Sir_Boagalott

From Conroy's comments it sounds like they totally intend to keep Kuzmenko at least until next years trade deadline. After all, Kuzmenko did score 39 goals last year. Not sure what Tochets issue was with him but he might very well score close to the same amount as Lindholm, and possibly more. With what the Nucks gave up I'm surprised that they didn't have the Flames retain salary so they could do more moves.

I don't get why some people here are thrilled with the return either. I was hoping it would be more than just one 1st rnd pick - which is likely all they will get out of it. The maximum scenario is they get picks: 1-32 and 3-32. I would have preferred the trade to include a mid tier prospect that has attributes that their other prospects lack. While that is true it doesn't change that it seems the Jets underpaid to get him. i.e. Sean was #3 of top available players at the trade deadline so they should have been able to get more than one 1st for him. The good thing is the Habs can still potentially do more moves because they didn't retain any salary. I have to wonder what part Sean had in the decision? Are the Jets a team Sean chose so Hughes took less to get him where he wanted to go?

Wow, I don't like the trade at all. After Lindholm was moved for a crazy amount I can't help but think that Hughes could have gotten more for MoneyHands. i.e. all the Habs get is a 1st rnd pick, because the condition on the 3rd rnd pick is the Jets win the Cup, which is highly unlikely. One 1st rnd pick isn't really that much considering that Sean plays C and F and is useable in a bunch of scenarios.

The Habs are not anti-Russian and they are not exactly off limits in that sense and its not just the Russians either but basically all Euros in the 1st rnd of this draft. Whats the Habs window to be a contender exactly? Most people claim the next 2-3 years. Therefore, why draft a player that they have an immediate need for but will take a minimum of 4-5 years to be ready? ex: the 17-18 y/o EU's will play in EU for 3+ yrs and then play AHL for 1-2 yrs. Any NA player could be ready in 2-3 years. The Habs don't have time to wait for 1st rnd picks that will take 4-5 yrs. The Habs can wait for Bogdan but they cannot wait for years to get the sniper they need ASAP.

That info seems to be outright incorrect: "You look at his skill set and what he does on the power play and his ability to score goals from everywhere on the ice. He has great vision, especially from the tops of the circles down. I watch a lot of his shootout stuff, he's very good at the shootout," Conroy said. "He's one of those guys with high, high-end skill and he's a right shot which, especially with losing a right-handed-shot guy, you're always looking for those skilled right-handed players. So, we explained where we thought he'd fit in with our team, where we see him playing on the power play, and he was excited. He had the right to say no and we were just happy he said, 'You know what, I like what I heard, let's move forward with this, I want to be a Flame.'" I don't fully understand the trade to be honest. I'm not convinced that Lindholm is as great as some people think - especially himself and his next contract ask. Offensively it seems like Kuzmenko might be almost as good as Lindholm at finishing. It sounds like the Flames got a decent player in Kuzmenko and Van grossly undervalued him. I'm sure Lindholm will work out in Van but without any salary retention from the Flames they seem to have over paid for him.

I would be shocked if Hughes takes Eiserman and I doubt that he isn't on their board at all. He doesn't match the Habs profile or the culture they are trying to build. I'm convinced they will pass on him. Cole wasn't good defensively, but that's because he didn't know what to do. However, Cole posses the trait I said is 2nd and he has a high work ethic and is constantly learning and improving. Eiserman is not working on improving his D at all so he is either a) selfish, or b) potentially uncoachable, or both. I want Lindstrom too because he seems to be the 3rd best shooter. I have the impression that Tiggy might be the 4th best scorer. However, I'm no pro scout like some of the regular posters here and I don't know all the facts so admittedly all I can do at this point is speculate. I'm a big dummy and thought the list was static and could change but I've been corrected on that. Apparently, players cannot move up or down on these lists between now and the draft. Tiggy 1:16

At the beginning of the season I saw that Eller would play his 1000th game in Montreal. I hope they do a video for him at some point. The way Eller played in the WJ he looked like he might be the next Forsberg. Its a damn shame that didn't happen but he was a decent 3rd line C and had a good career. I continued to cheer for him after he left the Habs and was glad he won the Cup and was happy that he got the series winning goal.

I don't count those as the same because not all players with ethic/determination/heart have toughness and grit. A good example is Evans. He has the 1st 3, but lacks the last 2, along with size. Imagine if he had toughness and grit and was Andy's size. Mess might have been a good skater, but I still believe his success was more related to the 1st 3 in my list. Plus, his style of play didnt require being a great skater. Does anyone think the Tkachuks have a Top 20: slapshot, 1 timer, wrist shot, passer, skater, etc? They are higher in Top 20 for Points than any of those other stats. Toughness and Grit is useless like @Commandant says. That 30 goal scoring Lucic was a plug, along with Conn Smyth winning Ryan O'Riely. Don't get me started on that worm Cory Perry.

Well, for starters your list is missing a 6th attribute and its likely the most important of all of them. Toughness + Grit, and those combined with Size = Fearless = Success Ex: Gally has toughness and grit but he lacks size to be fully effective the way he plays. ex2: There happens to be 2 brothers that get over over 80 pts each. Neither are the most skilled, best skaters, or smartest. The Tkachuk's have toughness + grit along with size. Their other attributes are tertiary and below. ex3 : Cory Perry. Will the Peanut Gallery argue he's the best skater? He's not the most skilled either. ex4: Messier. He wasnt he best skater or have best skills. I'd rank them in this order: 1) toughness + grit 2) Work ethic/determination/heart 3) Size 4) Smarts 5) Skill 6) Skating Note: the last 3 are somewhat interchangeable but its the 1st 3 that are more important. ex: Mathews. He is high in the last 3 but absent of the top 3. How many Cups has he won? He's won how many playoffs rounds?

That's a good question. On 1 hand, they are young so they should have a ton of energy. However, on the other hand they play a grueling 82 game schedule that none of the young players are used to yet. Moreover, all of those stupid back to back games - which they have won one - are slaying them. How many of those 2nd games in those back to back games have been their 3rd game in 4 nights? I'm not sure of the exact answer, but its quite a few and its way too many. Good on Caufield for speaking out about the back to back games. The Habs should be talking to all their buddies on other teams trying to get them to complain about it too. The players do belong to a union so they should campaign for a new rule in the next CBA to limit the amount of back to back games that the NHL can force them to endure. Do the Habs have a fitness coordinator? If not, they should hire 1 so when everyone goes home during the summer they are all on a similar conditioning and training program that will help them get through an 82 game schedule. i.e. they way some of the train (like WiFi) they are building muscle but they're not working on endurance.

He might be young and have good qualities but still I'd avoid him. Like it says in the vid, he isn't explosive, dynamic, or big. i.e. that doesn't sound like he's fast = not a fit for the Habs. Do the Habs suck at scoring because nobody can pass so they need another really good passer? Or, do they desperately need more shooters? Plus, how is really different than anyone currently in the Habs system? Can anyone say for certain that he's leaps and bounds better than Roy or Beck? No. How about Newhook? Draft him and the Newhook trade instantly becomes a dumb mistake. If I had a pick that came before Lindstrom was taken, I'd take him over Eiserman, Helenius, and the Russian. Why? He's 6'3" and he's already 215lbs. How big do you think he will get? He'll be 235+ lbs in 3-5 yrs. He'll be a monster like Anderson. Gee, according to the peanut gallery I'm such a big dummy for wanting the Habs to have 5 F's that are 6'3" 220+lbs. i.e. Slaf, Dach, Andy, Florian, Lindstrom. Besides, most scouts have Lindstrom ranked higher than Helenius anyway. Either way, put me down for avoiding BPA Kostitsyn over Getzlaff v2.0.

Actually, I'm doing none of those things. 8 goals in 32 gms = .25 g/gm pace. In 80 games that = 20 g. Liiga is a lesser league than the NHL. Not sure why in a convo about needing an elite scorer that you'd mention KK? Comparatively to KK, Helenius could be a 20-23 g/yr guy. i.e. thats the math on it if he gets 16 pts in 59 gms, its only 6 more pts than the elite sniper KK. Sorry, I do not share you exuberance on that. Have I seen him play? Yes, I just watched @Habs Fan in Edmonton's vid. I had never seen him play when I posted that but I'm not judging him solely by his statsheet. lol You have heard that there are Professional Scouts right and that they rank players? Well, I'm going off their info.

I'm hoping for Lindstrom for sure. Craig Button has him pegged at 10th. https://www.eliteprospects.com/draft-center/tsn-craig-button If the Habs draft in the Top 10 the last player I want to see them draft is: Konsta Helenius I'd rather take Tiggy Iggy in the Top 10 who is slated to go 15th or 16th instead of a 5'-11" 180 lbs Fin with 8 goals. The general consensus for the Habs biggest need is an elite goal scorer. Does a player with 8 goals fit that need? Hell no. I'd pass on Helenius. Other than Eiserman @ 2nd Jerome's son has the 2nd highest goals in the Top 20. Lindstrom is tied for 4th in goals and I wouldn't take the guy at 3rd or the other guy tied with him either.

I'm happy that Arber is back!! Arber's time in Laval was also great for Mailloux. What was Logan's +/- before Arber went down? -11 or -12, and its now -5. Logan playing with Arber certainly helped him improve. I'm definitely still hoping they bring up Mailloux this year to see how he does even if it is just for a few games. It is also good that Barron was sent down because he needs to improve defensively. I'm sure the peanut gallery will incensed by this but Barron also needs to learn to stop exposing his back to the other teams forwards.

Exactly!! They had a much better chance of making the playoffs this year than most people thought - especially when you consider that Dach and Newhook are out. I'm not 100% convinced they are out of the playoffs. I'm hoping the 10 game stretch from game 42 to 51 they go 7-2-1 in and gain on numerous of the bubble teams that are slightly ahead of them. Slaf keeps coming on strong and it seems like Goal Caufield is back. Andy and Armia have been playing well - and maybe Armia doesn't end up injured this year - wouldn't that be something. RHP is back and he had a bad start but with luck he can start the year again and repeat some of his play from last year. I've wanted Roy called up for a quite a while and now that he is he could be a key factor as well. Roy has 1 goal in 3 games but can he pull off 3 in 7? Their next stretch of 10 from game 52 to 61 also looks like they could have an advantageous record to gain ground in the standings. In their next 17 games they have a bunch of 4 point games. They play Pens & Caps twice, NYI & Sabers once. They also play the Sens twice. All of the next 17 games could be huge with the Habs still in the playoff picture.

I'm not a fan of either of those rules. If a team scores a SHG the penalty should keep going. It's not like a team will purposely take penalties so they can score SHG on a PK. i.e. think of the 80's Oilers and the rule change for 5 on 5 when a fight takes place because they were way too good at 4 on 4. There is no logical reason to change the SHG rule because being shorthanded does not create an advantage. The 3 points for a Win might sound good, but there are situations that make is illogical. ex: in 1 of the last Worlds or Olympics there was a scenario where 3 points for a win made no sense. I forget what the exact records were but it was obvious that 1 team was unfairly ranked higher than they should have been due to that rule. I believe it was Suis that was ranked higher than Canada.

I'm wondering if the Habs faithful will warmly welcome Drouin back or will he be Boo-in for the night?

I didn't see much of the game but I'm definitely unhappy with a Loss. Apparently, it is long over due for the Habs players to contact their NHLPA union rep(s) and complain about the NHL scheduling back to back games. In reality, the back to back game shouldn't have mattered for this one considering where SJ is in the standings. When I check TSN's site it is incredibly rare that I see a team with a Strk column that says a # over 10 especially when it is with an L. The Habs should have handed SJ their 13th loss in a row.

Sure, the Flyers played good and hit the post a bunch but Primeau played incredibly well and I think the Habs should have stolen 2 points. I have no idea why Barron laid down and slid on Tippets goal. I believe he would have been in the way of the shot if he was upright. D’oh, Harris with a terrible penalty and a failed PK. Without those 2 issues it could have been a 2-0 game. Flyers had a close 1 but I was convinced it didn’t go in. Great play by Savard at Habs goal line flattening the Flyer and good on him for protecting the downed Flyer from a point shot too. I thought for sure Yolenen would keep the SO going. It looks like they need to start practicing 3 on 3 again. I said this last that they need to be good at 3 on 3. They have a ton of close 1 goal games that go into OT. Plus, the Run of 21 almost didn't happen because of a whack of OT loses. It is smart to be purposely good at it.

I figured Harris was getting close to having to go through waivers but I didn't realize he's already passed that which is too bad because he could benefit from some time in the AHL. Interesting, I've never heard that rule before. I don't recall ever seeing a team pull their goalie in OT before but that would be why. My rational was the NYR have numerous talented scorers so I didn't think the Habs would do well in a SO against them so might as well pull the Goalie and try to win in the last 11 secs. If a team doesn't get an extra point when they get an open netter scored on them in OT then it wouldn't have been worth the risk.

Monty played excellent but I was somewhat expecting Primeau to play. At 1 point they seemed be doing baptism by fire and purposely giving Primeau hard games. Let him get peppered by teams with some serious snipers and for the most part he has responded better than anticipated. Plus, if Primeau had played and gave a similar performance it would increase his trade value. On the 1 goal it looked like Monty was caught with his pants down and I wasnt sure what had happened. The replay showed it was tipped with a high stick not quite high enough to disallow it. It was understandable he had no chance on that 1.

Wow, great penalty drawn by Slaf with 11 secs left in OT. I hope Marty pulls Monty for this faceoff.

Struble was looking dangerous offensively and damn good thing he noticed Truba coming right before he tried to take his head off. Great small lil play by Slaf in NYR zone when he got up against their net just to get his body in the way of the dman that was chasing after the Habs player with the puck. D'oh, I was hoping this wouldn't go to OT. I often question Marty's choices for 3 on 3 and in SO's.

Yep, and that was a great penalty by NYR hooking Yolenen at the Habs goal line. lol I hoping the Habs would capitalize on that opportunity. After that blown PP things changed and it turns out the Habs almost needed to score on that gift chance. I somewhat assumed that the NYR would score on Suzuki's penalty. Thank god they didnt but the Habs still need another goal or 2 to win this game.

I keep noticing Slaf doing all sorts of small lil things that can often go unnoticed but they are super important lil things. He is definitely developing even when he is not putting up points. Nice, Monahan scores. Habs are 5-0-2 when he does. Even better: Armia!!!