Commandant

Condon has better numbers than Price right now. Doesn't mean he's a better option when Price is healthy.

Gretzky may not have been fast, but he wasn't slow either. He had average speed. Semin is SLOW... He's well below average.

More speed than Byron? I'd dispute that one. I'd agree that Bournival would be our second fastest skater, but Byron can fly. That said Bournival isn't even healthy right now... he needs to worry about his head.

Meh, the Colleges and Junior Hockey Owners make big money off these athletes, I'm not sure the players getting some more money from schools or CHL teams would be a bad thing considering that 80% of these kids never sniff the NHL or the NFL.

Adrian Dater's record as an insider (even with the Avs) is less than stellar.

Do you expect Fucale as a 20 year old in a full time role to be a good AHL goalie? I think he'll need time. Pasquale is nothing special either. Tokarski may not have had a strong start.... but he's still the best AHL goalie we have.

The most succcessful league in North America tinkers on an annual basis, NFL.

Goaltending in St. John's will take a hit with how long price is out for... How long will Tokarski be in Montreal.

The players did the right thing. The owner fired the coach, because he wasn't giving the owner's son (a kid who shouldn't even be in the OHL, he should be Tier II at best) enough minutes of ice time. The players saw this is complete bullshit and protested Good for them.

If we aren't able to predict who it will be, why does it matter? Isn't this about what players you should keep, and what players you should acquire?

Semin hasn't played in six games, how is replacing him with HOlloway going to mess with a winning formula? Clearly their are 3 lines that are working and one that isn't.... making changes on that one line, without breaking up the other 3, isn't messing with the formula. This is nowhere close to the same as breaking up the top line....

Exactly, He did a feature on a guy. and a sit down interview with him.... and then he praised him afterwards. If that was the criteria, one wrong prediction when you are trying to be positive about a guy during a feature on him, then every person in the media has been wrong at least once in their career.

Considering that Plekanec has been matched up against every other team's top line, and there is no way that Chucky is ready to handle that matchup, I don't think they interchangeable in the top line.

Wait so last week you were quoting Glen Healy as an authority in one of your posts to me. And now you are mocking Freidman? WHAT??? IMO, Freidman is one of the top 3 insiders in the league with Lebrun and McKenzie.

Likely after our next regulation loss (whenever that is).

Semin was scratched after a game we lost.... he likely gets back in the lineup after our next regulation loss. That said, its not just the wins and losses... its the fact that those two lines are two of the highest scoring lines in the NHL right now. You don't mess with that. Later in the season, when they slump, okay maybe i experiment with Galchenyuk and Pacioretty, but not now.

There will be no hearing and no suspension for beaulieu.

Sure a healthy player will give you more than the injured player... but you can't predict who that will be. Nor will it be the same year to year. Thats why past playoff performance is not an indicator of who will do well going forward.

Hmmm... wonder why that is. Checks team scoring leaders. Exactly... you don't make the team worse to help one player.... Find chucky a RW via trade or by calling up Holloway. Don't mess with the lines that are working.

Is it true that people react differently to pressure? sure But by the time you get to the NHL, you are the elite of the elite. You faced pressure and succeeded. That time in junior hockey when the NHL scouts were in the arena and watching you play? You succeeded. That time you went to training camp against other really good players looking to make an NHL team? You succeeded. Playoff and regular season scenarios all along the way at the junior levels, at AHL levels, etc.... Those who were gonna fold under the pressure? They folded long time ago and aren't in the NHL.

The only "different animal" is that there are less PPs... This idea of clutch and not clutch is a media construct... a narrative that sounds nice, and we buy into, heck even players who are trained in talking in cliches, have picked it up as one of those cliches. But its not real. Its not a repeatable skill to be better in the playoffs than the regular season. You bring up Gretzky... and gretzky is a great example of this. Was Gretzky clutch? Nope... He was the greatest hockey player of all time (or top 3 if you prefer Lemieux or Orr or both). He wasn't better in the playoffs than the regular season... he was great all the time. Joe Sakic is another example. All time leader in playoff overtime goals. So clearly he was clutch, right? Nope, he was just a great goal scorer. He was great on shitty Nordiques teams in the early 90s and he was great on powerhouse Avs teams later. Here is one article on the phenomenon. http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25176283/the-nhls-clutch-players-we-place-too-much-importance-on-the-playoffs Here is one with stats http://nhlnumbers.com/2012/10/3/clutch-nhl-playoff-big-game-performers Bottom line, if you can score at Even Strength in the regular season... you can be productive in the playoffs, and if you aren't its likely just a cold streak at the wrong time of year, and not an indictment that you will never score in the playoffs. If you are just a one trick pony, powerplay specialist, your value is likely diminished (though not totally gone) in playoffs.

I don't like that its a hybrid jersey. It has some features of the 22-23 jersey, but not all It has some features of the 23-24 jersey, but not all It has some features of the 45-46 jersey, but not all. Just make a historical jersey...

Yeah, those who rely on the PP for their points. Those who can score in close games... 5 v 5 in the regular season... will (over a big enough sample size) score 5 v 5 in the playoffs. As for "as Glen Healy puts it".... he's tied with P.J. Stock for the biggest idiot on hockey broadcasts today. I don't care what Healy says.

That said, one thing scares me about Iginla and a spot on the habs. He's not fast. And we've already seen how a total lack of speed is killing Semin. I'd be inclined to see if there is someone with more footspeed who better fits in our lineup out there. That said.... this is a damn good team.... we were first in our division 3 years ago, we were final 4 two years ago, we were 110 points and first place last year.... this roster is better than all three of those rosters. Are we the 137 point pace team we currently have shown? of course not. But there is no doubt in my mind that we are a cup contender. Where are we lacking, one piece, a top 6 RW. We tried reclamation projects this summer cause nothing was available in free agency... but its clear, Semin is not working.... Kassian is a giant question mark.... Holloway still hasnt' been given a chance... last year's reclamation project DSP looks like a good player, but not a top 6 fix.... Flynn and Byron I don't believe to be top 6 guys either. so its time, no more reclamation projects. When the trade market really opens up in February.... its time to go all in, even if that means moving a top prospect and 1st round pick. Price, Subban, Pacioretty, the core is all in its prime right now. The window to win is wide open. Go all in Find your guy, target him, and get him. A RW with skill, a game breaker, an elite guy to play on our second line. Now is not the time to pussy foot around. when a new GM comes in he talks about a 5 year plan to build a contender. Guess what, this is year 4. its time to take that step.

Here is the thing Iginla has been good in both the regular season and the playoffs. Comparing him to Bourque, or Briere is unfair... because they werent good for us in the regular season. Here is the thing... there is no such thing as some repeatable skill that makes you good every playoffs. There is no clutch skill that some players have and others don't. It doesn't exist. Claude lemieux is seen as one of the most clutch players ever.... his playoff PPG and his regular season PPG are a difference of 0.02. Guys like John Druce, Fernando Pisani, Rene Bourque, Brian Bickell and others couldn't replicate one year's playoff success in future years... that success was a hot streak, not some clutch ability. Other guys have been seen as playoff failures in the past and then suddenly break out and carry teams... examples Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik. ... others have careers with crappy playoffs and good playoffs (Marc Andre Fleury has an extremely variable save percentage). Trying to predict who will do well in the playoffs based only on previous playoff success is foolhardy. Any player can get hot or go in a slump in January? Why do we believe slumps/hot streaks in May are different? Why are they suddenly clutch/choker just because of the time of year. Quite simply they are not. Its random chance and small sample sizes. So what should we be looking for, in someone to help us in the playoffs? Well the first thing is to find a big sample size of something you need in the playoffs. Lets examine what we need in the playoffs: Are the playoffs different than regular season? Yes. How? Less penalties are called. What is another way playoffs are different? Tight checking games, very few blowouts, most games decided by a goal or two. What does this tell us? 5 v 5 scoring is huge, and PP scoring is diminished somewhat. You can win a cup with great 5v5 play and a poor pp (see Bruins, see Hawks 2015 and 2013)... etc.... Sure a PP helps, but its not top priority, and 5v5 play becomes a lot bigger. So what do we examine.... 5v5 play, in close situations. Examine a players stats 5v5 close... in his recent career, in both the playoffs and the regular season. You know what? In both the playoffs and regular season... Briere looks shitty... Bourque looks shitty.... and Iginla, he looks pretty darn good.