The Chicoutimi Cucumber

I would trade Dobes, but only for a long-term piece. Our G situation, despite the terrible start in nets, is very good, structurally speaking. Don’t risk that unless you’re getting a serious and lasting fix to structural issues.

Zibandejad is interesting. He’s a prototypical stopgap solution at C, buying time for Hage to marinade properly. But Dobes? Really? If this proposal came up before his recent struggles, it would have been laughed out of court. Meanwhile, we know Fowler has looked good and that he has pedigree, but we really have no basis for handing him the keys. Montembault hasn’t played a single game yet. If he can come back, and, after several weeks, show he’s returned to form, then we can start thinking about a move at G. But it should probably be a lower-level move involving him. You need two good G to win nowadays. Unless we have a whole lot of faith in a restored Monty, we’re going to need Fowler/Dobes for years to come, I suspect.

That’s really interesting…is it possible we’ve solved the ‘second line’ problem without even realizing it??

The early going this season has been a case of the Habs generally playing very well and, either because the other team has a hot goalie, or because our goalie struggles, or because weird bounces benefit the other team, or just puck luck, not getting rewarded. Very frustrating. Luck tends to even out, so eventually the balance will go the other way. The important thing is that the team not get into its own head and the players start losing their collective confidence and swagger.

This sucks

Classic reminder that these are, after all, young thrill-seeking kids with insane money. Don't remind me, a horrible story of DUI (at a time when that was socially acceptable, more or less) that almost cost us our greatest player of the past half-century.

The whole thing was fun but silly. All talk of Larkin should have subsided once word got out that we aren't on his list. 🤷‍♂️ It's too bad, because he would have been perfect (even if 30 is a bit old for this group).

One thing about this season so far, other teams seem to be getting those bounces and opportunistic goals. Not the Habs. We get ours waved back.

Couldn’t watch this one, but one thing I wanted to suggest was that blowing a 2-goal lead is not at all unusual in today’s NHL. Comebacks seem to have become more normal in recent years. From that POV, the main thing is not the blown lead, but that we won the game in the end. We’re scuffling, but two tight wins in a row seems to be a good sign. How was Fowler, on the whole?

Likewise, no expert at all, but Fowler’s fundamentals seem far superior to Dobes. The reason he brings to mind Price is NOT that he is destined to become the successor to #31, but because his game is based on positioning, reading the play, and economy of movement, much like Price. It’s very satisfying to see. Dobes, though, has shown that he has a lot of resilience and ‘compete’ at the NHL level. Fowler’s mental fortitude and ability to endure the ups and downs and pressures of Montreal remains to be tested. We’ll probably need a couple of years before we can say with full confidence exactly what we’ve got in him. I keep them both around for a while yet.

That’s all very true. So much comes down to timing. I’m not sure I’d say “one year from now.” Maybe Hage or Zharovsky can step right in and be 60-70 point players. Or maybe they will need a couple of years of seasoning before they really figure it out. Suzuki was 23 with two full seasons under his belt before he hit lift off - and it took two seasons *after that* before he became a PPG player and an unquestioned #1C. Larkin is plug and play. But he’s also 30. He has what, maybe 3-4 seasons left in his at his current level? If you’re Hughes and your careful scouting is confident that Hage will become a PPG #1C, then you probably do hold onto him rather than trade him for Larkin. If you are not so sure he’ll become more than, say, a 60-point guy, then that changes the equation. C being more valuable than W, I would be more willing to part with Zharovsky in principle, but again, it comes down to what you project him to become. If you think he’s a 90-100 point W, hold onto him, obviously. You know me, I’m always a little bit skeptical of the hype around prospects until they show what they’ve got at the NHL level.

Yes, and anyone criticizing the trade in retrospect should remember that these kinds of predictions were not uncommon pre-injury. I agree that he needs a change of scenery. It is clearly not happening for him here. Quiet questions have dogged him for years about attitude and work ethic. I don’t know how valid those are, but to the extent that they are valid, it should mitigate our compassion for him a little bit.

This organization doesn’t have enough impact forwards. Meanwhile it has a surplus of D. So the Guhle rumours make sense. We saw last game the difference Guhle can make, however. I’ve said for a long time that the Big Trade everyone wants - whatever it is - is gonna hurt. We’re not getting a stud like Larkin, Scheifle, etc., for Ryder and a 2nd. It’s going to involve names like Hage, Zharovsky, etc. And yes, maybe Guhle. Guhle is not an untouchable.

Wow! Hella game for him

Possible, but I suspect it’s more a technical problem. He was never the most technically sound goalie, so his default position is likely something he has to continually strive against, and can easily slip back into.