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New players means new lines - What would you do?


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1 minute ago, Trizzak said:

Ah, next time I will create lines using players that don't even exist to avoid any semblance of a "shuffle." 

Was just saying that the Habs shuffle lines, not load then up ... the most loading the Habs could do would be Toffoli-Suzuki-Anderson (42 of the Habs 122 goals) ... and it might be worth a try.

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24 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

So as of Monday we have 2 new Dmen. 
 

Is Kulak the odd man out or is there a chance anyone else sits? Romanov?

 

You assume both new Dmen will dress in their first eligible game.  I think Gustafsson has always been insurance and not meant to be in the lineup unless injuries hit.

I think Merrill, Kulak, and Romanov likely rotate. 

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3 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

You assume both new Dmen will dress in their first eligible game.  I think Gustafsson has always been insurance and not meant to be in the lineup unless injuries hit.

I think Merrill, Kulak, and Romanov likely rotate. 


I hope they sit Weber and Perry at some point to rest them, although the cap situation will make it hard to work

A .500 record down the stretch while resting some players would be the way to go for me

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6 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

So as of Monday we have 2 new Dmen. 
 

Is Kulak the odd man out or is there a chance anyone else sits? Romanov?

 

Am I the only 1 questioning Chiarot?  I wonder what the Habs win % is with him vs without him?  I'm guessing its better without him.  Chiarot was in the leader board before his injury, he was Top 5 in penalties.    There are players like Suban that can win a game or lose a game.  Well, Chiarot doesnt really win games but he has lost several with penalties. 

 

 

5 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

You assume both new Dmen will dress in their first eligible game.  I think Gustafsson has always been insurance and not meant to be in the lineup unless injuries hit.

 

 

It will be interesting to see what happens with both of them, especially Gustafsson.  They have a serious need for somebody that can 1 time the puck and *on* net.  He definitely has a great shot so I can see him being a really good fit.  I think we'll see more of him than less, and they might even try to play him at Wing. 

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w/o CC:

Tatar-Danault-Anderson

Toffoli-Suzuki-Armia

Drouin-KK-Byron

Lehkonen-Evans-Perry

 

if Caufield plays:

Tuna-Danault-Andy

Drouin-Suzuki-Armia

Toffoli-KK-Caufield

Lehks-Evans-Byro

(basically monitor CC 5v5 minutes, his adaptation to NHL and as needed rotate in Perry/Staal with either CC, 62, 71, 41 or ideally 92.)

 

D-

Eddy-Petry

Chiarot-Weber

Romanov-Kulak (becomes Merril on Tuesday)

 

 

 

 

 

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10 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:


I hope they sit Weber and Perry at some point to rest them, although the cap situation will make it hard to work

A .500 record down the stretch while resting some players would be the way to go for me

I agree ... Weber is just a matter of will (to do it) as they have the extra defencemen ... Perry will likely depend when/whether the Habs add a 13th forward (Caufield or otherwise), or they could go go 7D (which either adds minutes to the other forwards or plays a D out of position ... although the anti-Gustafson-ites would question whether D is in fact his position)

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12 hours ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

 

Am I the only 1 questioning Chiarot?  I wonder what the Habs win % is with him vs without him?  I'm guessing its better without him.  Chiarot was in the leader board before his injury, he was Top 5 in penalties.    There are players like Suban that can win a game or lose a game.  Well, Chiarot doesnt really win games but he has lost several with penalties. 

 

 

 

It will be interesting to see what happens with both of them, especially Gustafsson.  They have a serious need for somebody that can 1 time the puck and *on* net.  He definitely has a great shot so I can see him being a really good fit.  I think we'll see more of him than less, and they might even try to play him at Wing. 

 

To me, scoring goals isn't about point shots. ... I'd rather focus on trying to get more shots from inside the faceoff dots, than to get more from the point. 

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41 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

To me, scoring goals isn't about point shots. ... I'd rather focus on trying to get more shots from inside the faceoff dots, than to get more from the point. 

Agreed, the point shots are being covered on the Habs and the Sens we’re having a field day letting Habs players become extra shot blockers in front of the net

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1 hour ago, Commandant said:

 

To me, scoring goals isn't about point shots. ... I'd rather focus on trying to get more shots from inside the faceoff dots, than to get more from the point. 


Agree as well 

 

We generate fairly well off the rush but we need to do far better from the circles - I’ve heard Caufield is pretty good at that 😊

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10 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

To me, scoring goals isn't about point shots. ... I'd rather focus on trying to get more shots from inside the faceoff dots, than to get more from the point. 

 

Technically, I idnt say anything about point shots, but 1 timers, which can be from the point.  However, they can also be done from inside the faceoff circles. 

 

Gustafsson can shoot from out by the blue line, but he's also good at shooting from the top of the faceoff circle and the side hashmarks by the boards.  

 

Thats where Suzuki should be camped out, doing the same, but he's often at the bottom of the cirlce near the goal line.   People can score from there but its not an optimal shooting location. 

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9 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:


Agree as well 

 

We generate fairly well off the rush but we need to do far better from the circles - I’ve heard Caufield is pretty good at that 😊

Seems like that, without the puck he likely would make Drouin look like Bob Gainey , but if he can help the PP and contribute 5 on 5, only the coaches would care.

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14 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

 

Technically, I idnt say anything about point shots, but 1 timers, which can be from the point.  However, they can also be done from inside the faceoff circles. 

 

Gustafsson can shoot from out by the blue line, but he's also good at shooting from the top of the faceoff circle and the side hashmarks by the boards.  

 

Thats where Suzuki should be camped out, doing the same, but he's often at the bottom of the cirlce near the goal line.   People can score from there but its not an optimal shooting location. 

 

I just don't think Erik Gustafsson is the answer to our goal scoring woes.  His one strong NHL season looks like an outlier. He's got one goal this season and never had more than 6 goals in any other year.  Seems like 2018 was a one-season wonder and  I think his liabilities on defence don't make it worth dressing him for that level of production. 

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2 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

I just don't think Erik Gustafsson is the answer to our goal scoring woes.  His one strong NHL season looks like an outlier. He's got one goal this season and never had more than 6 goals in any other year.  Seems like 2018 was a one-season wonder and  I think his liabilities on defence don't make it worth dressing him for that level of production. 

Although with how little some forwards are contributing, or to give guys a night off, they could try going (early) Mark Streit with him and use him as the 12th forward and on the PP

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1 minute ago, GHT120 said:

Although with how little some forwards are contributing, or to give guys a night off, they could try going (early) Mark Streit with him and use him as the 12th forward and on the PP

 

Do you want to go with 3 lines and double shift a forward on the fourth at ES though (or play him at a position he isnt effective so that means using the fourth line less), given the schedule?

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Just now, Commandant said:

 

Do you want to go with 3 lines and double shift a forward on the fourth at ES though (or play him at a position he isnt effective so that means using the fourth line less), given the schedule?

No ... but could he really offer that much less than Staal or Drouin on many nights ... and I did say "could try" not "should regularly" ... if they don't right the ship something needs to change, if only to shake things up for a night

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18 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

I just don't think Erik Gustafsson is the answer to our goal scoring woes.  His one strong NHL season looks like an outlier. He's got one goal this season and never had more than 6 goals in any other year.  Seems like 2018 was a one-season wonder and  I think his liabilities on defence don't make it worth dressing him for that level of production. 

 

I think part of why he is undervalued is because of his low goal totals but that is likely due to tip ins and him getting assists.  ex:  if he'd been a Habs all season, his 9 assists would be goals for Perry or Gally.  I believe he's similar to Perry and generates unaccredited points too.  ex:  he shoots, goalie saves, rebound, leads to an unassisted goal.

 

DeBrincat might have something to do with why the Hawks got rid of him.  No clue what the issue was in Philly, but I dont think it wasn't him per se.  i.e. there is something going with their entire team this year.  Thats strange consider they beat the Habs out last year. 

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1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

Although with how little some forwards are contributing, or to give guys a night off, they could try going (early) Mark Streit with him and use him as the 12th forward and on the PP

 

 

I want to see him play PP and 4th line Wing.

 

Has anyone seen Gustafsson's 17 goals that year? 

 

If somebody didnt know what position he played and watched this clip its unlikely they would guess dman. 

 

 

It is unarguable that he had an 'outlier season".  However, how fair is that really?  i.e. look at the games he played in the seasons he got 5-6g vs 79 games when he got 17.  In those 2 other season he likely would have got around 9-12 if he had played 80 games. 

 

We're getting desperate here, who doesnt want to see him play like that?

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9 hours ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

It is unarguable that he had an 'outlier season".  However, how fair is that really?  i.e. look at the games he played in the seasons he got 5-6g vs 79 games when he got 17.  In those 2 other season he likely would have got around 9-12 if he had played 80 games. 

 

We're getting desperate here, who doesnt want to see him play like that?

 

Last year I looked at his stats, and thought he would improve the Habs D point production ; I remember getting push back on the forum about him being terrible defending and that his outlier season was just that.

 

Normally, I would still try to fit him in th eline up, similar to wanting to see Mike Rielly and Victor Mete in the lineup. How much is he going to hurt the team ?

 

But on the other side of the argument, I understand being fed up in trying to patch the lineup with other team's misfits: Perry, Staal, and to a lesser extent Armia and Tatar. Players that ca perform well in specific roles but that have holes to their game.

 

One thing I am sure of, I do not want to add a player that we may not be able to send back to the taxi squad due to the cap situation

 

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14 hours ago, GHT120 said:

No ... but could he really offer that much less than Staal or Drouin on many nights ...

He is the leading assist getter on the team, 39th in the NHL, so he aint chopped liver. 

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4 minutes ago, DON said:

He is the leading assist getter on the team, 39th in the NHL, so he aint chopped liver. 


more like prime rib or steak than chopped liver :nuts:

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9 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:


more like prime rib or steak than chopped liver :nuts:

He is what he is a 45-50pt winger, with tons of skill and OK speed...just is soft n play and seemingly between the ears also.

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24 minutes ago, DON said:

He is the leading assist getter on the team, 39th in the NHL, so he aint chopped liver. 

No, not chopped liver ... and I am actually a great fan of his talent; as I have been with many former Habs that never consistently lived up to their potential (e.g., Malakhov ... loved him)  ... but in this difficult stretch where the team NEEDS its most talented players to step up he has 2 assists in the last 12 games ... 10 of his 21 assists came in the first 13 games, when the team was hot ...  at -7 he is tied as the worst +/-  on the Habs despite his 16 assists 5-on-5 (sadly, he is tied with Eric Staal ... who has done it in roughly one fifth the number of games) ... despite his skills, especially passing, I am not certain he has made any line-mate better for any extended period since joining the Habs; chemistry just doesn't seem to be his subject ... he is a perimeter player and frequently disinterested on the habs defensive side of centre ... rolling him out shift after shift, PP after PP, game after game could well be one of the issues with he Habs current malaise; he seemingly doesn't have to earn his icetime

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56 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

No, not chopped liver ... and I am actually a great fan of his talent; as I have been with many former Habs that never consistently lived up to their potential (e.g., Malakhov ... loved him)  ... but in this difficult stretch where the team NEEDS its most talented players to step up he has 2 assists in the last 12 games ... 10 of his 21 assists came in the first 13 games, when the team was hot ...  at -7 he is tied as the worst +/-  on the Habs despite his 16 assists 5-on-5 (sadly, he is tied with Eric Staal ... who has done it in roughly one fifth the number of games) ... despite his skills, especially passing, I am not certain he has made any line-mate better for any extended period since joining the Habs; chemistry just doesn't seem to be his subject ... he is a perimeter player and frequently disinterested on the habs defensive side of centre ... rolling him out shift after shift, PP after PP, game after game could well be one of the issues with he Habs current malaise; he seemingly doesn't have to earn his icetime


It drives me nuts and this is exactly what I mean by no accountability on this team. 

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11 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

One thing I am sure of, I do not want to add a player that we may not be able to send back to the taxi squad due to the cap situation

 

That wouldn't be an issue for Gustafsson as he is already on the roster so no recall is necessary.  By the way, he's still on the CPRA list though I think he can come off tomorrow.  Merrill came off today and it looks like he's on the third pairing with Romanov as expected.

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