GHT120

In a Galaxy far, far away

Always seemed like a nice guy ... maybe too nice to be a coach

... and part of the only line that managed to be a minus last night ... and yet, to reward his prodigious efforts he got first unit PP time ...

He can only pick his team by signing next summer and starting his entry level contract in 22/23 ... he can sign with the habs near the end of 21/22, play one game and burn a year off his ELC ... a fairly substantive advantage unless he HATES the idea of plating for the HABs

Of course, absent the injury-ruined 19/20 season, Anderson is continuing his offensive progression while last season Domi regressed to his norm (after teasing he might actually be a 1C) and has crash&burned this season

He was trying to tap it over to Byron

RDS showed a clip ... seems he hurt himself throwing a check on Weber behind the habs net as Weber threw an outlet pass ... nothing obvious happened but Kassian then couldn't put weight on his left leg as he struggled/limped to the bench EDIT: Video added below ... the second/bottom clip shows the seeming innocuous play

Guess it would have to be in the US ... one of their "essential travel" criteria is to work in the US ... wonder if playoffs/tournament would qualify ... they would need to quarantine for 7 days from what I can find

His agent was (is?) Pat Brisson ... Pat has previously expressed no interest in being a GM ... wonder if he could be lured to be President as part of a Brisson/Luongo tandem ... even if only for 2-3 years to help Roberto get established.

Can't disagree ... but I was just thinking in terms of unfulfilled talent that tantalized me.

Unless .500 is optimistic ... and don't look now, but Vancouver is 8 points back with four games in hand ... Habs need to get their act together and earn that spot ... not hope nobody else wants it

Yeah ... first thought without second thought ... it is just so frustrating ... both that the Habs are in this pinch and that Bergevin managed to get them there in ONE day.

Looking at the issue the habs face with CC and call-ups, I have to question the need for the four call-up rule ... in a cap world I frankly don't see the reason for it ... once it might have stopped teams from abusing the lack of roster cap (e.g., tanking by loading their team with AHL players; resting too many players at once and impacting the integrity of the NHL season) ... but with the salary cap teams really can't do that.

Perhaps ... but the challenge is that neither is any longer as useful as is their impact on the cap ... now that the Habs have become "cap aggressive" in building their roster that is a problem

It is ... I've always been a fan of Weber ... but the proverbial chickens seem to be coming home to roost ... his on-ice performance is declining (as many feared) just at the time his cap-hit is becoming the most problematic.

It doesn't to me ... I only care about the Habs ... and I don't know the last time I thought the Habs really had a real shot at a Cup, even when they reached the semis.

Looks like ribs/back to head

When discussing replacing Bergevin I have advocated for the Team President over the GM model ... not because it worked for the Leafs or any other team (no structure is an guarantee of success) but because I don't see the habs backing away from the need for at least bilingualism ... hiring a Francophone Team President (for example purposes only, Vincent Damphousse) could allow them to simply hire the best available GM, with the President being the "face" for management

He is amazing. Even managing to trade for Eichel this summer wouldn't provide "our McDavid" ... more like our Backstrom (tied for PPG with Eichel since Jack entered the league) ... who would be the Habs best centre for a loonnngggg time So realistically ... our McDavid comes when the Habs next "unexpectedly" have a terrible season, win the lottery and that year's draft happens to have an elite centre ... not certain when the next "McDavid-ish" player is projected to be available, from what I've read not in the next couple of drafts ... but apparently there is a 12 year-old in Belgium who is tearing it up.

Well ... what does a GM do in the playoffs (kidding) ... the playoffs will tell the tale ... the issue will be what Molson and individual fans will deem sufficient to justify Bergevin's firing/return

No, not chopped liver ... and I am actually a great fan of his talent; as I have been with many former Habs that never consistently lived up to their potential (e.g., Malakhov ... loved him) ... but in this difficult stretch where the team NEEDS its most talented players to step up he has 2 assists in the last 12 games ... 10 of his 21 assists came in the first 13 games, when the team was hot ... at -7 he is tied as the worst +/- on the Habs despite his 16 assists 5-on-5 (sadly, he is tied with Eric Staal ... who has done it in roughly one fifth the number of games) ... despite his skills, especially passing, I am not certain he has made any line-mate better for any extended period since joining the Habs; chemistry just doesn't seem to be his subject ... he is a perimeter player and frequently disinterested on the habs defensive side of centre ... rolling him out shift after shift, PP after PP, game after game could well be one of the issues with he Habs current malaise; he seemingly doesn't have to earn his icetime

Even if I sometimes disagree, almost envy your eternal optimism ... but this is one of the worst years ever to try to leverage draft picks in trades (I assume that is what you meant as no 2020 draft pick will help for a couple of years at least) ... it is a weak draft year ... teams have had minimal opportunity to even scout the previously expected top/lottery picks, let alone anyone else to be picked later ... sadly, likely not tremendous value

For all the talk about the habs having a great locker room and veteran leadership, if the veterans were "in charge" the effort would still be there on a more regular basis ... IMO the team is fragile ... an early goal often gives them a boost that they can sometimes ride to taking control of the game ... but in a game like last night, despite a 1-0 lead, when the Oilers tie the game the tide shifts ... teams with great character and veteran leadership should not be so fragile ... I have not lost hope ... if they get on a roll confidence can inflate and the fragility can recede ... but I fear it would still be just below the "emotional surface"

If they still had the call-ups (i.e., Bergevin hadn't somehow had to use THREE call-ups on the first day that call-ups applied) that and the slide were to go much further then it might be worth a try ... but in fairness to Evans ... his AHL totals are 27 in 118 games or 14 per 61 games ... which is Poehling's AHL total ... despite his miracle first NHL game Ryan is not a natural goal scorer.

How often will we ever see McDavid muff a chance like that? Allen's aura is powerful.