tomh009

We do have Wideman as well, certainly not top pair but he has experience and can indeed move the puck ... 🙄

Right. It's possible we might squeak into the playoffs next year, even with a young team, or it might take three years. Much depends on how the youngsters develop.

Yes ... signing or trading for a top player this summer, with a contract expiring in 3-4 years would potentially mean that we lose that player (because we don't want saddle ourselves a massive end-of-career contract) just as the team is entering the contention window. And then there is the short/mid-term cap constraint. So, I am hoping that Hugo will stay focused on building with younger players that can continue to play a role on the team for five years or more without one of "those" contracts. Not necessarily just prospects or rookies, but mid-20s or younger.

6-2 Laval final, with 1g+3a for RHP. A key win in the playoff race.

Guhle could be a future Weber.

What would be great is a team that is consistently capable of being a conference finalist — after tgat I can accept “anything can happen”. Of course, we might still get our butts kicked by an occasional surprise team (such as the 2021 Habs!) but that level of team would be capable of winning more than one Cup.

Agreed. I would not be adding top-quality veterans until we are a solid playoff team. None of this “just make the playoffs and anything can happen “ stuff any more, please.

I asked for a hard-fought 5-4 loss, I'll take this one.

Indeed. Our most-used D-man (Chiarot) is gone as is our most-used forward (Lehkonen). And even before the deadline we were much weaker than we had Danault.

Surely that should never have been a penalty ... ?

Not so far ... I think one shift apart from the 40 seconds or so of PP time. And one bonus shift for Gallagher.

That's still a point. I'll take a hard-fought 5-4 loss, please.

I think it's too early tolook for expensive veterans. We are not a contender now, nor will we be one next year. And here is where we disagree.

Mattinen is a big guy and can shoot, too. But how is his skating?

I'm personally hoping for a loss. I'd rather take a win against a top team (Leafs on Saturday night!) than somebody that we might pass in the standings.

Ikonen wasn't really a dud, as much as unlucky with injuries and we'll never know what he might have been -- similar to Juulsen. Is Brook a writeoff now? Our D prospect pool is suddenly much deeper but does he still have some trade value?

The division is super even from 2nd to 6th: .568, .563, ..557, .554, .550. Anything could happen yet with about a dozen games remaining, but they are really in control of their own destiny. All intra-division games, and only one against the leading Utica. Three against Rochester and the Marlies, and two against each of the other three teams. Habs could lend them some players to help them make the playoffs ... and to help the Habs secure a better draft pick.

Well, he might consider it an infectious disease…

The optimal result for the Habs!

2-1 AZ at the halfway point. 🙂

In Friday's article (on Cole Caufield) in the Athletic, there was a comment posted with some excellent perspective on the coaching change and the "St Louis effect". Not that St Louis isn't a breath of fresh air, or that he's not having an impact, or that Ducharme wasn't struggling -- but it's not entirely an apples-to-apples comparison. Am posting the comment in its entirety since it's not an actual Athletic article but a reader contribution so I figure it's OK. 🙂

Harris 15:55 TOI Barron 20:26 Schueneman 19:19 Romanov 22:03

It was surely inadvertent, but I don't think there is any question that he tripped Paul.

Elliott did make a bunch of strong saves in the first.

We're not always all going to agree on everything. And if we did, this would be a far less interesting please. So, please don't take it personally.