GHT120

Totally agree ... and it was a great way for the NHL to build interest in markets where they are the secondary/tertiary/quaternary team leading up to "July 1st" by generating some media coverage ... and in Canada it was red meat for a media/fan feeding frenzy ... but I might have done away with the tours (live visits) ... those could be a bit of a sideshow ... it might also open up the number of teams allowed to make presentations.

Agree ... it was a "should do" not "would do" type of question Given that NJD were rumoured to want to dispose of Subban I would even consider taking him back as a small/secondary element of a deal ... would be very popular with some parts of the fanbase and (if rumours were true) add to the return ... returning to Montreal might rejuvenate/re-motivate his career for the last two years of the deal MB gave him (allegedly at molson's behest) ... BUT it is very, very, very unlikely MB would do that

AHL/ECHL deals important for an organization as depth is required to allow both teams to succeed ... a winning environment is good for development (IMO) Hope you are right about TR ... not only because I am Trifleuvian ... AHL in Laval and their own ECHL team in Trois Rivieres makes a ton of sense ... easier to move players around and allows organizational resources better access to AHL and ECHL players

Honest question ... do you favour having the interview period or not? "flaws with the old system" and "better than going back to the old way" has confused me.

Wasn't intended to be backhanded ... don't see Habs as anything more than a "let's try to make the playoffs and hope" team under Bergevin ... and that is very disappointing as he was my first choice last time the GM job was open.

Lindy Ruff to be named NJD head coach ... they need defence ... wonder what Habs could get for Shea Weber ... what would you reasonably want (i.e., Jack Hughes going nowhere)? Seems like a Ruff kind of player ... ***NOT*** saying to dump Weber's contract ... exploit a new GM wanting to make a splash ...

It would take retaining half and even then I don't know that the return would be there to justify it ... with the team 2-3 years away from the youngsters becoming truly competitive that cap space could be better used (IMO)

Good idea ... but realistically Mete and Kulak are 3rd pairing D on a good team ... so not much value in a trade (IMO)

Agreed ... but it wasn't because of a bad game ... Roy forced the issue ... realistically, in many ways, it was amazing they managed to get as much as they did

Not for the season ... just until habs TC ... get him some "reps" ... but MB probably won't ... too innovative an idea

Anymore or this year ... this year makes some sense ... going g forward makes no sense (IMO)

His cap-hit is the highest in the NHL for a goalie ... but last season he was 31st in both GAA and Sv% (minimum 25 games played) ... year before he was 12th in both (weird consistency) ... 44th and 47th the year before that ... overall, since he signed THE CONTRACT he is 24th and 28th (minimum 75 games played) ... he is an asset (especially if still perceived as even a top 5 goaltender) but so devalued in terms of "return on investment" that he really hasn't much if any value any more (IMO) ... the Habs cap structure is completely out of whack (IMO) with sooooo much of it in goal ... with the cap flat for the next two seasons and then only increasing $1 million of of the next two the added cap space would provide freedom for some aggressive moves (hopefully by a new GM ... but that is another story)

BUT ... given it is close to "home" he may well agree to go ... if necessary, going into a SERIOUS re-set (trading Weber and Tartar ... taking on a couple of short-term bad contracts for a good payoff) might convince him ... but expect that means a new GM

Price cannot be exposed in the expansion draft because of the No Movement Clause included in his contract ... If he agrees, I would gladly expose him ... I feel his play has yet to warrant his current cap hit and is only less likely to do so as the years progress. ... and there has been some talk that Price is a target for Seattle so it might not take much to ensure they take him BYW ... who was the "fawk" directed at?

KHL stopped play March 25th ... if 2020-21 training camp opens near the end of November that would be essentially 8 months of no games for Romanov ... most of the other actual candidates to make the Habs will have had the mini-TC and at least three games against Pittsburgh ... given that Romanov is going to have to adjust to the NHL ice surface and style/speed of play I just don't think that you want him sitting out that long ... any "loan" could have some conditions about how many games he plays ... it could even be that he only practices (that at least gets him on the ice and working out) ...

MB has to agree to burn the year as the Habs have to sign the contract as well ... makes no sense for Habs to do so (IMO) unless they fear Romanov will be so "peeved" that he would sign a deal with the KHL/SHL ... he would still be on a NHL ELC whenever (if) he returns but might make more until that time ... unlikely to happen, but a possibility I expect he will sign for 2020-21 but get loaned out to a team in a European league (assuming they start up in September/October) to let Romanov get some games in before training camp in late November/December.

Good news ... of greatest importance (IMO) is the CBA extension ... nice to not have the clock ticking on September 15, 2022

Interesting strategy ... the "hiccup" is that TBL have a week to decide whether or not to match ... Habs cannot make another offer hat would require any of those picks as compensation until TBL officially notifies the NHL they are matching ... like Carolina, TBL would undoubtedly wait the full week to advise the N HL of their decision ... besides, Sergachev has to decide he is willing to play in Montreal if the offer isn't matched ... don't see him ever signing an offer sheet unless it was for Carey Price-like money ... if Cirelli is the end-game might as well just offer sheet him directly ... TBL are still up against the cap ... they either dump other useful players to make room or take the draft picks to sustain them longterm ... but not certain Cirelli fills any need ... average-sized centre, so only a slight upgrade in that sense, and is only a 19.5g/82 gm scorer ... another 20-25 goal scorer doesn't really improve the team ... and, while he admittedly got little PP time with TBL but it is risky to build an offer on the assumption that PP time will significantly up his stats

AND ... allowing the public into a facility used by multiple people confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19 ... neither side of the coin makes much sense.

The chance of a crazy hot streak supercharging a career is no more likely, perhaps even less, than a well researched top 10 draft pick having an impact ... Galchenyuk excluded as he was from what is generally considered the worst draft class of the last decade or more (bad timing there for the Habs) ... And the impact being immeasurable means equally it could be nothing or something significant ... it is all a roll of the dice ... I get where you are coming from but when I look at the composition of the team I just don't see much potential for players to be much more than they already are ... except for Suzuki (who I see becoming a legit top liner, but not necessarily elite ... only time will tell) and KK (who needs another couple of years to be able to really project) ... for that reason I prefer to go with accumulating as many highly drafted players as possible, to increase odds hitting the jackpot (which doesn't ignore the possibility that a 2nd/3rd rounder surprises ... but it is less likely) ... I fear a play-in win sends the habs to #16 (or worse if they get lucky a couple of more times) which from all I have heard is outside the range for the players projected to have a true impact ... But these are both opinions ... no right or wrong

True ... but since the NHL doesn't know exactly how much teams will spend in salary for the season for which they are setting (in advance) the cap ceiling floor ... OR ... what the revenues will be it ... one or the other is the only way to ensure each side gets 50% of the final designated (collectively negotiated) revenues ...

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.

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

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%

Understandable ... even if we don't fully agree