dlbalr

I imagine that there were more than three in total, just that there were three finalists.

That's one of those problems that resolves itself before long with injuries. But realistically, Texier can sit a game or two, so could Kapanen depending on what they do at centre. Dach could get a night off here and there and maybe the veterans get a game once in a while.

I worked 11-5 today on PHR and the Habs announce this at 5:03. Oy. The specific bonus structure isn't known yet but there are GP bonuses (probably easy to hit) and goals scored (probably not as easy to hit). A quick write-up on the signing: https://www.habsworld.net/2026/09/habs-sign-chris-kreider/

The rookie tournament starts in a couple of hours with the Habs playing Winnipeg and probably doesn't need a GDT given the lack of prospects of note for Montreal. Here's Winnipeg's lineup: And Montreal's: Stream for the game at 1 PM ET: https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/winnipeg-jets-live-stream-6336966650112

Right now, there's probably a 13th forward slot up for grabs. Ideally, that wouldn't be Beck or Xhekaj, waiver-exempt players. At the moment, Berard, Poulin, and Pastujov might have the best shots; my lean would be Berard. Hard to say for defence right now since Guhle seems to be iffy and who knows when Xhekaj signs. Neither could be in the picture opening night.

Gorton had him with the Rangers for several years and gave him the seven-year contract he's now escaping. Safe to say he liked Kreider at that time. I expect the Habs will kick the tires if nothing else.

I think the Oilers had enough of Kane over his first stint with the team. At this point, I'm not sure he's getting an NHL contract. He has KHL suitors but will he want to go there to extend his career?

But if the Canucks are going to eat ~$18M in real money, doesn't the cost then have to be prohibitive? Their ownership won't sign off eating that much dead money without some sort of return of consequence.

I think you're bang on with that last sentence. There doesn't seem to be as much interest in the incremental upgrade at this point; their focus seems to be swing big or hold to make sure they have as many assets as possible to eventually take that swing. Sometimes that works, others it means that in-season incremental moves need to be made (like Danault last year). I don't expect anything in terms of a big swing so we'll see how this group does to see if they'll have to look for a stop-gap again.

The colours look nice (and match up with what's out there), not a fan of the logo being messed with though.

Took a while but now, Letowski is no longer an assistant coach. (He was listed as one through the summer even after Lalonde's hiring.)

He used to have decent north-south speed but it was painfully evident the one game last season that he was about two steps behind. He threw lots of hits, most of which could have been interference penalties given how long the puck had been moved. If Xhekaj has lost about 10-15 pounds, it's a viable option to have him as a fourth liner/emergency defenceman. But I imagine he hasn't lost the weight, which means I'm not sure he'd be trustworthy as a fourth liner; he'd be too far behind the play again.

Yevgeni Volokhin signed a new three-year deal in the KHL, keeping him signed there through 2028-29. He had two years left on his original contract so he gets an extra season and presumably more money.

No, just speculation that if they wind up moving Hellebuyck, it could trigger some sort of rebuild. Then, in that scenario, Scheifele could, in theory, become an option.

Scheifele had 103 points last season. 103. No team in their right mind would trade a top-line 100-point centre for that package. Yes, he's older (33), but he's not going from 103 points to 40 over two years; the dropoff from 33 to 35 is nowhere near that drastic for top-line players.

Cale Makar gets 8 years, $20.4M per season on an extension. That's only $400K below the league maximum but the Avs get the eighth year, something they were really pushing for. It seemed like he and Hughes were waiting each other out to see who signed first for benchmarking purposes but I have a hard time thinking Hughes will match that, especially if he's only seeking a short-term deal.

Or the MHL team is off for a few days and he's up with the big club to get some practice in with them in the meantime. It sounds like the plan is to shuttle him back and forth this season.

The NTC may be an issue. If I remember correctly from last year, he had made it clear that he wanted to stay out West. Accordingly, I think a lot of East teams would be on his NTC. I like the idea though.

Some already have. Montreal's is predominantly white (compared to blue for the last couple) from the sounds of it although there hasn't been a full leak.

I don't think he'd be an option for Laval. Maybe a bottom-liner in Trois-Rivieres at most. He's eligible for an overage year in the Q but that's not the type of player who typically gets one.

The Nazar pick is holding up well but those other three, not so much.

These are going to take away some of the advantages Montreal had in terms of their willingness to front-load contracts and go bonus-heavy. The year-to-year structures given to Demidov and Hutson, for example, won't be valid moving forward. The Habs can still max out what's allowable with the new rules but it will create a bit more level of a playing field overall.

His direct quote: "Toronto's made some moves, Montreal's about to make a move, I think..." Definitely a random comment, that's for sure.

I was curious so I looked back at the thread on here from the trade. It certainly wasn't a lot of excitement. At best, it was about a 50/50 split of people liking it versus not liking it.. Quite a few were concerned about the injury history and Chicago's willingness to move him so quickly. Yes, he had a good few months (between injuries) to start 2023 but even then, I think the enthusiasm for him has always been somewhat guarded. I say that as a good thing as I know a lot of fans in other places were excited but on here, we've been a little more realistic about not expecting an unsustainable jump.

While he's not wrong in that it's commonplace for players to get spot games in that situation, he was indeed cut. Torpedo announced its roster over the weekend and Pugachyov is clearly in the seconded category, as in, demoted to a lower level. https://hctorpedo.ru/teamroster/