell him that if he takes stupid penalties, he’s done in the big league. If they are indeed encouraging his style of play, then the penalties are simply not stupid. I get that there are brain dead players out there, but this type of thing seems to be something the coaches could at least point out to him. If they have, and he continues to take dumb penalties, he wouldn’t be getting any ice time at all. (with all that being said, I missed the penalty/fight)

Pezzetta woke up today and chose offense over violence. 1g, 2 sog, 0 hits after 2

Enjoy the game. From my side of things, it’s nice to be able to look forward to a game. It’s been awhile since we’ve played the Bruins but it always feels a little different when we do. I expect the 4th line to be active tonight and can see Gallagher, Anderson, Suzuki and Toffoli having strong games. 3-2 win? (Okay, okay, I said all that before seeing the updated lines. Here’s to hoping.)

I respect the recent arguments and thought of some of the same things... For instance, the reality that just because a skilled player cannot translate those skills into the NHL, this does not mean that a less skilled player will all of a sudden become an impact NHLer. With that being said, I think this whole topic is based on perspective. The modern configuration moving forward seems to be to have 4 lines who possess skill whereas in the past, the 4th line has often had size and brought energy. Those who subscribe to the more modern model will obviously not even consider Pezzetta as a possibility. It won’t even be a discussion to them. My perspective is that there have actually been some decent teams with grit in the recent past... say as an example Ryan Reaves on Vegas/Rangers. No, Pezzetta is no Reaves but the point remains the same considering we do not have a Reaves. Vegas was a good team with him. I understand that the conversation began as a thought about Pezzetta’s points off setting the reality that he takes penalties but I believe he brings more to the table than points... though I won’t go into the topic of intangibles. Finally, the only reason I bring up bias is because it seems from what I have seen from those who dislike Pezzetta, they completely overlook anything positive he does when ranting about his negatives. I also have to bring up an example concerning one of the penalties he took the other day that was a complete phantom call. Yet apparently people were ready to rip his head off and blame him as though he should be aware he will get a “reputation call” merely 6 games into his NHL career. I do feel as though it’s a bit of a bias but can understand if your head is saying “wait another 20 games and you will get sick of his penalties as well.” Perfectly understandable if that is the case. Until then, I’ve liked what I have seen thus far.

It’s far from a fact that someone is a shitty NHLer after only 6 games. Out of all people, some of the recent posters should know that. Just because you’ve watched someone play in the AHL, does not mean that he will be the exact same type of player, or have the same level of impact in the NHL. Daniel Carr, Bud Holloway, Charles Hudon, Sven Adrighetto, Matt D’Agostino etc., etc, etc, were all/are all shitty NHLers, and they are decent AHL players. So call Pezzetta shitty, and he can join that “highly skilled” group. I cannot argue against the reality that Pezzetta is more likely than not to eventually be sent down. We are talking about a 4th liner, after all. I can argue the fact however that I’ve liked what I have seen from him during his small NHL sample size, without having past biases cloud my judgement, as well as expectations.

Yeah but the score is 1-0... so his pass > the penalties he took. I understand that it’s nothing against Pezzetta personally. The people who dislike him would dislike any player in the league who brings his style of play to the table, due to the fact that it will lead to a lot of penalties. The problem is that they are also often going out of their was to “search” for the things he does wrong. I personally don’t mind having a player who gets under the skin of the opponent even if that means he will end up in the box from time to time. He also brings energy and he finds himself around the net a lot, so I feel as though he brings other things to the table. What I will admit is that if the Habs were 1st in the division, there’s a distinct possibility Pezzetta is not on the team.

Not on the same page as the Pezzetta haters.

Merely the only team in the NHL that hasn’t lost in regulation over the last 10 games. In other words, the other hottest team in the NHL. I expect a win.

On the replay of the bench, I see you Dvorak. Same reaction.

First time I’ve said “wooow” with a few “o’s” after a Habs goal in quite awhile.

Dvorak should be in the press box. -3 and -5 in his last two games respectively. Even though we don’t like that stat.

A couple of notes: 1) A lot of people (not that they were experts) were surprised Pezzetta was sent down after his “strong” preseason with the Habs. I personally thought he played well and wouldn’t be surprised to see him buzzing around the net a few times within the next few games. With that being said, one would expect things to return to the norm with him if he were to stay with the Habs for say, 20 games +. 2) Pezzetta’s Habs mugshot is similar to that of Brandon Tanev’s this year. Here’s to similar success. vs As for Caufield, he’ll be alright.

Hoffman’s been a bright spot

Fire the coach.

Exactly. That’s what we are doing here; we are speculating. When you put both speculations side by side which one sounds more “professional”. 1) Canes wanted revenge 2) Canes saw a fit Of course #2 does not exactly state that it was because he was Finnish but it could certainly a subcategory on the subject. Anyway, it’s a very small detail that has been blown out of proportion on this page but personally I think it’s almost obvious that the organization would have thought Ago and Teravainen could have some type of positive impact on KK. Of course this could be then said about any team and any ethnicity so it is indeed too broad of a statement. Why do I think it applies here? Because Kotkaniemi is not in the ball park of being worth 6 million, but the Canes obviously think there is some untapped potential there. Of course the Canes did want revenge on the Habs as well in the end, but that was the initial statement that led to this debate.... that it was a “perfect storm” with multiple factors leading to the outcome. Yes, that’s what I was saying as well. We are mainly talking about Carolina management’s perspective. With that being said, it’s not that bold of a statement to say that Kotkaniemi may have relished the idea of playing with Aho and Teravainen as well. In this case, I am not stating that this was his main reason for signing. Other people are simply choosing to interpret things that way.

It’s more from Carolina’s perspective. KK isn’t worth 6 million. One has to justify it in some type of manner from Carolina’s perspective. Were they trolling the Habs? Or did they see a potential fit due to the skilled Finnish players on their team? Perhaps they overrate him for the same reason. It’s true that there could be a thousand reasons why Carolina did what they did but it was indeed a perfect storm that caused this because this was a relatively unique situation that hasn’t been successful since Penner in the early 2000s. Sure, KK signed because of the 6 million. The simple open ended question is why was he offered 6 million?

It really doesn’t matter how many games they played in this context (though Leskinen did only play 1). It matters what language they speak, and what nation they represent. I am not going to say that Kotkaniemi decided to join the Hurricanes because of their Finnish contingent considering we have the likes of Armia and Lehkonen, and Koivu even hyped his future as a Hab. With that being said, I can entirely envision Carolina feeling as thought he would be a good fit considering they have a couple of very strong Finnish players on their squad who could perhaps inspire KK to play up to his perceived potential. If one wants to flip that train of thought and apply it to Kotkaniemi, well that makes a lot of sense as well, though that was not the original comment anyway. habs29 simply pointed out that Carolina having a few strong Finnish players on their squad was part of a perfect storm which led up to Kotkaniemi ending up with Carolina, and I tend to agree. The fact the Habs have Finnish players on their squad is irrelevant, especially when comparing them to Aho, and Teravainen.

3 each last year (Aho, Teravainen, Hakanpaa) Though Hakanpaa only player 15/56 games. Canes have 4 this year (Aho, Teravainen, Kotkaniemi, Rantaa)

To the announcer on SN: Lindstrom ≠ Lidstrom

I wasn’t the biggest KK draft pick fan but it’s clear to me that he will be superior to Eller and obviously superior to Moen and Smith-Pelley. There are plenty of Elite players who are streaky as well, and the hand picked stats that have been used could apply to most players given such a small sample size. This is all without taking into consideration Kotkaniemi’s age, and how he is far from his prime. The most points Eller has ever had in a season is 39. Kotkaniemi had 34 in his rookie season. Without this recent discussion clouding my brain, I can see Kotkaniemi having a few 65 point seasons. Of course, my assumption is as good as yours...

Not overly enthusiastic about hearing that Kotkaniemi got on the scoresheet during his Canes debut with 1PPG, 1A and it’s only the preseason. /end rant PS: I know we’ve recently lost some 3rd overall picks who didn’t pan out anywhere, and I also didn’t want to draft Kotkaniemi, so I am all over the place, but when people were comparing his potential to Barkov/Kopitar, etc.... I have bad feeling about losing him.

My order was Zadina Tkachuk Then it would have been Hughes KK? That’s why I can never talk crap. Because I wanted Zadina. With that being said, I was really high on Tkachuk as well and was surprised how the consensus was to go against him. I loved what he brought the the USA junior team prior to draft. I also say all that being one of the people who are unhappy KK is gone.