GHT120

Trainers/medical staff CANNOT prevent players from being injured ... but if games are added to the total by doing away with the previous staff far too often accepting it when players said "I'm OK to play/I'm ready to come back" then THAT is a good thing because they are doing what is best for the player, not just what the players want.

3) trade picks and prospects to fill specific needs

If they do ... hopefully a factor is the medical/training staff being less willing to let injured players "play through it" and/or "return too soon."

I agree ... in this case "the whole does not equal the sum of the parts".

Has anyone EVER developed "chemistry" with Anderson? I fear MSL is trying to teach an old dog new tricks.

I think everybody has always considered the playoffs a different beast ... sacrificing yourself to chase a Cup is quite different from sacrificing yourself for a completely unknown regular season result and being incapable of helping if the team manages to make the playoffs. I also think that Price and Weber could/would well have been toast even if the team had been swept in the first round.

Why else do you think Primeau is supposedly starting?

HuGo are committed to the rebuild ... unless the Habs are CLOSE to the playoffs/wildcard I doubt they deviate from the plan.

But the "worse contracts" (Gallagher ... Armia ... anyone else?) are far-harder/impossible to move.

Trade him while he is on pace for 30+. 😉

A factor in the decision of whether or not to mob=ve Dvorak is how important HuGo feel it is to clear out his contract for 24/25 ... *** IF *** they feel it is important then every opportunity to move him without incurring a cost to do so must be considered.

And in doing so he deprives the team of his best game and eventually even his being able to dress for extended periods ... INJURED players need to heal.

His "issue" is that he continues to play when "injured" ... the distinction I draw is that, with proper treatment and rehabilitation, players can recover from being hurt even while they continue to play ... while injuries require time off to heal ... it is a distinction that not enough players draw.

To confirm

Nobody is suggesting he get it now ... like much of the internet, it is speculation under a hypothetical future situation.

Might they be "showcasing" Allen?

Last season he was coming off major surgery and made the mistake of trying to "tough it out" with a broken foot (unrelated to his previous hip issues) and as a result developed "groin issues" (potentially related to his previous issues) which ultimately kept him out ... I split the blame between Monahan's desire to play* and the previous Habs' medical team for allowing him to play ... had he stopped when the foot broke, he would have likely played most of the season ... unless he has future issues with his hips, I am not concerned with "normal" injuries ... they happen to anyone. * - after previously having surgery on his left hip in 2018, he tore the labrum of his right hip three games into the 21/22 season but kept playing, including later through three fractured ribs that on same days meant he couldn't even tie his own skates ... who knows how much worse playing most nof the season made his hip ... he is the type of player who needs to be saved from himself.

But it was his job and he did it so poorly that the head coach now has to step in and help (take over?) ... seems like it would be better to replace him with someone who can actually contribute and, ideally, allow MSL to stop doing the work of an assistant.

For those so inclined:

Weeks?

I agree, unless he has agreed to an extension ... if Beck proves to have enough offence to be a playoff team 3C (after all that is the objective) then Monahan can slot in wherever needed on the wing in the Top 6/9.

I-M-O ... ***if*** he stays healthy, is willing to sign a reasonable 2-4 year contract and would accept the role, he would be the PERFECT 3rd line centre going forward.

Overtime *** SHOULD *** be to the Habs favour ... Caps are slow.

Guess Armia's re-call is more to have a spare forward with them for the road trip.

Our impatience (mine included) cannot be allowed to override development ... Roy has thus far had success ... I-M-O he (and all youngsters) need to also have some stretches of "failure" so they can learn how to adapt and "get themselves back on track" against pros.