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Oct. 30, Habs @ Kings, 4:00 PM (EDT)


GHT120

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3 hours ago, GHT120 said:

... In interview (below) DD says he will wait until after the game to decide who plays goal tomorrow

...

 

So does Allen start because they NEED a win ... or Montembeault because it may not really matter who is in goal with the way the rest of the team is playing?

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Just now, GHT120 said:

So does Allen start because they NEED a win ... or Montembeault because it may not really matter who is in goal with the way the rest of the team is playing?

 

It has to be Montembeault.  If he doesn't start this game, then he should be on waivers on Monday.  If they have no confidence in him to the point where they refuse to play him in a back-to-back, there's no point in having him on the roster.  Allen needs some rest and the next back-to-back is four weeks from now.  If Montembeault doesn't play tomorrow, when does he?  Allen can't play 19 or 20 games in a row.

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8 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

I generally don't like the idea of a trade for the sake of merely shaking things up but I think it could actually be beneficial here as clearly, this group on its own doesn't seem to be all that interested in trying right now.

 

I don't disagree, but who or what would they pick up that would make any difference?  i.e. what position needs to be improved that would have the biggest impact?  Part of the problem is that the whole team is playing so bad that its sorta hard to pinpoint. 

 

I was almost thinking that if Gally, Anderson or Toffoli got injured and went on LTIR the Habs might be able to pick up a better Goalie while they wait for Price to return.  If they picked up a decent starting G then Allen might be able to go back to being a backup, or at least split all of the games.  I tend to think that their greatest need is a 2nd G they can count on, and currently they don't have that.  

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26 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

... I generally don't like the idea of a trade for the sake of merely shaking things up but I think it could actually be beneficial here as clearly, this group on its own doesn't seem to be all that interested in trying right now.

I don't expect MB to do anything until Edmundson and Price are back and he sees how that impacts the team ... the players have given him no reason to "buy" and chase the playoffs ... but he can't really even consider selling and chasing the bottom 10 with Carey and Joel still missing ... he is in a bit of a Catch 22

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3 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

I don't expect MB to do anything until Edmundson and Price are back and he sees how that impacts the team ... the players have given him no reason to "buy" and chase the playoffs ... but he can't really even consider selling and chasing the bottom 10 with Carey and Joel still missing ... he is in a bit of a Catch 22

 

Agreed, MB needs to re-evaluate when everyone is back.  It is a bit of a Catch 22 right now, good post. 

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8 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

... I was almost thinking that if Gally, Anderson or Toffoli got injured and went on LTIR the Habs might be able to pick up a better Goalie while they wait for Price to return.  If they picked up a decent starting G then Allen might be able to go back to being a backup, or at least split all of the games.  I tend to think that their greatest need is a 2nd G they can count on, and currently they don't have that.  

But unless the new LTIR player is out for the entire season there really isn't money to bring in significant players as the full cap hit for LTIR players returns once the player is healthy.

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I made the mistake of turning that game on, ignoring the little voice in the back of my head that was telling me not to bother.  I think it'll be awhile before I let optimism lead me down the wrong path again.

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4 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

I don't expect MB to do anything until Edmundson and Price are back and he sees how that impacts the team ... the players have given him no reason to "buy" and chase the playoffs ... but he can't really even consider selling and chasing the bottom 10 with Carey and Joel still missing ... he is in a bit of a Catch 22

 

That's also a big part of the problem.  Price was to miss a minimum of 1 month, and well its been 1 month.  What is Prices ETA exactly?  Thats likely completely unknown, and the longer he is out the worse this season is probably going to get.  

 

How long did it take Drouin to say he was ok and that he could return?  I believe the playoffs were over by the time he could have potentially returned.  Price might be out until February or March.  

 

  

8 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

But unless the new LTIR player is out for the entire season there really isn't money to bring in significant players as the full cap hit for LTIR players returns once the player is healthy.

 

They might need to trade somebody, and I certainly don't want to see the Habs lose any of the players I mentioned.  However, those 3 happen to get paid enough that might bring a decent enough of a G to help alleviate the issue of Price being out.  

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Bergevin "went downstairs" to meet with the players after the game
 

 

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22 minutes ago, sbhatt said:

I made the mistake of turning that game on, ignoring the little voice in the back of my head that was telling me not to bother.  I think it'll be awhile before I let optimism lead me down the wrong path again.

I didn't check the start time on the game, assuming it was a late game.  Was it as bad as the score indicates it is?

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22 minutes ago, TurdBurglar said:

I didn't check the start time on the game, assuming it was a late game.  Was it as bad as the score indicates it is?

 

I also assumed it was a late game - d’oh!

 

Watching the 10-minute highlight package, I noticed Romanov standing around or else getting beaten to the outside on quite a few plays and goals. Just based on that, he was an obvious weak link. The Kings also had, what, 3 PP goals? Sheesh.

 

54 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

I don't expect MB to do anything until Edmundson and Price are back and he sees how that impacts the team ... the players have given him no reason to "buy" and chase the playoffs ... but he can't really even consider selling and chasing the bottom 10 with Carey and Joel still missing ... he is in a bit of a Catch 22

 

Price I can see, but think about Edmundson for a second. Yes, he is a top-4 guy (really a top-pairing guy for us). Terrific shut-down minutes-eater. God love him. But any team that cannot cope defensively because ONE guy is injured is simply garbage. We are not talking about a Norris Trophy #1 D-man here. There will always be injuries to good players. Good teams cope, bad teams can’t. Guess which one this is.

 

37 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

 

That's also a big part of the problem.  Price was to miss a minimum of 1 month, and well its been 1 month.  What is Prices ETA exactly?  Thats likely completely unknown, and the longer he is out the worse this season is probably going to get.  

 

How long did it take Drouin to say he was ok and that he could return?  I believe the playoffs were over by the time he could have potentially returned.  Price might be out until February or March.  

 

We’ve seen this movie before with Price, eh? Remember 2016-17? Who the crap knows when he’ll be back.

 

Allen is not a #1G, but he is good enough that a decent team should be able to keep its head above water with him as the go-to for a while. This team has been blown out more often than not despite Allen putting in solid efforts. 

 

Petry has 0 points in 9 games. That might be the single most worrisome stat in this horrible start. Is he finally showing his age? Maybe the real reason the D corps is a tire-fire is that the only guy who can generate offence isn’t doing it.

 

This team needs help. No doubt MB told them no help is coming and they need to “look within.”

 

At least appoint a co-captain, FFS.

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58 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

I was almost thinking that if Gally, Anderson or Toffoli got injured and went on LTIR the Habs might be able to pick up a better Goalie while they wait for Price to return.  If they picked up a decent starting G then Allen might be able to go back to being a backup, or at least split all of the games.  I tend to think that their greatest need is a 2nd G they can count on, and currently they don't have that.  

Really, Allen is not the problem. They have lost seven games (of nine). They scored two goals in one of those seven, got shut out in another, and scored a single goal in the other five.

 

If we had an all-star goalie, Price at his best or similar, how many goals would you expect him to hold the opposition to in these games, with the D that we have? A shutout in every second game? I think not. Fundamentally, we are not going to win many games if we score one goal or less, and that has been the case in six games out of nine this season.

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7 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Petry has 0 points in 9 games. That might be the single most worrisome stat in this horrible start. Is he finally showing his age? Maybe the real reason the D corps is a tire-fire is that the only guy who can generate offence isn’t doing it.

Of the players that are actually dressing for the games, my concerns are primarily:

  • Petry -- for the reasons you outline
  • Caufield -- is there a book on him already? Are our expectations totally unrealistic?
  • Suzuki -- what's dragging him down? He's not a scoring machine but I an xGF% below 40 is well below what he did last year
  • Romanov -- I am mostly concerned about the long term, will he recover last season's form?

Allen is not near the top of my list.

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36 minutes ago, TurdBurglar said:

I didn't check the start time on the game, assuming it was a late game.  Was it as bad as the score indicates it is?

It was not great in the first two periods but they were within a goal. Then they took a slew of penalties and the Kings took advantage of those with three PP goals in the third.

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12 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

... Price I can see, but think about Edmundson for a second. Yes, he is a top-4 guy (really a top-pairing guy for us). Terrific shut-down minutes-eater. God love him. But any team that cannot cope defensively because ONE guy is injured is simply garbage. We are not talking about a Norris Trophy #1 D-man here. There will always be injuries to good players. Good teams cope, bad teams can’t. Guess which one this is ...

Edmundson is not an elite defenceman by any stretch of the imagination ... but he fits with Petry and seems to make Jeff comfortable ... Joel's return will hopefully allow Petry's play to improve and should allow the top pairing to add a couple of minutes of TOI and take a little pressure off the 2nd/3rd pairings.

 

THAT said ... I was not suggesting Joel would make the habs into a high-end team ... just that I don't expect MB to make decisions about whether or not this team has a CHANCE for a wildcard spot, and make trades accordingly, until the sees how Edmundson impacts the D-corps ... what role Price plays in the "trade" equation depends upon when he is expected back.

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1 hour ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

I don't disagree, but who or what would they pick up that would make any difference?  i.e. what position needs to be improved that would have the biggest impact?  Part of the problem is that the whole team is playing so bad that its sorta hard to pinpoint.

 

The idea is to bring a fresh voice or two into the room, not so much bring a big player in (that'd be tough as they're locked in with this core for a while).  We all know Lehkonen isn't coming back next year (they simply can't afford him) and when Byron comes back, he's probably going to be a healthy scratch anyway.  He's someone they should be comfortable moving and his value is decent enough to get a roster piece back.  Could he fetch a defensive upgrade on the third pairing to end some of the experimentation back there?  Could he be moved with something for Strome to try to fix the 3C problem since Perreault isn't the solution there?  That's what I'm looking at.  Lehkonen has been there for a while so moving him might be the wake up call that so many seem to need.

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36 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

At least appoint a co-captain, FFS.

 

Not sure that'd do anything.  Besides, the top two candidates for the role have both had awful starts to the season - Petry has done nothing and Gallagher is not the Gallagher he has been in the past and the laziness has crept into his game too.

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2 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

 

Not sure that'd do anything.  Besides, the top two candidates for the role have both had awful starts to the season - Petry has done nothing and Gallagher is not the Gallagher he has been in the past and the laziness has crept into his game too.

 I would not be averse to trading Gally before his contract becomes a complete millstone.

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30 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 I would not be averse to trading Gally before his contract becomes a complete millstone.

If he could find a way to do that I'd suggest Molson give MB a BIG money extension ... 

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1 hour ago, tomh009 said:

Of the players that are actually dressing for the games, my concerns are primarily:

  • Petry -- for the reasons you outline
  • Caufield -- is there a book on him already? Are our expectations totally unrealistic?
  • Suzuki -- what's dragging him down? He's not a scoring machine but I an xGF% below 40 is well below what he did last year
  • Romanov -- I am mostly concerned about the long term, will he recover last season's form?

Allen is not near the top of my list.

I’m not concerned about Suzuki, or Caufield. Part of the growing pain with young player. Caufield may be better served being in Laval amd get #1 line minutes, and not be part of this shitshow. My only hesitation is that the AHL has a habit of letting goons and marginal players try and make a name for themselves by targeting high end prospects.

ita the veterans that concern me. I really want to see what we can get for Gallagher by the deadline. I’d also explore moving Petry, IF we had another viable offensive dman. If Petry can get a high level D prospect I’d move him too.

 

ita time to blow it up. No point in dying a slow death into oblivion like the Oilers did when they were a surprise finalist.

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41 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

If he could find a way to do that I'd suggest Molson give MB a BIG money extension ... 

I don’t want MB making any more moves. Time to move in. This team is worse than when he started as GM.

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2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 I would not be averse to trading Gally before his contract becomes a complete millstone.

 

Unfortunately, it's a matter of when that happens and not if and it was an overpayment from the minute it was signed which makes it a bit tougher.  With his offensive struggles carrying over from the playoffs last year, his value could drop quicker than expected (I figured he had a few good years left in him when the deal was signed but last season was quiet and this one has been worse).  This is a terrible time to try to move the contract, however, as a lot of teams aren't willing to take on that long of a contract, at least not without sending an overpaid player the other way.  I also don't see Bergevin being the one to do such a move although with his future in question, that might not be a concern beyond the end of the season.

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28 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

 

Unfortunately, it's a matter of when that happens and not if and it was an overpayment from the minute it was signed which makes it a bit tougher.  With his offensive struggles carrying over from the playoffs last year, his value could drop quicker than expected (I figured he had a few good years left in him when the deal was signed but last season was quiet and this one has been worse).  This is a terrible time to try to move the contract, however, as a lot of teams aren't willing to take on that long of a contract, at least not without sending an overpaid player the other way.  I also don't see Bergevin being the one to do such a move although with his future in question, that might not be a concern beyond the end of the season.

 

I tend to agree, but Gally has a pretty firmly-established rep around the league and there may be a few GMs who will be tempted by it. Trading him now is nuts, but at the deadline? There might be a chance. 

 

It looks more and more like Petry should also be moved at the deadline, but that would destroy our D corps for the foreseeable future, so it probably won’t happen, even if there are takers.

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