IN THE HEARTS OF MEN

With J. Roy usage and TOI yesterday, it is a clear indicator that he will be rejoining Laval when Laine gets officially activated. now for the lines... who is where? I for one believe Laine should immediately join the top 6. We should not be d**king around managing where he starts on this roster and he should not start on the bottom 6 for any reason. Of course managing his minutes is a whole other question which I believe should be considered. In fact, I believe he is best suited to start on Suzuki's wing from the start. His pedigree is best on the team if assessment is based on past results. Currently, and obviously Suzy playing 20min , should not mean Laine plays 20. But, provided his health holds up, +14 minutes to start with talent around him is most ideal. Does that mean Caufield gets moved down lineup again? Our two best triggermen ideally shouldn't be on the same line. Could Laine be the guy to get Dach over the hump from his own injury woes? Does putting two guys coming off major issues together make sense? Gally has been been great over these +20 games to start. Is he back to his former self of being a guy you insert on any line to get them going, with his killer effort level, and never quit attitude? For me Gally renaissance began with around 20 games left last season and he might be one to consider in the top 6 as well. so many options now from just adding another bonafide big elite scoring winger...

Some real roster questions loom in the coming week... -RHP will need to brought back to Mtl or waived? -Laine activated will cause an even bigger log jam. Who comes out of the lineup? Does Roy get sent back down ? Over the last number of weeks I would think Heinemen has cemented a spot on the team with his speed, hitting and forecheck -Anderson n Armia are key cogs on a successful PK -gally has been arguably our most consistent forward... -Dvorak and Evans for face-offs Is a trade imminent?

Bad read by Hutson...he's got to be more conservative there with risk management. Especially when leading by one in the 3rd

Armia aging like his spot is on the line in a week or so

I wonder if the meritocracy will make its way to the PP tonight Hutson on first wave all game?

Literally a line up in order of meritocracy... thus far this season

MSL shook up the lines today in practice. Moved Dach back to C but, on the 4th line? CC Suzy Newhook Heiny Evans Roy Gally Dvorak Andy SLAV DACH Armia

Best game of the season for Matheson and this whole D... Responsible and stabilizing in the DZone and dynamic in the OZone...

Laine on ice for optional skate today before game. Worked on turning strength and shot strength accuracy with the goalies. Hes getting closer to a return.

Laval has arguably the best defensive pair in the AhL and two lights out goalies currently... Not to mention timely scoring

I see the reasoning. I just don't see it happening. If he is fit and ready to play in the AHL, then he's fit and ready to play in the NHL. Once he joins the team for full practice, it will show his progress. If he's going and feeling it at practice, he will surely come straight into the line up, and MSL will need to manage his minutes. I dont think he's back for a little while still though.

That is 100% not even a consideration

Getting Guhle back on the left is ideal to get him back to a level we expect of him. Getting Matheson under 24min even more so. As for the assignments on "that play", regardless of hybrid system and assignments etc.. Guhle being stuck on the right side for that specific sequence communicates and directs Matheson to go left and being the deepest defender at the time on that sequence (he was behind matheson) that made the most sense. Matheson stalls before moving across the ice allowing the Sabre to turn the corner on him and walk in on goal. Bad reads by both if you ask me. But, Matheson has seemed lost on the ice in the Dzone alot this season, and looked lost on the ice on that specific play as well. As for Hutson, man o man do we have a star not even in the making.... hes already there! The thing I've gotten from watching Hutson live now many times and most recently in Buffalo is he's actually not as short and small as we think... he looks like a respectable 5'10 now lol. He is however very slim and needs to get heavier. With that said, he is 100% the real deal and in person he is deadly! At this point, if I was picking teams, he'd be the first player I picked from our D core no question. Even the Buffalo fans were so in to him. They see it from the opposition POV to. That is a very strong sign of his growing aura. Most dangerous player on the ice in each game I've seen pretty much. The fact he's less than 20 games in is remarkable. So calm and always in control. His passing accuracy out of the zone is sublime and at times, his teammates aren't able to receive and execute at the same level. He does so many subtle things on the ice you just don't even pick up on from watching at home. His defending is underrated as well. With that said, the 3rd goal in Buff was on him for sure. He stepped up to the blue line wall for no particular reason but to close the gap that didn't even need to be shut down, getting caught and opening up the quick 2on1 the other way. For me as of right now, +22 minutes isn't too much at all for this dynamic kid and i would think MSL wants him on the ice all the time at this point. As for mistakes. Of course he's gonna make them. But, currently it seems he is making the least amount compared to the bunch of D we have. Xhekaj confidence is growing with limited TOI. PRIMEAU was always going to have a bad game yesterday. The team didnt help. They absolutely lit him up in pre game warm ups. Everyone was blowing shots by him. Specifically to his left and alot to the glove. He has an amateur glove hand at this point. I also don't see Dvorak being moved at all. He is a glue guy in the room for sure. You can see it in the warm ups to

Liking kites and flying them are technically two different things... lol

Our veteran Dmen are not getting it done. Matheson for me gets a D to start this season. His decision making is piss-poor. His defensive awareness right now could arguably be worst on the team. The notion he's gonna turn it over more because he has the puck often has logic to it but, for me, its his iQ i'm questioning most. He needs to have an immediate decrease in TOI. +20 minutes. Savard is being over used in top 4 . He is a bottom pair vet now with PK responsibities. Guhle needs to get back on his left side before he gets Ko'd again along the boards. The makeup of this d-core just isnt working out. Wheres Suzuki and Slav?

I believe transition is an issue currently, specifically the amount of giveaways by the forwards during zone exit passes. Hutson I believe is already moving the puck out of our zone superior to Matheson and any other D on this team. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me, but I can count on one hand the amount of incomplete exit passes he has made this season, and I don't even need all my fingers. For me, again, our biggest issue is defending the middle of the ice. We are NOT protecting the middle of the ice. The amount of high danger chances and slot shots must be off the charts. There has to be a stat on that, and we are likely one of the worst teams in that category. The breakdowns are endless! the issue might be that we have the wrong vets to insulate the youngest team in hockey. Not all the vets but most As for Matheson... he was terrible against Washington! A) he's overused! TOI needs to come down significantly. Under no circumstance should he be playing 29 minutes in game 11 and Struble only 10 and Hutson 19. As an example, Matheson had upwards of almost 8min on the PP and Hutson only 3. Mind you if he didn't play the 5on3, Hutson would have a minute on PP. That makes zero sense to me considering Mathesons overall TOI. Matheson is a good top 4 no doubt. However, he is being deployed currently as Hedman, Doughty and Chara in their prime and that is a major mistake as he is not that kind of player. B) he isn't a calming defender. As one of only 2 veteran D, we need to lean on him to be a calming presence. Instead, we get wreck-less defense, giveaways at the worst of times and hes all over the place. Of course when a guy has the puck as much as he does, giveaways will occur, its common sense... BUT, on a team with 4 kids in the back already... our Vets need to settle sh*t down rather than add to the hot mess that is our Dzone. Do I want Math traded? No way , not now. Do we need another calm presence on D? 100%, because only Savard is calming with veteran experience. However, Savard is not a top 4 and should be on the bottom pair with PK duty. He looks slow to start the season and seems to be always chasing the play.

oh don't get me wrong, i would take Buium in a heart beat and would pay as well, and give up any Dman we have currently not named Guhle or Hutson but getting him for Matheson just wouldn't do it... maybe add Hage and an unprotected 1st. but even that might not be enough. And Hage could also turn into a steal at 21 Nemec would of course be less of a payment, but i don't think another 19/20 yr old dman is what we need at the end of the day. if a dman is coming in, it would be experience to shield the kids still growing their game.

also one of our fastest skaters... we need more speed

i dont think Hughes is making a move at any point in this early season. The reports were meant to light a fire... getting a prospect that you suggested would cost significant pieces. imagine we made a play for a top 5 prospect in the world like Buium... Buium at 12 was an absolute steal

Well, I was referencing the notion the top lines aren't an issue from other posts. But, my eyes and now advanced stats say otherwise Expected goals% Dach line 2nd worst in NHL suzuki line 5th worst Expected goals against suzuki line worst line in hockey Dach line 5th worst in hockey Expected goals against per 60 Dach line worst line in hockey suzuki line 5th worst Wouldnt be so concerning if they were close to top of the league in goals for/ etc. But that is not the case

Exactly... what?

I still believe that at 5on5, the first and second lines have not performed all that well. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me, but I don't think that is the case. Way to many high danger chances given up. They havent defended the slot or middle of the ice that well if at all. I think maybe just the OTT game we did well limiting the middle of the ice, and it ended up being our best game of the season.

Gally has been one of our best forwards to open the season. Yesterday, he was in on at least 3 minimum high danger scoring chances. Neither of those two are a problem playing in the bottom 6. Anderson taking a regular shift on PK, and the PK top #3 currently shows he's willing to pay the price and earn more ice. Right now all the issues are scoring in the top 6 not named Caufield. Ironically Slav is a PPG thus far and he's not even shown remotely his dominant play to end the season LY Also finishing the biscuits Lane is serving, literally on platters would go a long way. The kid should have 10/15 helpers already! if we could score on 50% of the one timers and open looks he is serving his teammates, it help substantially Of course that is not factoring in -last in shots for - last in shots against - last in high danger shots against And abysmal in face offs

Matheson travelling with team to NY, Guhle staying in Montreal. Slav leaves practice and doesn't return...

It would be foolish to move Matheson right now for sure. This D is already to young.