hankhab

Lol, that organization doesn't have the smarts to pick the guy Timmons wants, they shouldn't worry.

I've watched him play a few times, and to me it seems like he tries to do a little too much, he'll have to tone it down and play a simple game for a bit while he adjusts to the pro game, for sure. Its a little like PK was playing at the start of last year (although PK can absolutely fly skating backwards), and a good coaching staff will identify that right away, and hopefully get it fixed this year in the AHL. Other than that, the guy is a beautiful skater (with the puck), very smooth and fast, and he has great size. I've said it before, but to me, he projects as an Eric Desjardins type. I'm very excited about the future of our blueline.

It all depends on those knees. Markov has the smarts to play till he's 40 ish, no problem, his game is mostly in his head, so I think he'll be with us another 4 to 5 years, if, and I know its a big if, his injuries are behind him. Its something the new staff will be looking carefully at, I'm sure.

I'm hoping they don't, but I could see Columbus taking Galchenyuk, just have a funny feeling.

I like Kovalev, and he really seemed to love Montreal, but I just don't think he has it anymore, so I'm going to have to vote no, I'd take lats first if given the chance.

I think he would be alright, I would be curious to see how much he wants, and if he would accept a 1 or 2 year deal, if so, and he would fit cap wise, he would be ideal. As for young guys, the only guy he would be taking time from would be Leblanc, and they could be rotated during games to give Jagr's old legs a break anyhow. Not sure if he's really interested, though, and you know someone is going to offer him a lot of money, so I really don't see it happening.

For 2012-2013... Brodeur pulls a hamstring and retires, Parise signs with Rangers, Devils go into a tailspin from which they don't recover, and actually miss the playoffs. Sound possibe? I think so.

Tinordi would be awesome with Subban, I get chills just thinking about it. In 2 years, those matchups could be a reality, along with Emelin-Markov.

Apparently we still need an assistant for the defense. I would love for Robinson to be that man, but it really sounds like that is not going to happen. As there have been no names on the rumor mill, I suggest that the hiring is not going to happen any time soon.

Sign Lats to a one year deal, its best for him and the club. If he sucks or is unable to play, he's gone next year. If he excels, he sets himself up for a nice contract the following year. Win win.

Although he's an excellent prospect, I'm not sure Huberdeau is a better prospect than any of the 3 or 4 forwards we'll have a shot at this year with the 3rd pick, so I wouldn't trade anything substantial to get him, even a direct swap for our pick would make me nervous. I watched him play a few times this year, and while he looks good, he didn't strike me as being totally dominant either, he'll probably need some time in the AHL, or some well managed NHL minutes, and likely a few years away from being an impact player in NHL.

Nice hire, this tread is just about finished, I guess.

Well, looks like one of the mystery assistant managers will be Clement Jodoin

Perhaps an experienced assistant can help the habs implement a winning system. Interestingly, Therrien mentioned that he felt the habs needed a strong system during his meeting with the press, and one would think that he actually had a system to talk about during the long and intensive interview process. And here's one more intangible that we can hope for, that is, people do sometimes learn from experience, actually, it happens quite often. It is quite possible, even likely, that during his time away from coaching, Therrien has developed a few ideas on how to better implement a winning system that players can follow. Wouldn't that be something?

Well, looks like Patrice Brisbois is going to have some sort of position in the organization, so read into that what you want. There are some positions that former players can just walk into, at least its not GM (Garth Snow) or coach (Mario Trembley) in this case.

I think Kaberle will stay, just because getting rid of him and Gomez would be too good to be true (please, powers that be, at least get rid of Gomez)

I don't know if love is the right word, but if he could be have for cheap, and played well, maybe a strong like. As for AK, why not, except that given the shallow free agent pool for offensive forwards (don't they say that every year?), someone might over pay for him, I think.

A coach like Therrien could be just what he needs. I think he's worth a gamble.

It looks like Latendresse, who claims his concussion issues are behind him, will not be qualified by Minnesota. Think he'd be an interesting UFA for habs to look at? He could probably be had for cheap, and would be a good for on the 2nd or 3rd line, perhaps with Eller and Moen.

For an assistant, I suppose if Therrien was impressed with Audette's knowledge of the game as a player, I suppose there is nothing wrong having one assistant without actual coaching experience, but the other assistant would have to be an experienced, technical coach.

I'm thinking Weber doesn't make it past draft day, he's expendable, and if he brings a 2nd round pick, etc, then he'll be gone, I predict.

Might be hard to get that guy that can play 20 minutes a night, very shallow free agent pool this year. If we could, that would be great, although if we're going to dream, lets get rid of Kaberle too, he's so soft out there it makes me nauseous. Thats what I like, he's a big guy, and seems to have loads of talent.

No, Therrien wasn't hired because he worked for RDS, to suggest this is just as silly as some of the stuff RDS gets on with. He was hired, because in the eyes of Bergevin, he was the best available fit for this team. As with most head coaches, he will probably hire assistants he is comfortable working with. Thats all, no conspiracy theory, no collusion, no bowing to RDS. Can we end this silliness and get back to more logical conversation?

I agree, I don't believe Weber will be anything other than bottom pairing/power play specialist. He is too small and not defensive enough to be much more. I think Diaz, although also undersized, has more upside. What we really need is a reliable, large 6th defenseman or two to shore up the d on this team (and a healthy Markov would make the squad look a lot better too).

As I mentioned earlier, in Pittsburgh, he went the last season without his best offensive d-man, who returned just after he was fired. That makes a huge difference. When he took over, Pitt was not a good team at all, and he really improved the way that team played. In Montreal, he had a totally crappy team, it was amazing he (OK, Theodore certainly helped too) was able to get them into the playoffs at all. Just look back at the roster he was working with, especially the year Saku had cancer, it was brutal. Its too early to be screaming the sky is falling, the guy is an experienced coach who has had success at every level he has coached, why his hiring is so shocking and disappointing to people is beyond me.