GHT120

I said it was HYPERBOLIC (i.e., greatly exaggerated) ... the point was simply that asking a player to not do what they do best will significantly impact their performance ... Gallagher as a perimeter player is useless IMO.

If, once "ready to win", HuGo look for a couple of goalies to be part of the sort of 37-45 game split that Brian suggested, both goalies will IMO cost more than what Allen makes now (unless one is on an ELC) ... he signed as a 20-25 game Price backup with Carey coming off a 58-game season (and 66 the season before that).

But where were those shots from? Is the reduction because he can't play as effectively around the net as he did in past years?

So all that really counts is that the Habs at least do it well.

If traded at/near the deadline, Allen could also be re-signed next summer.

But a large part of his production comes from the "net front duty" ... I fear it would almost be as if back in the day someone told Shaq he needed to shoot more threes to avoid some of the pounding he took near the hoop (his 3-pt shooting percentage was 0.045 going 1 for 22). NOTE: the example is intentionally hyperbolic, but conceptually sound IMO ... moving away from the net would IMO greatly reduce his effectiveness/production/value.

For a small defenceman, it does seem strange that he is ranked so high with "below NHL average" puck skills.

As an Expos fan I would be OK with something like this concept art

AGREED ... I've never understood his exclusion

I expect he would be happy with 9 seasons and 518 games

Agreed 15 years with the Habs 8 years as Habs captain Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. Stanley Cup champion: 1944, 1946, 1953, 1956 NHL First All-Star Team: 1945, 1946, 1947 NHL Second All-Star Team: 1944 Stanley Cup champion: 1944, 1946, 1953, 1956

Speaking of Vegas At first I thought they ran a naming contest and got punked ... or Jaromir Jagr bought the naming rights ... but in fact it is in recognition of Donald (“Donze”) and Barbara Mullett’s commitment to ASU and Sun Devil Athletics.

Quelle surprise ... potential money-maker ... but I bet it won't be hosted in Vegas.

But MB sold hope ... make the playoffs and anything can happen ... and once it did ... the "aura" of Price also sold hope ... in that way he helped preserve MB ... it was also an excuse in down years ... "except for Price's injury/off-year".

Is that an argument for or against retiring #31 ?

Thanks to Scott Gomez, #91 is not a number with a great history with the Habs ... but maybe it is due for some counter-balancing karma.

I'm a no ... not a hard, hateful no ... but a no ... at least for now I somewhat agree with sbhatt that if it is to happen it should likely be tied to some other milestone/celebration ... and I will add the caveat that, given the absence of sustained team success (whatever the reason) it should be no sooner than whatever has been the average time between player retirement and number retirement.. BUT ... I wonder if it isn't time to add a different honour ... retired numbers go up on red sweaters ... in a separate section of the rafters establish a place for "honored numbers" to be hung on white sweaters ... they could fill out a few years with a couple per season ... my selections would be: 2 - Jacques Laperriere 3 - JC Tremblay 4 - Aurele Joliat 6 - Toe Blake 20 - Pete Mahovilich 21 - Guy Carbonneau 22 - Steve Shutt 26 - Mats Naslund 27 - Frank Mahovilich 30 - Chris Nilan (just because I loved watching him play) 60 - Joe Theodore 79 - Andre Markov 5* - Scotty Bowman ( * - 1973, 1976. 1977, 1978, 1979 ) 8* - Toe Blake ( * - 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1968 )

Tanking would involve moving out players expressly to make the team worse ... any further player movement will be for the purpose of reducing the cap hell that HuGo inherited ... it may have the effect of removing talent but Armia and/or Hoffman are the most likely to be moved and neither is a linchpin to success ... the roster as constructed is unlikely to make the playoffs ... I doubt that HuGo make an effort to improve the team's overall performance (although I would expect a veteran defenceman with more experience than talent to be added to insulate the youngsters), but IMO that is not the same as expressly "tanking".

I expect that the trigger was "it doesn’t seem to be an area of concern for Hugh-Gort at this moment" ... somewhat out of left field.

Romanov reported as having a $2.5M AAV ... I expect Dobson will be higher

The first four years of Dryden's career (full-time) the habs may not have been the dynasty teams but were still amongst the best in the league ... 108 pts (.692), 120 points (.769, won Cup), 99 points (.635) and 113 points (.706).

Me too ... thought the Goals Saved Above Average was the most interesting chart.

Dryden comparison is IMO irrelevant as for those 8 years the Habs were likely the greatest, or at very least one of the greatest, 8-year teams of all-time. The first 11 years of Roy/Price's careers (Roy's full career with the Habs) it varies from year-to-year but overall their goal support seems somewhat similar ... Roy won slightly more games as a percentage of starts ( .525 vs .514. ). In those 11 seasons: Roy's Habs made the playoffs 9 times, he won 61.9% of the 113 games he started ... 1 first round exit, 4 - 2nds, 1 - 3rd, 2 Cups Price's Habs made the playoffs 8 times, he won 43.9% of the 57 games he started ... 4 first round exits, 2 - 2nds, 2 - 3rds (although he started only 1 game in the first 3rd round run) What conclusion did you draw from the chart? EDIT: initially reversed some playoff stats

Roy opens the scoring versus Finland ... from the "dirty area"

Nice ... although if past experience means anything, unless he tears up the league, he likely gets limited ice time ... especially as he is potentially NHL bound ... unless this China-based team has a different philosophy (Just Win Baby ?).