The Chicoutimi Cucumber

Two bad seasons in a row for Zegras. Maybe we dodged a bullet. On the other hand, he’d be better than whatever hole we currently have at #2C

Carolina? True, but in fairness, the ref supposedly apologized to MT after the fact,, because he gave him that penalty without warning him first. What a heartbreaking series that was. Even more aggravating was the year they gouged out Koivu’s eyeball, another case where Carolina was on the ropes against us and managed to win as a result of a bizarre series-pivoting event. I’ve never understood how Therrien got hired to two other NHL head coaching gigs. Meanwhile Vigneault, who really did an excellent job with us, spend years and years in purgatory before finally getting another chance. But I digress As I’ve said before, I don’t like it. It’s not the pressure that worries me, it’s the “too much, too soon” developmental arc.

Side note here, but on Price and rebounds, I will say that he is the only goalie I’ve ever seen who could actually control rebounds to such an extent that he used them to propel the transition game. He would literally deflect a rebound to start a counter-attack and do so on a regular basis. It’s hard not to feel good about Dobes, who seems to have the right mindset. But I love your assessment of how he can go from good to great. No one is willing to say this, and I get it, because the kid is a rookie. But I’m not sure that he isn’t already in Hughes/Makar territory. Not better than those guys, because no one is, but not far off at all. I dunno what the advanced stats say. He is simply unbelievable.

Hard to complain about losing after a 6-game winning streak, I suppose. But the ongoing horrible starts does leave a bad taste

Maybe, but Van management has been quite lukewarm about him. If you look at Boeser, he's really a 25-goal guy, not the 40-goal scorer he's made out to be. A nice piece, but overrated, and likely to get overpaid IMHO. Also not likely to age all that well given his slow footspeed. Now the wider question of what the hell Vancouver is going to do with itself is very interesting. As I said a while back, they are in an 'advanced difficulty' managerial position. They have two years to somehow assemble a powerful team that has a shot at re-signing Quinn Hughes. God only knows how they'll pull that off.

Go ahead and think of Gilmour if you want, but to me the Habs + 93 equals this

The 'Kotkaniemi effect' might be better. Or the 'Kostitsyn Effect.' Or, for the real greybeards, the 'Alfie Turcotte' effect. 😁 Any organization will sit down with the player and tell them to work hard over the summer, not to take things for granted, etc. So I do hope the Habs have something much more robust in mind for Demidov. Ongoing mentorship from the Hutsons and Suzukis of the world can't hurt.

I'm sure he'll do fine. I'm more worried about the scenario where he comes here, is handed a roster spot, has some success, gets the message that he has 'made it' and that he is God Incarnate, then wastes the summer partying, celebrating, etc., leading to disaster next season. Once a kid internalizes entitlement, it's hard to beat it out of him.

Seems like good leadership by Hutson. What a gem he is. Thanks for this. Nobody questions his talent, but I have been wondering about things like ‘complete game’ and defensive responsibility, not to mention general coachability, etc., and I’m not sure the KHL is all that helpful an indicator of these sort of things. I do understand bringing him straight to Montreal. We need added punch and he is generally agreed to be the best player not currently in the NHL. Still, I would have preferred a different development trajectory, e.g., one where he comes to training camp and doesn’t have a spot handed to him. You know me, I’m a fretful sort about kids and player development. This is a hell of a lot to throw at a 19-year-old.

Hughes deserves full credit. He played the deadline exactly right, in retrospect - neither weakening a team that has ended up (almost certainly) making the dance, nor shipping out assets unnecessarily. He challenged the team to rise and they sure did.

Hutson is off the chart great. I was just talking about the FW unit specifically, but you’re correct.

All I can say is, if I saw those numbers for any other team, I would be assuming that wild card race is over. It’s not, technically, over, of course - and as Lenny Kravitz sings, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over. But damn. This team ❤️

I really like your point about ripple effect. We’ve seen a lot of that this season, the effect a single guy can have by pushing weak links down, or out of, the lineup: Heineman forcing out Pezzetta, the impact Struble had when he recovered his game. If Demidov lives up to the hype in the immediate term - about which I’m slightly skeptical - then that could really ramify for the whole FW group. Teams would now have to worry about Suzuki Caufield Laine Demidov Slaf which will make their defensive assignments that much harder, and also potentially open up more opportunities for the Gallys of the world to be ‘sneaky’ scorers buried down the lineup. Notwithstanding the hole at C, a dangerous Demidov would give us a difficult FW group to handle.

Considering what “93” signifies in Habs history, that jersey number feels portentous…in a good way I’m by no means dismissing Demidov, any more than I dismissed Hutson. I’m just saying, the hype is pretty extreme. Let’s give the kid a few games before anointing him The Saviour!

Um...I really think everyone needs to calm down. Exciting prospect? Yes. Second coming of Ovechkin/Lafleur/Howie Morenz/Jesus Christ? Probably not. At least not right away, LOL.

Damn...if only we had a decent #1G, this team would really be going places 😉

AHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA one of those, are we? Indeed

These guys - by which I mean the 2024-25 Montreal Canadiens - do seem to have something special cookin'. My guess is that the chemistry starts with Suzuki and Caufield, two key team leaders who seem to get along great and have had that on-ice telepathy thing for years. Those guys seem to set the tone for the whole team.

I’m with Commandant. We are already at risk of offer sheets because we have so much young talent. Pro-actively making offer sheets will be like issuing an invitation to other GMs to do it to us. No thanks. Go the old fashioned route. On Dvorak, I’ve said before I’d re-sign him at a reasonable rate. The counter-argument is that we need to leave space for young players, but my take on that is: whatever happens, we need a veteran C who can win draws, might as well be Dvorak. If a kid really does seem to be banging on the door, we can always move him out, provided the contract is reasonable. Since he’s not the type of player likely to get a massive overpay as a UFA, that should be possible. 🤷‍♂️

Look at those ice times, too! The man is in beast mode. Just crushing it.

Suzuki has been great for years, but he’s found another level since Four Nations. Don’t know if it’s the snub, or that talking-to Hughes gave him, or if it’s just hitting a critical mass of NHL experience at age 25 - but he is putting the team on his back and MAKING it make the playoffs in that way that only truly elite players do. He’s sure got the attention of all the “he’s more of a #1A C” types now. And he is kicking their asses.

I usually use the phrase “I’ll drink my own blood before…” but I may start using this, LOL

NICK F**KING SUZUKI The man is a BEAST

Terrible penalty by Slaf

Hutson, holy smokes!!