Habinator33

I would love to get iggy but has he ever expressed a willingness to play here? I just always got the sense he would prefer to stay on an American team now and one with a top end center he can play with.

The Markov signing does not prevent us from making other moves to upgrade the team. The Markov signing also doesn’t slow down the growth of Beaulieu, Tinordi, and Pateryn. You don’t just hand young defensemen top 4 spots they have to earn it. If we were going to upgrade our top 4 defense this year it was probably going to be Gorges or Emelins spot not Markovs. Can you elaborate on how exactly Markov really hurts us in years 2-3? Is it because he helps our chances of making the playoffs this year thus losing out on Connor Mcdavid?

Markov is a proven no 2 defensemen that has consistantly made players around him better. He is able to play in all situations and is highly trusted by the coaching staff. He has also proven he can play in Montreal and have success in Montreal. That being said is the gap between Markov and Beaulieu more significant then the other potential upgrades. I would say without question, and counter with the fact I think simply by having Markov on the team Beaulieu becomes a better player in the long run. Would I have liked 1 less year or less money sure but in the end this is a fair deal for both parties. As for the other defensemen available via free agency I don't think you are going to get the production/dollar as you would with Markov. Guys like Niskanen are going to try to bank on a single big season and a guy like Greene who is reported to be close to signing with LA is a replacement for Murray not Markov. By reading between the lines of Bergevins statement I have a feeling he looked around the trade market for a replacement for Markov and just wasn't happy with the price. I don't think Markov's contract has anything to do with upgrading our offensive group. When Eller signs we are already at 12 forwards so I always figured if we were going to sign a top 6 we would probably deal away one of Moen, Bourque, or Briere. I actually think locking up markov before the wednesday interview period helps since it sends a message to guys like Moulson that we are serious about winning now. I also agree with the people above Gionta resigning I would not be a fan of even on a big reduced salary. Nothing against him just don't see the fit.

Good deal, I just don't see how we would've been able to replace Markov had he walked. Now lets get Subban locked up.

Does Tokarski have to clear waivers at the start of the season in order to go down to the AHL?

I think the main problem with Gionta is Therrien. If he's on the team Therrien will continue to use him in all situations. His pp time will probably decrease but when the game is on the line such as OT he'll be right back out there over Galchenyuk. That being said even at a 50% reduction he's not worth it to fill out a checking/PK role. Use the money to fix greater holes such as a top 6 winger or top 4 D. We have always had an abundance of checking/pk role players.

I trust bergevin will do whats right to keep improving this team. His in season moves this year were a big help. I think the main move I questioned was the Briere signing. Didn't like the fact he got multiple years and so much money for a player on the decline that just got bought out.

I don't expect Plekanec to be traded, maybe in another year but definitly not in the offseason. He's definitly the teams most trusted player right now. I can definitly see what commandant has down the middle but I think with the way MT opperates it'll happen at some point during the season depending on how the offense goes. I see our no 1 need as a mobile top 4 defensemen and no 2 a top 6 forward.

I don't want Gionta back on the team even if it's for a bargain. Nothing against him but he's just not the same player he once was those 2 bicep injuries really hurt his shot. Add onto that no matter what his contract is I fear MT will still go to him way too much. Not to mention it also gives us a chance to move on from one of our older and smaller players.

The Good: - Beating the Boston Bruins to make the ECF - Carey Price winning 2 series and a gold medal - Marc Bergevin's moves both Dance and deadline - The comeback against Ottawa - 100 point season and getting to the ECF giving good experience to our young core - Having someone finish top 5 in goals - The team's chemistry - standing up for each other both on and off the ice - Desharnais bounce back after a god awful start - Stephane waite - The Penalty Kill was solid - Tokarski The Bad: - Lars Eller, Danny Briere, Rene Bourque's, and Brandon Prust's regular season - Lack of production from some of the Vets in the playoffs - Treatment of Tinordi and Beaulieu during the regular season. Too many games for Bouillon and Murray. - 5 on 5 goal scoring - Giving Galchenyuk only one game at center during the season and it being against the St Louis Blues - Public treatment of some of the players by MT - MT not noticing certain lines just aren't working - Only having 2 guys scoring 20 goals or more. The Ugly: - 18 shots on goal in an elimination game - George Parros - Douglas Murray's skating - The many weak clearing attempts - The Defenses play in the Rangers series - Too many penalties and a few were late game that cost Price a shutout

I think the main reason I am more confident in this team then the 2010 team is because of MB. I think him getting a nice long look at this team in the playoffs is a major plus for us.

At 35 years old and with multiple major knee surgeries behind him Markov averaged 25 minutes over 81 regular season games, 26 minutes over 17 playoff games, and was one of Russia's most used D in Olympics. Not to mention his main D partner had a pretty bad year coming back from Knee surgery himself. For me it's about replacing Gionta and Vanek with good 5 on 5 scorers one needs to be a top 6 the other can be more of a depth type scorer. For Defense I would go with one of the young guys and try to bring in a top 4 D either from free agency or trade. As for our own UFA's the only one I would look at bringing back is Markov unless he wants a crazy deal. As for Weaver I think he'll get a better offer elsewhere and I rather bring in a higher end guy and go with the young guys in the 6/7 spots. As for guys I would trade away I would definitly move Moen as Weise basically replaces him. After that I would definitly look to move one of Bourque/Briere to mainly provide us with cap space. As for trading one of our centers while i'm not against it I'm not confident it happens this offseason. During next season however is a different story.

Tough loss since we couldn't generate any offense. While we're going to blame player x/y have to give credit to the Rangers they played a hell of a defensive game today. I would've liked to see us make adjustments especially on the PP as the game went along but it just didn't happen. Overall can't take away from the major accomplishment and step forward this was. Our young players got some major experience, a few players sort of redeemed themselves after poorish regular season, and most of all Marc Bergevin got a nice long look at this team in the playoffs and should be well prepared going into the offseason. While I consider the last time we were in the ECF somewhat Fluky this one has me confident that if we play our cards right we can take the division.

Injured, undisclosed he got beat up pretty good in boston series and missed some time during a few games this series. Big win tonight, it's going to be tough completing this comback with this goaltending and defense right now. But weirder things have happened. I expect Lundqvist to come up big in game 6 but very happy if we do go out it's not in 4/5.

I agree, next year Galchenyuk definitely needs to have his role increased with the team. I also hope we shy away from bringing in stopgap type players like Murray and Bouillon. We either need to start playing our younger players or trade for actual upgrades to our roster. Also I don’t expect Vanek back but we still do need a top 6 forward. Ideal to me would be a young player that can be part of the core alongside Pacioretty, Gallagher, Subban, Galchenyuk, and Price.

We need to make serious adjustments to our defense going forward. We've been one of the slowest and softest defensive cores for a long time now and that needs to change. Tired of all the failed clearing attempts and icings.

Disaster game. Everything you didn't want to happen in game 1 happened. Price gets banged up, a struggling Rangers powerplay gets going, Nash scores a goal, McDonagh rubs it in on habs organization for terrible trade, and Lundqvist wins ga me in Montreal.

I'm pretty sure 90% of the hockey community is confused about the move. Especially when you consider everyone knows Prust is playing with multiple injuries. I'm not a huge Briere fan but the way he has been treated by Therrien this year has been embaressing. Giving one of your best playoff performers 6-8 minutes a game is pretty sad especially when he's set up 2 game winners and has outplayed the no 1 center getting prime minutes.

Vanek isn't worth the contract he is asking for. He doesn't try half the time and thats not an observation from these playoffs. I like watching JT on the island and I saw Vanek just coast half the time with the islanders. He's a good player but not worth the 8+ long term. Hopefully however the fact we acquired him means the front office finally realizes we need some top line players as opposed to the steady stream of 2nd/3rd liners we normally get.

Didn't know much about him figured he was another Drewiske, then watched this and smiled a bit. http://youtu.be/_X8Zb-j9Pj0

Just looked at box score, any particular reason Tinordi is out? Thought I heard he was playing pretty well.

I wouldn't give up on Eller just yet and personally I'd like to see how he does in the playoffs when he's not battling injury or concussed. That being said if he was in a deal for a clear cut top 6 forward that can put the puck in the net I wouldn’t complain much. Also to be more specific I would only trade him for someone that would help now and in the future.

I don't really know much about Weise, but I think a lot of people over value Diaz just like Rangers over valued Del Zotto who they thought would get a top 6 forward for. Soft 5-11 offensive defensemen with 0 goals normally don't go for much especially when they are UFAs. I do agree with habs29 that he constantly ignores our shortcomings.

I agree You build the core of your team through the draft and developing players. After that you support that core and build on that core from smart free agency signings and trades. That’s what just about every team playing yearly for a cup has done. We on the other hand seem to be a primary landing spot for players on decline that other teams want to get rid of. No more of the Gomez, Briere, Bourque, and Kaberle. Although we didn’t resign him because he got a lot at the time we need more moves like the Wisniewski one. A player that filled a need and certainly wasn’t past his prime. Lastly you want a coach that will get the best out of all of his players and use a system that works for the makeup of his team.

I don't know much about Nattinen but hearing he's a smart defensive player. So it sounds like he'll be taking Ryan White spot for the time being and playing a similiar role with habs as he did with bulldogs which makes sense. The Beaulieu one makes sense too since we could use a good puck moving d-man and someone better then Gorges/Bouillon on that 2nd pp. Though have to wonder if someone is hurt, someone is being moved, or if they are showcasing Beaulieu since we are at 8 D, then again it does seem like Flu season is hitting habs so that could be it.