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I think the Habs could be a solid team with Drouin and Galchenyuk at center Pacioretty-Drouin-Radulov Lehkonen-Galchenyuk-Gallagher The problem is Danault was played higher on the depth chart than Galchenyuk at the end of last season so the feeling I get, like with Jumbo Joe, is that acquiring another top 6 would settle the issue. If we keep Galchenyuk and start the season with him and Drouin at center, there's always the risk that Plekanec or Danault, or even worse, both will end up back in the top 6. I do get the feeling that if we don't acquire a top 6 center, we might end up seeing what you suggested to start the season but in all honesty it's just as likely that we see Danault in the top 6 again. Although I keep slotting them in on the 3rd or 4th lines in my mock lineups, it's hard to envision either Plekanec or Danault actually centering the 4th line and they're both still on the team. As it stands right now with the team we have, I'd be interested in seeing a Drouin/Galchenyuk 1a 1b. I think the more likely outcome with Julien would be a Drouin/Danault 1 2 and I'm not so thrilled with that. With all the names out there, my preference would be to go with a Thornton/Drouin combo up the middle. We need a center like that more than anyone and it would give us a real chance this year. I think I'd be just as excited about our chances as I was after acquiring Vanek.

I'm confused as to how we can have it both ways. Some are complaining that we may not have the team to win now despite an ageing core of players because we are not going for it and then others are saying we are not looking at the future because we are going after win now veterans all the while losing our prospects. I think the plan was legitimately to build through the draft under this regime but years pass by and one has to be able to adapt. We're saying the same thing in a different way tough. I don't have confidence yet in the Edmontons and Torontos of the league. I think they are young and will have to go through some growing pains before they achieve their goal. I mentioned that the Habs have been more consistently competitive than other Canadian teams and as a result, we haven't had the privilege of drafting the McDavids and Matthews of the league. Those teams are able to build through the draft because of their continual bad seasons. Our highest pick has been Galchenyuk and while people are questioning his development, the first overall pick that year was Nail Yakupov. If you want to know the truth, one could argue that Edmonton has done a terrible job of developing its players. They've drafted players like Hall, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins and Yakupov and may end up without any of those players ever having achieved a thing wearing their jersey. I'd like some better talent in the pipeline but I do think part of our developmental issues have to do partly with the fact that more than half the teams have generally had higher picks than the Habs.

We're forgetting that we need a top 6 center. Beggars can't be choosers. I'd rather acquire Thornton than leave it at the status quo. Patrick Marleau is also the model of consistency. He will score 25 goals this year and play 80+ games. He just always does. If part of the package includes getting such a consistent player and getting a presence at center, I'm all for it. I've long agreed about the Sharks never winning with Thornton and Marleau at the core but they tasted it two seasons ago and lost to the same team that beat a popular team this season. If Montreal takes the east, Thornton and Marleau have shown they can compete with most teams in the West. I don't think Thornton or Marleau have been linked to the Habs anyway and hopefully we keep Galchenyuk.

I'm not saying trade Galchenyuk for them but if we lose Galchenyuk for a defender because it happened, not that I want it to, I would live with those two as replacements. We'd have a pretty deep team this year with those two as well. Pacioretty-Drouin-Radulov Marleau-Thornton-Gallagher Byron-Plekanec-Lehkonen Martinsen-Danault-Shaw

If we lose Galchenyuk, I'm fine with replacing him with Thornton and Marleau for a few years. Not that those two things coincide with one another. I'd also be fine with keeping Galchenyuk and acquiring Thornton. Thornton has definitely slowed down but he's still capable of being a top 6 center on a contending team.

I had a post written out quoting habs29, Habsfan & Neech before my device passed away so this won't do it justice but to sum up: 1) Kiprusoff was great but outside of him they only had Iginla. The comparison is decent but they haven't had the longevity. Habs have been competitive on a more consistent basis than Calgary and any other Canadian team. That's what the point of my post was. It could be argued that other Canadian teams have had a better season than the Habs but the Habs have had competitive teams more consistently in general. 2) I didn't follow the Leafs closely enough in the 90s but if we're comparing our team to a squad that had hall of fame caliber players such as Sundin, Wendell Clarke and even CuJo, then I can see why they would have thought they were maybe only a player away and I may have thought so as well as a Leafs fan. 3) Many Habs fans may argue that we haven't had a chance in recent years but from my perspective there have been 2 seasons in the recent past where I believed we had a shot. 2010 we were lucky to get past the first two rounds I admit but once we did, I thought we had a chance. Cammalleri was something special, Halak was a stop sign and we had a core of Devils players who had done it before. A few years ago when we faced the Rangers in the conference final, I also believed we had a shot and still think we would have had a chance against the favored Kings if Price didn't get injured. In the first situation, credit should be given to Gainey for assembling the core after blowing up the team and in the latter example credit should be given to Bergevin for trying to put us over the top with acquisitions like Vanek. If we're talking not about the past and the future like you (Neech) alluded to then yes we have a ticking clock with these players but I actually think we'll either be a contender this season or more than one piece away. Hopefully it's the former. Keep Galchenyuk, resign Radulov and Markov, and acquire a top 6 center and we're contenders. I'd like to add a top 4 defenseman into that list but I think if we tick the boxes on offense we may be able to overcome our defensive deficiencies. On the other hand, those are a lot of things that have to line up so there's also a chance we're more than a piece away. I don't see how we're the Leafs of the past. We'll have a better idea come free agency. As for the Lefebvre and the topic of this thread, I won't say I'm particularly pleased. I wouldn't have a reason to be.

Tired of hearing the Leafs comparisons. We ice a more competitive team every year outside of 2 seasons in recent memory than they did throughout the compared era. We are not like the Leafs. We are not like the Oilers who didn't make the playoffs for a decade. We are not Calgary who never has the goaltending to get over the hump. We are not Winnipeg who no one ever really believes has a chance. We are not Ottawa who were more of a Cinderella story than we would have been last season. And we are not yet Vancouver who seems to rely on an even older core than ours. We are closest to the Vancouver that made the final with Luongo than any other comparison out there of recent Canadian teams. For years, I felt as though Vancouver and Montreal were the cream of Canadian teams and in fact they seem to have fallen harder than us in recent years. Ironically, many of those teams (Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary) have gone further than the Habs in the 21st century but the Leafs haven't and if we have anything on each of those teams it IS consistency in icing a competitive team most years. I hope for a cup next season but if and when we lose in say the conference final next year, we can just forget that 27 teams did worse than us and complain because we are the proud and special Montreal Canadiens and "deserve more" than the other kids.

Alzner is a steady defenseman but nothing more than that. I personally don't think he's what we need. He wouldn't hurt us but I'd be looking for someone capable of more offense than him otherwise our defense is worse than it was last year. This all changes if I underestimate Jerabek and Schlemko.

I'm not in on the debate on this one as I can see how our team is lacking in the area but the other side is arguing that Beaulieu, Andrighetto and McCaron haven't proven that they belong in a top 6 or 4 role and using it as a way to blame management for our developmental issues. Andrighetto was on the top line in Colorado and spent time in the top 6 on the Habs and Beaulieu has proven he can play in the top 4. I'm ready for some advanced stat to prove me wrong but we'll see if he plays in the top 4 in Buffalo. I get the feeling he will. Finally, McCaron as a player was never projected to be in the top 6 by most posters here, including the one who mentioned it, and so why even bring that name up as a failure of development? I haven't been against our coaches and actually I'm prepared to be harder on Julien than I was on Therrien, but the fact that Andrighetto played on the top line in Colorado indicates (yes, a weak team) just as much of a coaching issue in the developmental area as it does in the managerial area. They're the ones who choose who gets played in what role. The lines appear to be getting blurred.

He forgot his sign.

Don't get me wrong, his stats are dreadful but I don't think he's been handled well throughout much of his career as well. Would this "handling" change in Montreal? I admit that I don't see why it would. I also agree that most of it is up to the player. He was a 1st overall pick though and one has to believe there's something there. If he does not pick it up at some point in his career, he could be the worst 1st overall of all time.... someone might have a more obvious example, but it's up there.

I think acquiring Thornton would make us a contender this year. I proposed a trade for him way back before I was informed he was a free agent this year. The only thing is that we'd probably lose in the final because it's true that he's never got past the hunp in the NHL. Like Lovetts, I hated him as a Bruin but in my opinion there would be something special seeing him lift the cup ona Habs jersey. A la Ray Bourque. I'm not so interested in Alzner. I don't think he helps us that much. I find with Weber, there's a specific type of partner I'd want for him and Alzner isn't it, which forces us to put Markov in that position down the stretch once again. Yakupov I'd be fine with giving a shot but my intuition says he'd be a bust. Probably turn out to be an alright 3rd liner for us but nothing special beyond that.

I've been a fairly neutral observer of Crosby over the years. My first memory of him against the Habs was a game winning goal in a shootout which made me dislike facing him. On the other hand, I also hold dearly the game winning goal he scored against USA in the final in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics. I know some people aren't a fan of Olympic hockey but I've rarely been as nervous as I was during that final. I wanted to win on home soil. As a player, it seems as though he's received a very mixed bags of followers when you take into account how great of a player he is. He receives a lot of hate but I have to admire him as a player and I think, if I may say so, we're watching one of the only players who will ever be comparable to Gretzky. I would hate to grow old myself and watch Crosby the human deteriorate similar to some other greats like Mohammad Ali have and I hope the blows he has received aren't as serious as people make it sound. I wonder, is it that he really has received it worse than 99% of the players in the league? or if he would simply being extremely precautions. If it's the former, then one has to think he wasn't really crying all along and like CC said, this type of thing needs to be relooked, whether it's the protection of the players, clearer rules of what is wrong, or stiffer penalties to those who violate. Edit: All that being said, I've only heard what I've read here and since it's simply a rumor from his native town, I have a good feeling he'll be back.

Just for the record, I wasn't personally talking about Galchenyuk. I just meant in general.

The thing is, you guys are saying that you don't mind a player doing coke, as an example and then showing up to the rink and dominating. What happens when such a player gets 76 points in the regular season but then has an off night in game 7 of the playoffs for the same reason? Do you care then? It's hard to imagine that living such a lifestyle wouldn't have a negative impact from time to time, and it just as easily could happen during the most important moments of our season. I don't expect it to be difficult to actually be relatively productive living such a lifestyle if you're used to it. Andre Agassi is one of the greats in tennis and he was doing Meth throughout the 90s. On the other hand, I wouldn't blame an organization for wanting to prevent the type of thing I mentioned before it actually happens. I'll admit that I wasn't fully happy with the way the Kassian incident was handled though and that we do seem to have a stricter policy than most teams.

De la Rose used to be compared to Jordan Staal as well, albeit potentially wrongly so.

No, but you were critical about how our coach handled Subban and that MT was hired and Larry wasn't. All the while it seems as though Robinson had the exact same mentality as Therrien and would have been no different in the handling of Subban. Do you prefer his face to Therrien's?

Backstrom is pretty dominant and I wouldn't call him hugely undersized.

Most of the posts in this thread have slotted Benn in on the right side but you are right. The issue is that we only have one ideal top 4 on the left compared to two on the right. I think as a result acquiring a top 4 LHD is of more importance than a bottom pairing RHD. Markov could be a top 2 and Benn could slot in the top 4 on the left side but ideally Markov is on the 2nd unit and Benn/Jerabek are on the 3rd. I wanted to like Davidson but I don't trust him.

The only one I like is Fowler but it also seems that's the least likely to happen. I'd like another LHD who can shoot the puck and put up some points. Alzner doesn't put up the points.

Good for them. I went to a game a few years ago when they were in Glendale and despite the hate they receive, they have a good fan base. Decent trade for the Rangers as well if Stepan was as good as a goner. They're likely to get a pretty good player for the future.

All I know is that a lot of what seems odd to us may stem from conversations that happened behind the scenes. He's a general manager coming into a league and has the opportunity to make good impressions on other GMs out there for future considerations. I'm not saying you have to be nice in a situation like this but I agree with Machine OLG that McPhee seems to have treated teams "nicely" throughout the process, in general. Maybe teams said something along the lines of "take that guy" from another team and we'll make it worth your while in the future. I get that it doesn't really answer the question of why he would pick a player who he then lets go for a 5th immediately after, but it kind of does. In addition, this whole happening seems to have created a unique value of its own that isn't standard in a normal season.

You do know that Robinson criticized Subban recently, right? I agree with some points but you can't have everything you wish for and expect that it would have gone smoothly.

I don't know much about Schlemko even though I'm out west but I think it's safe to say that a player of Emelin's style won't have the best advanced stats. This doesn't change the fact that he does bring other things to the table that won't necessarily show themselves via advanced stats. I also agree that Schlemko is easier to trade than Emelin but I also believe Vegas will be happy with him. Unlike most here, I thought Emelin was one of Vegas' better picks, at least when looking at it from their perspective. He's one of their most NHL ready players and they have to have some of those on the squad from the get-go.

If he's an upgrade on Emelin, then we still need an upgrade on Beaulieu.