GHT120

Thank god you aren't raising expectations and putting pressure on the kids ... but with all those hat tricks he "had" after joining the Habs it should be a breeze

I agree ... was saying that it would not make any sense to, as was suggested elsewhere, make Poehling the 3C for this season.

Not certain Vatanen does anymore either.

Certainly what any GM has to say in this situation ... but I can't see them going to training camp with him ... Jack could be a poison on the roster ... which would be OK from a Fight for Wright perspective ... but keeping Eichel might also seriously reduce the Sabres odds in that race.

Anybody ever heard of this guy? The rumour is tantalizing, but ANYBODY can tweet ...

My Russian is rusty (), so I had to translate: Google Translate ... smart lad is learning French and English (if I read his responses correctly)

The Habs are already gambling that KK can take a BIG step forward and be the 2C for 82 games ... think it would be a mistake to also expect Poehling to step in as 3C ... taking that risk and it not working out would be problematic, upgrading the 2/3C position in-season would be very difficult ...

His PP TOI disappeared last year (dropping from his normal 2-3 minutes to 14 seconds) ... which concerns me as an indication of a serious drop in his game as NJD (his primary team) was 28th in PP% last season ... if they wouldn't use him something was wrong .... also, his 5-on-5 TOI was the lowest of his career (14:49) ... discounting Leskinen's one game, 14:49 would have been 7th on the Habs in 5-on-5 TOI ... IMO the Habs need another RHD capable of 16-17 minutes 5-on-5.

Agree on the 2nd/3rd pairings hopefully playing more balanced minutes (and even preventing Petry's minutes from ballooning) provided that they can get another RHD capable of doing so. A top 4 youngster would be great ... likely Romanov has the best chance at the moment ... but the problems would not go away ... there would still be a left/ right balance issue ... from what I've seen, I would be most comfortable with Edmundson switching sides ... but that disrupts the Petry-Edmundson pairing, which Habs will depend on more this season ... I still see the need for another experienced RHD capable of allowing the balanced use of bottom two the pairings.

Sean Burke (as far as I know) remains DIRECTOR of goaltending for the organization as a whole ... there was talk after the season that they would likely look for a goaltender coach to be with the Habs full-time ... looks like he didn't coach last season, but wasn't the only one I am certain

Thanks ... but available does not mean he is a "problem" ... Hoffman's issues in Ottawa were what transpired between his girlfriend and Karlsson's wife ... haven't heard of anything else about her or about Hoffman himself being a problem of any sort ... and, given that Richardson coached him in the AHL, and was in the Sens organization for a couple of more years while Hoffman was in the NHL, and Burrows played with him for 20 games in 2016/17 and throughout 2017/18 I expect MB had a good handle on Hoffman's character.

Looking and signing/acquiring are very different things ... I have no doubt MN}B searched, just didn't find.

Went full season because that is what Weber faces ... in-season LTIRs are rare ... if our $7.5 million dollar player gets hurt after a third of the season, $2.5 million worth of his cap-hit used up, and is placed on LTIR the team potentially has $5 million of LTIR cap advantage ... but, if that player returns before the and of the season the full $5 million goes back on the cap ... so risky to use LTIR during he season unless it is a season ending injury.

Not certain what you mean ... his only trades were the two in one day that sent him from Ottawa to SJS and then on to Florida ... he was not traded by Florida or by the Blues ... Ottawa had no choice but to trade Hoffman as there was still the possibility that Karlsson would stay with them.

Don't disagree that on offensive defenceman is needed ... but not certain who was available that would sign with Habs ... I am not MB's biggest fan but I have no doubt he approached Hamilton and Barrie (IMO the two best options for that role) ... letting Savard sign elsewhere wouldn't have fixed the offensive D shortage but would have left the defence overall weaker ... challenge now, and MB admitted as much, is to look for a puck-moving defenceman.

Different player for a different role ... Perry was not going to fill the role they have in mind for Hoffman ... nor was anyone else on the roster (i.e., pushing Armia or Byron up the lineup) ... MB is restructuring the roster based on Weber's absence and the inability to find/get a perfect replacement for him. Bottom line, I would have loved to have him back but wouldn't have given him the second year ... but it is fine that we disagree ... otherwise this would be a boring board

I believe I've read that the amount of the cap overage (i.e., how far over the cap they can spend) is determined by the teams' cap hit when the LTIR is involved ... ***IF*** that is correct, building on your example and assuming this is all done immediately before the season begins (i.e., when the team must become cap compliant), if the teams' cap total was at $70 million when the player is placed on LTIR they could spend up to $77.5 in total ... but if their cap hit was at $66M then they would only be allowed to spend up to $73.5M in total, not $77.5 ... LTIR cannot be "banked". Perhaps @dlbair could clarify for us when he has moment.

I think SJS was just an "agent" for Florida ... Ottawa didn't want to trade him inside the Conference, or perhaps just not to be seen to be doing so, even as part of a formal three-team trade ... the flip was completed within a couple of hours ... not saying that SJS wanted him on their team (whether because of "the incident", just on-ice fit, or because they were already working on the Karlsson trade) ... but if SJS truly wanted nothing to do with him I doubt they even make the trade with Ottawa and risk being stuck with him ... never heard anything bad from Florida or St Louis.

Ideally you sign for needs ... but availability and willingness to sign is also a major factor ... if you can't fill your need perfectly (or even well) then you have to look at how to do so ... I agree, Savard is a first step ... he fills a relatively similar role to Weber defensively, likely as well they were able to fill it at the moment ... but a couple of more moves are necessary ... IMO a puck-moving defenceman and a 2/3C to support KK.

And with the Florida tax advantage taken into account the Habs would have had to be around $1.475M to match take home pay ...

SUPID FINGERS

With Hoffman, Toffoli, Anderson, Gallagher and Drouin also on the top 9 wings there isn't a ton of pressure ... if things don't click with early with Suzuki he can slide down to the 2nd/3rd line.

In many ways I agree ... and would even be OK if (however unlikely) Shea retired ... carries a small cap-hit for habs (and totally screws Nashville) but would eliminate having to play the LTIR game for four more seasons after this ... as I understand it, Habs have to be close to the ceiling before putting Weber on LTIR to maximize cap benefits, but being that close also could mean that roster flexibility would be constrained in-season

I was expecting that your post about why Anderson got a letter was correct, but that mine was a possibility

Completely understand ... but in the context of the 2nd/3rd pairing holes behind Petry on the right-side it is IMO a solid signing .. and not all signings can be exciting ... but sans Savard the defence corps would look REALLY problematic ...