tomh009

That was not my point at all. What I was pointing out was that Bedard playing for the Sabres would make the Atlantic division playoff fight tougher for the Habs, the issue has little to do with the Habs-Sabres games themselves.

Not because the Habs play a few games more against the Sabres, but because the Sabres will would be more competitive, making things more challenging for the Habs.

Only if St-Louis is confident that he can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

There is no question he can shoot. The real question is whether he can improve his play without the puck.

Allen out, Montembeault in. Very rare for St-Louis to pull the goalie.

Unless you win the lottery you still can't make a detailed plan as you won't know who will be available when you pick. But even before the lottery you can make a high-level plan, a strategy, of how you are going to rebuild the team. And I'm certain HuGo have worked out such a strategy. What it says is something I don't know, though.

I do believe that Caufield has the potential to do that.

I believe Caufield, Suzuki and Dach certainly qualify as first-line talent as they mature; exactly what their ceilings are is still TBD. Slafkovsky will hopefully be in the same category although we have not yet seen it. As a 1A/1B centre sequence, I do think Suzuki and Dach could be a solid combination. I am not opposed to getting good players, far from it. But expecting to get a McDavid/Matthews/Lemieux-level player in next summer's draft is a dream, not a plan.

Agree 100%. Trying to win with a handful of elite players (see: Toronto) is one strategy, but it quickly forces the jettisoning of talented players lower in the lineup due to cap constraints. A different strategy is to try to win with a more balanced lineup, like Boston -- or similar to the 2020-21 Habs, for that matter. Not four lines of third-liners, but a balanced 1-2 attack, six forwards that could be first-liners but not superstars. For example, it could be something like Caufield-Suzuki-Ylonen and Slafkovsky-Dach-Anderson (just quick examples, not intended for deep analysis). Two lines that can be real threats, followed by quality third and fourth lines that can still attack and present a scoring threat. Why has Suzuki plateaued this year? Partly it's because Caufield is injured and he needs quality linemates who can score, but partly also because the opponents know that Suzuki is a threat so they shut him down. If we have an equally-talented second line, though, it's much harder for an opposing team to neutralize that threat. One key advantage of this balanced approach is that you are not dependent on getting a lottery draft pick in a rich draft year to get an elite player to lead your attack. Yes, the Habs might be able to pick up a superb prospect this summer, but it's far from guaranteed. And if they don't get one, where is the building-around-an-elite-talent strategy, then?

"Generational" really implies one in a generation. Six forwards (plus D and G) playing today is not "generational". Elite, maybe, but not generational. Even if they carried a team further than expected in one playoff season.

A generational player? How many of those are actually in the league? You can count them on one hand, and securing one is pure luck. A more reasonable definition, I think: that's 12 players per year. So, I looked at the last 10 years, to identify consistent contenders. Five teams reached the semifinals at least three times: TB six times and Chicago, NYR, Pittsburgh and Vegas three times. For those five teams, how many players with multiple all-star selections? Chicago: Kane 3, Keith 2 NYR: Panarin 2 Pittsburgh: Crosby 6, Letang 2 TB: Hedman 6, Kucherov 4, Vasilevskiy 2 Vegas: None (Apologies if I missed someone from that list) But that list isn't really convincing me that a superstar will make a team into a contender, nor that it is necessary: this is not the NBA. NYR and Vegas had strong lineups but without any perennial superstars, and yet they reached the semifinals three times each, when Washington (Ovechkin 6), Edmonton (McDavid 5), Boston (Marchand 4) and others didn't manage it. Yes, Tampa had three multiple all-stars and made the semifinals six times out of ten, but they are clearly the outlier.

I'm starting to worry about the Flyers ... they are so inept they might well fall further down yet.

This, of course, depends on the definition of "elite". We have young players (such as Suzuki, Caufield, Dach, Guhle) and prospects (Slafkowsky, Mailloux, Hutson) with strong top line/pair potential, and that's before the 2023 draft. Whether they count as "elite" depends on both their progress and on one's definition of "elite".

The (original) article was rather disappointing, really, too many shortcuts: they looked at current roster and current cap, rather than assessing what the roster and cap situation might be three years from now. So, I wouldn't get too agitated about that.

First round pick, yes, but it was 29th overall in a fairly weak draft, we're not talking about a top pick. In any case, when Bergevin did the deal, the Habs needed a C to replace Kotkaniemi. Dvorak was the best option they could identify, and arguable he has been roughly as good as Kotkaniemi, and on a somewhat less expensive contract. But, again, it's not Dvorak's fault that he was acquired by the Habs, or what he was traded for. The picks are a sunk cost, they no longer matter since you can't get them back. Hughes will determine Dvorak's future with the team based on his expected contributions and his contract, not based on the trade history.

Mailloux is tied for the OHL D-men goal-scoring lead. He seems to have found his groove in the OHL, let's hope it translates to the pro level as well.

From Mount Royal to Mont Real! 😂😂😂

The question is really C, not wingers, of which we have plenty of. If they sign Monahan for another year, that may be an answer, but whether they can negotiate a sensible deal with him is as of yet unknown.

I'm wondering whether Hughes might have been referring to further evaluating Drouin playing at centre, where he has mostly been playing recently, with the absence of Monahan and Dach. For next year, we have Suzuki, Dach ... and Dvorak? Monahan? Evans? (I don't think Pitlick or Tierney are realistic options.) What is HuGo's C strategy for the short term? Could they be thinking that Drouin could help that situation next year? In the last 10 games he has 1g+4a (third on the team in points) -- and 56% on faceoffs (47% for the full season).

He started the night on the Suzuki line but by the third period he only played two shifts as the Habs worked on a comeback. It seems that he still has some work to do ...

After the Canucks’ caning of the Leafs last night they are now only one point behind, same number of games—and 31st in strength of schedule.

$1M is still $1M, and you get to play NHL hockey. Drouin's teammates and coaches say he trains harder than most others, and the effort is there on the ice, too. The results are what they are, but 0.5 points/game is still valuable. And you really should not blame Drouin for Bergevin's actions.

Panthers win … but so do Sens, Caps, Sabres and Islanders, so they only make up ground on the Pens. And the Canucks beat the Leafs.

I am expecting Hughes and Gorton to make facts-based decisions, as you suggest here. Whether Bergevin made a poor trade or overpaid in the current contract really has no bearing on whether he should be offered a contract for next year, or for how much--the only things that should matter are what he brings to the team, and what it would cost. That said, I do think a new contract for him is unlikely, but the other factor will be which of the other forwards end up being traded in the summer.

5th vs 7th isn't really all that big a difference.