DON

McKenzie's is more accurate in the end, but is more a compilation of scouts than Button's i think? But, yes he does seem to have a different take on many prospects, but draft is a crapshoot and while i dont agree with some of his stuff, he has been around for a while and must of gained some good insight?

so we can trade a 2nd round pick for a body checking 20+ goal scorer in summer? Sweet deal!

i take it Kostitsyn is not one of Cunnywoth's favourites?

Like i have said before, you will be pleased with Holland's play, seems like a smart player of average size, that can skate and handle puck well. And given that he is quick enough and defensively sound, i would say he finds a role on bottom 6, likely before Gallagher/Kristo crack the top six. A 3rd line with maybe Holland, Leblanc and Bournival would likely do well down the road? But i always tend to be overly optomistic of prospects.

Commandant is correct and Habs probably should just delete d-men off draft list for this year, but if they just stick with taking best available i would think Thrower would fall into 35-40th pick range and seems a character player that any team could use more of? But i havent seen play much at all.

Too bad for the big Swede, whom i would never count on for offense, but would seem to be a good 4th line centre if he can hold his own in faceoff circle.

yes very encouraging and Bulldogs could really use em all right now, haha

Dont see either as a heavyweight, cabable sure. But i still see Shultz as a match-up so White dosent have to? And i doubt anyone will have good numbers for Bulldogs with as thin a roster as they have and getting weaker.

this is exact type/quality of player the Habs havent had a crack at for years, with no 2nd and even few 3rd round picks, which is why i keep fingers crossed Gauthier can at least add a couple more picks. But as a 2nd rounder i would lean towards maybe, Dalton Thrower, who plays with Dietz in Saskatoon and as he showed vs a much bigger Wilson in prospects game, he is not afraid to drop the gloves and another WHL d-man can never hurt to draft for more grit on back end.

I think you can book the Shultz vs Thorton/Lucic fight right now. Great for him, he was the best Bulldog in that outdoor game and played surprisingly well. White had 4 goals in 5 games, hope the adrenaline hasnt worn off yet? Engqvist is doing super down there and might as well leave him ethere and let him play big minutes instead of less than 10 with Habs; he will be up for good next fall i hope as 4th line centre?

i had tossed in towel prior to X-mas, but here's hoping for the best, or at least an honest effort every night, win or loose, like they have been doing is good by me. Some real positive showings by many on the roster, with Price leading the way.

i agree with keeping him and might be hard to replace, but if White is what we hope he can be ( a bottom 6 centre/winger who can kill penalties along with Engqvist) and Blunden keeps improving and if Shultz ever got in shape and was able to play 7-8minutes/game on 4th line, maybe just take a 3rd or 2nd pick/ best offer and move on? I guess in short; i am on the fence; much as i am with Kostitsyn as well. As long as neither 32 nor 46 walk away for nothing on July 1st!

You just know with a Gaunce, he will not likely be a "floater", as the russians and some euros tend to be. And i would almost hand the future #1 centre job to out our flying Dane, he is looking better all the time! And if Gaunce can fill the #2 centre role in 2 or 3 years that would be just perfect. And from reports on Gaunce they always seem to note his off-ice leadership as a bonus and you got to love his size. And he did stand out at prospects game i thought. Again i say, anywhere between 5th and 15th there are some dandy prospects, no worry where Habs finally finish up. Just keep on winning, but just dont let Gauthier get any crazy thoughts and sell off picks again in a mad run for playoffs! Go with what you got and stockpile a couple extra picks with the UFAs.

Dont forget we are hoping Greg Pateryn is the next Gorges type and his d-partner Bennett could fit in nicely in a couple years also. And that Phillip Di Giuseppe is a super looking prospect that would be great to snag early in 2nd round maybe? But that cull Cammalleri came from Michigan also, so you can go on hating him if you like!

If ignore his first 2 years in NHL, he has averaged 49.6 points/year for past 5 and plus this years pace. Not really super stats. So, $5+/year for a 50 point guy for a crazy term is not Gomez bad but i wouldnt touch a deal for him, plus Columbus would ask for valuable picks/players/prospects, which makes me wish they wouldnt consider. Now Getzlaf, Kopitar, Stastny, Eric Stall or Lecavalier would be a different story and better options if thinking of flipping Plekanec in a package deal for one of these guys. But something like that would be better done on July 1st. My 2 cents

He is not even quite 30 and at his current salary i would resign in a second, but he would likely ask for $6/3 years (which is fair, but max for bottom 6 guy) at least and as Commandant has posted, there likely are many options to replace him if he wants more $. But, as i have noted before, he kills penalties, never takes a bad one himself, has a small bit of scoring touch, can skate well, hits a small bit and while he dosent fight often he stands up for teammates every time, so i would resign for a 3 year deal for sure, but i would trade in a sec if offered a good enough deal (such as a forward prospect and a pick)

I was all for finally getting a top pick, but unless Price gets injured or Gauthier sells important assets, this team is just not bad enough for a lottery pick, they just cant compete with OIlers/Columbus and several others. And it wouldnt surpirse me if they actually leap both Leafs and Sens by April, but 8th is just a bit much..i think? And if picking 7th to 14th, not a big difference and all those ranked in and around that range are nice looking prospects. I would love to see Gathier sell Moan/Gill/Campoli/Weber etc for stuff and the team still do OK and win every other game or better and still bank some extra picks/prospects. Especially if White and Markov will be ready for final 20 games, and can easily call up St.Denis to fill in till Markov is back. Just too bad Blunden is gone, which makes selling Moan is that much harder with Blunden hurt long term.

It is wierd that i am paying more attention to standings and those below and around the Habs more than i ever did when battlin for 8th? Maybe just cause i cant ever remember Habs having a crack at lottery pick and i think after this year they wont for another while neither? So the sooner Gauthier starts trimming players, adding 2nd /3rd round picks, the better. Someone posted top point NHL guys from 2000s and almost every last one came from first 3 rounds of draft, which is exactly where Habs have had very few picks (because they were traded to squeek into playoffs) and again i point to the last 2nd rounder Habs had, was Subban in 2007 and you just need those 30-to-90th picks to find future scorers. Unless you are already stocked like Caps/Fla/Hawks are now.

Diaz had done great and super signing, not sure who could ever complain about he nor Yemelin? And i think Kaberle's experiance and puck skills will be needed, as more young d-men come on-line and he has been doing super as well. And for those who bich and moan about his salary, give me a break; if someone asked what is a 50+point puck moving d-man worth; I know damn well $4.25 would seem like a steal, or am i off base on that?? Dont think i am. And i really am looking forward to a Kaberle/Markov pairing on the PP, as much as Markov/Yemelin as a 5-on-5 pairing. And as far as Campoli goes, that signing was, i would wager a good bet, at the whining of Martin to get him a Vet back up d-man and really could Gauthier say no and just sit on extra cap $$? Goaltending and defense is the least of Hab rebuilding needs, people who whine about it must really be bored or very pessimistic. It is up front that has needed work for 20+ years and this year is the perfect oppotunity to reshape and restock forward group.

Am i naive to think that Gauthier and UFA agents would discuss what a player would need to resign, well before the trade deadline? As Carolina seems to have done with a couple of their players and most recently with Teemu Ruutu. So if, as most seem to think, you would need to overpay for Moan or his agent will ask for a crazy number, then the only consideration is to find out which team will offer the most before the 27th eh?

Great to hear, i wouldnt of sent him down in first place. He, Eller and Leblanc looked super, but i suppose Eller and Leblanc would do well, even with Gomez as their linemate! Just too bad Blunden is hurt so bad, he was doing fine. I would expect White will be in Toronto this weekend? Bulldogs must be getting pretty thin up front.

i stand corrected and did not know that it actually has been done a couple times before. but still highly unlikely to ever happen with a Kostitsyn or Moan eh? Screw it and just take the picks and/or prospects. But i still like Moan better than all on your list, i know it is just a sample of what may be available and White/Blunden and maybe even Ian Shultz (who looked better than expected in outdoor game) may be able to fill the role anyways at a cheap price.?

i was just thinking he may be very hard to replace his quality for a decent price, but i am with you, that this is the year to grab all extra picks they can for UFAs and spare parts, for this or next years draft.

sounds good, but haas it ever happened that a team, traded a UFA and then resigned the same player in summer?

If only interested in centres Wont get Yakupov, we night as well forget that, slim chance for Grigorenko, unless Gauthier does have a fire sale/Habs tank and Oilers/Carolina really want a d-man. Galenchyuk is a better possibility at maybe 5th or 6th. Girgensons or Faksa might fit the bill perfect and no doubt Habs wil get a crack at one or other. But the best fit is Gaunce, if ,as Bob Mckenzie mentioned, his offenseive upside is there come end of year? I just have more faith in a canadian than a euro and just love Gaunce's size and he looked dandy at prospects game!