DON

Bottom of the pool; https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/2024-montreal-canadiens-top-25-under-25-the-long-shots-54-43-prospect-scouting-reports-rankings/ Introduction #54 Alexander Gordin #53 Jack Smith #52 Emmett Croteau #51 Dmitri Kostenko #50 Ty Smilanic #49 Daniil Sobolev #48 Joe Vrbetic #47 Mikus Vecvanags #46 Blake Biondi #45 Rasmus Bergqvist #44 Ben Merrill #43 Makar Khanin

Again i dont have a clue if deal is good, bad or as expected. Why wasnt it a 8 year deal? Montreal Canadiens sign Kaiden Guhle to six-year contract extension (habseyesontheprize.com)

Do Barron & Xhekaj deals make them better trade bait? Habs re-sign Justin Barron – HabsWorld.net "For a defenceman, that’s a pretty high goal total this early in a career." "However, Barron’s defensive play has been more spotty and he has been prone to some periods of consistent struggles..."

2024 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: Departures, & Arrivals (habseyesontheprize.com)

I dont know contracts, but seems reasonable, dont know what it was expected to be. So, now when will Barron be signed? WHoops i missed Brians piece. Pricing Out Arber Xhekaj’s Next Contract – HabsWorld.net "Based on these, a price point around $1.5 million on a two-year deal feels like the right fit."

1st liner, if all the stars align. But, a fragile 3rd line forward seems more likely than a 80 point centre. Going only by his track record to date.

Newhook missed 17 games last season and Dach 102 games in 2 seasons as a Hab, only issue as been health.

Yes, i saw that in Hage draft video. Nice to hear them pulling for Habs to select him, awesome. 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase set to open play in Michigan | NHL.com "Players from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden will get together for practices and scrimmages from July 26 to Aug. 3 in the first step toward selecting their teams for the 2025 WJC, which will be played in Ottawa from Dec. 26-Jan 5, 2025." 2024-25 Summer Showcase Roster | National Junior Team (hockeycanada.ca) 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase Roster (usahockey.com) A few 2025 draft kids on lists.

Laine averaged 34.3g/82gm pace for last 3 years (but just 54goals total). Wouldnt some contender likely offer more than Habs would? Maybe a 3 team deal, with some bottom feeder eating part of Laine's $$$ for picks and/or something?

Most rank Habs group pretty high. 2024-25 NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown: Montreal Canadiens’ Top 10 - Daily Faceoff "I think Montreal is struggling on the left wing for all the depth they have. I can see Sean Farrell and Xhekaj carving out careers, but mostly in lesser roles." His top ten, seems OK. Beck/Mailloux maybe should be higher than Roy/Fowler? Demidov Hutson Reinbacher Hage Fowler Roy Mailloux Beck Farrell Kapanen

KHL starts Sept 3rd, so just another month or so to see if he gets 'ok' amount of KHL icetime. Don’t Read Too Much Into The Demidov Joint Development Plan – HabsWorld.net "... I’m hopeful that SKA will be able to at least accommodate parts of it. But I’d stop short of calling it a joint development plan as Rotenberg suggested..."

Stole this from rumour thread. "How about one of Harris/Struble/Barron, a 2nd round and 3rd round pick and Columbus retains 40%? "

GM in Florida seems to be doing well. NHL contract efficiency rankings, 2024: Which teams spend their money most wisely? - The Athletic (nytimes.com) "For the second year in a row, the Florida Panthers finished first in the cap efficiency rankings and that’s not something that should be up for debate. It’s not even close. No other team is set up better for the long haul than the Panthers who are sitting on $125 million in surplus value — $75 million more than the next-best team..." 16. Montreal Canadiens

Torts will treat him with kindness. https://www.nhl.com/news/matvei-michkov-grateful-for-warm-welcome-from-philadelphia-flyers "To have this opportunity, it's amazing. To get him early, at 19 years old, to learn under a coach like [John Tortorella] and the coaching staff that we have, I think it's a great opportunity for him and for us to have him early."

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2024/07/24/le-canadien-et-le-ska-ont-eu-une-discussion-dune-heure-et-demie-au-sujet-divan-demidov "Recall that Demidov only has one year left on his contract and, due to a KHL rule, a player with only one year left cannot be loaned to another team if he does not get the required ice time, as was the case the last two seasons with Matvei Michkov who was loaned to HC Sochi."

That sounds about right, what i remember.

Or just that Habs are being patient, as really is no big thing they "must" do before game #1. Wouldnt be ideal playing Armia or Anderson in top six or rotating young d-men; but you could be right and Harris, Barron, Struble not big enough value, compared to other d-men that GMs would likely rather pry from the Habs.

He can skate fine, has a big shot, is big and physical and has 'OK" puck skills. Can he put it all together and be top-4, is possible i suppose. But, left-d top four seems already spoken for on the Habs, for near future anyways, so dont need him to play 20 minutes/night.

No question about it, you guys are f'in bored.

different kind of contracts i think? He cant be loaned out the same way as Michkov was... for some reason? (my foggy memory could be wrong on that)

Will Habs make the playoffs? How Canadiens could make jump from league basement to playoff mix - The Athletic (nytimes.com) Bit sobering look at how new guys have done. Evaluating the Not so New Montreal Canadiens Management – HabsWorld.net

For sure, heavy hitting/checking physical players have their place and is intimidation tactics also. But, i see the whole fighting bit is old and bushleague type stuff, wouldnt still be a big deal if officiating was less lenient. (e.g. Marchand punching Sedin in face numerous times trying to get him to fight and no penalty called)

Is Bogdan a future hab? Habs Headlines: Bogdan Konyushkov plays in KHL exhibition game (habseyesontheprize.com)

On another team, sure sounds good to me. A 3rd pairing d-man who takes lots of bad penalties, isnt required to win a cup.

Poor skating, size & grit on day 2. Thoughts on Montreal’s Later Draft Selections – HabsWorld.net "After an exciting first day of the draft, Montreal’s approach on the second day was more underwhelming."