Commandant

I'm not saying those things will repeat. I'm saying pre-season wins/losses mean nothing.

Colorado went 6-0 last pre-season. The worst team in each division last preseason? All four made the playoffs. This means nothing.

They made the wrong choice in 2012. is robinson bitter about that? Did he consider a consultant role? I don't know. Here is my point though. If you want to be mad we didn't hire him as a consultant today? fine. If you want to be mad he's not an assistant coach right now? Not so much. He din't want that job.

His wrist shot is powerful, but his release is slow... in that way he either doesn't get the time and space to get it off, or he isn't fooling a goalie when he does. Watch a goalie react to Pacioretty or Galchenyuk's wrister and watch them react to McCarron, its night and day. His vision and playmaking and stickhandling are all nothing to write home about. His hands aren't as quick as a guy who bangs in a lot of rebounds or deflections. He's just never going to be a scorer. That doesn't mean he can't play in the league, he might be a good bottom line guy, but he's like Freddy Gauthier in Toronto. Not a top six talent.

I've said since the day he was drafted that McCarron was a third liner at best. He's never shown the scoring prowess to be a top 6 centre at the NHL level. The fact that he's not scoring now, after not scoring with the US NTDP, not scoring his first year in london. Having a good half season in london, but then not scoring in oshawa, and not scoring in St. John's, and not scoring in 50 NHL games.... its not a surprise. The kid is not a scorer. Re-adjust your expectations to 3rd liner at best, 4th liner likely, and you'll be less disappointed in him.

JDLR probably gets the pressbox forward spot so they avoid putting him on waivers.

In fairness the kid is still 21.

I think that says more about Streit than it does about Davidson.

He looked like the same player as last year. A guy who isn't great, but good enough to play from time to time (but not a regular).

I think Holland/Mitchell are going to start the year as 4th line centre/13th forward. I think both beat the kids. Based on what Julien has done Patch - Drouin - Hemsky Chuck - Danault - Gallagher Hudon - Plek - Lehk Byron - Mitchell/Holland - Shaw

Redmond is on waivers. Guess they want him to clear early (or be claimed early) to know what they have in the AHL.

If Drouin becomes a #1 Winger and Sergachev a #1 D, yes we lose the trade. If he becomes a #1 Centre... I can't say that the defenceman is always more valuable than the centre. I also don't think this is trading our best prospect to stand still on offence. We changed a 30 year old forward into a 23 year old one, which has benefits down the road. if we had traded the 9th overall pick pre 2016 draft, for a 22 year old, recent 3rd overall pick, who might be a #1 Centre in the NHL, would anyone have complained?

JJ Daigneault vs Robinson is a moot point. Robinson wants to spend a lot of time in Florida, at his home. He doesn't want to be an assistant coach. Note his role in St. Louis isn't as an assistant coach, its as a consultant, meaning he will work from home and fly in for a few days or a week at a time and then go back home. He's not full-time on the road with the team. If he wanted to be a full-time assistant he wouldn't have left San Jose. While I'm no fan of Daigneault, there was no possibility of canning him and hiring Robinson. Robinson doesn't want that job. (I'd still replace Daigneault with someone else though).

Also to consider. If everyone clears waivers and guys like Holland, Froese, Redmond, Taormina, Morrow, etc are in the minors.... we have to wonder if the Habs have enough AHL veteran room to put Gelinas in the lineup, or will one vet have to be a rotating healthy scratch to meet the AHL roster rules.

He wasn't worse than Petry? I don't think we watched the same game. I know you hate petry, but this is ridiculous.

He was awful... really awful. He can shoot the puck, that's his only skill that is at NHL level.

Morrow and Gelinas are so bad on defence.

Scherbak is also very far from being ready.

Yeah I've liked Waked too. Morrow is awful.

Again, faceoffs are somewhat important. I'm not saying they have zero value. I'm just saying other things are more important. Things that aren't tracked in a single stat but help to make up some larger ones. And those things are what make and break centres in the NHL.... faceoffs get all the attention, and while its obviously better to be good at them then it is to be bad at them. They aren't nearly as big a deal as what announcers and media often give them credit for.

No, funny thing is Crosby is one of the best corsi players in the league. So is Connor McDavid. Funny how that works. Both have great advanced stats and they are the two best in the game. Funny how teams are spending more and more money on analytics depts too.... passe? hardly.

We won't be using Drouin to check the other team's top line, or to take a defensive zone draw in the last minute. And that's fine. That doesn't have to be part of his role at centre. And yes, those are question marks for Drouin. They are question marks for any player looking to play his first full season at centre. Luckily they are also things that a hard working player can learn how to do. Patrice Bergeron wasn't always good at them, he learned. So have many players. The things that aren't question marks... how Drouin gains the line and establishes possession... how he sees the ice and distributes the puck to linemates... how he stickhandles and can maintain possession... his vision.... his offensive instincts... all those aspects of being a number 1 centre, they aren't things you can teach and they are things Drouin has in spades. That is why coaches want to try him at centre, cause he has the skills you need but that you can't teach a player to have.

Thats a cannon of a shot for Gelinas, too bad he doesn't have any other skills.

Morrow had a good first game. Today we are seeing why he's an AHLer

What makes Drouin a centre or a winger? These are the factors that will decide it, not his face-off percentage. Does he learn to play a two-hundred foot game? Does he have the ability to be defensively responsible without the puck and support the defenders? Does he read the play well? Cover his man? Win battles down low? Transition quickly without cheating? These are the things that I'm looking for, that NHL coaches will look for, long before they worry if he's 45% or 50% on the draw.