GHT120
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Posts posted by GHT120
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8 minutes ago, dlbalr said:
I'm intrigued a bit by Schuenemann - 21 points in 44 games as a defenceman in his first AHL season isn't too shabby. Vigneault is a serviceable filler player but nothing special.
Fair ... but as a soon to be 25 yr-old he likely doesn't have much upside ... 9 months younger than Olofsson (with similar stats) ... at least Leskinen is "only" 23 ... Schueneman may be a very good AHL defenceman but my gut is saying he will only ever be an "In Case of Emergency" NHLer
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Players may hate escrow ... but the only other option to ensure the 50/50 split of designated revenues would be to significantly lower salaries so less than 50% of revenues go directly to players as salaries and then have some sort of "dividend" payment to players once actual revenues are calculated sometime after the season ends to get their share up to 50%
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18 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:
I would not prefer 3 embarrassing losses, would prefer the players to give it a good go and end the season with a little confidence going into next year.
Understandable ... even if we don't fully agree
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1 minute ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:
I would not prefer 3 embarrassing losses, would prefer the players to give it a good go and end the season with a little confidence going into next year.
Understandable ... even if we don't fully agree
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14 minutes ago, DON said:
But, am not a big hater or fan of Bergevin, but change for sake of change doesn't seem to work. And I think firing the GM is quite low on Molson's things to do.
Hope there are some smart French fellows out there to replace both GM and coach at some point, but haven't heard legit options being tossed around.
At least Bergevin is quite conservative and hasn't had any Milbury-like brain-cramps.
BUT, Alzner was horrible pro scouting for sure, Sergachev looks to be a huge loss (with tinge of homerism for French Canadian) and lack of any plan B for Radulov-Markov are most recent glaring failures.
Oh and I don't put much stock in creating a president's job to oversee, seems overkill.
In this case my idea for having a President is (a) to have an actual hockey person as the GM's direct report (Molson grew up around hockey but is not a "hockey person") , and (b) to be the French face for the media to allow for a unilingual Anglo (to expand the pool of candidates).
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2 hours ago, DON said:
Translator wouldn't work, is this much of a surprise?
Not in my opinion ... think there are probably 22-ish skaters who have a real chance of being amongst those on an 18 skater game roster ... the rest are their for exposure to the experience and for the coaches/brass to get a first-hand look at some youngsters
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2 hours ago, tomh009 said:
I'd like to see a total of five games for the Habs, with a double-overtime loss as the last one!
Understand why ... I prefer three embarrassing losses that make it obvious MB hasn't built a team anywhere close to good ... but I would feel awful for the players and even the coaches
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5 minutes ago, DON said:
Good to see some degree of progress ... have heard that some players don't like the idea of voting on the entire package up or down ... but makes sense IMO as they are undoubtedly a carefully balanced, fully-entwined compromise ... fingers crossed as I do want to see some (ideally three games for the Habs - LOL) hockey this summer
And now TSN/RDS/TVA/Sportsnet can have all their spare cell phones charging and time to plan for both remote and in-studio shows (depending on the state of Covid) ...
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2 minutes ago, DON said:
Neither of them seem impressive signings, even for the Rocket ... both turn 25 in September ... Vigneault has scored 1 goal every 8 AHL games ... and while he is big he has low PIMs, so not for "toughness" ... Schueneman had Leskinen/Oloffson-like stats last year ... which seems to make him somewhat redundant ... but they'll fill out the roster
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5 minutes ago, DON said:
So who you got? Roy...Macguire...who else speaks French and could fit the bill as GM? Same as coach, who else is there, pretty shallow pool to pick from for either position?
Roy and McGuire (as you cite), and others have a clean slate and have not prove they can't build the team into a contender ... I'd roll the dice on either of them at this point ... not having a new girlfriend lined up is no reason to stay in a miserable relationship.
I have felt for some time that the team needs a French speaking President/Vice-President of Hockey Operations and then task them to hire the best available GM, regardless of language ... the P/VP can join the GM for press conferences and provide the majority of the fanbase with feedback in their native language thgat it is (IMO) reasonable for them to expect.
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18 minutes ago, DON said:
I cant bring myself to even consider getting the French kid at #1. 87% chance wouldn't get him, even losing to Pens, so wont get my hopes up.
Picking at 9 or 16 should be getting a good player... but all-star...unlikely.
I buy lottery tickets, so I will dream ... but from what I've heard about the tranches of high-end talent (e.g., Lafreniere, then Byfield and Drysdale, then 4-7 and finally 8-12) leaves quite a difference between #9 and #16
PLUS
Any success might just get MB an extension and as I've had it with Bergevin
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1 minute ago, hab29RETIRED said:
With the culture in hockey I really can’t see too many players saying they are going to “abandon” their team for the sake of their and their family’s health. With the culture they would be seeing as abandoning their team, not making a conscious health decision.
Agree ... and no marginal player is ever going to risk breaking the mould ... but if one elite player sits out for safety reasons that could open the floodgates ... but don't expect that to happen
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1 hour ago, DON said:
Why, is a Sanderson, Holtz or Quinn picked at 9 guaranteed to make one bit of difference in long run? And again, the draft results wont even be a consideration for any players/coaches, if this gong show does fire up in next month.
Perhaps a great showing by defeating Pens and doing well in next round may encourage UFAs to see Montreal as a more preferred destination than has been, which may be big for long run and maybe a Krug decides to sign there knowing he will be 1st pairing partnered with Weber or Petry, for example.
Totally agree it means nothing to players and coaches ... and you are correct that nothing is guaranteed with a draft pick ... but what is guaranteed with the current roster (absent KK and Suzuki becoming elite players) is the eternal scramble for 7/8th place by a pretender that (IMO) lacks 2/3 of a legit top line to be a reasonable Cup contender (i.e., not one of the elite contenders but not a pretender either) ... Gallagher being the exiting 1/3 ... so any means of adding high-end talent may either fill those holes OR provide depth to make trades ... and losing to the Pens also gives the Habs a shot at an elite talent to fill one of those top line holes
As for play-in/playoff success influencing UFAs, IMO it would not only take actually making the playoffs by beating the Pens, but also then at least winning the first round and having a strong showing in the second round before it would make a tiny shred of difference in UFAs looking at Montreal ... as for Krug, if being paired with Petry or Weber influences Krug that is most likely true regardless of how the team does against Pittsburgh.
But this is a matter or perspective and not an absolute ... either way
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4 hours ago, xXx..CK..xXx said:
Yes, and they also won versus Pittsburgh in that scenario which is the purpose of hockey.
But perhaps not what is best for the franchise long-term.
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2 hours ago, DON said:
Interesting, how many would opt out?
I think the key question is who will be the FIRST player to opt out ... as I have heard discussed on TSN690 (today?), the hockey "culture" makes may make it difficult for NHLers to step forward ... but once one does many may follow ... just hope Crosby, Malkin, Guenzel and Rust aren't amongst them.
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2 hours ago, Phozzwald said:
That's why it's a huge win though. A place holder team won the lottery, therefore the Canadiens have an equal chance at Lafreniere IF they lose the play in series. Thats a huge win. Had the season gone on, they would not have won the lottery as they wouldnt have been team E and their position would have been set in stone. If they don't win phase two of the lottery, they automatically get 9th pick, as they are the lowest seed of the play-in teams. If the season does not end up starting back up, the Canadiens are still in the lottery and still have that shot at 1st or at worst 9th. If they do win against Pittsburgh we get Habs playoff hockey, which of course is a win for the fans as we havent been able to watch them in the playoffs since 2017. However, in the long-run, yes it would be much better to get Lafreniere if they could not win the cup this season. Obviously, winning the cup is extremely difficult even for the best teams, and the Habs are heading in as the 24th seed, so theyre not expected to do much. However, whatever way you look at it, and whatever happens, the Canadiens are rewarded. Either 1st, 9th, or the Playoffs. Cant say thats a bad thing
Understood ... But three wins against Pittsburgh (be they well-earned or lucky) and suddenly the Habs draft 16th
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1 hour ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:
Agree 100%, Lowe was a solid dependable defenceman and an important piece for the Oilers but no way do I think of Hall of Fame when I think of Kevin Lowe. They lowered the bar. If he didn't play for the Oilers there wouldn't even be a discussion. Who's next Rick Green??
Old Boys Network ... and/or ... Friends of Gretzky
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IMO it is a huge LOSS for the Habs as they need the #1, or even #9, pick far more than the few playoff games they would likely play if they beat the Pens.
The 6-7 young (25 or under) players who will be important to the team in the next few years would admittedly get the benefit of "playoff hockey" but IMO adding more top-end talent is more important as the team is still several pieces away from being a Cup contender.
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2 minutes ago, Commandant said:
If there was an AHL it might make sense to play him there... but he is better than guys like weise and hudon who we could be fourth liners in August and its better he plays in august than not play at all.
Hes one of our 12 best forwards so play him.
Don't disagree ... for the play-in ... but I was looking at 20/21 ...
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1 minute ago, hab29RETIRED said:
I think he should have been in the AHL earlier this year and he was rushed. But given their may not be an AHL season, I’d say you bring him to the camp and play-in and use him if he looks good. It’s at most 5 games and than they is almost a 5 month layoff for the NHL and longer if there is no AHL season. May as well let him okay and get though the injury butterflies now. It’s not like there are so many great players ahead of him and i see the play-in as a mini camp anyway unless Pittsburgh really screws the pooch.
Agreed on the play-in ... from there, a "no AHL season" obviously answers the question ... hopefully by Fall there will be more clarity and overall improvement ... but I would consider loaning him to an overseas team if there is no AHL team and it would be best for his long-term development ... I'm always concerned about young players with high-end upside getting bottom six minutes ... eventually worked for Sean Couturier but took seven seasons before SC broke 20 goals or even 40 points ... he was Phil Danault for quite some time ... and much as I like and respect Danault, that is not what one hopes for form a 3rd overall pick.
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New GM in Buffalo ... Sabres don't get a TOP pick ... what would it take to get their 8th overall selection?
As I am a "re-@#$%&" (the word that MB shall not speak) advocate I'd start with Domi and Mete as an opening offer and see how talks go.
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6 minutes ago, Habsfan89 said:
Then they should of had the play in round first then the lottery draft after.
Assuming you mean rank the playoff losers into a regular lottery, doubt the bottom 8 "playoff teams" would have accepted that ... we would they rick losing their playoff spot in return for almost no chance at a top pick ... and those votes might/would have been enough to deadlock BoG discussions ... . -
It is only one video clip, and it is always dangerous to put too much faith in highlights, but nice to see a LHD with "hands" in the pipeline
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14 hours ago, Habsfan89 said:
Not as much as it would none playoff team's. . None playoff team's would have more ping-pong balls than playoff teams. So odds for none playoff team's would be greater to get the number one pick. Which would make it fare.
This just doesn't seem right, Your handed a playoff spot and now also you could be handed the first pick too. None playoff team's getting the short end of the stick.
As Commandant said, play-in losers are not in the playoffs ... no matter what tale MB may spin.In my opinion any process that gives the Cup winner a chance (no matter how small) at #1 is seriously flawed ... at least in 2005 there was no Cup winner to possibly benefit from drafting Sydney Crosby (BTW in no way comparing Lafreniere to Crosby)
2020 Playoffs - Projected Habs lineup
in Habs & Hockey Talk
Posted
Some good news ...
Players did a great job staying in shape ... fitness plan had to be updates as players were in better shape than expected.