GDT: Florida/Montreal

[dlbalr]

Like yesterday, rather than spending my time on a fancy GDT, I made a Game Preview for the main site. The Habs lineup is in there plus about 1/2 of the Florida one.

[saskhab]

Finally, a preseason game worth caring about based on the lineups. It's still a depleted roster, but it at least looks like a plausible, 7 regulars on the IR lineup.

Can't wait for the cuts to come afterwards.

[dlbalr]

I've added a couple more Florida notes to the preview - 11/20 players are now confirmed in the lineup. 5/7 of the Panthers' expected regulars on D are playing tonight so the Habs may be hard pressed to put up 4 again (especially with only 1 NHL scoring line).

[BCHabnut]

A little quote from Latendresse on Price. "People always say here that good players get traded and play better somewhere else, but they always put pressure on the guy. Why not give Carey time to develop and get some experience? Sometimes people are lacking patience here. Yes, (Jaroslav) Halak did well in the playoffs, but I think Price can do as much or more, so they should try to encourage the player for once."

From a player in a very similar situation. I almost promise that Price will be great. I just dont think it will be as a habs.

[nikohab]

A little quote from Latendresse on Price. "People always say here that good players get traded and play better somewhere else, but they always put pressure on the guy. Why not give Carey time to develop and get some experience? Sometimes people are lacking patience here. Yes, (Jaroslav) Halak did well in the playoffs, but I think Price can do as much or more, so they should try to encourage the player for once."

From a player in a very similar situation. I almost promise that Price will be great. I just dont think it will be as a habs.

Have we not been patient with Latendresse? They said that he should be playing on the 1st or 2nd line so we did that and it was a disaster. We then put him on the 3rd or 4th line but he won't check. We put him on the PP but he wont sacrifice his body in front of the net. So can anyone tell me what his role was? I plainly think that with Minnesota he had no excuses left and therefore played well. I'm curious to see what he will do this year for the wild.

[dlbalr]

On a somewhat unrelated but odd note, I stumbled on the game sheet for tonight's game (link below) which lists basically all the players affiliated with the Habs in the organization (signed/unsigned, junior/pro, etc). The only ones I didn't see off first glance were Ramo/Trotter/Perezhogin, players who have bolted to the KHL after playing in North America. I was shocked to see Andrei Sidyakin and Andrei Kruchinin on there - does this mean the Habs still hold their rights after more than a decade? Wow...I'm not familiar with how long the Habs to sign these guys under the old transfer agreement but these guys are nearly 30 now, I'd have figured they'd be UFA's by now.

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20102011/ES010054.HTM

[kenadian]

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20102011/RO010054.HTM

[CoRvInA]

weird how the line up is quite different to first detailed by RDS ans co.

Picard not there but Henry is

[Wamsley01]

Wow, that Markstrom is a stiff!!

[bar]

I really love Whites game, fights, hits, scores...

[bar]

Plecky

White

Eller

Three stars.

[BCHabnut]

I loved white last year, and actually preffered his game to Pyatt. Pyatt has since proven his worth, but man I still like Ryan White. He really needs a shot. I am a little disapointed that Dejarnais will probably never be a habs. He is soooo good. I wonder if he could be traded? Man did Moen pound that guy hard. I wish I could see a video. I don't endorse the hit from behind. It was pretty dirty, but the fight in the scrum was awesome. Some of those punches were so hard. Eller was better today.

[mineral]

I'm loving that White kid as well. Scrappy, finishes his checks, fights, and seems to have a pair of hands (for now). I'm rooting for him right now and all the way .

[JCPetit]

I loved white last year, and actually preffered his game to Pyatt. Pyatt has since proven his worth, but man I still like Ryan White. He really needs a shot. I am a little disapointed that Dejarnais will probably never be a habs. He is soooo good. I wonder if he could be traded? Man did Moen pound that guy hard. I wish I could see a video. I don't endorse the hit from behind. It was pretty dirty, but the fight in the scrum was awesome. Some of those punches were so hard. Eller was better today.

In perfect agreement with you. White is a scrappy little forward. Reminds me a lot of Mario Tremblay.

It's been years since the Habs have had so much depth at every positions in Montreal and Hamilton. I guess that we have all it takes to weather some bad breaks along the road or make a big trade if the opportunity arises. I really like the team as I see it right now. Martin has a lot of options and that makes his job so much easier.

BTW, what about Hamilton? Boucher had an excellent team last year, but Cunneyworth will be blessed. There will be a lot of talent with the farm team.

[ForumGhost]

Kind of sad that Desharnais and possibly Maxwell will not have a future with the club.

[JCPetit]

Kind of sad that Desharnais and possibly Maxwell will not have a future with the club.

You're right. Both are doing very well. Maxwell, particularly, is finally showing why he was once a promising 2nd round draft pick.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

In perfect agreement with you. White is a scrappy little forward. Reminds me a lot of Mario Tremblay.

It's been years since the Habs have had so much depth at every positions in Montreal and Hamilton. I guess that we have all it takes to weather some bad breaks along the road or make a big trade if the opportunity arises. I really like the team as I see it right now. Martin has a lot of options and that makes his job so much easier.

BTW, what about Hamilton? Boucher had an excellent team last year, but Cunneyworth will be blessed. There will be a lot of talent with the farm team.

Fun to see this kind of optimism for once. And it does seem tolerably well-founded. Could be that Rebuild 2.0 is proceeding better than we hoped. (Having Eller makes a huge difference to the team's youthful depth chart).

I've certainly been wrong about this sort of thing before, but I do believe that we will regret letting Deshanais go, should it come to that. I feel like I've seen this movie with Danny Briere and Martin St Louis: players unjustly neglected because of size. The guy has scored at every level and, unlike a Grabovski, seems to have no character issues that will muck him up. I'll concede that he has no future with us as a C, and I'm aware that he's yet another 'smurf,' but I could still see him being useful on the wing, stepping in for injuries to the top 6, perhaps offering relief if Pouliot or Kostitsyn flag, and who knows, in 2-3 years Gio - whose numbers are really those of a second-liner anyway - may be on the decline and need replacing. Might be worth keeping him around on the 4th line, if there's space there, either this season or next.

Edited September 28, 2010 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[brobin]

Wow, that Markstrom is a stiff!!

LOL, I thought the same thing, and Vokoun didn't look all that great either.

By the end of the night the habs were all chanting.. go five hole.

Edited September 28, 2010 by brobin

[saskhab]

I've certainly been wrong about this sort of thing before, but I do believe that we will regret letting Deshanais go, should it come to that. I feel like I've seen this movie with Danny Briere and Martin St Louis: players unjustly neglected because of size. The guy has scored at every level and, unlike a Grabovski, seems to have no character issues that will muck him up. I'll concede that he has no future with us as a C, and I'm aware that he's yet another 'smurf,' but I could still see him being useful on the wing, stepping in for injuries to the top 6, perhaps offering relief if Pouliot or Kostitsyn flag, and who knows, in 2-3 years Gio - whose numbers are really those of a second-liner anyway - may be on the decline and need replacing. Might be worth keeping him around on the 4th line, if there's space there, either this season or next.

Desharnais can't skate like those guys at all. He might make it, but there are more flags than just his size to be concerned with.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Desharnais can't skate like those guys at all. He might make it, but there are more flags than just his size to be concerned with.

Eric Engels disagrees with you! Nyah!

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eric-Engels...-Notes/82/30402

I don't claim to be a pro scout. You could well be right, but I just get nervous at the idea of throwing away guys who would likely be considered fine prospects if they were 3 inches taller. Maybe I'm just scarred by all those years of watching GMs favour lumbering hulks over truly talented hockey players in the 1990s.

[saskhab]

He's not a slow skater, but he's not quick, either. Those guys are some of the best skaters in the NHL. Desharnais doesn't compare to them. If he and Brian Gionta did a race, Gionta would win by 2 strides. On this quick team, Desharnais would be one of the slower skaters up front.

Regardless, Desharnais has another year of AHL eligibility before a decision on his NHL readiness has to be made. He might get an opportunity with injuries this year, although it appears like there are 3 forwards ahead of him in White, Maxwell, and Pacioretty, not to mention Darche being around as the 13th forward.

[Zowpeb]

He's not a slow skater, but he's not quick, either. Those guys are some of the best skaters in the NHL. Desharnais doesn't compare to them. If he and Brian Gionta did a race, Gionta would win by 2 strides. On this quick team, Desharnais would be one of the slower skaters up front.

Regardless, Desharnais has another year of AHL eligibility before a decision on his NHL readiness has to be made. He might get an opportunity with injuries this year, although it appears like there are 3 forwards ahead of him in White, Maxwell, and Pacioretty, not to mention Darche being around as the 13th forward.

But you also have Kostsitsyn, Pouliot, Moen, Halpern, Lapierre, Boyd, Darche and Pyatt who could easily fall out of favour over the course of this season.

Sure, a few of those guys could turn out to be very nice players and I can easily see White, Maxwell and Pacioretty in the NHL soon...but I could honestly see Desharnais getting a shot in the top 6 if Pouliot stumbles, or on the 4th line for some speed/energy...

Boyd is a bit of a reclaimation project who has a year to turn it around.

Halpern could easily be gone by year end.

Darche could stumble and get a quick hook.

Lappy could fall out of favour pretty quickly given is on-going antics.

Pouliot will also likely have a short leash.

Kosty could be gone by the trade deadline unless he starts putting up some better numbers.

Anything can happen when you got a guy in the AHL putting up that production despite his size...who knows maybe Cammy get's put on Gomez line if Pouliot stumbles and Desharnais gets a shot with Pleks. Or Kosty gets dealt and he gets a shot with Pleks and Cammy.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Yeah, all I'm saying is I'm in hurry to ship this guy off to another organization. He could prove a useful asset to ours. That doesn't mean, of course, that he has to make the team this season. I know it's "nice" to move a guy if he's getting impatient, but a 5'6 player HAS to be patient by definition. Keep him around for as long as you can.

Edited September 29, 2010 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[Toronthab]

Yeah, all I'm saying is I'm in hurry to ship this guy off to another organization. He could prove a useful asset to ours. That doesn't mean, of course, that he has to make the team this season. I know it's "nice" to move a guy if he's getting impatient, but a 5'6 player HAS to be patient by definition. Keep him around for as long as you can.

You're right. I used to be 5'6" and I had to be patient too.

[saskhab]

Boyd is a bit of a reclaimation project who has a year to turn it around.

Halpern could easily be gone by year end.

Darche could stumble and get a quick hook.

Lappy could fall out of favour pretty quickly given is on-going antics.

Pouliot will also likely have a short leash.

Kosty could be gone by the trade deadline unless he starts putting up some better numbers.

You're right that anything can happen, but I'll remind you that Georges Laraque got a half-season last year, and Matt D'Agostini got until the trade deadline. Those were some awful players for the team last year, and I have my doubts that any of these players will fall off that badly. 4 of those players are proven NHLers, only Pouliot and Darche are new to the league/questionable. I'd put Eller in that group before others, and I'm bullish on the kid, it's just that he's had 7 games of NHL experience and can be sent back at any time. He may look ready now, but he could hit a wall and start to have confidence issues. You never know.

You're right, though, I could definitely see Pacioretty, White, or Maxwell cement spots with the team at some point during the season, much like how Pyatt did last year.

Unless there's a scenario to acquire a legitimately better player than him, or the Habs are out of the playoff race at the deadline, Andrei Kostitsyn will be with the Habs until the end of the season. I think us fans need to accept him for what he is: a secondary scorer who has some defensive issues, but can be sheltered with good linemates.