xXx..CK..xXx

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.

I’m in the minority but although there may have to be a reorganization in the structure of our salary, I think you match. We’ll see how things play out but I believe we will.

Nope

Tough to see Perry go. Would have loved to have him for the next two years.

I did not even think of Weber when I thought of this signing as being a “meh” signing. Again, it was his 0 goals, 0 assists and -8 statistics from his most recent time in Tampa. Personally I tend to encourage Habs players and get annoyed when fans put our own players down. This is simply not a signing that excites me.

I can’t really find myself using Dougie Hamilton and David Savard in the same sentence when I see 0 G 0 A and -8 with Tampa last season. I know, he’ll bring more than points, but still. This is a meh for me.

Why are you so jealous? Who cares if that’s what she is doing. Mind your own business and move on with it. No one could care less about your opinion that no one agrees with, or have any pity that your emotions have been hurt over this.

Not sure if we are looking at the same thing here but Wideman had 46 PIM in his prime, not 46 points.

That has nothing to do with the discussion. The question was why wasn’t he picked up, and the reason was cap hit combined with age. Hamilton would have been picked up were he exposed with a 10 million cap hit because he is also younger. And if he would not have been, then I simply disagree with Francis’ approach.

One has to combine that dollar value with age. If Carey Price was 28 years old like Hamilton and had no previous injury concerns, they would have taken him.

Right before we pick, I’d like Raty

Kassian? (Not that he’s an a-hole but was more of a risk on the character side)

It depends on your definition of impact player but I would define Drouin as a useful player. I am also not going to shy away from the argument that he can be an impact player. Because I’ve seen him be one before. It has nothing to do with expectations but he could definitely get hot during the right time, and he has before. If anything the only time Drouin and reliable come up in a conversation, is simply when someone is bringing up out of thin air that Drouin can’t be relied upon. There’s no one here that’s really arguing the other side. Domi can’t be relied upon either, but he once had a heck of a year. The same can be said for anyone. Tatar was our leading scorer one year, and then a healthy scratch in the playoffs the next. So it’s not like it can be argued that this is some sort of “Drouin gene” that we are discussing. I wish the best for Toffoli, but we’ll see if he can keep things up as well. I could also discuss Anderson and some of his ugly statistics throughout his career.

Who said his issues were fan/media related? As it’s really likely that this wasn’t the issue.

I’d like to take you back to 2015-2016 where Jonathan Drouin single handedly dominated the eventual cup champions (Pittsburgh) in the conference finals. That year, the Tampa Bay Lightning took Pittsburgh to 7 games in the conference finals. In Game 7, Pittsburgh won 2-1 against Tampa. Who scored the lone Tampa goal in Game 7? Jonathan Drouin. Pittsburgh eventually went on to beat San Jose in the final, and judging by Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau’s career, it’s safe to assume that Tampa Bay would have a cup if the rest of Drouin’s team showed up. Take a look at that 2015-2016 playoff bracket as well as the game 7 score sheet, and you may learn a thing or two. This wasn’t only a statistical thing as well. I remember from the eye test, Drouin was better than Crosby during that series. In the end, this is coming from someone who disliked the Sergachev trade after defending the Weber trade. I wanted Sergachev to fill in for Markov. With that being said, it is an entirely false assumption to say that we wouldn’t have made the final if Drouin was with the squad.

$5 million is what I would have said as well. I personally don’t mind if we don’t have him back. That’s not based on this season. I’ve felt that way for awhile.

I’m sad about this situation. As the playoffs were nearing an end I was going to make a post that while I was Weber’s biggest fan, his age actually seemed apparent to me during this run. I knew he was injured but he also shot a 100mph shot into Goodrow during the final, so there was more to it. It seems moot to say it now even though it had been a thought of mine, but one couldn’t have expected it to be this bad.

I am fairly confident that the majority of the players on the team do indeed feel that way and that’s more important than the perspective of some fans and their personal vision of what a contender looks like. There have been so many negative posts concerning the Habs over the years that have been proven completely and utterly wrong, that it’s almost not worth replying to those comments. Of course those who say the Habs will win the cup next year with their rose coloured glasses are just as delusional. With that being said, stating that the Habs need to improve is an obviously true remark but that can be said for any team, including Tampa. The Habs are going to be an even tougher team to play against than this year as their young kids have another year of experience under their belt. That comment is also coming from someone (me) who loves veterans. Caufield and Suzuki (and KK) are only going to get better and I am confident that we will continue to add some pieces after the run we made this year. There should only be room for optimism heading into next year. Whether or not things pan out, time will tell.

How silly is it to argue how other teams “may have won” with this or without that. I mean I really view that as a NEGATIVE viewpoint. Tavares helping them win is absolutely hypothetical even though it seems “obvious” to point out, and Scheifele’s actions were as a result of the Habs absolutely smothering Winnipeg in their first game. The Habs still shut down Wheeler, Connor, Ehlers, Matthews, Marner, Stone, Pacioretty, and many more. What about the reality that the Habs played with Petry, who couldn’t take a shot due to his broken fingers, or the reality that we lost our coach for 5 games during our playoff run. I could easily say the Habs could have won the cup if Petry doesn’t get injured, and we did not lose our coach for a few games, but those who already have their minds made up would simply argue that Richardson was a good enough replacement and that Petry still showed up on the ice. The Habs deserved to make the final and since science was randomly brought up, it cannot be scientifically proven that we would have lost had we faced Toronto with Tavares just because we make up that he would have had an extra two points for Toronto, and it’s even less likely that we would have lost to Winnipeg even had they had Scheifele.

I somewhat agree with the post above. Ducharme, I am indifferent about. I don’t think that is necessarily a great way to feel about a coach that has just brought you to the Stanley Cup Final. It’s not about me but I personally hope I grow to like him. That being said, I would say one year contract. I also have my own personal opinion about Danault and if I had to pick an option, it would be the lowest total. I understand what he did these playoffs but considering where he often draws in the lineup, he brings down the offensive upside of his top 6 linemates. I am willing to listen to adverse opinions, but I doubt it will change mine. As for Weber, I’ve been his biggest defender but I actually personally felt as though his age showed as the playoffs progressed. It’s not really an accurate criticism though, as everyone plays banged up by the end of the playoffs, and so it simply could be the natural wear and tear of the grind. In the end, I would never consider exposing him to the Kraken.

Anyone who understands the “concern” that making the playoffs next year will be “more difficult than this year” would be completely overlooking the experience and hunger this team gained by making the Stanley Cup Final. Regardless of whether or not it was the playoffs versus the regular season, it is still a team that gained a lot through this experience. Of course, the same could be said about Dallas this year, but a couple of our biggest performers are our youngest players on the team. We have already improved next year with Caufield in the lineup. In addition, the Stars lost a few of their players after last year, with Perry being an obvious name to come to mind. For that reason, I conceed that a lot will depend on which players we keep/add to the squad but I do not see any reason for negative thoughts in that area, prior to it happening. There have been poor off seasons in the past under this regime, but there have also been very solid off seasons as well, including last year’s.

I think it’s obvious that we have some solid players up front (young and old), and when we have Carey Price, we simply are a contender from here on out. Sure, he can have a poor season and this will change things but with him between the pipes there is always hope for a strong run. This is without reiterating that the team in front of him is improved over years past. Our defense as an entire corps is a lot stronger than given credit for, and Weber and Petry were both playing without the ability to use their hands. I simply would have preferred we went with our group in the final two games, rather than Merrill and Gustafsson. An upgrade within the d corps is fine, but it’s not like that single move would change us from a bubble team to a cup contender. Anyway, it’s easy to say that the Habs will miss the playoffs next year just like Dallas did this year, but it’s too negative to say that “the fear is that our GM thinks we are a cup contender” immediately after having reached the Stanley Cup final. It’s akin to saying the run was a fluke, which it was not. In addition, I am not sure what the statement is even trying to insinuate, that Bergevin will not make any moves just because he thinks this team is a real contender? I mean, that is just a completely irrational assumption and quite needless to say, given the reality that it is much more likely that Bergevin will indeed continue to try and improve the team.

Yes. Yes, they are. Didn’t read the rest.

We did lose 6-3

Words don’t do the situation justice but it is very sad indeed. RIP Matiss Kivlenieks