Link67

I think you are being a bit harsh here, guy has 9 points in his last 10 games, and 5 goals. There is a whole heck of a lot of players on this roster right now who are sleep walking, he isn't one of them.

I had a dream Pacioretty Galchenyuk and Gallagher played together as a top line for 18+ minutes each and they combined for 5 points in a 4 - 2 win for the habs tonight. In the process Therrien saved his job for a couple more weeks due to the brilliant change. never know right?

yes, but I doubt the Islanders are going for it though

I agree those players are more attractive options, but will also cost more to acquire and cost more to retain, both in salary and in years. Vrbata is a consistent 20 goal guy wherever he goes, and if he comes here and brings a consistent scoring threat to our top 6, and we can sign him for a 2 year term at a decent salary based on his age, we still shore up an issue, and evaluate other options in the near future. I'm looking at this from the perspective of who can we acquire that makes the most difference for the littlest cost, he seems to fit that bill. Okposo would be my number 1 target on that list, a RW with size and power? we've only needed that for a few years now, but he comes at a heavy cost, both to trade for and to retain.

i've watched many periods this season, and at the end of any game i've watched, I have never thought to myself "holy cow Galchenyuk really sucks defensively". Any defensive imperfections in Galchenyuk's game have been mostly non factors, not contributing to any loses directly. However his contribution at Center and from the top line, will directly contribute to many wins in the Future, problem is we have to get him there, and him spending another second on wing while Price and Pacioretty's contracts continue to tick away is to me, a waste of a window we may not have anymore in 3 years time. this is simply the wrong move and focusing in the wrong area, Galchenyuk's roster position should have been just as far as a thought for the coaching staff as the position of Gallagher or Pacioretty. those have been your 3 best forwards all season, therefore, 9 other spots should be focused on before you even bat an eye in their direction.

for the rental, I'm still leaning towards a guy like Vrbata, evaluate the option of keeping him once the season is over

our guys have similar stats and less cap than Hagelin too, it would have been something to explore if this was the deal Pittsburgh ended up accepting.

Perron is the kind of "not working out over here" type of guy I would have loved to take a chance on by swapping Eller or Desharnais for.

In my own defense, this is my first moment where i'm starting to see things I don't agree with at this stage from the people in charge, Galchenyuk is a Center, it is where we need him to be when the time comes to go for a cup. I'm done with any excuse to move him from that position short of, He just isn't performing well at all there, which clearly has been anything but the case. my point is DD should be the one bumped to the wing in order to make the top 6, he is the one struggling he is the one who makes the adjustment to see a more offensive role with skilled players. We all know here, this team goes nowhere in the hopes for a cup as long as Plekanec is a top line center and Desharnais is your second line Center. Galchenyuk has to become the #1 and Plekanec the #2 just to get our ducks in a row for a Chance to build a true contender. The only adjustment Galchneyuk should have seen was a move in between Max and Gallagher, otherwise you leave him where he was, their is no amount of wool that will make me see this differently, it is simply my opinion. And in this case I firmly believe Therrien is wrong, and succumb to some form of panic, trying to mask his move with a ridiculous unfounded reason. Can anyone tell me in what instance Galchenyuk has looked like a major liability defensively? or looked so ineffective offensively because he is trying to be the next Malholtra? from my view the answer to both of these is a solid Hell No. So, No coach, i'm not following your logic here

well now this is 2 questionable moves in a span of a couple days for both GM and Coach Galchenyuk has been our best forward for some time now, he is the last Piece that should have been touched, if anything the moves should have been to move him up and play with El Capitaine and Gallagher. this is such backwards thinking, i'm really starting to wonder if Panic has not seeped into the coach's office too, because this has to be as close to "were trying any old thing" type of crap that I've seen here for awhile. I thought we were done with Galchenyuk on wing, he has played just fine at center, been the best center through this whole slump, yet for some reason, he is the one who gets bounced? This whole, veterans get away with murder while young guys continue to have to take the adjustments in stride, type of nonsense has to get out of the air. It is always a young guy taking the fall, from Carr and Andrighetto going back down, Beaulieu being benched, to now Galchenyuk being bumped back to wing for some ridiculous excuse about defense while DD gets to cozy up in the spot Galchneyuk was doing very honorably in. Its about time the Veterans find their own ways out of the mud, its about time the veterans who commit heinous giveaways get benched instantly the way Beaulieu did, because they have been just as guilty of having moments like that all year too.

this would have to be the first trade Bergevin has me scratching my head on, not caring about any cap space or digging for any ounce of positive here, we simply were better off not trading Tinordi than we were making this deal today. that's my final assessment of this trade in a nutshell

well now we are reaching a little bit here in my opinion, he was handling that puck all season last year, but the offense was still lacking. His presence masks our lack of finish, it allows our defense to play less tense and more relaxed and be more effective because of it. These things combined make us a better team while he is there, but no better offensively. there is no doubt in my mind that this team still needs an additional top 6 forward capable of contributing with 20 goal seasons regularly, whether we can acquire one for the right price and still fit it under the cap on a long term basis without crippling the ability to retain other players of importance down the road is a different question.

well that comes with a double edge, their will also be some big dollar contracts coming off the books at the same time by then. Price is signed for 3 seasons including this one, coming off the books by then and around the same time are Markov(5.7) Desharnais(3.5) Plekanec(6.0) Emelin(4.1) Eller(3.5). All that coming off allows you to make some major cap prioritizing changes, plus however much more the cap increases in 3 seasons could be beneficial.

where do you get off talking to me like that? you didn't even read my post right i said it was wrong that he would be shamed over the incident because he got assaulted by a woman as Cucumber mentioned. Not sure what entitlement you think you have around here bud, but calling someone names over a post you misread doesn't seem like the type of thing that fits in a good community. This is hardly the first time i've seen you particularly take an overly aggressive tone towards people with your comments. back on topic though, I agree with some of the thoughts here about how this is perfectly fine, couple young kids having a good time on a night far removed from any Hockey related operations, be it practice or a game. Its like going to Cuba on an all inclusive vacation for a week, and being expected to just drink water and pineapple juice the whole time. It shouldn't matter as long as they wouldn't be jeopardizing their abilities during hockey operations of any kind, if it happens on their days off, with days off ahead on top of it, should be a non factor.

saw on one of the twitter pages that the habs are scouting Colorado apparently. any idea who they would be looking at? Iginla maybe?

you are absolutely right, and to add to that, he will get some element of the shaming for it, and it is wrong, but mark my words he will get no credit or commendation for not retaliating himself.

http://www.gohabsgo.com/2016/01/09/mega-transaction-entre-tampa-bay-et-detroit-impliq/ no idea how good this source is, just posting it out there, according to this french site, Detroit and Tampa might be working on a mega deal involving Stamkos and Drouin going to Detroit for Nyqvist, Shaehan, Marchanko, Mantha, and 2 first round picks. thoughts? if it is true, there goes the theory that they aren't willing to talk to division teams if you come to the table with an offer that means you want to get something done.

They didn't score much last season, the difference is Price, it isn't just his performance in goal, it is the way the team plays when he is in front of the net. His presence does something, something that doesn't show through on a stat sheet, it allows the guys in front of him, all of them, to play with poise, and confidence. Sure they won't be an offensive juggernaut just because he is there, but they weren't last year, and the spot we ended up in wasn't too shabby. Condon has been playing some very solid hockey for his last 4 or 5 games now, but the fact remains despite his individual performance, the team doesn't have that thing it had early on this year, or last year, when Price was there. It was a thing that had these guys believing in themselves so much, they actually did believe they were more than just Price, and yes it is clearly not the case, but the fact it had them thinking so, is a great indication of what i'm talking about.

My post never suggested not to do anything at all, it suggested to hold on tight until the deals that aren't asking for outrageous returns start to file in, not inactivity but patience. You really believe Bergevin is sitting at home binge watching Game of Thrones instead of calling a bunch of different teams about his needs? Come on now, we are not the only ones that realize we need a secondary scoring threat on this team, everyone on that management floor is aware of it, and likely trying to do something about it, just not at all costs, and certainly not a cost we would end up regretting, unlike most people around here. Anaheim has way more reason to succumb to panic than us, they were actually a true contender, a supposed powerhouse and they have been faltering all season yet despite that have not fired everyone and traded everyone yet. Why? because you can't just be short sighted in this league, you can't fall into a hole where all you see is the last 4 weeks and base all your next moves on that. They have the same team as last year, no one complained about it then, we have the same team as last year, and although we needed some offense, we managed to stay among the top teams. That was with big bad coach Therrien, lackluster bad captain Pacioretty, and everyone else who has been overly criticized during this stretch. If this was the ceiling for this team, i'd be all for blowing it up, but it is not, it is capable of much more than this. I simply think we should at least give it more than 5 weeks without its MVP and true Leader to prove itself.

every team goes through things like this, even the greatest, look at Chicago, had their post season in jeopardy for half the season, get in not where they should have, but get it together in the end with great results. There was a stretch where people and analysts where questioning their window, changes were coming, but nothing happened, no firings no trades, just a team capable of better than they were showing, getting themselves to a higher level on their own because that was what they were capable of. Are we as good as our start? no, are we as bad as this slump? no. Grab hold of the railings, hold on to your hat, and let out a diabolical laugh all the way down the rapids as Captain Barbosa would, because their is sure to be calmer waters ahead. Making decisions under the mindset of panic and the world is crumbling often forces a move you end up regretting in the end for one reason or another. Bergevin is doing exactly what he should be doing in this market right now, not listening to a single panic stricken fan's cries for block buster shake ups. Especially since i'm sure all of the other GMs smell blood in this slump and are negotiating in the position of ,you need me more than I need you, pretext , asking inflated prices for anything Bergevin asks about hoping he succumbs to our cries. No, i do believe he is doing a fine job, more so in this slump, which is the most adversity this group, including management, has faced since its been brought in. He is showing the character to deal with his surroundings, the cold as ice ability to negotiate a good deal or none at all even if the situation would be easy to do otherwise. We are lucky to have him at the helm, we are lucky to have stability in this organization, we are lucky to have management who believes in its core, and they will become better for it. .

Bergevin isn't going to make a block buster for the sake of making one, if the prices are still too high he will wait, the man does not get fleeced easily and is simply making minor tinker moves, letting the league know he is willing to dance, while curing us of some small issues. Whether its a substance abuse problem or a goalie who has simply reached rock bottom for us and has become nothing more than an obstacle in front of Fucale's playing time. When the deal for the significant player becomes available for the right price, he will make it, and quite frankly i'd rather have a GM who picks his moments and grabs the Vanek's, and the Petry's for great deals than the GM who makes Kessel type trades because the market is rioting for a big move.

at the very least, it possibly means we no longer need the goalie depth because our Star goalie is coming back soon?

Bergevin will not fire Therrien until he has his star player back, we miss the playoffs, and enter the off-season having grossly underachieved. He is more likely to make a significant trade to shake things up before that, and as some have stated, Therrien is still the best option out there for this market at the moment. I find it funny how in Montreal the whole city is screaming for the coaches head during a slump, yet in New York, a team who is supposed to be better than us, is doing just as poorly, and some suggest hiring Vingeault here if they fire him?? So let me get this straight, when Montreal slumps its the coaches fault and he is terrible, but when new York slumps its not the coaches fault, and even if he is fired we should hire him? if Bergevin was to Panic as much as 80% of this fanbase Therrien would have been gone by now, but luckily he recognizes that if the coaching change doesn't bring in a better candidate and only acts as a shot of a adrenaline for the next few weeks, just hang on and ride the storm out. There is plenty of time this summer to evaluate the season, the coaches hand in it, and whether there is a better option out there than him during that time. I have believed it for awhile and still do, Firing Therrien is a cop out, this team is in progression, with most of its core pieces just entering their prime, and the young core not even in their mid twenties yet. Our issues lie in the fact that our Superstar has not played a game in almost 2 months, that this team is not at a level where it can withstand his absence for a long period of time, and that too many of our veterans are slumping at the same time during this already difficult situation. Our record during his first stint on the IR was misleading and created a false sense that we would be ok without Price, but we're not, we were never going to be, so I stand by the belief that this slump is a player personnel issue and not a Coach issue. The coach is simply a crappy excuse to use, because i'm almost positive he is the exact same person today that he was last year, or during the first 3 weeks of this season, but now all of a sudden he forgot how to coach and we can't possibly win with him behind the bench no matter what? NHL front offices and fanbases need to get out of this ridiculous funk that has been the last 15 years or so, where when your team under performs instead of first looking into improving the product on the ice, you just fire the coach, hope for an electroshock that always seems to wear off, and not actually upgrade your coaching situation 90% of the time. Pittsburgh is currently a great example of this, lets keep firing coaches instead of dealing with the player personnel issues on the ice, the team has no defense at all, relies entirely on offense and completely lacks balance, but the coach needs to go before trading what you have too much of for what you lack. the Jets are a perfect example of a team who got the red bull gives you wings effect from a coaching change only to have the pendulum return to the center this season, in hindsight do they really look any different today than when they were a 9 - 10th place team not too long ago? Real change happens on the ice people, the real reasons you win or lose are more often on the bench than behind it, and more often on the IR or not. It is time to stop using the Coach, Therrien or any other, as the number one scapegoat to your problems.

ehhh, not sure I agree here, I love Gally, kid is a gem, we are lucky to have someone like him locked up long term, but he was simply a top forward coming back from a long absence when the team needed a boost. His return was certainly a spark for the team, but I don't think it was a leadership question as much as a general energetic boost to have one of your top players back on the ice. if the role was reversed, and Pacioretty was coming back from a long lay off, I believe we would have saw the same reaction from the team, for the same reason.

I agree, there is no panic here just simply reset to the lines that worked for the better part of a month, the mental aspect of playing in lines you know worked earlier in the season could pay huge dividends to getting mentally out of the slump and starting there.