Sir_Boagalott

I'd pass on Dubois. The $ and length of his contract are too long to be worth any risk of taking it on. It's funny because for years I always had a countdown for the year that Dubois would be a UFA with happy thoughts of him signing with the Habs. However, I now have absolutely no interest in getting him. I honestly think the Habs dodged a huge bullet not getting him from the Jets when he demanded a trade.

That is an interesting though that I have also wondered. Stamkos did play with Marty for 6 years. I also wonder about Kane too due to the Wings missing the playoffs where will he go next year? Kane went with the Wings because he likes original 6 teams and he is friends with DeBrincat. The Habs are an original 6 team and Kane is also friends with Dach. Marchessault is another interesting possibility. People ask why would any of them want to come to Montreal? Because them signing with the Habs would basically end the rebuild.

Well, that certainly wasn't what I tuned in to see. Geez, what a collapse that was. After the Laffs game I put on the NYI vs Cannes game. When I put the game on it was 3-2 NYI with about 3:30 mins left. After watching for 1 min the Cannes scored to tie it up and then 10 seconds later they scored again to go up 4-3. They got an empty netter 1 min later. Apparently, the NYI were up 3-0 before the 3rd period started and only had a few shots on net the entire period. The Cannes are now up 2-0 in the series.

Mathews must win a few games but he can't win all 4 by himself. Plus, the longer the series goes the better it is for all Habs fans. i.e. let both of the Habs biggest rivals wear each other out so neither win the Cup.

As long as the 2 lotteries are won by teams ahead of the Habs they might be able to get Lindstrom or Iginla for sure if they want him. At 1 point I was wondering if Hughes might surprise everybody and draft another d-man, but he has since said that he wont. I pondered if that was intentional misdirection but I doubt he would publicly lie about it. However, imagine the scenario that Celebrini, Demidov, Lindstrom, and Iginla are all taken before the 5th pick. That could possibly change things. No matter what happens they will get a great player.

He has had a terrific 2nd half, don't know what caused the turnaround (time in the AHL, Marty's magic?) but he has always had the skills, just couldn't put it together for any length of time. Hopefully it continues although I am OK if the next 2 games are mediocre for him. I can understand why some want to get rid of Armia but I'm unconvinced that is a good idea. I tend to think Armia's lack of consistency is due to him having a similar issue as Drouin. Whenever he is on a hot streak it ends due to an injury too. He's been unlucky that way. You're starting to see what I knew he was capable of. I believe Armia could be a 60+ pt guy and would be a steal on the wrong team because he can be effective on a 2nd line and only makes $3.5 mil. The Oilers, Pens, and Bruins would be smart to get him. I agree 110% with what Tom said: I've said for years they should have a sports psychologist and they now do. I think he's a big reason for why Armia is productive so I wouldn't get rid of him yet. Besides, the Habs could be playoff bound next season and Armia is a playoff performer so it would be good to have his size, skill, and experience. Plus, the Habs can't really get rid of Armia or Andy until Florian and Tuch can replace their size. If they are moved before those prospects are ready it would vastly reduce the teams size, strength, and effectiveness - especially in the playoffs.

Although I am dying to see with the Habs I don't overly want to see him play this year. The Habs don't need any more points plus it is his brothers draft year and I want the Habs to draft him. If other GM's don't see Lane play in the NHL they might have 0 interest in Cole. If Lane plays and does great that could increase Cole's draft rank. I'm hoping Cole is still available so the Habs can draft him with their 2nd rnd pick vs using the Jets 1st rnd pick.

I wasn't overly hoping for a win either but I'm happy for Suzuki too. As long as the Sens are above the Habs I think it could be possible for the Habs to draft 5th. If the season ended right now the Habs would be 6th with the Yotes at 5th. There is probably a decent chance the Yotes will take a dmen so I'm thinking Hughes might try to do what NJ was attempting when the Habs drafted Slaf. i.e. NJ didn't need another C (Wright) so they were trying to pay the Habs to swap picks and/or to get Hughes to pick Wright so they would get Slaf. If the Habs want Lindstrum and he is still available at 5th and the Yotes want a dman they might be into taking a payment to swap places 1 spot.

Nice, interesting call. I was sure it went in but I wasn't sure if they would over rule the call on the ice because on the top angle you don't see the typical white ice they usually look for to tell it went in. However, the 1 angle from the front you can tell it went in. What the hell - they reversed the reversed call before I was able to hit submit reply. No goal.

It is pretty wild what has happened to him. I agree that the Cannes management isn't ready to give up him yet, but that doesn't mean the owner won't. The owner is so cheap he might step in and force Waddell to do something that might not entirely make hockey sense. The owner is like Ballard so financial decisions could be his priority. It is possible that kk doesn't rebound, but I imagine his chances would be best under MSL and how the Habs are handling young talent. Besides, a lot of Habs alumni praised kk when he was drafted so I can't see them all being wrong. Plus, Allen described their wrist shots once and said kk's was next level. Here is a funny idea that doesn't make hockey sense: Evans and a 1st for kk, Necas, and Suzuki plus a stipulation the Cannes to retain $20 of kk's salary - you know, for being a Bunch of Jerks. Yes, that trade wouldn't make hockey sense for them to want to move Necas at all. However, they do have numerous RFA's and UFA's to sign and it is unlikely they can keep them all. Doing that trade would give them a 1st for 1 player they are bound to lose and rid them of kk's salary. A penny pinching owner might agree to something like that even though its a lopsided trade in the Habs favour..

I agree with what you said but personally I'm never bothered when that happens. In fact, I tend to think that there is a similarity with the 86 + 93 teams and the current Habs. i.e. they all had a bunch of fairly young unproven and unknown players that turned out being key players. I wouldn't call it secondary scoring either - I agree with impact F. Yes, they have a legit need for dmen that are a PP and PK specialists. We might just have to wait to Konyushkov to arrive - he could be Markov 2.0. The current Habs could be on their way to becoming contenders. Are any of the current Habs clutch when it matters? Or, are numerous of them clutch? Right now, we have no clue on that but hopefully we'll find out next year if they manage to defeat the odds and make the playoffs. They do have quite a few players that have gone fairly deep in playoffs on their previous teams. With luck, some of them stepped right up and were leaders on those teams.

Interesting, I just the saw the results of a poll on Habs fans if they would make this trade: kk + 1st rnd pick for future considerations. (basically the Monahan trade). 82% said no. Similar trade: Evans 1 for 1 for kk. 92% said no. I think I'd do kk + 1st rnd pick but I'd add a stipulation that the Cannes must retain salary. I don't overly give a rats ass on the amount, $20 would suffice. Its about stealing 1 of their retention spots for the length of that contract. Their owner is cheap and doesn't want to pay kk's salary so he'd agree to it just to get rid of that contract.

Damn, Cannes saved by the bell. Thats too bad. I loved Strubles hit on Guentzel. He sent him flying. I hated seeing Pesce knock Slaf flat on his back.

I agree it is unlikely he will quit any time soon. I'm uncertain if MSL is skilled at bringing along young talent - but that is definitely a possibility. It could be that Marty himself is motivating vs him actually being able to motivate people. There is a big difference between those. i.e. his story is incredibly motivating so that could be what is inspiring to young players. ex: if you were a young player you could be excited and inspired to play for him without him ever having said a word to you. Plus, there is another factor of how they are not currently punishing rookies for making mistakes like other teams do. Most teams have a fairly toxic environment for young players. The Habs are currently an exception to that mentality of punishing young players for mistakes. The players have the freedom to be themselves without any fear of being held back for any errors they might make.

His 1 interview on that was the best. Earlier in the season he was having a scoring slump and a reporter asked him about it and he remarked that he wasn't going to shoot anymore. When his scoring slump ended the same reporter brought that up and McDavid said he thought he saw his teammate behind the net and he was trying to pass to him but missed. That's a good point regarding Mathews. He is highly skilled and has a wicked shot but he isn't a fully rounded player. So far, it seems like Slaf is a better over all player. They are both highly skilled and have size but Slaf has toughness and grit while Mathews has little to none.

That is the obvious proximate cause, but it didn't seem so bad as to provoke such a stupid decision by Guhle. I believe you are correct and that was the tipping point because didn't Konecny hit Guhle into the boards in the corner earlier in the game? I'm pretty sure something happened between them so they were definitely not playing nice nice with each other. I somewhat have the impression that Guhle doesn't like to fight but he seemed to have a hate on for Konecny.

I think you are right and I did actually look up and I was surprised because the wording of it isn't overly specific. It says: "no team can". I interpret that to mean whoever is in control of the pic - but I could be wrong because the wording is vague. At 1st I wasn't sure because they definitely do track where a pick originated. I'm pretty the ball they use in the lottery is the original teams ball. I was hoping there could be a crazy long shot scenario of the Habs winning with 2 picks that aren't theirs along with winning with their own. Imagine how crazy that would be. The Habs haven't used up any of their 2 move ups in 5 years. The legalese on that rule is the moving up. The Habs were last place and got 1st overall so they didnt move up at all when they got Slaf. I swear I have previously read the wording of that rule and it was linked to the 1st and 2nd OA picks, but apparently it ins't anymore. No team is allowed to move up more than twice in 5 years.

Not exactly happy they won, but Suzy got his 30th and Slaf's streak is still going, so I have to like that. Wild, Arber with 3 Flyers. I loved what he said: "you don't want this, you don't want it" I tend to disagree with that because Umberger wrecked the Habs in the 3rd round once and they won in the 1st rnd in the Covid playin year. I believe there is another series with Carter and Richards and possibly 1 more too. The Habs worst playoff record this century is against what team? The Flyers are my answer to that Q. I loved TSN's 3 Stars of the Game:

How does that work exactly because I haven't seen any particulars on that rule that specifies what happens when a pick is traded. Technically, it is the Jets pick but the Habs are in control of it. If the Jets pick wins the lottery wouldn't that mean it takes up 1 of the Jets 2 possible wins in 5 years?

I agree, and I generally don't want to cheer for the Habs to lose but this would have been a good game to drop. However, I'm glad their losing streak ended at 4. Damn, it's too bad Premeau didn't get his 3rd shutout this year. I somewhat blame Arber for the Krakens lone goal. No clue why Arber got his stick out in front of the shot. I would have preferred to see Arber skate right at the guy and shove him right onto his ass instead. Great to see Slaf still going on his rampage. Who doesn't want to see that continue?

I'd say that Hughes hasn't drafted BPA yet - thank god. Wright was supposed to go #1. Hughes isn't likely to start drafting BPA unless the Habs win the 1st overall pick. Yes, its best if you can get both but size with the absence of high skill isn't entirely useless. After all, its unarguable that it is a physical sport with body contact. In 7 game series size and strength matters and that becomes more true the deeper a team gets. I agree with your monster comment and Suzy is definitely very strong for his height - that's what is important. For decades the Habs have been chronically under weight for their height. Having a high center of gravity is the issue with tall people that aren't strong. i.e. a much shorter guy can push them around easily. I also believe Suzy's strength is why he has an ironman streak going.

Oh come on, it's not hard: "stiff weenie for Celebrini"

I'm sorta bummed they picked up a point but they out played the Oils so they were fortunate that they didn't get 2 points. The Oils G really kept them in the game. Luckily, CBJ also picked up a point. Surprisingly, CBJ have closed the gap so hopefully they too will manage to over take the Habs by the time the season is over. On McDavid's goal once Guhle bent down and attempted to block the shot he had no chance stopping him. Guhle did make a mistake on that play but I'd still say he played 1 of the best games I've seen him play. Armia can certainly be frustrating at times and I understand why many want to get rid of him but I still wouldn't necessarily dump him. He has decent size and tends to come alive in the playoffs. I'm thinking that might actually a be a factor next season.

I'm somewhat thinking Hutson and Mailloux could be a good pairing and Reinbacher with WiFi or Guhle. I agree, he is somewhat weak for his size. Harris needs to add way more muscle and that's an issue with Matheson too. They should all stay at Arber's over the summer so his mom can teach them how to workout.

I agree with what you said but even though I disagree with him I do believe there is potentially some truth in his statement. After all, the Nords never won the Cup and that is primarily because the Habs always beat them in the playoffs. I tend to think that if the Nords had won a Cup they probably wouldn't have lost their team. In that sense I could see why Nords fan blame the Habs.