tomh009

3-2 final for the Rocket: Roy 1g+1a, Xhekaj 2a. The Rocket are 5-4-0-1 in the last 10, after a 5-10-3-1 start. Still second to last, but only five points back of the third-placed Marlies.

So, suppose you swap Guhle for an early first-rounder-plus. Assuming that you hit on your draft pick, you now have a hot prospect--who is 18 years old next June (assuming you got a 2024 pick and not a 2025 one), rather than 21 as Guhle will be. And that prospect will then need three years of development to mature to the Guhle level. Same for trading Dach or Newhook. What you have just done is delay the Habs' contention window. This is the total opposite of what Hughes and Gorton did with the trades for Dach and Newhook, acquiring promising young players in exchange for picks. While Hughes may be swayed by a massive overpay, I don't think he'll be much interested in trading young players (who have proven that they belong in the NHL) for picks, unless it's players that cannot crack the Habs' starting lineup.

Matheson is 29, so he could be a fit for the Habs' contention window, should they decide that he is one that they want to keep. And Kovacevic is 26, still young for a D-man. Reinbacher, Mailloux and Kovacevic (or Barron) would be only three RD. On the left, though, johnnyhasbeen has five players (Struble, Hutson, Guhle, Xhekaj and Matheson) which is probably at least one too many.

Left side has Guhle, Harris (who could also play RD), Xhekaj, Struble--and Hutson. Also Engstrom and Norlinder, who are less certain to make the NHL. Right side has Reinbacher, Mailloux, Kovacevic and Barron, not quite as crowded. One advantage Harris has is his ability to switch between LD and RD, which can be helpful in case of injuries. But, for sure, there are more players than there are seats. A good problem to have!

Is St-Louis rotating the D? Maybe we'll see Kovacevic back next game in place of Barron. I'm not giving up on him yet but he still needs some development.

The fourth line on the ice for only about a minute and a half, out of 18 minutes of even-strength play.

Duck Dynasty 1 Habs 0. Another one on the glove side of Primeau ...

On Lane Hutson… https://www.lapresse.ca/sports/hockey/2023-12-27/championnat-mondial-junior/pendant-ce-temps-lane-hutson.php

21 saves on 24 shots in an 11-3 victory. Maybe the US defence was getting sloppy in the third period? (I didn't watch so it's just a guess.) Hutson 18:22 TOI, two shots, +0 (!).

Quite amazing that Dom is picking Hart over, say, Hill. But goaltending doesn't look to be a strength anyway.

Carolina is only three points ahead of Montreal, and the Habs have a game in hand. And only one of these teams is rebuilding! I would love to win this one.

Four out of five teams make it into the playoff round so the bar is not very high. 😊 Most likely Finland just needs to beat Latvia, but they might end up facing the US in the first round.

All the news items now are for the current tournament so a bit hard to find. I thought I saw a video of the 2022 play but can't find it now. The IIHF announcement is here though: https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2022/wm18/news/33244/sweden_s_salomonsson_suspended

Notably, he got a suspension in last year's U18 world championship as well, for another ugly check from behind. It seems that he did not learn anything from that one.

Mesar 18:01 TOI Hutson 22:56 Much better ice time than what Beck's third line got, in spite of scoring two of the three goals (excluding the two empty-netters).

Maybe not at full value, but recent games have shown that he can still be effective. I think GMs are, in general, less focused on recent short-term results than fans are.

The third line played well and was +2 in spite of limited TOI. No points for Beck, though, just a rather unnecessary boarding penalty.

6-2 win for Slovakia over the Czechs in the tournament opener. Mesar 2a in 12:01, fairly limited usage.

Two words: cap space.

I cannot see Hughes doing deadline shopping for veteran rentals this year. Even if they are in a position to make the playoffs, I expect they'll be more likely to be sellers at deadline.

I think Slafkovsky is showing that he's more than just a big body. "I'm not stupid" is how he put it to Arpon Basu, and he's showing that he has skills and smarts in addition to size. Reinbacher, I like the pick but we really don't know anything yet of what he can do. Another year or two, we'll be able to assign a grade to that pick.

We also don't know whether Bergevin went with Timmins' picks or whether he overrode his choices. Ultimately the GM is responsible for the choices, the scouting staff can only recommend. So, we may never know whether Kotkaniemi and others were Timmins or Bergevin.

Hutson 1g+1a including the 6-5 OT winner; Beck 1a and 2 minutes for charging. Fowler 14 saves on 16 shots, first 29 minutes of the game. (Canadian goaltenders combined for only 22 saves on 28 shots, will need to do better than that in the tournament.)

5 of 6! Don’t forget the win in the ‘peg!

Yeah. I think they were trying to tie up both players but the second linesman didn't get Entwistle. Result could have been bad.