Sir_Boagalott

I think you might be correct on there being some silly incident before the Aho offer. I don't recall exactly what it was either but I believe it was something petty and ridiculous. ex: did Waddell snub MB at a GM's meeting, draft or some event, where he didnt know who MB was? Like MB tried to shake hands with him but he refused. I vaguely remember something funny like that happening to MB. I forget who the other GM was but there is a good probability that it was Waddell. I don't believe MB had any intention of ending up with Aho at all. He just wanted to spend the Cannes money and tie up their cap for years and force them into paying Aho for longer than they wanted. Aho likely got more than the what the cheap Cannes owner would have offered him. I recently heard that Brind-a'mor won't be back. He was in talks for renewing his contract and they worked out a deal that would make him the 11-12th highest paid coach. Apparently, the owner stepped in and nixed the deal. I could see him ending up in Seattle.

Hmm, wow. What are the odds of this happening: the Sharks apparently won the draft lottery 3 times. ex: they won the 1st OA pick, but on the 2nd lottery they also won it. That has never happened before and that isn't allowed so they had to redo the 2nd lottery, which SJ also won. They had to do a 4th lottery to determine who got the 2nd OA pick.

The Habs can still move up 10 spots twice in future drafts but at least the Hawks are done moving up for the next 5 years.

Absolutely, that was not a typical normal dump in. You noticed and suspect the identical thing I do. i.e. the angle that puck took out of the corner was not a predictable angle. Unless .... I'm sure it was a set play with deliberate intent of having the puck take that strange bounce off the boards. They likely know that specific spot has an odd behaviour and they exploited the crap out of it. That's something they have practiced to have that exact strange bounce. Samsonov had no chance of playing that puck. The only mistake he made is was he was too far back in his crease and was standing on the goal line.

I'm not 100% sure that would have been any better but that criticism is certainly easy to say in hindsight. I think its debatable if he misplayed it. That dump in was a perfect storm, so perfect I'm sure it was deliberate set play. i.e it was shot hard into the corner at an angle that the puck came out fast and at a good distance from the net and basically went right to a racing in Pasta who was in all alone. I dont think any of that was a coincidence. They're at home and could totally practice that. Plus, the other Bruins were in good positions too. If Samsonov had left the net he might have got to the puck 1st, but Pasta would have been on him right quick and could have taken it from him, or the G might have passed it right to another Bruins player trying to clear. All the Leafs were in poor positions and numerous were skating towards where the puck was going. Just imagine the scenario if Samsonov had came out of the net and the Bruins got the puck and won the series in game 7 on an empty net goal in OT. Or he shoots it into a teammate racing in and it's an own goal into the empty net. If he had left the net theres a strong chance hilarity would have ensued. I hope the Stars win too.

The Leafs are hitting hard and Pasta got smoked hard but Bos had some decent hits too. I'd say the Bruins out chanced them but the Leafs look more dangerous. The Bruins have had a ton of what I'd call far misses where they are in the correct danger spots but the puck isnt going right to them to have the play work out. Its like they are slightly out of synch.

Hmm, well now Woll is out and Mr my tummy hurts is back in so I doubt the Leafs have a chance in this game. Ironically I tend to think they have a better chance without Mathews.

This Leaf game should be interesting. Outside of who wins, what will the game itself be like? Will it be a 6-5 barn burner or a 5-1 routing; or a 2-1 game? No clue what will happen but I'm thinking 1 team will totally collapse but who knows.

I'm thinking Pettersson is but 1 hit away from being rendered completely ineffective. To put him into perspective: he's 6'2" 176 lbs so he's got 6" on Caufield but he's only 1 lbs heavier. Hughes kept getting hammered by the Preds so there's no way he's at 100%. I don't imagine their next series will go to 6 games.

Yes, there can be exceptions to size but they're usually incredibly good or elite players. ex: Patrick Kane is small too, Marchessault is small and isnt elite but he works out because he's on a big team. Are you sure Crosby was 190 when drafted? It says he's 200 lbs now so he is avg size but see he's only gained 10 lbs which is a super low amount. Imagine if Catton maxed out at 173lbs - realize that he's not at the level of being Kane, Crosby, or Celebrini, good. Although I prefer larger players I don't have any issues with small players but they have to be great and/or strong for their size. Being small and weak simply doesn't work.

The only moving up from 5th that I thought might be possible was if the Yotes finished before the Habs. They did not plus they are no longer the Yotes anyway. I doubt any of the teams ahead of them are willing to trade spots and even if they would it probably wouldnt matter anyway. ex: if they're taking a dman and would let Hughes pick before them the F would still be available. No clue why so many want to flip the Jets pick to move up and get a dman when there is a dman available at the Jets pick. ex: Cole Hutson. However, that depends on what happens with the lottery. If the Habs move up Cole might still available at their 2nd rnd position. If they dont move up or move back Cole wont be available with their 2nd rnd pick. They are saying most of those prospects are small because average size is 6' 200lbs so players under that size are being called small. ex: Helanius is 5'11" 180lbs, so will he gain 20lbs to be 200lbs? I think he'll be 195lbs max -so he'll be close to average. However, Catton is only 163 lbs so he might not even reach 180lbs. Catton would be a good fit if Newhook was 6'2"+ 210+ lbs. If the Habs take Catton the rest of their picks should be players that are 6'3"+ 200+ lbs.

Will Marchand even play in game 7? Not sure if any of you saw it but Marchand hilariously shoved a ref out of his way when he was in front of the Bruins bench because the ref was standing in the way of the door. He should get an automatic suspension for having shoved the ref in the way that he did. I laughed my ass off when I saw him do it because I could pretty much read his mind: "get outta my way you blind idiot"

Surprisingly, I'm sorta leaning that way too. After all, the Bruins have lost 5 of their last elimination games and that was before game 6 happened. They're now at 6 in a row at failed attempts to close out a series. The team Bos had last year that lost being up 3-1 vs Flor was unarguably a much stronger team than this years. Amazingly, the Leafs might have a chance at wining this series.

That's why I believe it is unlikely they end up paired together other than on the PP. Reinbacher will eat big mins and Lane probably can't play 20+ mins/gm. Lane will need to play with a strong tough dman. In the playoffs they will try to grind down Lane but they have to hit him/catch him 1st. Numerous of you are seeing why toughness is important. I'm not writing Van off yet but they needed Pezz type players to go deep in these playoffs. i.e. they are talented like T.O. but they're weak like them too. If they manage to win rnd 2 they will be more banged up than teams after the Cup Final. They have 0 chance of winning a 3rd rnd - same as when previous Habs teams other than run of 21 made it that far.

May 1, 2024: Toronto war room gets a call correct and rules a good goal where the puck was not seen entirely over the goal line. i.e.: the Kings goalie caught the puck and then his glove crossed the goal line. I wasn't sure how they would rule that one but I figured they wouldn't find it to be a good goal. You could see the flex in the glove when the puck hit it and his whole glove was basically over the goal line. In the past I've definitely seen other similar plays where they didn't rule it a goal.

D'oh, I'm shocked the Caps are out. Didn't they get the memo that the President Trophy team isn't supposed to make round 2? Shocked OV got 0 pts. I agree it is likely his last playoffs. Good for Van, I'm surprised they pulled that off. It usually takes a team several years to figure out and be able to close out a series by going up 3-1 in game 4 vs 2-2 and having it go 6-7 games. It reminded me of the Edmonton Dallas game where the Stars missed and lost. The Jets series is surprising too. I know the Avs have a good team but I figured the Jets might beat them. The Jets have better goalie and have decent depth. However, Moneyhands only has 1 a and Tofffs has 1 g. That was a must win game for them and the Jets failed to show up.

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.