Habiman

Habs should take the best player avail at 15. They got into this mess by (1) trading pics; (2) making bad pics (Fisher, LeBlanc, McCarron, etc.) and overpaying for FAs (Alzner). Best to pursue a hockey deal by moving other pieces for needs. I love Shaw, but how long can he last? I love Armia when he shows up, but how many games was that? We have some valuable pieces, we have cap space and some extra late round picks as sweetener...we can walk and chew gum at the same time...

Setting up Mete for potential trade? Juilien clearly doesn't like em. Can you say Robidas/Beauchemin?

The Alzner deal looked bad from the get go, but it became a disaster with the youth movement in the NHL over past season...The real problem is that Alzner has not played terribly this year, the league has just passed him by...for MB, it was not seeing the forest through the trees two years ago when he made him the offer....Seems like he has woken up, but this one is gonna hurt for a while....

Stinks we couldn't get an asset for him, but I like that the MB and Julien are making the tough decisions based on performance (see also, Alzner). Time to move on with the fresh blood....

Gutsy call sitting Plex and Alzner last night....and I think the team has bought the concept of skating hard to earn your ice....the forwards all looked good to me, especially Domi and KoKo....on D, Reilly looked really good -- quick feet and moving the puck...Petry was having problems settling in on the pp. couple long shots with no one near the net and another from the goal line that sailed all the way around and let the worn out leafs change out. He's gotta be smarter and not force it so much....Juulsen and Mete played really well! third line pairing is a problem that needs to get fixed asap! and, Alzner is not the answer...If they can work that hard consistently, it will be a fun year (even if they don't come out on top every night).

I say play Alzner and Benn and Schlemko a lot at the outset in the hopes that they can keep their pants up...then, maybe we can move them our for real assets as players go down and teams look to fill depth roles...

First, while I love both as players, they both have contracts that preclude them getting moved to a "contender." In perfect world, we are able to move them for assets to speed up the rebuild, but it is unlikely. That said, both are still great players and will have a positive impact on the youngsters moving through the system. Hopefully, the guys in front of them can keep it at least competitive so they don't get too discouraged too fast. They both deserve better.

Given situation, this is a good hockey trade for both teams. Shame Patches had to end his tenure like this. That said, I like what we got and I fully expect Tatar to get flipped by the end of the season. If we see Reilly, Oulette, Mete and Juulsen handle big minutes while Weber is out, I think Weber will also be moved by seasons end. Goaltenders can play longer...I think Carey stays longer term...all that said, gonna be a long season....

And this is directly related to MB poor handling of this situation. The Habs can only come out losers on this now. MB should have nailed down the deal before looking to trade him if that was his goal. MB seems to let bad situations become toxic....Not sure I get the strategy....

This post is the Max Pacioretty watch. No offer has been made and no trade has been effectuated regarding arguably the Habs most consistent player and the captain of the club. I like much of what MB has done since last year, but the treatment of this player is a disaster and the maintenance of asset - maybe our best - is just stupid. MB has put Habs in no win situation and continues to double down by allowing "sources with the club" to continue to disparage and denigrate Max when he sits in the drivers seat. He will not sign now, we will not get fair return now and/or he will walk at end of year for nothing (and again he is one of our very best players)! Nuts!

Never said "so much more talent"...I don't like the trade, but do think that the Habs lineup is deeper than Arizona even if AZ has a couple better impact players. I think Domi will do better in Habs uniform than last year and I don't think Chucky will hit 30 goals (but may still be -20 or more) this year in AZ.

Only thing I'll say here is Habs were crazy banged up last year...up and down, I think they have more talented team than Arizona...I don't like the trade, but I do think Domi will fare better with the Habs and I also don't think Chucky will flourish in Arizona...

Ouch!

I have been ardent Bergevin fan to this point, but I'm with PMAC on this one...I was ok with the Weber trade, but we got much older. I like the Droin move, but again a bit older...we lose Andregetto and Beaulieu (1st round) for nothing and use two 2nd rounders on Shaw...We cannot now afford to lose Chucky (1st round) with out getting a blue chip center man...at this point, I just see [piss] poor management at NHL and AHL level....We have Bergevin for at least another year and I am hoping he makes me eat my words....

I like Galchenyuk, but I would make the trade for Duchene...Duchene is a stronger and more explosive skater than Alex and that will open up lots of space for others...That said, Gallchenyuk has the talent to grow into a superstar if he can get his head on straight....

He's got speed but lost something since last year....he looked flat last night...not a good sign when your in the lineup on opening night...

Ok other than McDonough and Higgins to Rangers for Gomez, this is the worse hockey deal of all time...At least they won the cup when they traded Chelios for Savard....This defies logic on every plane. We got older, slower for longer with the same money.... Honestly, until now, I respected MB patience on the market. What is this? It is horrible.

Agree...my only fear with keeping Therien is the continued poisoning of the room and the potential that even in his absence the core will be unable to move forward as a unit...

Ok, anyone who does not believe the time to dump now is nuts. The season is over. this team desperately needs to keep to the long-term plan and build through the draft.... This team needs total offseason reboot that includes some pscho-group-therapy. I think Therien went after PK because he knows he has to go and in order to save Bergevin from his own misguided public commitment to his fox hole buddy. I like Bergevin, but his unwillingness to get a real goaltender after Carey went down killed us this season....(a right winger could have helped too) Right now, they should move who they can (Weise, Byron, Gilbert, and yes, Markov) for draft picks, try to move Desharnais, Fleishmann, Smith Pelly for equipment bags, ice packs and/or new sticks and move some of the farm guys up (De la Rose, Lessio, Holloway, Hudon, Ellis, Deitz -- maybe even McCarron and Scherbak) for a better look with no pressure. There are still some great pieces -- Patch, Carey, Chucky, Gally, Plex, Subban and Nathan Beaulieu. Let's get these guys on a dude ranch with Dr. Phil and get them together under new leadership on the bench. Nothing to lose now, send a message, get a new coach and give the new coach the rest of this season and summer to evaluate organizational talent... what a mess!

Wiz is playing well...would love to have them both in the fold next year, but I don't see that happening...first priority will be Markov and will depend on his health and his demands...Wiz is young, but been around the league already...see if he can handle Montreal when we make playoffs...

I agree with BTH..provides opportunity to assess youngsters (including Carey)... gotta be honest...kinda surprised something major like this has happened to him yet... He plays way bigger than his frame!

You may be right....but, if your getting paid to play, then you should know better....I believe time is earned. Vets get a longer leash cause they've already earned that ...Last night's gaff was made by a selfish individual simply to send a message...my guess is the message was "don't mess with "me" versus don't mess with my "teammates"...That message turned into a goal (PK -- the Dman -- being the last guy back in the zone) At what point does ice time become a reward for continued selfishness and poor decisionmaking? We have all seen PK play better than he has in his last 10 games...it is up to him to find and bring that game when given the opportunity.... IMO, He is not bigger than the team or the game and the only place for (any) "individual" at a hockey game is in the stands....

Happy New Year? OUCH!

I agree with HabFan84...send down Weber and keep Pk in fold...I think this is GREAT deal for Habs! No cost, instant upgrade with major potential upside...

I do not believe that PK's confidence is suffering. I think he has a lot to learn and makes too many stupid mistakes...the best way for the coach to get that message across is to penalize his time and have him watch a couple games...