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The Chicoutimi Cucumber

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Everything posted by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

  1. This org stills needs top-pairing-quality young D. Even Guhle has not clearly established himself as being at that level. So, although he wasn't a sexy pick, this kid is an important piece. Here's hoping he makes the jump to Laval and flourishes.
  2. Reading the earlier parts of this thread, it's clear that a lot of us were worried that HuGo had gone for size over skill. I was also bothered by the "W over C" aspect of the choice. The Slaf we've seen over the second half has plenty of skill, with room to keep growing in that area...and his physical strength and power look really impressive at times. Cooley may end up outscoring him, but it's hard to see, at this juncture, where Slaf doesn't look like a realistic bet to be at least as valuable as Cooley. As 2024 winds down, it looks like HuGo knew exactly what they were doing. We should revisit this thread next season around the same time and see how things stand then!
  3. Maybe it’s unwise to paid Guhle with Mattheson. Or maybe Guhle’s recent issues have nothing to do with MM. Mattheson has 47 points in 67 games (!) - almost a 60-point pace - and as you note, his skating gets him out of many of the jams his defensive limitations create. That latter is an important consideration for me. Unlike some more Puritanical hockey people, I don’t care if a guy screws up IF he has the wheels to correct his own lapses. (That was one reason why I always thought young PK Subban’s errors were way overplayed; people would focus on the error, and ignore the fact that 95% of the time he got himself out of the trouble they created). So we seem to be in the position of saying this team somehow should not have good players on it, unless those good players exemplify 100% the virtues of all-around hockey players. Now I can certainly see the case for moving out Mattheson on the grounds that he will fetch a handsome return and will be too old by the time this team is contention-worthy. The other side of it is, none of our young D have shown themselves to have ANYTHING like his offensive chops. So, we’re back to the old “tank” question. The Habs are one of the worst teams in the league. Without MM, we would probably be intolerably terrible. Some people want that. Others think our young players benefit from the experience of being competitive in games, day in and day out. If you think the latter, then you don’t see Mattheson as a net negative. He may be best thought of as a placeholder until Hutson comes on stream. But what seems clear is that unless we replace MM, either internally or via free agency, this team is never going to become elite. You need D who can move the puck and drive offence.
  4. Oh, no. That would be terrible. Any parent knows that there can be no greater nightmare than something bad happening to your child. All the best to MSL and his family.
  5. Very cool review. There really is no substitute for seeing players live - although the danger, as you note, is drawing sweeping conclusions from one game. I’ll be seeing them in Van later this week, and will keep your reflections in mind.
  6. Very true, but it’s intriguing that the Habs ships out Allen and the very next game he plays, he steps in and bags a SO. That’s the “statement” part: “you FINALLY made room for me? Well watch this.” Of course, if he gets shellacked next time, then the statement is somewhat annulled. But on its own terms, I think it was an impressive moment for the young man.
  7. I didn't watch it, but it seems to have been a statement game by Primeau, no?
  8. I remember thinking that Harris sucked last night…interesting to see the stats back that up. Leafs basically feasted on our young D, with the honourable exception of Guhle.
  9. I cannot find it within my heart to give a rat's tuchus about Dvorak...but yes, a healthy Dach would be a godsend
  10. I wouldn’t go with a strict rotation, but your basic thought here seems valid. The other side of it is, there always seem to be veteran backups floating around, even after the season starts. So if Primeau falters we can probably still plug someone into the hole.
  11. I never believed in Primeau, but he has earned this chance based on major improvement this season. It’s up to him to build on that.
  12. Good summary. We played a good game, but our weakest links were much weaker than theirs. It was fun to see the big line giving the Leafs fits all night, though. And yet another 1-goal loss.
  13. Despite a long run of mediocrity, Domi doesn't seem to have lost his wheels. It hurts to have that puke score a big goal on us.
  14. He needs to find consistency. His ceiling is significant IMHO, but his floor is somewhat low, so he can't afford to hit the latter too often.
  15. Helluva goal right there by the forces of justice. Slaf/CC/Matheson each made great plays to put those pusbags on ther heels
  16. I've been worried a bit that, like so many of our past prospects, he's been subsidized a bit by the dearth of talent up front. (In other words, that he can make a bad team, but not necessarily a good one). So this is nice to read.
  17. Indeed. Monty was an unproven commodity and Primeau was nothing. You don’t facilitate a rebuild by having your team get shelled night after night; young D need to feel that not every mistake equals a goal. So I think there is some “retconning” going on regarding the Allen deal, perhaps reflecting the Tanquiste mentality that it’s just great to lose every game 8-1. 🤷‍♂️ Anyhow, true to form Hughes did nothing to jeopardize our Cup window so even if the contract was bad, no harm done.
  18. Good deal. Here's to Jake Allen for his admirable service to the CH. He provided much-needed support to Carey Price in his twilight years. A classy, worthy Montreal Canadien.
  19. Ironically, it turns out that the Canes did us a favour with KK. Presumably, absent the offer sheet, we would have ended up signing him - maybe even locking him up for a number of years on the belief that he was going to grow into being a core piece. And we would have been signing a piece of crap. Yet another absolutely disastrous high pick by the pre-HuGo era Habs. Thank God Carolina is the team that finds itself dealing with the consequences.
  20. They've been in denial of the need to rebuild - as often happens to teams that are chock-full of all-star veterans. It's exactly what happened to San Jose. Ironically, Karlsson has been a piece in both cases. Always liked Toffoli! Such a horrible skater, and yet he consistently gets it done. I hold no particular brief with Winnipeg, but would be happy to see him do well.
  21. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling Barron will be one of those extra-late bloomers who settles in around age 25-26 and maybe has a few years on a bottom pairing somewhere. I would not be surprised if we ship him out eventually and find him eking out a spot in some other market. 🤷‍♂️Just a gut feeling.
  22. I hadn’t realized that Jacob is Yannick Perreault’s son. Now that takes me back…
  23. Agree. In an era of player mobility, it is important to be seen to treat people in classy way. The key is to not allow that to undermine your wider organizational goals (as MB did, for example, when he gave Gally a ridiculous contract, seemingly out of a sentimental attachment to the guy).
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