tomh009

I think there is a pretty high probability that St-Louis will do something other than the lines from practice. He doesn’t like to show his hand in advance. Allen starting in net?

It's now been a while since I've seen him play this season, but I seem to recall that he played against somewhat tougher opposition this year than last year. Or was that just my imagination?

Oh, this is now FOUR regulation wins this season! At this pace we might need two hands to count them before the end of the year …

Two goals to none … and he’s only played seven games. Send Anderson to Laval? Would there be a real risk of someone claiming him on waivers?

If it actually is an alcohol-related issue, yes, I agree that there likely will be a grievance. If there is no grievance, it's probably something else that they really want to keep under wraps.

Maybe they could just conveniently "forget" to take him on the bus when they leave the arena after the game? 😂

It's really to be expected with the injuries to the defence corps--three of six starting D-men injured--and Lindstrom and Struble thrown into the fire.

I don’t know that any denials from the Blackhawks management would really have much credibility… Nevertheless, whatever it was that he did, it looks like Perry threw away $3M of this year’s contract, any future chance to play and likely any chance at getting into the HHoF in the future.

Maybe he'll be fantastic, maybe not. It's really far too early to tell, but it'll be interesting to watch his progress.

Don't forget that he was playing with Struble, who only had two NHL games under his belt. Add that to the relentless LA forecheck and the -3 is not a surprise.

(Correct thread now ...) St-Louis is effectively running only three lines now, with the fourth line getting only 2-3 minutes of ice time per period. My recollection is that he was distributing ice time more evenly last year, or is my memory failing me?

Apart from Guhle (who is unlikely to be traded) probably not for an established top-line forward. More likely scenario is for a reclamation project (think Dach or Newhook) or a prospect.

The post says "yesterday's lines". 😊 I think it's Allen's turn in the rotation but I wonder whether we might see Montembeault instead. One interesting note from Arpon Basu's Athletic article yesterday: the team has been doing the morning practices even on game days on this road trip--by request of the players, not St-Louis!

He can do at least two things that Anderson cannot: (1) play on the PK, and (2) put the puck in the net. With three five-on-five goals this season he is tied for third with Suzuki, and behind only Newhook and Gallagher. And that's with less than half the ice time of the other three--and less skilled linemates. I should think he deserves a shot at top-six or at least top-nine role, and more than seven minutes on the ice.

Kitchener and Owen Sound tied at 1-1 in the first, goals scored by Mesar and Guindon.

Without looking at the advanced stats (on my phone!) my feeling is that Xhekaj has seen more time playing against stronger opposition than last year. Or is that just my imagination?

Exactly. The Habs don't really need any more second-round picks right now, so it would make no sense to give up Montembeault for a second. Primeau, maybe.

Voronkov? The guy who boarded Xhekaj and head-checked Harris, both in the same game? I saw no skill in his game, only uncontrolled violence.

This season, even with McDavid and Draisatl, they’ve scored fewer goals than the Habs.

Even in a stock portfolio, you should generally ignore what your cost was on a particular stock (although that may impact capital gains taxes, which are not a consideration for NHL player management). You should not be selling a stock you own because you have unrealized gains (ie it's worth more than you paid for it) or because you have unrealized losses (it's gone down since you bought it): you should be selling the stocks that are not going to be profitable for you, and keeping the ones that will be profitable. This could mean either that they are expected to go up (e.g. player trade value is expected to increase) or that they will pay a dividend etc while you keep them (e.g. the players will produce for the team while you keep them). The point is that the acquisition cost has little significance, whether you are managing a stock portfolio or an NHL team.

That's a big if. 10 points doesn't sound like much, but they only have a grand total of 11 points out of their 18 games so far. I don't know whether there will be a deal, but my personal view is that it would be very difficult to come up with a deal that works for both teams.

We don't know what Montembeault's asking price is, or what Hughes is willing to pay, or what the current gap is (Hughes knows, but he's not talking). Too long or too rich? Close to signing or not? We don't know. But beyond the untouchables, Edmonton has little to offer in terms of either young players, prospects or picks in any case, and most players have NTC/NMC so cannot be traded. On top of that, the Oilers are approaching a point where it's too late to salvage this season anyway. So, it sure doesn't look like there is a trade realistically possible with them.

5'7 but 183 lbs at draft -- that's 33 lbs heavier than Hutson's draft weight! Exactly!

AHL is even harder for skilled small players than the NHL, they get targeted by goons and aspiring fourth-liners out to make a name for themselves.

Mesar 3g+1a, second star. Now 8g+14a in 11 games, same 2p/game pace as linemate Carson Rehkopf, who leads the OHL in points.