Commandant

Don Lever!

McCarron was ugly and a -3 in that nationally televised game. The Knights lost 5-3

He got nothing in tonight's 7-1 win. Also McCarron's 4 point game means that January is already tied for his biggest month in the OHL.

Christian Thomas is injured and has played less than 10 games this season, and you want to call him up?

McCarron has a big night 1g 3a. Hopefully, hes got a few more in the 2nd half

Hudon missed practice today tending to what the team is calling a shoulder injury from the Slovakia game.

Hudon was also the guy on the forecheck who caused the turnover leading to the first Canada goal. He never touched the puck, so he didn't get an assist, but his check on the US Dman caused him to cough up the puck to Mantha.

I could still see Vail get traded in the next little bit. Rychel pretty much said that the Spits are a decent team, but don't have enough to win it all and he wants draft picks.

Reway has a ton of talent. If he was bigger he wouldn't have been a fourth rounder. He still needs to show he can score at the AHL level before we call him a top prospect though.

Due to the cap and roster space there really isn't room for Leblanc right now. But its nice to know that he's ready if we do get some injuries in the second half. I'd like to see him get some time, cause I think he'll be a regular next season.

Dumont, Angrighetto, St. Pierre, Thomas, would be just another small forward. As for Blunden.... Leblanc is outplaying him by miles. Leblanc has been Hamilton's best forward.... leading the team in goals and playing strong in both ends in tough matchups.

After a terrible 2012-13, Leblanc has bounced back and been Hamilton's most consistent forward this year. He's leading the team in goals, and is also playing effective two-way hockey in a shutdown role. Is it time to give him a chance with the big club? http://lastwordonsports.com/2013/12/30/habs-fans-shouldnt-sleep-on-louis-leblanc/

I think at this point we have a good idea of exactly what we have in the 2013-14 Montreal Canadiens. The team is a pretty good, but not great club in a league full of parity. They can get on good runs (such as the 10 game point streak), and they can go on bad runs where they cant score but get enough defence and goaltending to hover around 500 during those down spots. Overall, they are an above average team that is just below the glass ceiling of the true NHL contenders. What do they need to change that? Two players IMO, a true gamebreaker up front, and a 20 minutes per game second pairing defenceman. Hopefully those two players are also going to develop internally in Alex Galchenyuk and one of our many defensive prospects Tinordi/Beaulieu/etc.... Its just unlikely that its going to happen this year. So we are what we are. A pretty good team, but one with flaws that will prevent them from winning it all and lead to a first or second round playoff exit. They are on the right track, but there is still a fair ways to go.

De la Rose with another assist today (yes i know it was against Norway). I love all the skills DLR has and my criticism of him has always been that given those skills he should score more points than he actually does. At this tournament he's produced at least 1 point in each of the first three games (plus some good performances in exhibition too). I wonder if he's finally turning that corner. If he does, he could be a heck of a pick.

Hudon was great when they finally played him in the third period with Drouin and Mantha. Don't know why Sutter didnt try that two weeks ago given the success in the superseries. Also Paterson sucked and Fucale has to play next game

3 assists for Reway through 2 periods.

Collberg left the game injured. Unclear on the severity.

The first World Junior after Price was drafted.... Price did not make the team. The starter in the 2006 tournament was Justin Pogge.

Sweden and Russia WJC players to watch includes two Habs prospects. http://lastwordonsports.com/2013/12/24/2014-world-juniors-players-to-watch-sweden-and-russia/

Players to watch on Norway Switzerland and Finland includes a Hab. http://lastwordonsports.com/2013/12/23/2014-world-junior-championships-players-to-watch-norway-switzerland-finland/

Players to watch in Pool A http://lastwordonsports.com/2013/12/22/players-to-watch-at-the-2014-world-juniors-pool-a/

Re "Tanking" the Hawks have 2 top 5 picks in their lineup. The Habs have the same already. The key will be Galchenyuk developping into that elite player.

I'm meeting with Derek soon, do you guys have any updated questions?

Goals against / minute played..... diaz is our best defenceman. Now I know that he isn't playing the hardest minutes (though he did play some tough minutes when Therrien wasn't trusting Subban) but the guy is much better defensively than anyone gives him credit for. Yes, he's not a big hitter, but hes good positionally, has a great stick and blocks a ton of shots... plus he moves the puck when he has it getting us out of the zone. The hate for him is so overblown.

We need an impact offensive contributor, there is little doubt about that. The question is who is out there and how do we get them. Some guys I would look at Ryan Callahan (UFA to be, Rangers are going nowhere, but is a heart and soul guy, is he resigning in New York? Could be just a dream) Thomas Vanek (Do the Isles want to recoup some of the futures they gave up for him?) Marian Gaborik (almost surely will be traded, price is an issue, both short and long term) That said, I'd need to be confident I was locking the guy up to a contract before making the deal. In some ways I might just want to run with what I have and wait til the summer to make a run at them, cause I don't think this is our year anyway.