Sir_Boagalott

I tend to agree, although I did think he was a decent backup, but that is all he was. He is unable to consistently play day to day for whatever reason. I always viewed Allen's contract as 1 of Hughes' 1st mistakes and this trade tends to back my opinion up. Like stated this trade is the 1st retention spot regarding a player Hughes signed. The fact he was traded and used a retention spot tends to suggest that it wasn't a good contract signing. Yes, it is good that the 3 goalie tandem has ended but it would be better if the Habs weren't using 2 retention spots for next year. I would have preferred him taking a bad contract back that ended this summer because the Habs still have too many bad MB contracts that go into next year. The retention from this trade will make it harder for Hughes to move MB's bad contracts. With 2 retention spots used up Hughes might only be able to move 1 of them - and I hope it is Dvo. I was confused why you made your original comment. When I saw the stipulation I figured there would be no chance of the pick increasing to a 2nd. It seems like it's basically there to give the false impression there could be more.

I honestly can't see KK being bought out. What I can see if the Cannes dump KK is him admitting that there was collusion before UFA day regarding his offer sheet. I find Toffoli to the Jets to be extremely interesting. I'm wondering if there will be some benefit to the Habs from that? i.e. if Toffs plays with Money and they mesh well together. There is a decent chance that Money returns to the Habs so will his new linemate want to return with him? Neither of them are greedy with their contract asks so the Habs might be able to get 2 60+ pts guy for under $11 mil. They'd be good linemates for Dach.

I agree that Hughes seems to be more of a humanitarian than most other GM's. That was a big part of my previous suggestion that the Habs might move Pezz. If the Habs decided to move on from Pezz they could easily send him to Laval but that could potentially kill his NHL career. In that scenario Hughes would likely send him to a team where he would stick around, like Van.

Yep, the Habs 1st line has been on fire and that's a great sign for future years. I agree with Roy too. In 2-3 years I tend to think that Roy and Beck will be a huge part of their shut down/checking 3rd line that will be almost as good as their 2nd line. Any difference in production will be primarily due to TOI rather than a vast difference in talent. i.e. Roy and Beck are fairly offensive too but they're better defensively than Dach and whoever else ends up on the 2nd line. At this time it's incredibly hard to project who might be the other player on that 3rd line because of all the prospects they have plus who else they draft. However, I somewhat expect that it could eventually be Florian.

I agree about KK and I had a similar thought earlier in the season regarding Danault. At 1 point he was somewhat in the dog house with LA but that has since changed to Dubois. I don't blame KK's agent though. I tend to think that there was likely some semi-illegal interference by Waddell and his Fins. ex: he probably told his Fins that he wanted to offer sheet KK and when they were in Finland over the summer they ran into KK and told him that. It seemed like KK was holding out knowing that he would get an offer-sheet - and he knew exactly what team.

My internet has been acting up lately so I only saw a bit of it on the Preds feed but I did see the great turnover at center and Roy's snipe. I haven't seen Savards goal yet so I have no idea what happened but I heard the announcers talking about it being weird. Plus, I saw the intermission where they were asking if anyone had seen something like that before and Gill said he's seen similar before but its definitely rare. Apparently, that's the 20th OT that the Habs have been in this year. Suzuki has been playing like a Savage!!

I agree but not sure what you mean regarding full man strength. He's 5'11" and 210 lbs. He's easily 10-15lbs heavier than a lot of players his height. Nick is already strong for his height and he'll likely put on more muscle. If he gains another 5 lbs he will be the identical size of Clutterbuck. 1 of my favourite plays of the game: Savard tripped up Tkachuk and then Arber happened to skate by and noticed him lying on the ice so he gave him a friendly jab in the ribs with his stick.

I'm somewhat torn for the outcome of this game. I certainly want to Habs to draft higher than the Yotes but I definitely don't want to see the Habs lose 6 in a row. The Habs are up by 1 on Armia's goal from a nice pass by Newhook on the rush. They need to do more rushes like that, they are basically built to be fast and skilled to specifically to do that.

There are numerous potential problems to the trade proposals regarding Andy or Savard and I wouldn't move either of them this year at all. Like has been stated Andy is at his all time low so it would be hard to move him or get a high value for him and I tend to agree that he could possibly rebound next season anyway. Savard is a vet that is actually playing well and his salary isn't crazy, plus is Reinbacher or Mailloux ready to take his place yet? That's a big unknown right now. Yes, moving the highest paid albatross contract makes the most sense, but do you really want the Habs to be involved in the historic 1st trade of the Lake Placid Cougars and send them Gally and 2 1st rnd pics for futures? Gally isn't going anywhere because Hughes would have to handsomely pay a team to take him. Not to mention he is the longest serving Habs player and he deserves to be on the Habs Cup winning team. It sucks Dvo got injured and is unable to increase his worth this year too. He'll likely be difficult to move as well. Another issue is that almost all of the players that are being mentioned to trade off are all the Habs oldest and most experienced players. With all the youngsters the Habs have they absolutely need to have some vets. Having almost an entire team of under 25 year olds isn't exactly a good idea. They need to have some veterans to be leaders.

Yes, a 1 timer is form of a snapshot, but it isn't teeing right off on it - which can be done with a stationary puck. No difference eh? Do you want to know what's whacky? 107.2 FM. Oh wait, my bad -that's not a radio station, that's MPH; as in Arber's new hardest shot. https://www.habsfanatics.com/nhl-team/montreal-canadiens/wow-arber-xhekaj-almost-broke-zdeno-chara-record-for-the-hardest-shot Other shots recorded that were higher: Weber - 107.9 Chara - 108.8 - the current NHL record. You should seriously do yourself a favour and stop talking about Arber because so far to date you haven't said a single thing about him that has been remotely correct. Not bloody once. Remember, that your 1st comment on him was he's an AHL lifer and that he'd never make the NHL.

Yes, that's obviously correct a top 6 tough guy would be better than a 4th liner. However, any other player they don't really have cap space for and would have to change their team to add, and they'd have to give up a ton to get them. I'm surprised that on a Habs board there is vehement disagreement with a comment that sometimes a small little moves can make a large difference. For years MB made a bunch of small additions with a low cost to attain that paid big dividends. ex: a 7th rnd pick to get a guy that scored the series winning goal vs the Leafs in 21. Gustafsson was no super star but he was a significant and important pick up. Interesting you mention Reaves, in the last 2 years Pezz has gained almost 10 lbs. He's now 217 lbs and Reaves is 226 lbs and they're the same height. In another year or 2 Pezz will be just as strong and tough as Reaves. People can say whatever they want about Reaves being a marginal 4th liner but the fact is he's 37 and has played 16 season in the NHL and he's signed for 2 more years. Not to mention Vegas, Rangers, and Leafs were all strong teams that were playoff bound. No, I am not suggesting Pezz will play until he's 39.

I wouldn't say it is just discipline either, I think he has improved all around. Sure, he still isn't great by any means, but I agree with Mike Johnson that he's a respectable 4th liner. Plus, what would he cost to get? What is his salary? See, he'd be a cheap pick up. It is unarguable that Van needs to add some toughness.

I believe that is potentially possible. Have you seen Pezz play in the playoffs? Nope. He gives 110% in the regular season so what level do you think he would play at in the playoffs? I'm sure the answer would be the same level of intensity at a minimum and probably even higher. Does anyone else realize that Van has no F's that are tough and Pezz would be the 2nd or 3rd strongest and likely the toughest guy on their team? Not to mention the Nucks are currently built like a President Trophy team that gets knocked out in the 1st round. They could definitely use some sand paper in their line up. The peanut gallery is purposely misinterpreting my point. Obviously, I'm not suggesting that Pezz will be their leading scorer. lol Besides, it not like 3rd or 4th liners have never been turned into a hero during a playoffs before.

This doesn't exactly directly solve the Anderson issue but I thinks its related. I heard an interesting trade rumour the other day and I'm not sure if it was legit or a fan proposal. At 1st I thought it could be a good idea, but then changed my mind. Selfishly, I want the Habs to be the next Canadian team to win the Cup. The Nucks would probably win the Cup if they had Pezzetta. I believe the Habs primary problem is that they have too many floaters under contract for next year that aren't doing enough. ex: Dvo, Armia, Andy, Gally, + Evans. Pezz isn't a floater but he doesn't put up a lot of points so if he's replaced with somebody who does that would help balance out the under producing floaters. Most people say Gally needs to go and he's the most expensive so that makes sense but thats the most unlikely outcome. Basically, the under production of the entire team can be rectified for next year by removing any 2 of their low producing F's and add 2 that get in the high 40's or low 50's in points. It would make sense to trade Pezz but I'm not sure if the Nucks are the right team. Ironically, I believe Pezz could be the secret sauce Van needs to win the Cup. They currently lack a player like that and I'm thinking he could be the type of 4th liner thats needed to win. A lot of Cup winning teams have a 4th line nobody that gets 2.5+x their regular season production. ex: a player that gest 6-12g/82gms but gets 5-7 in 24ish gms in 1 playoffs. I could see Pezz being that guy.

I don't feel right cheering for the Habs to lose and at this point it is better for the Habs to finish below the Sabers and Sens this year. They have both had more years of sucking and drafting high so the Habs sorta need to draft higher than them this year. I would have preferred for the Habs to come back and win this game because the Sabers can get ahead of them from other games but meh. What kind of miracle do we need for the stupid Sens to pass the Habs in the standings? Same with Arizona - wth have they been doing to have 10 straight losses?

I was loving watching WiFi pushing that 1 guy all around. There was nothing the other guy could do about it. Later on that was a great hit by Wifi. I want to see him do that more often. He hits but he could be a lot more physical. i.e. think Trouba. WiFi is bigger and stronger and could be laying people right out. I liked seeing Slaf in that 1 scrum too.

Pretending I am comparing them as being same caliber of prospect just says you dont understand English. The comparison is they are the same height and were both weak for their height so they struggled but when they gained strength their production skyrocketed. Age is a so important to my argument that I'd be insane to mention Tage Thompson. Height / Weight. 6' 4" / 185 lbs. He's now 6' 6" 220 lbs. He was tall and laughably weak for his size too. If you look at his stats I don't need to draw line to show when he would blow away in a wind storm vs when he wouldn't.

Yes, I just watched it again and I was wrong with a wrister but I'd say it was more of a 1 timer. Either way, I'm sure he can put more mustard on it than he did on that shot. He can shoot harder than that.

Age might be important, but its not as important as it is being claimed. Yes, Dach put up better #'s at a lower age, but that isn't taking into account an incredibly important factor. At what age was Dach 6' 3" + ? Dach was likely always 1 of the tallest kids in his class when he was in public school. Meanwhile, neither of the Xhekaj's were the tallest in their class, at least not until Grade 12 or 13. Hence, they had lower output when they were younger and much shorter and weaker. Then, consider this: can a 5' 11" player that's under 170 lbs be an effective Power Forward? By definition of that term the obvious answer is no. A player needs to have the height and muscle to successfully be a Power Forward. To imply that if a player is not a power forward by 18 or some D + obtuse # of years prerequisite is insane and has no relevancy. Dach is still gaining the weight he needs to be a Power Forward. Think of Slaf lately and how he just stands in peoples way and they can't move him. Dach doesn't have the strength to do that to as many players as Slaf currently can. Then think of Anderson's round the outside move he does. Dach doesn't have the strength to do that ... yet. Nor does Florian, but they both will. Neither of them can have that move in their repertoire until they have the strength that's required to pull it off.

Nice, neat stat: Arber's goal set a record for the Habs hardest shot this season @ 102.2 mph. Matheson previously had the record @ 100.66 mph. To put that into perspective: Cale Makar won the hardest shot at the All Star game with 102.56 mph, and the hardest shot in the NHL this year is Collin Miller @ 102.59. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure their shots were slap shots and Arber's was but a wrist shot.

He does and he was. i.e. Dach was the largest C with the most skill in his draft year. There are 2 other C's that were drafted in the top 10 the same year that have a higher ppg avg than he has. Unfortunately, Dach seems to have a history on injuries, but hopefully that ends. I say Dach is a great size comparison for Florian. In Dach's last year of Jr he was 195 lbs. Before he had that strength he was tall but way too weak so he was easily manhandled by much smaller guys. Dach is physical and he does fight but I agree he could more physical. I think he's still getting used to being his size and playing against men - there might be a bit of an intimidation factor for young players playing against regular NHLers in their mid 20's and up. Plus, Dach is still sorta light too @ 217 lbs, just wait until he gets to 225+ lbs - he should be more physical and get more points. Their strength is so important and it seems like quite a few posters here somehow don't understand why. Heres why: think of 2 people pushing each other. hypothetical ex: me vs you. If I push you do you move? or, are you strong enough that you resist it? The alternative to that is not only are you strong enough to resist you can push and move me. It's about if a player is easily manhandled, if they get pushed around, or if they have any chance to resist, or are they the manhandler. When Dach and Florina were under 190lbs and in that pushing scenario with the majority of players in the league they were in the category of being manhandled. However, when they were over 190lbs they stopped being mandhandled by most players and could resist and had a chance to win those battles. When they became above average to large in size i.e. strength; they were able to mandhandle under average and somewhat easily pushed around average sized guys. I have no cue what Florian's plans are for next year but if he plays in the OHL I imagine he'll get high 30's low 40's in g's. When he gets to 210 lbs he'll easily manhandle under average and averaged sized guys and he'll push around above average sized guys. Only large guys will have a equal chance at resisting him and he'll have a good chance at stopping them from overpowering him. It will be similar when he's in the NHL at 225+ lbs. Its the same for Dach too. If he gains 7-12lbs the average sized guys that currently have a chance at resisting him will have little to no chance at resisting him. ex: the 6' 200 lbs guys have a chance at not being moved by 217 lbs Dach, but 225+ lbs Dach will be moving them to wherever he wants them to go, or he'll move to wherever he wants to go and they wont be able to stop him.

Yes, I also believe that his talent and size should put him in the top 5 but surprisingly 3 scouts have him at 10 or higher. Oddly, Craig Button is 1 of them and I don't understand that. I'm surprised with Tiggy's rank too because his shot seems to be in the top 5 in this draft. Sure, some of the others F's ranked ahead of him have more assists but he has better pedigree. Even tough he is currently 15th or 16th I think Tiggy will continue to rise in rank and he will likely have a better career than numerous of the F's that are currently ranked ahead of him. I think if he's drafted where he is currently ranked the team that picks him will get a hell of a deal. With all the d-men in this draft it will be interesting to see what happens. Numerous teams have drafted fairly high in the last several drafts who have already taken forwards so they might opt to take dmen this year. ex: the Ducks have 3 or 4 F they drafted fairly high so there is a good chance they take 1 of the dmen, and same with SJ and CBJ.

I'm not liking that the Sens haven't raised in the standings either. I have no idea how the Sens managed to beat the Habs twice the other week but still haven't managed to gain any points and remain 3 games back. Like you say Arizona is also being a problem but they're not quite as important because they're in another division. I don't want to see either team draft higher than the Habs. The good news is that the Sabers seemed to have caught the Habs. The Sens and Sabers have had enough high draft picks lately so the Habs basically need to draft higher than them. That's especially true if Lindstrom is still available - it'd suck if a div rival ends up with him. I'm thinking that would be a worst case scenario.

I definitely agree and I'd add as does Florian. I saw an article 2 weeks ago saying he was working on having more of a shoot 1st mentality and that is paying off lately. I also saw a clip about Slaf being 1st on the ice and last off at practices and he was working with the Habs shooting coach doing 1 timers. Yep, and the 2nd line might be solved by signing a UFA. However, they still need to get better defensively, but hopefully that comes in time.

Trouba did an interview and was quite bummed and he hinted that Wheeler's career could be over.