hab29RETIRED

Ok. Thanks. I seem to recall there were some writers questioning why Price was going to the Olympics if he missed some regular season games before the tournament. Forgot it was the same year as the Kreider cheap shot.

If I recall correctly, he also shouldn't have gone to the Olympics - was injured before and then shut down again after the Olympics. So I'm sure that was also a contributing factor long term - just like playing through during the final run, probably knowing that was probably his last shot.

Im assumimg you mean Hutson for "f"

I100% agree.

Sure he is an Option. Maybe Hughes makes a mistake and goes after him. Why the hell would we want a guy who's been a cancer in every dressing room.

He did acquire one and he got injured. Other than Vanak (until the playoffs) and that's the only high end winger acquired by MB (Domi was a bust except for his first year and was converted to centre), and Drouin was a HUGE mistake (also tried to convert him to a centre). Why the hell would Hughes give up assets when we aren't in are window, when the entire league would be looking to fleece him right now. If at the end of training camp, someone gets waived or made available to avoid waivers, or later in the year he may get someone. Hughes doesn't have the idiotic anything can happen approach - he's trying to build an elite team. No way should he be paying a kings ransom for a winger THIS year. We have internal options - Roy being the most intriguing. If they keep Kapanan, he could also be used as a wing and centre - given the number of centres we have. We are way ahead to being a legit contender than we ever were with MB and the yo-yo good to bubble to horrible teams he put together that depended entirely in the health and play of Price. Hughes is actually building a COMPLETE team, and doing a damn good job despite being handcuffed by two horrible contracts that MB handed out to overpaid wingers we are stuck with in Anderson and Gallagher. i just don't. Get your constant criticism of Hughes. We are on the right path - both in our prospect pipeline and how they are being developed.

Totally agree. You do what Nilan said he used to do. Take a cheap shot at a player young to their star player and tell them I'm going to crush you first chance I get because of the weasel you play with.

If he don't going to fight, why bother being off the ice for 5 min to fight a guy that plays 5min a game??? I'd rather him destroy Nylander, Marner, Matthews, or Tavares with a hard hockey play physical hit.

100% agree with his take!

Don't forget he wanted Glass, but Vegas didn't want to give him up and offered Suzuki.

In any event Hughes has upgraded the centre position significantly faster than MB was able to. Heck the one top line calibre centre he did bring in was not even the guy he wanted!

Hey MB is in LA, so who knows, maybe he may be a supporter for bringing in Gallagher or Anderson. I hate to give up on Barron just yet, but would it addition by subtraction if we could move either Anderson or Gallagher packaged with Barron for a third to LA??? They get a much needed RHD, we unload one of our lousy long term contracts.

Ditto

Even worse than the contract was the traddes Milbury made so that they could draft him and pave the path for him!

No,no,no, just say no!!!! https://heavy.com/sports/nhl/montreal-canadiens/huberdeau-habs-flames-trade-blockbuster/amp/ this would be even worse than if we had tried to acquire PLD.

Yep. Glass looks like a bust. Would have been another failed centre. Great to have Vegas prefer to give up Captain Suzuki!

That's why I thought last year there was no chance in hell - even if healthy to be in the playoffs. On paper we are better this year- but have two guys who have a tone of skill, who did. Lot play last year in Dach and Laine, and our D still have a lot of peach fuzz on their faces. I think this year there is a realistic chance of finishing between 16-20. Last year I had them in the 25-27 range.

If Laine is healthy (physically and mentally), and Dach is healthy, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect both to score 80 points. This is potentially the deepest offensive team we've had since the 1993 cup team. We could even potentially have better D than that time of the young D mature faster than expected what we don't have, with all respect to Monty is Roy. i don't think I've been this optimistic about a Habs team since those years. Having said that a lot hinges on Dach being healthy and the top line playing like well all year in meaningful games the way they closed out last year. i still 2025-26 is the more realistic playoff timeline (arrival of Demidov, maturity of D and Roy), but with a healthy and productive Laine and Dach and having at least 3 of the following young D take the next steps in their progression (Guhle, Hutson, Xhekaj, Reinbacher, Maillioux), we have a legitimate wildcard chance - despite being in the toughest division in hockey.

2021 was an anomaly year, even more so than extra the play-in playoff format on 2020. At the start of that season. I had said that this would be the best chance a Canadian team had to make it to the finals, because of a very weak Canadian division that guaranteed a Canadian team to make it to the semis, while the other teams would be battling through the regular level of competitiveness. on top of that, You had Weber and Price knowing that they were probably done, and an amazing performance by Price - in the playoffs he played like he did in his MVP and Olympic years - and hasn't come close to that level of play in the preceding 5years. Without Price picking up his game, we were not even going to get past a very fragile - but on paper superior Leafs team. Hell, if we had a Sergechev or Markov (in his prime), type of dmen, rather than Chiarot or Edmundson, I think with the way Price was playing we may have fared even better.

There's a difference of favoring size when you are trading for Dach and drafting Slafvkosky and picking up Florian xhejac in the third line than drafting Mccrarron, or signing and trading for washouts like alzner and king, or zero hockey sense guys like Anderson. we are getting bigger, but we aren't doing it the cost of skill or hockey IQ, or over-reaching in our picks. the only big contract we acquired for a big (but highly skilled player) is Laine. But it's a short term commitment, with low risk and potential for high return.

Thing with Anderson, even when he was producing he always seemed like the third wheel. He always was always out of sync with his linemates. He was accepting using his size and speed, but couldn't actually mesh with anyone. He should have been traded the year before, even though he had a reasonably decent year, because the guy just does not have any hockey sense. His like the tin man without a brain in the wizard of oz. if somehow he is in a position this year where he gets productive, we should IMMEDIATELY trade him. Doesn't matter how big he is. Hockey IQ is just not there. And at his salary, you do need a hockey brain!

Forget about Therrien during the Bergevin years. I still haven't forgiven him for his SELFISH two bench minors in the playoffs cost us a playoff series.

I hope Anderson is sent to Laval if early in camp he looks as useless as he was last year.

IF Roy is on the 2nd line AND they are productive, Armia-Newhook-Gallagher would be a decent third line. I'd the young D look good, we could be in a wildcard spot. Lot of ifs!!!

I'm hoping he gets a chance and PROVES he is capable of being in a very productive 2nd line with Dach and Laine.