CerebusClone

Also another question is who exactly in that 2013 draft did the Canadiens really miss on when they selected Michael McCarron? It's one thing to criticize Montreal's selection, but as this moment, who didn't they pick at the 25th spot who is now lock on a Top 6 in the NHL for many years to come (or Top 3 defensemen, or number 1 goalie)? Shea Theodore isn't looking like a major steal at this moment Ryan Hartman has nothing on McCarron in terms of production at lower levels. Dauphin had 24 points in the AHL last season Dano has yet to establish himself as an NHLer, and is still accumulating miles on the AHL shuttle this season. JT Compher is looking pretty decent so far, but has yet to play a single NHL game. Even in later rounds there isn't a single bonafide NHL key player. Pavel Buchnevich has looked good in NY this season before his injury, too early too tell whether it was a fluke. Petan hasn't done much. Duclair has some decent stretches, but has been a healthy scratch often this season. So far Michael McCarron looks as good as any other player Montreal could have selected, and I'm guessing there are a couple teams who wish they had selected the huge physical specimen who was a key player for a Memorial Cup champions team instead of the prospect they selected.

Well it's still soon to evaluate the most recent of that last 10 years, but Timmins did indeed draft three Top-6 forwards in Galchenuk, Pacioretty, and Gallagher. Lehkonen has played mostly Top 6 already as a rookie this season, and looks to be a forth. That's a pretty good start, and we still have players like Scherbak, Reway, McCarron, and Hudon who could still end up as Top 6 forwards. We should also not forget that during these 10 years, Timmins drafted at least two top pairing defensemen in McDonagh and Subban, and possibly a third one in Sergachev. We can also add possibly two more second pairing defensemen in Beaulieu and Juulsen, although Juulsen still has lots to prove before we can view him as a sure thing. You add Lernout as a number 6, and Timmins may have given Montreal a very solid defensive group to play in front of Carey Price

Yes with Radulov, one of the most talented hockey players on the planet, and Pacioretty, one of the NHL's top scorer in the last few years, the Canadiens have one embarrassing first line... It's actually not uncommon for teams to mix two offensive players with someone not usually known as a Top 6 forward n 5-on-5 situations. For example the Hawks have Anisimov, who struggles to get 40 points in the NHL, centering Patrick Kane, and no one is laughing at them. Danault is a player with strong hockey IQ and pretty good overall skills, he keeps his game simple, and if he has chemistry with the other two it can be a very good line. We're not talking about a Steve Begin type player here, Danault is doing quite well in his first full NHL season, he was excellent in the bottom 6 role, and has shown so far that he can hold his own skating between some of the teams' top forwards (actually more than Plekanec or Desharnais)

That case can be made for DeLarose - although he was a second rounder not first - however I would not say the Canadiens drafted McCarron in the hopes to see him become a strong 3rd liner. Obviously no one ever saw him become a rushing, highlight-reel offensive dynamite out there, however Trevor Timmins did describe him as big physical presence who can also play hockey, a player with good hands and a very good potential. The Canadiens did see potential for McCarron to play as a Top 6 forward... and I still see that potential, however more like a Gallagher type (i.e. someone who completes an offensive duo) than a Galchenyuk or Radulov type. Besides 2 years ago McCarron was centering the first line of the Memorial Cup champions, and was seen as an impact player when he was on the ice. He had a fairly good offensive start in the AHL despite some limited offensive help around him (which again we must admit he needs, he is not an offense generating forward), this year has been more difficult offensively (although still close to a 50-point season over 82 games) however from what I've heard he still has been doing a lot of good things, and has had some impact. Anyway all that to say that I think Montreal drafted McCarron because they saw a player who could have a positive impact in the NHL, potentially as a Top 6 forward, but if not someone who could still bring a lot to the table.

Lindgren turned 23 today, he's not a 19-20 yo rookie coming out of juniors. He should be ready next season to at least be a backup at the NHL level. His contract is also up after this season, one reason he signed with Montreal was apparently because he was told he would finish the season with Montreal last year (there was a lot of interest for his services). I am not sure he will be willing to resign to play in Laval next season after everything he's done since signing, he may request to play in Montreal or else be traded.

Gallagher is Gallagher... I think mostly people's expectations of him are way too high. He's on pace for a good Brendan Gallagher season, around the 45-point mark, which is even better this season considering he hasn't been on the top line for most of the season (although he raked up the points early on with Pacioretty and Galchenyuk). His production depends heavily on how well his teammates are playing, he's been stuck with Plekanec for a while, and recently mostly skating with Mitchell and Byron (they did pretty well I thought).

How about right now? In his last 10 games, Subban has only 2 points. He's been a minus player in 6 of these games. There are some games I remember in that sequence where the Preds were leading, and lost the game with many goals where Subban was on the ice (although Subban wasn't necessarily to blame in any of the cases I've watched). This is not a great sequence for the most expensive defenseman in the league. Although I'm sure he'll turn things around soon enough.

Depends on what skills... If we're taking about hockey IQ, vision, sound positioning, anticipating plays, etc. Then yes, and we have a great example in Montreal in Andrei Markov. He lost a step since his last knee injuries but remains a highly effective defender in the NHL, he's still a star player, and is still a valuable member of the team in all situations. Weber it will be interesting to see. His shot won't go away, his decision making won't go away, his size won't go away, and he's always done great with average skating skills and mobility. I would tend to think Weber will remain a very effective defender for quite a few years. He's very different than players like Steve Begin, Andrew Shaw, or Brendan Gallagher whose success depend heavily on taking a heavy toll on their bodies to compensate for a lack of skill. As for Subban, he's good a powerful shot although his aim and timing are questionable, that should not go away. However his thing really is rushing the puck, skating, and taking chances... what happens to him if loses even a little bit of that speed? His vision and hockey IQ are average at best so he cannot rely on that (he should have learned, but his comments over the years suggest that he was never willing). Defensively he's proven to be a very capable defender when he keeps his game simple - that can remain - however his skill set offensively would lead me to believe he could regress quickly with age.

Another assumption is that Subban will still perform as well in the 30-35 years-old range, which I'm not so sure about. Because he's never been willing to adapt his game and play in a smarter way, Subban's strength relies mostly in his skating, dynamism, and willingness to take risks... those are traits likely to decrease over time, with age and as the bank account is already overflowing. If Subban loses even a step going into his 30s, the way he plays now it could really affect him. Also I don't see Subban as an elite defenseman in the NHL, he's without a doubt a star player, and one of the best 10-15 defense men in the league. If we only look at what he does great, then yes he's spectacular and looks awesome on the ice, but when you look at his overall game and effectiveness, I would definitely not place him among the elite group. He's nowhere near the likes of Lidstrom, Bourque, Pronger, Niedermayer, etc. And by the way, I absolutely love Shea Weber, I think he makes us better than Subban did however I would not call him elite either.

Again that is not criticism, but a fact : Emelin likes to dish out the big hits, but won't fight. No matter the reason that remains a fact. And sometimes that means a teammate will have to fight his battles and/or pay the price. In Boston Andrew Shaw took Krug's hit as retaliation, and then Gallagher had to drop the gloves as out retaliation to Krug's hit. On a side note: he does act like a pussy sometimes like in Colorado, trying to throw a few punches while the referees are holding the other guy. And when that same guy gets free, Emelin runs away. That is a pussy move... you don't want to fight, that's more than fine with me (98% of the fights in the NHL are stupid and pointless), but don't take any cheap shot - ever - if you're never willing to drop the gloves.

Who didn't look lost last year on the ice? He was called up to play in a huge mess, a team without any structure left at that point. I thought he looked decent at first, but then he was being shuffled between the wing and center positions, starting paying different roles with different teammates from one game to another. If you want to make sure a rookie looks bad, that is the perfect recipe. We'll see how he does starting tonight, and progressively we'll see what role he can fill this year (if he can fill any role). I could see him finding a role as a solid bottom 6 forward, and possibly later see some time on the powerplay to do what Gallagher/Shaw do (with the added strength and size). And since neither Gallagher or Shaw produce much on the PP despite quality ice-time (they've never been good on the PP in the past either) who knows McCarron could prove to be a good solution, and bring something we lack on our PP.

No one said he has to fight, I didn't. Also I was talking about his career in general, not just the last game. And it's not necessarily criticism, but an observation... Emelin likes to dish out the big hits, but also never drops the gloves. He's always been like that. The only issue with that is that it can piss off the opponent, and potentially lead to retaliation in the form of a big or even dirty hit (on Emelin or a teammate) or a teammate having to drop the gloves later. That's sadly in the culture of hockey, you dish out a dangerous hit (legal or not), if you drop the gloves right away it kind of goes away. Otherwise it can linger until later in the game or even a future game. We saw a great example last game. Huge hit by Emelin, big cheers from the crowd (yay! a big hit with Emelin ending up on his ass, and completely out of position)... Andrew Shaw ends up in the dressing room with a bloody face... Gallagher has to drop the gloves and we lose him for 5 minutes. In other words, Emelin gets the cheers while 2 of his teammates pay the price ...

Ok. I understood your statement differently Seemed you were saying Sergachev doesn't seem to have a high ceiling relatively to what Provorov is doing in Philly ...

Provorov didn't make the jump last year as a 18-year old... not sure what your point is here? As for the question, what do we trade Sergachev for?? Any player can be traded, I'll trade Carey Price to the Bruins if they gave us Rask, Pastrnak, and Bergeron in return...

The way he is playing, no doubt we need to resign Markov to a one or two-year deal. That would give us time to coach Sergachev properly with less pressure on his shoulders, and have Sergachev take Markov's role in the team when he retires. If Markov leaves at the end of this season, there is a huge gap in our defense that we are not ready to fill...

Personally I could not care less about the players' emotion during the games, for some reason Pacioretty has become a useless, heartless, gutless piece of garbage because of does not smile enough during games. I would trade that reaction from Radulov anytime for actual production on the ice, which has not been great as of late. He did not get a point in 6 of his last 9 games. He was also a minus player 6 times during that period. I have noticed less and less in the last few games except for the blowout against Colorado. We absolutely need to resign Radulov, and I agree that he is our most talented forward offensively. Right now it seems he can do no wrong, however there is a point where the honeymoon will be over - probably once he signs a lucrative multiyear contract and gets a letter on his jersey - and all the fancy stick handling and great smiles won't be enough.

I agree with you about not overreacting either, however my problem with the hit was what you mentioned above. The game was over, the Coloerado players were down and humiliated, and there was no need to go for the spectacular - and always dangerous even if legal - hip check. Emelin risked pissing off a down opening for nothing more than cheers (there are plenty more options to him at that point, including a simple shoulder check to stop Colborne), and the Avalanche could have retaliated with either someone dropping the gloves or some big hits. Since Emelin has actually always been kind of a wuss when it comes to fighting, and prefers hiding behind either the referees or his teammates, that means a teammate could have to fight, and possibly take some punches to the head (and who knows maybe end of with a concussion or other injury). Or it could have meant a teammate ending up on the receiving end of a dirty, perhaps like Andrew Shaw paid for Emelin's hit against the Bruins when Torey Krug hit him directly on the head (could have been a coincidence, but I doubt it), could have been a coincidence, but I doubt it. ps. Speaking of Emelin and the Bruins, Brad Marchand had an interesting response to a Habs fan celebrating the Emelin hit on him. Marchand said he got a 5-game suspension for exactly the same hit on Sami Salo in 2012. I looked at the videos, and I would have to agree with him. The hits were very similar, just about the same point of contact. The only difference was that Salo was injured on the play, and Shaw got up to go back to the dressing room. Yet another example of the NHL's ambiguous application of the rules based on he player status, and the context (i.e. injury or not, which should not be a factor). Not unlike Krug's hit on Shaw... if Shaw is severely injured on that, I'm not sure the NHL finds ways to justify the hit, like Shaw reached down, etc. I'e seen this exact same hit lead to suspensions in the past...

The entire team sucks tonight on the PP, both waves included...

Therrien needs to speak to his players during the intermission, the team seems overconfident and trying too many fancy plays. Long passes, guys leaving their position, and skating around the offensive zone.

Karma hit him back earlier though, Plekanec made a perfect pass to Beaulieu who missed the empty net... :-)

That's what I was wondering as well. If the smaller guys don't get scared, and stick to the way we've been skating and controlling the puck, the Bruins will likely take themselves out of position while going for the hits. In that case we can capitalize. Also of course if the Bruins take a few penalties along the way... although they ignored Krug's hit to the head on Shaw, and Radulov's boarding on Miller, so it looks like the refs are in playoff mode ... However if our guys start thinking too much, and lose even a split second, the Bruins could get the advantage.

After Emelin's hit, it's starting to look like a Bruins-Habs game !!

Wow Krug can't fight apparently.... but he sure can hit, ouch! Hope Andrew Shaw is ok ..

Is it just me or does Weber seem a little behind every play so far tonight?? Every shot is blocked, most passes get deflected. Hopefully by saying that he will score in the coming PP :-)

Actually that's what I meant earlier when talking about how things are different when the other team does it, or trying to justify our players' actions. You bring up crashing skate first into a goalie, insinuating that Kreider was trying to intentionally injure Price. You don't mention that Kreider must play hard all game long, must make the best play he can think of in a split second, in this case skating hard towards the middle to get the free puck before the Canadiens' defensemen or possibly Price coming out of his net (in this case unfortunately ending up out of balance right in front of Price, also while Emelin swinging at his legs with his stick) ... but of course when Gallagher go hard at the net, but ends up making contact with the other goalie, that's just hard work.