DON

I guess Thomas must be getting the nod as a possible Gionta fill-in? Thomas is coming off a good year in AHL, seems more offensive than Leblanc. Leblanc may need to battle Dumont moreso, who also looked good yesterday.

Thought Leblanc, Moan and Thomas all looked good. In one game Murray already has already put more people on their ass in front of net than all habs d-men did last year.

Big trouble, like last year's reg season match up vs Bruins? Or last time matched up in playoffs, Habs were so small, or Bruins were so tough, Habs lost in game 7 OT.

I would say, just the opposite, fewer prospects to watch other than Dietz, Tinordi and Hudon. Most of the vets will just be going through the motions for next couple weeks, which is fine, to be expected and as was seen with Prust and Diaz being two of the poorer performers yesterday.

See how LL looks today vs Bruins. Am quite curious to see Thomas in action. Bournival really did very well yesterday, but he is highly unlikely to fill in for Gionta? Holland looked fine also, 3 block shots in limited minutes, will his offense increase a lot this year in Hamilton? Still think Tinordi should be headed straight to Hamilton to work on puck skills etc, with a ton of icetime. But he draws in for 2nd straight game, when I thought Ellis or Thrower might get a shot, so maybe mgmt is on the fence with him? I think he would really have to stand out to put Bouillon and/or Murray in pressbox?

McCarron, St-Pierre, Bournival and Reway all looked good. 5 points for Tinordi pair was nice to see. Nygren was bit shaky in own end, but looks good at other end of rink, basically as advertised. Lashoff didn't take the opportunity to stand up for Galchenyuk, maybe one reason why he is still looking for contract?

And whos roster spot would Collberg fit into? Dosent seem any real openings up front, cept a possible temp slot that seems Thomas may fill if captain cant go Oct 1?

Sure all sounds sensible, just with a goalie who most peg as playing a sheltered game behind a powerhouse team, similar too Brossoit/Jarry on Oil kings being bit overrated with stacked team pumping up numbers. I assumed they might at least wait to see how Fucale fares with a crap team in front of him and losing a lot more; as well as, can he step up and start at world juniors? But Fucale must be looking good at camps, seems to have heard mostly positive reviews.

Price wins Vezina.

I still don't understand why bother to sign now, when still have 2 years still to get signed? More as a confidence booster or something? Goalie seem so hard to project future success, but I guess is a good signing?

Maybe Diaz will be the one to get a huge raise by being paired with #79, if he can return to pre-concussion form. $1.2m for a 50 point d-man would be a bonus. Maybe he will have same type breakout Mark Strait did, that I had once hoped for Weber (lumping the Swiss d-men I know, but seem quite comparable). I don't fear Pacioretty will really care who is his centre, both Eller and Plekanec are super options for him. I also don't think Parros is overrated, most agree what he will bring and he seems comfortable with his likely spot-time role. But he is for sure a PR friendly character, with the Lanny MacDonald like upper lip, "fancy" education background and seems most goon-types tend to be good teammates to have around.

agree 100% Murray is simply a type of player the Habs haven't had since maybe Souray? Gill was big, a bit physical and seemed well respected (and expect him to be a d-coach somewhere soon, based on..nothing but he seems coachworthy); but if had to drop the gloves to stand up for, say Gorges, he simply was not real keen on it. And Habs glaring weakness was PK% and Murray blocks shots, clears front of net, so he may be a super pick-up as long as he play smart, as Gill did, and play to his strengths.

Will be interesting to see where Dumont and Blunden start the season, pressbox or AHL? I think Dumont may have to clear waivers to go to AHL? Would another team pick him up? He is a gritty young player with some potential. Most teams must monitor "extra" NHL roster players likely to be waived I assume?

Will Penalty Kill be much improved, or even be average? Will health of top 4 d-men over 82 games be a big issue? Can Tinordi make top 6, have an impact and play 20 minutes/game ( a la Jonas Brodin)?

Sounds like he has looked good-very good so far, with the young kids; but couple pre-season games may be telling? I think little doubt he will start in AHL, but I also am curious where he may be in depth chart come Nov-Dec. Will he adapt to small rinks, more physicality and is his defense NHL calibre?

I don't think anyone craps on Crisp for his game as a goalie, when he got congrats from the opposition as well as his own team and most see it as a good thing for him to step up when his team needed someone to bite the bullet and get shelled. I was disappointed because it seemed the 2nd dumb goon pick by Timmins and I never heard of him before; when a Kujawinski, Hayden or Bjorkstrand seemed a smarter choice @71. Maybe he will be another smart choice by Timmins and staff, I think the biggest thing holding most big guys back is lack of foot speed and time will tell if he can keep up at pro level?

Plekanec or Gorges, flip a coin.

How is Pateryn's mobility? Holland/Bournival/Ellis/Beaulieu appear bigger/stronger this year? Has Beaulieu's defense or decision making improved? Anyone stand out as "most improved" from last year's camp? Duffy or Nystrom likely to crack Bulldog roster? How does Nygren's defense seem? Better than a MAB? Is he a strong skater? Is Thomas the most "NHL ready" top six injury call up?

Dont think NCAA players can attend, can they? Vail seems to be underachieving since having a very good start to year in OHL season last year. And maybe just are too many other good prospects for him to suit up for pre-season games?

Markov used to play 24 minutes/game and overall he played at an All Star level, but it was moving puck and his vision that is his strong suit not defense. But he is a forward turned d-man so no surprise his defense is only what I might call average in his own end. But no way should anyone compare his game to a first ballot hall of fame d-man like Lidstrom. We hope Beaulieu and Dietz may end being very similar puck moving d-men, but, both will have a bit more edge to their game.

Yes would be nice to see Beaulieu make the roster, but; Gorges has to play top 4 minutes and he couldn't carry Beaulieu for 20+minutes and cover up for his defensive gaffs. Beaulieu will get there, but still needs to improve play in own end. Offense from the back end is not missing from current top six, but defensive coverage is more a concern with Subban still learning, Gorges, Boullion and Diaz being smallish, Yemelin out and Markov, while plays a very smart game, has never been real strong in own end.

I cant even recall Thomas in draft, heard of him before trade, nor seen play. Will be curious to see how he, Nystrom, Duffy and Andrighetto (sp?) can add to Hamilton's offense?

I see Kristo is noted as one of top Ranger prospects (#2 by one) while Thomas is only 15th to 20th for Habs. Is the Ranger system that thin, the Hab prospect pool is really that deep. Or the 2 teams have a big difference of opinion on the 2 prospects?

That one play just sort of stuck out, Galchenyuk looked like he knew he was gonna be hit hard to get the puck and wanted no part of it. But, no big deal at all, he was teenager vs I think was the Leafs, in a big physical game. I would assume he comes into camp a bit bigger, play a Pacioretty type game and will have a fine year.

Yes, always seems to be the case, I remember whether it was Johnathan, OReilly, or Jay Miller, the Habs had to dress at least a couple players with questionable skills. And no wonder Prust had a big smile when asked about Parros signing, am sure he would approve of Murray one as well. He seemed to play last part of season with separated shoulder and that combined with Yemelin injury seemed to be a big factor, Galchenyuk seemed quite intimidated in one game, cant remember which one it was?