tomh009

Look at Dom L's atlantic division player stat cards on the Athletic, I am reminded why I don't like composite stats so much even if advanced stats can be informative in themselves. Habs players (and some ex-Habs) only, as we are all familiar with them: 19. Nick Suzuki +8 (projected rating) 22. Cole Caufield +7 35. Mike Matheson +5 73. David Savard +0 77. Kirby Dach -1 (80. Jeff Petry -1) 85. Rafael Harvey-Pinard -2 87. Arber Xhekaj -2 93. Justin Barron -2 (95. Sean Monahan -3) 97. Alex Newhook -3 100. Juraj Slafkovsky -3 106. Kaiden Guhle -3 107. Brendan Gallagher -4 112. Johnathan Kovacevic -4 113. Jake Evans -5 121. Jordan Harris -5 (123. Ben Chiarot -5) 132. Christian Dvorak -7 137. Josh Anderson -8 138. Tanner Pearson -8 139. Michael Pezzetta -8 Gallagher as good as Guhle? Riiiight. Harvey-Pinard better than Slafkovsky? And Xhekaj best of the young D? Meh, I'll just ignore these!

The xG was actually pretty much even for the game; the Habs lost this on goaltending and some defensive mistakes. Four more goals allowed than expected, STL allowed about what was expectec, once Ylonen's late (incorrectly disallowed) goal is included. The injury curse persists. RHP yesterday, in a freak collision; Harris stumbles and is slammed into the boards; and ex-Hab Scandella slammed Guhle into the boards. Roy already in for RHP, Xhekaj will fill for Harris ... but if Guhle doesn't recover by next time, the Habs will need another D call-up. Anderson on the ice for four of the five even-strength goals against. How is he still getting 15 minutes of ice time?

How much is he worth?

Some kind of wake-up, for sure. This is what Arpon Basu wrote in a recent article on The Athletic:

A big guy who can hit and skate OK ... if that's all he is, is he really more than just Anderson 2.0? I have never seen him play, but surely we need something more than just size, hitting and OK skating.

They would be able to easily move him in the summer if they retain 50%, I think. They are not using any of their retention slots at the moment.

It was brutal, but absolutely not a dirty play by Lafreniere. Sergachev was skating hard to drive him into the boards, and he moved a bit away from the boards to avoid being bashed. And by that time it was too late for Sergachev to stop or change direction. In any case, the injury had little to do with the actual check, it was the way he fell down after it.

The Athletic ranked the top NHL waiver claims since the start of the 2021 season. Montembeault ranked second (behind only Connor Ingram), and Kovacevic sixth. Three goalies in the eleven selections (Wedgewood was the third, at eighth) showing that goalies are hard to figure out even after they have played some NHL games.

Better yet, Carolina is paying him almost $5M/year on a long-term contract for that role.

Montembeault was great, but a very solid game by Xhekaj, too. And he wasn't the one taking two minors on the night, either.

Ovechkin is clearly the all-time best scorer ever, as the announcers said. He can even hit an open net from a stick's length away!

Xhekaj is significantly more than just a goon IMHO ...

Hughes hasn't been willing to risk Allen up to now (by putting him on waivers) so I don't see him doing that now, either.

Gallagher is suspended, so maybe they are counting Newhook, then?

Ylonen's qualifying offer is only $813K so I expect they would find a taker for him if he doesn't fit in their plans. But, right now, there is not much scoring talent left so I wouldn't think he would get traded until Hughes has acquired some new talent on F.

I only count 12 forwards on the list. Who is missing?

We'll never know what he would be able to do at centre, if we don't give him a shot there.

I think Hughes is super analytical and calm negotiator. He has a better chance to get the right deal done since ... who? Pollock? Whether he does other things well or not, I have confidence in him as an astute negotiator, rather than a rash or emotional one.

Can't argue with Monty Python! If life seems jolly rotten There's something you've forgotten And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing When you're feeling in the dumps Don't be silly chumps Just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing

We lost Monahan but we're getting Newhook (13 points in the first 23 games) back in the lineup sometime very soon, so it's not all doom and gloom. 🙂

I think we're all in agreement: this is the chance for Newhook to show that he can be an effective centre in the NHL. There is no playoff pressure, there is plenty of ice time, over 30 games left in the season--and development support from St-Louis, Nicholas and Ramage. If he's capable of it, we'll know by the end of the season.

Newhook may not be optimal at centre, but it'll be his opportunity, to be sure. And just maybe he can do a credible job there--we'll find out soon enough.

I think people are massively understating the value of the Kuzmenko salary dump...without it, Calgary would not have got the package it did.

From my point of view, I'm happy Hughes made the deal rather than waiting and hoping that someone might pay more, and then potentially not getting a deal at all. Four first-round picks in the next two drafts now. That said, I really liked Monahan as a player. I wish him all the best in the 'peg--and will cling on to the faint hope that he might return as a UFA, as faint as that may be.

That's it. The Kuzmenko salary dump is what got the Flames the rest of the package.