Where are they now? News on past Habs prospects and players

[Commandant]

26 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

 

stop it. Put me on ignore and be gone.

 

You don't read what I write, you spew hate for whatever reason that fuels you without reading.

 

I don't know why you have it against me, Commandant. I just don't get it.

 

 

I argued against you saying "checked out".

 

Its a message board.  If you write something people will disagree witb you.

 

I have always tried, and maybe sometimes i havent, to address the opinion and not name call the person.  Have i been perfect? No.  But at the same time, you have also taken shots at me...

 

Im more than willing to propose we start over and address the content of posts and not the poster, but it has to be mutual too.

[Sir_Boagalott]

6 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

I think we can only speculate on how bad the relationship was between MB and Danault. Obviously MB wasn't prepared to give Danault what he wanted so it was not that great. I do remember a lot of discussion on this board at that time and I don't think many here would have been happy if MB had signed Danault to a long term deal at around 6M/year. 

 

I had the opinion Danault was not worth that much.  However, that's primarily because he was incorrectly line cast by the Habs and the fans ended up having the same impression.  The identical thing basically happened with Lehks too.  ex:  both could barely score 15g/yr and were line casted as 3rd and 4th liners.  However, after they left the Habs they essentially doubled their goal output.  Nobody really saw that coming, but I wasn't highly surprised by Lehks.  On their new teams Lehks is 1st or 2nd liner and Danault was 2nd line C (until they got Dubois).   

 

The Habs defense 1st ideology seems to hamper goal scoring and similar might be happening with Cole this year.  i.e. the major emphasis they put on defense might make the shooters paranoid about missing the net.  If they miss the puck could bounce off the back boards and leave the O-zone so they stop aiming for the top corners and end up shooting at the goalie = easy saves vs goals.

 

5 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

Agreed. I don't want to get into the MB debate again as I was happy to move forward once Hughes came in. Some on this board liked MB, many despised him, I was somewhere in between.  My biggest complaint with MB was that he didn't recognize that a full rebuild was required or he couldn't sell it. He tinkered with it (ie Suzuki trade was great), he acquired some extra draft picks but just didn't go far enough. Maybe he couldn't sell Molson on a rebuild, I don't know. 

 

Hughes recognized that a rebuild was required which meant some short term pain for long term gain. I am absolutely on board with that. We can already see some results with a young mobile defense that is only going to get better. We just need another shooter or two, a healthy Dach and we can cause some damage. 

 

 

I was somewhere in between with MB as well.  I think the big problem under MB with doing a rebuild was with drafting and Timmins inability to select good players with regularity.  Out of his 20 year tenure Timmins unarguably had numerous decent draft years but he had way more years of crap picks.  I'm convinced that it is already safe to say that after this years draft Hughes' scouts could potentially have drafted the same amount of decent players that Timmins picked in over 2 decades.  ex:  Timmins was celebrated because he had 3 or 4 drafts where he picked 3 NHLers, however; give Hughes 3-4 drafts and I imagine he'll match that success.

 

 

[tomh009]

Danault is back on the second line now, PLD is on the third …

[hab29RETIRED]

6 hours ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

 

I had the opinion Danault was not worth that much.  However, that's primarily because he was incorrectly line cast by the Habs and the fans ended up having the same impression.  The identical thing basically happened with Lehks too.  ex:  both could barely score 15g/yr and were line casted as 3rd and 4th liners.  However, after they left the Habs they essentially doubled their goal output.  Nobody really saw that coming, but I wasn't highly surprised by Lehks.  On their new teams Lehks is 1st or 2nd liner and Danault was 2nd line C (until they got Dubois).   

 

The Habs defense 1st ideology seems to hamper goal scoring and similar might be happening with Cole this year.  i.e. the major emphasis they put on defense might make the shooters paranoid about missing the net.  If they miss the puck could bounce off the back boards and leave the O-zone so they stop aiming for the top corners and end up shooting at the goalie = easy saves vs goals.

 

 

I was somewhere in between with MB as well.  I think the big problem under MB with doing a rebuild was with drafting and Timmins inability to select good players with regularity.  Out of his 20 year tenure Timmins unarguably had numerous decent draft years but he had way more years of crap picks.  I'm convinced that it is already safe to say that after this years draft Hughes' scouts could potentially have drafted the same amount of decent players that Timmins picked in over 2 decades.  ex:  Timmins was celebrated because he had 3 or 4 drafts where he picked 3 NHLers, however; give Hughes 3-4 drafts and I imagine he'll match that success.

 

 

We don’t know if Timmons really did that bad of a job, or the issue was more with player development. There were for sure some really bad picks - I hated taking KK when Hughes and Tkachuk were on the board. But we really had a much bigger issue with player development. The picks in Timmons earlier tenure, and at the end of MB’s tenure, when we weren’t forcing 18 or year olds like Mete on the top pairing or rushing KK who was one of the youngest players in his draft class before he was physically ready is on MB. Not having a development program or a a coach in the AHL who could develop players is on MB. Trading away Sergechev is on MB.

 

The decision to hire a dinosaur like Therrien (who single handily cost us a playoff series against the canes in his first stint), is on MB i was listening to a raw knuckles interview with Terry Ryan and how Therrien treated him and it’s no wonder that the only young player who was developed under him was Gallagher- a guy who didn’t need a lot of coaching. From the shit Ryan said he took from Therrien when he was our AHL coach in the 90’s, it flies my SoundCloud like Therrien learned anything in the 14-15 years since he was an AHL coach. 

[Sir_Boagalott]

15 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said:

We don’t know if Timmons really did that bad of a job, or the issue was more with player development. There were for sure some really bad picks - I hated taking KK when Hughes and Tkachuk were on the board. But we really had a much bigger issue with player development. The picks in Timmons earlier tenure, and at the end of MB’s tenure, when we weren’t forcing 18 or year olds like Mete on the top pairing or rushing KK who was one of the youngest players in his draft class before he was physically ready is on MB. Not having a development program or a a coach in the AHL who could develop players is on MB. Trading away Sergechev is on MB.

 

The decision to hire a dinosaur like Therrien (who single handily cost us a playoff series against the canes in his first stint), is on MB i was listening to a raw knuckles interview with Terry Ryan and how Therrien treated him and it’s no wonder that the only young player who was developed under him was Gallagher- a guy who didn’t need a lot of coaching. From the shit Ryan said he took from Therrien when he was our AHL coach in the 90’s, it flies my SoundCloud like Therrien learned anything in the 14-15 years since he was an AHL coach. 

 

You make valid points and it is also unknown who made some of those selections.  i.e. if it was Timmins or did MB over rule him and took somebody else - that likely happened but how often and with who etc.  Only they know that info.

 

I absolutely agree that it was brain dead not selecting Tkachuk, there is nobody else I would have taken.  The player development is also incredibly bad as well.  I agree that old way of thinking that all GM's used to do and some still currently are is incredibly toxic for player development.  However, mentioning 18 yr olds being rushed tends to suggest the Habs sucked at drafting or they'd have older prospects that could be NHLers.  

 

Either way, there was no chance under MB that the Habs could have possibly done a full tear down and rebuild with any expectation that it would work out well.  You're pointing out that it might not be Timmins fault but you're pointing out other secondary and tertiary issues as to why MB would have been completely unable to successfully do a rebuild.  

[hab29RETIRED]

6 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

 

You make valid points and it is also unknown who made some of those selections.  i.e. if it was Timmins or did MB over rule him and took somebody else - that likely happened but how often and with who etc.  Only they know that info.

 

I absolutely agree that it was brain dead not selecting Tkachuk, there is nobody else I would have taken.  The player development is also incredibly bad as well.  I agree that old way of thinking that all GM's used to do and some still currently are is incredibly toxic for player development.  However, mentioning 18 yr olds being rushed tends to suggest the Habs sucked at drafting or they'd have older prospects that could be NHLers.  

 

Either way, there was no chance under MB that the Habs could have possibly done a full tear down and rebuild with any expectation that it would work out well.  You're pointing out that it might not be Timmins fault but you're pointing out other secondary and tertiary issues as to why MB would have been completely unable to successfully do a rebuild.  

The thing is, even if you aren’t going to do a complete rebuild, you still need to a good job drafting and developing players. It actually becomes even more important to do a better job drafting and developing players if you aren’t having high “can’t miss picks”. When MB was hired he said he was going to build through the draft. There isn’t a single player that he drafted and developed. 
 

guys drafted before he came had success - Maxpac, Price, Subban, Gallagher - which should have been a damn good core to build around. 
 

guys he drafted that are having success now, were successful after he was gone. And don’t get me wrong - I didn’t absolve Timmins of all blame - I hated a lot of his picks - Tinordi, Leblanc, MacCarron, KK (not sure how many if any were Timmins vs MB picks - either way - were horrible picks).   Even going back to the start of Timmins career - I absolutely hated the Kostitsyn pick when Getzlaf and Parise were available.  We are seeing the picks at the end of MB/Timmons tenure (Caufield, Guhle, Harris, wifi, do well). And had MB/DD still have been there, who knows if Caufield would have recovered. Had there been another coach, Caufield probably wins the Calder.  Other than Evans, I can’t think of a player that developed under the previous regime that is still here.

 

[Commandant]

I still say Quinn Hughes is better than Brady Tkachuk.

 

 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

2 hours ago, Commandant said:

I still say Quinn Hughes is better than Brady Tkachuk.

 

 

 

No doubt in my mind about that. If you want to know why the Canucks are #1 overall, look no further. (Sure, Tocchet’s coaching has helped, better depth has helped, and having Demko healthy has helped; but Hughes is supplying Makar-level play from the back end every night, elevating the entire team).

 

10 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

The thing is, even if you aren’t going to do a complete rebuild, you still need to a good job drafting and developing players. It actually becomes even more important to do a better job drafting and developing players if you aren’t having high “can’t miss picks”. When MB was hired he said he was going to build through the draft. There isn’t a single player that he drafted and developed. 
 

guys drafted before he came had success - Maxpac, Price, Subban, Gallagher - which should have been a damn good core to build around. 
 

guys he drafted that are having success now, were successful after he was gone. And don’t get me wrong - I didn’t absolve Timmins of all blame - I hated a lot of his picks - Tinordi, Leblanc, MacCarron, KK (not sure how many if any were Timmins vs MB picks - either way - were horrible picks).   Even going back to the start of Timmins career - I absolutely hated the Kostitsyn pick when Getzlaf and Parise were available.  We are seeing the picks at the end of MB/Timmons tenure (Caufield, Guhle, Harris, wifi, do well). And had MB/DD still have been there, who knows if Caufield would have recovered. Had there been another coach, Caufield probably wins the Calder.  Other than Evans, I can’t think of a player that developed under the previous regime that is still here.

 

 

The Habs were disasters at player development under Gainey Rebuild 1.0…there was a brief period of sparkling success when PK and MaxPac came up (Rebuild 2.0) - perhaps Goat was better at it?…and then reverted to more terrible development thereafter.

 

The connecting theme is an old school mentality. Gainey was the best kind of “old school” - a gentleman warrior. But I was absolutely floored to learn that his Habs had had a 19-year-old Carey Price living in a condo in the Old Port of Montreal. A kid from Anahim Lake suddenly living alone in a Montreal hot spot? Good Lord. It’s a miracle Price survived (although he did develop substance abuse issues, come to think of it). You look at the Kostitsyns - Andrei’s bad habits were exposed when he went to a serious organization like the Preds of that era - or how Huggins, Komisarek, etc., all melted down as the heat rose, it’s clear there was a real vacuum in understanding what it meant to bring along 21st-century players in Montreal. 

 

Bergevin and Therrien were, in contrast to Gainey, the *worst* kind of old school: reactionary, ego-driven bullies who hated independent thinking. All you need to know about them was that they regarded PK Subban as a “problem” (and consider that infamous video of MT bullying PK). That is not the way to develop 21st century players either. 

 

We FINALLY seem to have a management group that understands player development. I’ve been nervous about the way they handled Slaf, but this season shows him to be developing in exactly the progressive, sequential, gradual way MSL has articulated. The young D are also coming along. There is legitimate ground for hope that this leadership group can get a critical mass of our young players to fulfill their potential. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

6 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Bergevin and Therrien were, in contrast to Gainey, the *worst* kind of old school: reactionary, ego-driven bullies who hated independent thinking. All you need to know about them was that they regarded PK Subban as a “problem” (and consider that infamous video of MT bullying PK). That is not the way to develop 21st century players either. 

 

 

I get that many disliked Bergevin, I don't dispute that he had some flaws but comparing him to Therrien is really a low blow and unfair. The Subban trade was not a bad one, MB was put in a bad position because Therrien couldn't make it work with PK. Gallagher was not a fan of Subban either. I don't think MB had a huge problem with Subban or he wouldn't have signed him to that big long term contract. 

 

Therrien was in a class by himself. 

[DON]

53 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

We FINALLY seem to have a management group that understands player development. 

Not quite 2 years on the job yet, but seems 'OK' so far. 

I like the both the GM-Coach hirings, instead of recycling old Hab players in the roles.

A few miscues on young injured players perhaps and going for size with #1 & #5 pick may end up being poor choices.

We shall see and like most, i am pretty happy with ways things seem to be progressing.

 

[tomh009]

14 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

We don’t know if Timmons really did that bad of a job, or the issue was more with player development. There were for sure some really bad picks - I hated taking KK when Hughes and Tkachuk were on the board.

We also don't know whether Bergevin went with Timmins' picks or whether he overrode his choices. Ultimately the GM is responsible for the choices, the scouting staff can only recommend. So, we may never know whether Kotkaniemi and others were Timmins or Bergevin.

[tomh009]

1 hour ago, DON said:

A few miscues on young injured players perhaps and going for size with #1 & #5 pick may end up being poor choices.

I think Slafkovsky is showing that he's more than just a big body. "I'm not stupid" is how he put it to Arpon Basu, and he's showing that he has skills and smarts in addition to size.

 

Reinbacher, I like the pick but we really don't know anything yet of what he can do. Another year or two, we'll be able to assign a grade to that pick.

[Commandant]

Everyone in that draft was a project.  I mean wright is still in the AHL, Nemec is bouncinf AHL/NHL, and Cooley is at about a half point per game and needs big time sheltering in his end.

 

All of them need development after losing a crucial year (or at least most of it) to Covid.

[hab29RETIRED]

3 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

No doubt in my mind about that. If you want to know why the Canucks are #1 overall, look no further. (Sure, Tocchet’s coaching has helped, better depth has helped, and having Demko healthy has helped; but Hughes is supplying Makar-level play from the back end every night, elevating the entire team).

 

 

The Habs were disasters at player development under Gainey Rebuild 1.0…there was a brief period of sparkling success when PK and MaxPac came up (Rebuild 2.0) - perhaps Goat was better at it?…and then reverted to more terrible development thereafter.

 

The connecting theme is an old school mentality. Gainey was the best kind of “old school” - a gentleman warrior. But I was absolutely floored to learn that his Habs had had a 19-year-old Carey Price living in a condo in the Old Port of Montreal. A kid from Anahim Lake suddenly living alone in a Montreal hot spot? Good Lord. It’s a miracle Price survived (although he did develop substance abuse issues, come to think of it). You look at the Kostitsyns - Andrei’s bad habits were exposed when he went to a serious organization like the Preds of that era - or how Huggins, Komisarek, etc., all melted down as the heat rose, it’s clear there was a real vacuum in understanding what it meant to bring along 21st-century players in Montreal. 

 

Bergevin and Therrien were, in contrast to Gainey, the *worst* kind of old school: reactionary, ego-driven bullies who hated independent thinking. All you need to know about them was that they regarded PK Subban as a “problem” (and consider that infamous video of MT bullying PK). That is not the way to develop 21st century players either. 

 

We FINALLY seem to have a management group that understands player development. I’ve been nervous about the way they handled Slaf, but this season shows him to be developing in exactly the progressive, sequential, gradual way MSL has articulated. The young D are also coming along. There is legitimate ground for hope that this leadership group can get a critical mass of our young players to fulfill their potential. 

Listen to the Raw knuckles podcast when Nilan interviewed Terry Ryan. MT’s always been a dick. Very similar stories as with Subban.

[hab29RETIRED]

3 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

I get that many disliked Bergevin, I don't dispute that he had some flaws but comparing him to Therrien is really a low blow and unfair. The Subban trade was not a bad one, MB was put in a bad position because Therrien couldn't make it work with PK. Gallagher was not a fan of Subban either. I don't think MB had a huge problem with Subban or he wouldn't have signed him to that big long term contract. 

 

Therrien was in a class by himself. 

Really - you didn’t hear the if you want loyalty by a dog comment. From the guy who wouldn’t give Markov a two year deal, but gave a slug like Alzner 4 years?? It was funny when Alzner was ripping the caps room when. He came here about not having the right culture to win. Turns out they just needed to get rid of him to win!!

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

10 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said:

Really - you didn’t hear the if you want loyalty by a dog comment. From the guy who wouldn’t give Markov a two year deal, but gave a slug like Alzner 4 years?? It was funny when Alzner was ripping the caps room when. He came here about not having the right culture to win. Turns out they just needed to get rid of him to win!!

 

It was a stupid comment he made without thinking.  Ask Carey Price or Brendan Gallagher if they think MB was loyal. 

 

Markov was a little unrealistic expecting a 2 year contract when he was turning 39. I think MB made the right move just offering 1 year. 

 

 

 

[DON]

18 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

Markov was a little unrealistic expecting a 2 year contract when he was turning 39. I think MB made the right move just offering 1 year. 

Markov was his own agent (i think) and maybe that was a bit of problem?

I was OK with letting him walk; BUT, Bergy should of had a good back-up plan in place if he wanted to play hardball, no-Markov left a big hole to fill.

 

Reinbacher-Slafkovski both seemed like fine picks to me, at the time and still today.

Just 'i think' was hinted that they were specifically looking (bit blinded "perhaps"is my only question) for big bodies and a Benson, Cooley or the like were not high on Habs list, specifically because they were not "big", true or not dunno?

But, only time will tell and Slafkovski seems like a pretty happy camper and is using that big body to screen, hit, protect puck, create room for himself like we all hoped he would.

Reinbacher is supposedly developing fine, according to EOTP euro prospect fellow's reports. Just too bad Austria isnt represented at World Juniors this year.

 

 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

9 minutes ago, DON said:

Markov was his own agent (i think) and maybe that was a bit of problem?

I was OK with letting him walk; BUT, Bergy should of had a good back-up plan in place if he wanted to play hardball, no-Markov left a big hole to fill.

 

 

It did leave a hole but I don't see many 38 year old defensemen getting multi year contracts. Father time catches up with every player and it can happen quick. Ovechkin just turned 38 and he has 6 goals in 30 games. I think he will pick it up a bit but he has obviously slowed down. 

[Commandant]

Markov had a good year in the KHL when he left Montreal but the second year was a disaster.  Going one year at a time with him was the right call.

[BCHabnut]

10 hours ago, Commandant said:

I still say Quinn Hughes is better than Brady Tkachuk.

 

 

Yep. When you mentioned him before the draft, I wanted him big time.

[DON]

Lost Habs Prospects Tracker: Daniel Audette’s Journey from the AHL to the Swiss A League – HabsWorld.net

 

 

[alfredoh2009]

(Laraque) in his own words:

 

Once an Oiler, always an Oiler! Let’s Go @EdmontonOilers! pic.twitter.com/ikFljrINqj

— Georges Laraque (@GeorgesLaraque) January 3, 2024

 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

12 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

(Laraque) in his own words:

 

Once an Oiler, always an Oiler! Let’s Go @EdmontonOilers! pic.twitter.com/ikFljrINqj

— Georges Laraque (@GeorgesLaraque) January 3, 2024

 

 

What a piece of crap

[alfredoh2009]

Happy birthday to Ryan Poehling:

PHI: 32PG 4g 7a 11pts (-5) 13:52ATOI 48.1FO%

Happy birthday to former Canadien Ryan Poehling, who turns 25 today. The #Habs first-round pick (25th overall) at 2017 NHL Draft has 4-7-11 totals in 32 games this season with Philadelphia Flyers #HabsIO pic.twitter.com/ZAXSlP91h4

— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) January 3, 2024

 

[alfredoh2009]

meanwhile, in Dallas

 

The red hot Jonathan Drouin scores on the PP, his 300th career NHL point and 11th point in his last 11 games. @jodrouin27 @OctagonHockey pic.twitter.com/SkzYLJPmXU

— Allan Walsh🏒 (@walsha) January 5, 2024