hockeyrealist

Haha great point. while 5.5 aav looks high at first. if he ends up a real top 6 forward for many years this will look like a good value. Also, could blow up but I think he will be worth it. I have seen him drag his teammates into games single handed, plays Big like Gallagher but Is actually big, and pretty mobile to boot. Gally, Armia and Anderson are gonna wear défenses down.

Haha that is gold Jerry, gold.

Agreed, had high hopes and think he can still be a valuable piece. seems better than Mete, Fleury when he was healthy.

He should have chosen to sit out then or been preparing on his own like a professional. he also should play where he is put and put in a consistent effort regardless of position/line mates. Like a pro, and an adult. good riddance.

Haha I love this line and agree. not sure if this poll is supposed to reflect this off-season or all of 2020 as a whole? Either way, that comment kicks ass and agree too that some of these opinions are cherry picking numbers that fit their argument rather than looking at the whole.

Agreed and given Dadonov also RW I don’t see it. I think the line mentioned above has potential and will be given time to gel. Drouin-Suzuki-Anderson will be it. Lehks-KK-Armia have been great before and KK shows more potential as a two way centre anyways, Suzuki will drive the offensive line. KK eventually makes Danault expendable (2-3 years out) so if he resigns at decent price will be easy to move.

I don’t think he is a fit but 2008-2009 was his first year pro with 82 gp so he’s already had a long career so your point is incorrect regarding his style of play leading to short carrer. he is 11-12 years in already, that ship has sailed. again, I don’t want him on Habs but to use that generic phrasing is just incorrect. Hes actually got an impressive amount of GP/season so his style of play has not kept him out of action. Years are gonna catch up to all players, him included.

who cares? Why you dwelling on what ifs? Not enough to bitch about?

Thank you for pointing this out. Some posters so quick to throw shade without looking at the numbers. all accounts are he is growing into offensive role and has been trending that way.

Excellent summary/point. Hit the nail on the head. Having seen quite a few jackets games, Mostly from 2015-18/19, he is impressive and I like his style (when he was healthy) but indeed not a stable top 6 guy, can fill in there when needed but wouldn’t want to depend on it entering a season. on third line he can be pretty dominant but is sporadic in top 6. And I feel we already have plenty of these players as a whole and on the right side I’d say that is Armia. Seems everyone knows Habs are short a top 6 RW. Think a 1A/1B approach is interesting if they get that missing piece, chase the cup window. something like: 1A)Tuna-Danault-Gally (proven Commodity) 1B)Drouin-Suzuki-Missing top 6 RW 3)Lehks-KK-Armia (reunite the Finns) 4)Poehling/Weal-Evans/Poehling-Byron (too lazy to search who plays which side, but decent 4th line to play 12 min/game, ease Poehling into C role, see what he’s got) So IMO: Domi has to go, ideally packaged to get back a top 6 RW... Imagine Hall (Dreaming, I know), Toffoli or Dadonov (Laine obv omg) on that 1B line with Suzuki and Drouin? I think that lineup can contend given the (IMO) improvements on the back end as of now. Obv a lot easier said than done, but have to think Domi has some appeal, and we have a lot of mid level d prospects (thinking Fleury, Brook, Mete), throw in that #16 and go balls deep for a season, I may be totally over valuing our offer since 16th pick doesn’t seem to be getting traction as per Bergy. My risk-rich morning Jumble of thoughts haha.

Good point, think I read something where he commented he’d rather play where he is wanted. Pretty sure he was scratched a lot last year. the deadline trade idea makes sense though, wonder if that thought enters players minds and if so, how big a factor it is.

After thinking on it a second, I see this point. We’d be jeopardizing Suzuki’s development by expecting him to succeed with a consistently inconsistent winger in Drouin. Suzuki and KK should be surrounded with skill, and consistent professionalism, effort. I honestly do not understand these posts about how Drouin can excel “if this or that”, when the proof is already there. He is not a prospect, he is a 7-ish year veteran, and the only stable trend is that he disappears for too long far too frequently. I thought he was going to rise to his talent level potential when coming to Mtl and said all of the right things, Which I believe he believes, so I don’t think it is anything conscious on his part, as much as ingrained behaviour. He calculates his odds of success on any given play and generally only pushes himself when the odds are favourable (we’ve seen times when he proves this theory wrong and damn he is a presence, but it rarely lasts longer than a few games). The exact opposite of Gallagher (this is closest I have ever come to quantifying the logic of “heart”), who gives 100% regardless of the odds he will come out on top. IMO The calculated expenditure of energy used to work for elite players, but the NHL is far too fast, overall skill level too high now as compared to yesteryears. Without 100% compete level 100% of time, you will not have consistent success. Perhaps early age success hampers this development, maybe it is genetic. I think we all do it, but some people place more weight on it whether conscious or not. I see this trait in Domi as well, which is why I am not a fan. Players like this are valuing individual reward more than the collective goal, but again I think it is subconscious. And also just having fun speculating, I’d far rather see these players (especially Drouin) have success with the Habs. The Sergachev trade does look worse and worse as time goes by though. Hard not to call that one a loss.

Had same convo with a friend. his skating mechanics are excellent and will age well. If I recall he did have a knee injury a while back but seems to be pretty sturdy, knows when to expose himself and when to hold back and play it safer when it comes to physicality. I admittedly did not see the potential when he was acquired but have grown to really like him and he’s one of my top 5 current Habs to watch and has been on my fantasy roster for past few years. He’s a stud. edited to add I love the part about him and his family enjoying Mtl and him handling the enviro well, not all can do that in big markets. Worst case he gets dealt before his last year or stays on as a PP specialist, third pairing guy. Pretty sure cap will be up again by end of his contract to boot. youngsters coming up on d will still be on cheap contracts, rose coloured glasses here today.

Like this comment, as much as the game has gotten faster. Quality d men seem to be ageing well and Id include Petry in that group.

Seems their goaltending was a major flaw this year all around as well. Would love to see Ovi laying people out and sniping one timers in the bleu, blanc et rouge.

Obv. no expert here but have read reports from those who do this for a living that Romanov was underused in KHL as it was known he would not be back this year so his playing time was affected by that, but apparently increased as the stakes were getting higher. Recall an interview with Markov where he had praised Romanov quite heavily as well, hard to argue with the general. (Was it general?) interesting points all around though. I am quite excited to see how he performs as he appears to be highly competitive and has an edge. my fearless prediction is that he is on top pair with Weber before too long next season. Hopefully Weber grooms him a la Josi given the high praise Josi had for the impact Weber had on his development.

That’s kind of how I see it, but was curious whether the organization would be patient with him or try to push him along.

Good point, like the employee who shines during probationary period, has a great attitude and then they settle into old habits. As far as other teams knowing about this, if we’re talking about it and has been mentioned on other sites, it is out there. Bergy May be stubborn, refuse to take the pile of pucks that will be offered and end up keeping Max...? Fun to speculate.

Any thoughts on how this affects Poehling’s ability to crack roster? I kind of thought he may be 4th line centre/wing...??? Assuming he brings his best game to camp, is there room for him as is? Seems like that would mean he’d be on the wing, again assuming he impresses.

I see both sides, but what it underscores for me is how much of a crap shoot the majority of draft picks really are. Habs have had some highly touted, well ranked prospects that never lived up to the expectations. This is why I was personally against any idea of tanking for a chance at a higher draft pick (excluding the #1 pick though, but the odds were so small I didn’t think the gamble was worth the price of seeing Suzuki, KK and our dmen step up, as well as Price reminding us he is the real king by getting a little playin/playoff hockey). The bird in the hand versus two in the bush type conversation, good points both ways.

You obviously don’t watch many Caroline, Columbus games. or any of this teams you are raving about. Knights? c’mon you’re just hating on the Habs here cause you’re complaints are not based in fact.

price was not the leader in shutouts this season, he started as many games as Helybuck and had fewer shutouts, also few than Rask, Merlizkins, Fleury... hes a stud, but not winning games just by pitching shutouts, or lowering team gaa that way either. your point is based on false information. he also played way more games that all of those goalies other than helybuck. backup goalie solution will help The whole team this year. goalie, d are not the problem. scoring goals is.

Haha ignoring stats is so convenient. classic post where Price kicking ass is nothing, but a group a d are the be all end all? Price has amazing playoff gaa this year, but it isn’t due the amazing d played by the top 4? Habs d is solid, goaltending Is world class. the lack of scoring is what kills this team. Dadanov is a good idea.

haha love that. so many posters make bold statements without even consulting the facts. Eberle would get run out of Mtl by disappearing for chunks of the year.

That makes no sense, Habs have dominating dman now with solid chance that Romanov becomes a dominating young dman. Habs now have one of the best d core in the league and eapecially solid top 4. who cares if they are not young as you’d like, they still have 2-3 years of dominating dmen, which coincides with Price still being elite. Bitching about not having a young, dominating dman is stupid given how long it takes d to Flourish/mature. Also stupid given that it isn’t even true.