The Chicoutimi Cucumber

Helluva goal right there by the forces of justice. Slaf/CC/Matheson each made great plays to put those pusbags on ther heels

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Chipchura and McCarron also come to mind.

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.

I hadn’t realized that Jacob is Yannick Perreault’s son. Now that takes me back…

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).

I expect a very quiet deadline from HuGo. Even the rumour mill is quiet. Next year, when expectations shift and some contracts are expiring, should be much livelier. But who knows.

Yeah. Sometimes I think Slaf is going to become one of the most physically dominant players in the entire league. I mean...doing that at 19? Damn.

Primeau was strong all night. The important thing is that this no longer feels surprising. Allen (who has given fine service) can leave any time. I found it frustrating that Suze, after causing SHGA with a brutal giveaway, made a driven, dominant play to get it back and unleashed a howitzer past the G...only to ring it off the post. F**k. He deserved that one and it would have been a real "statement" goal. Slaf quietly made a huge defensive play along the boards in the dying seconds of regulation. He just overpowered everyone and would not be denied. Interesting stat about the Habs having the most one-goal games of any team. That does afford some hope that we may not be THAT far from reaching the tipping point into being decent. A few % improvement in a few areas, and the worm could turn. Maybe.

Hahahaaa love it. That's what makes a team unpleasant to play against

Here we go. Stamkos taking over

How many 2 goal leads have we blown this season? I wouldn't be surprised if we lead the league in that category. All TB has to do is wake up and they'll win; but that lackluster effort was very out of character for the team we've watched for the past few years. So who knows, maybe we have a chance.

Tampa seems absolutely asleep so far. WiFi should avoid dropping the mitts lest he wake them up.

WiFi and Cernak are going to have a serious tilt before this is over

I swear, since we called him up Armia has been one of our best FWs 🤷‍♀️

I'm not 100% sure it's valid to point to Slick Nick's linemates. He's played a lot with CC and a lot with Slaf. Those are quality linemates. Besides, has Pettersson benefitted from stupendous linemates every single night? His linemates over the last two, 100-point seasons have included names such as Hoglaander, Conor Garland, and Ilya Podkolzin (now in the minors). Not to slag Suzuki, just to say that I don't think this excuse holds too much water.

I don’t know what “geiggon” means, but I agree with that ranking (McDavid > Pettersson > Suzuki) and that overall assessment. Hard to believe that we once had Koivu, Turgeon, and Damphousse down the middle and managed to trade away the latter two on discounts, without having adequate replacements in mind. Good ol’ Reggie 🙄

I think Montreal fans have sort of forgotten what a truly elite-level offensive talent looks like. I saw the same sort of thing in Vancouver regarding Quinn Hughes…the fans here have never seen a truly elite defenceman before, and quite a few of them failed to appreciate exactly what they had in Hughes for quite a while. By contrast, the minute I saw him, I knew he was the real deal…but then again I’ve seen Markov, Subban, and Weber on the regular. Pettersson is an elite, top-end offensive talent. Suzuki clearly isn’t that yet, at least not yet. He may become arguably a better “overall” player in the sense of combining very good offensive chops with elite two-way acumen (although I really think this board is downplaying Pettersson’s defensive game). But I doubt he is ever going to be in the conversation with Pettersson when it comes to being an offensive dynamo.

The contract is fair value for an elite, franchise #1C. I’m happy for Vancouver, really. This is one traumatized fan base (although also a fairly stupid one, on the whole) and, while I’ve ranted and raved against them over the years, I sort of feel they’ve suffered enough. And as a hockey fan, I love the troika of Pettersson, Hughes, and Demko - splendid players, each of them. As for Suzuki, he is not going to outscore Pettersson, who is a true, star offensive talent of the sort the Habs have not had since Guy Lafleur. (Not that he is as good as Lafleur!). But yes, with his rise to PPG production and elite two-way acumen, Suzuki will be the franchise cornerstone for the next 6-7 years and a defining player of the rebuild. Hopefully the Habs can do for him what they never did for Koivu, i.e, put him in a legitimate position to win the Stanley Cup.

Even so, I don’t think they’re getting that for Savard. Adjust all those scenarios downward to a 2nd-rounder and I think it’s more plausible. Savard’s stock seems to be lower than it should be, given how much GMs like blood-and-guts veterans for the playoffs. I wonder if that’s because the Habs have priced him out of the market.

TBH I kind of respect the Leafs' determination to break through with this core. I mean, they DO have a frigging powerhouse crop of FWs and they do finish consistently top-5 to top-10. No doubt they see themselves very much like Yzerman's Wings were before they finally won: a strong team that kept falling short in the playoffs but eventually got there. The longer this goes on, though, the likelier it becomes that they are the 2020s version of Joe Thornton's San Jose Sharks, i.e., an elite team that never makes it.