Summer 2023 Off-season

[DON]

Caufield & Slafkovski projected highly by some;

Top 23-and-under wings in NHL in 3 seasons ranked

 

Interviews with Guhle, Harris as they and some partners play vs Bruins in QC, a Bergeron's retirement thingy.

"I try not to think about it too much" | Le Journal de Montréal (journaldemontreal.com)

 

Hope Guhle is as healthy as he says he is and isnt asked to do too much this season. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

1 hour ago, DON said:

Caufield & Slafkovski projected highly by some;

Top 23-and-under wings in NHL in 3 seasons ranked

 

Interviews with Guhle, Harris as they and some partners play vs Bruins in QC, a Bergeron's retirement thingy.

"I try not to think about it too much" | Le Journal de Montréal (journaldemontreal.com)

 

Hope Guhle is as healthy as he says he is and isnt asked to do too much this season. 

 

Caufield is a no-brainer. He’s what you could call a “natural” - born to score goals. As with all genuine examples of that rare breed, everyone on the ice knows what he is looking to do, i.e., glide into the circle and rip that one-timer. And yet no one seems able to stop him. Brett Hull was similar. Entire game plans would be designed to shut him down, and yet he’d somehow manage to end up open, and score.

 

It helps that CC has one of the league’s more deft playmakers feeding him the puck. Similar dynamic there…everyone knows Slick Nick is likely to look to feed CC, but preventing him from doing so is a whole other story. Of course, Suze has his own very dangerous shot that teams also have to worry about.

 

As long as CC can stay healthy, we have a lethal first-line duo for years to come.

 

Slaf, meh. I’d say that that is an optimistic assessment based on his draft positioning more than anything he’s done in the bigs as yet.

[DON]

How will Newhook fit in?

 

Montreal Canadiens Expectations for Alex Newhook in 2023-24 (thehockeywriters.com)

 

How much can be read into the 6 NHL games Farrell played last year? I wouldnt think much.

2023 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #15 Sean Farrell (habseyesontheprize.com)

"His six games ended with the Canadiens earning just 41.7% of the shot attempts while he was on the ice, and 37.1% of the scoring chances."

[tomh009]

1 hour ago, DON said:

How much can be read into the 6 NHL games Farrell played last year? I wouldnt think much.

Yeah, they are roughly as significant as Poehling's hat trick.

[DON]

 

With Hoffman and Petry, Hughes did not miss the forest for the trees – Hab At Her

 

"What can we read into these deals?

• The market for Mike Hoffman was non-existent.
• Fans may have gotten greedy at this point, but Hughes could still see the forest within the trees.
• The Petry trade worked for everyone.
• Hughes will deal again before the puck drops on a new season."

 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

40 minutes ago, DON said:

 

With Hoffman and Petry, Hughes did not miss the forest for the trees – Hab At Her

 

"What can we read into these deals?

• The market for Mike Hoffman was non-existent.
• Fans may have gotten greedy at this point, but Hughes could still see the forest within the trees.
• The Petry trade worked for everyone.
• Hughes will deal again before the puck drops on a new season."

 

Agree with everything 

[DON]

Barron, how will he look this fall and will he need to spend time in Laval?

 

2023 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #11 Justin Barron (habseyesontheprize.com)

 

9 minute look at prospect Barron, if bored

 

[DON]

Cranking out the prospects down south.

 

USHL has produced some of NHL’s top talent. Is it hockey’s best junior league? - The Athletic

"The question: Is the USHL hockey’s best development league? Is it close?

USHL in the NHL
At the beginning of the 2022-23 season, NHL opening night rosters housed 193 names from the USHL, 173 from the OHL and 115 players from the WHL."

 

[DON]

A Souray/Weber slapshot set-up may be passé on the PP.

But having very strong wrist shots like Xhekaj & Mailloux do, should still be effective i would think.

 

74 points be nice to see, my guess be less say 66pts, but what do i know.

Fantasy Focus: Nick Suzuki – HabsWorld.net

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, DON said:

A Souray/Weber slapshot set-up may be passé on the PP.

But having very strong wrist shots like Xhekaj & Mailloux do, should still be effective i would think.

 

74 points be nice to see, my guess be less say 66pts, but what do i know.

Fantasy Focus: Nick Suzuki – HabsWorld.net

 

 

Don't know that a Weber/Souray slapshot is passé ... but building a PP entirely around such a shot certainly is ... as I've said before, I think Souray (and Streit and MAB) were so successful because Markov could not only feed them but players on either "wing" and also get the puck to the net/slot ... PKs could not focus as much attention on his bombers as they later did with Weber.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

4 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

 

Don't know that a Weber/Souray slapshot is passé ... but building a PP entirely around such a shot certainly is ... as I've said before, I think Souray (and Streit and MAB) were so successful because Markov could not only feed them but players on either "wing" and also get the puck to the net/slot ... PKs could not focus as much attention on his bombers as they later did with Weber.

Markov was also very dangerous because he was a master at sneaking down from the point for that quick tap in. 
 

Markov is seriously underrated and screw MB for not letting him get to 1000 games with the Habs. Another classless move by Bergevin. 
 

If you want loyalty get a dog 🐶 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

31 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Markov was also very dangerous because he was a master at sneaking down from the point for that quick tap in. 
 

Markov is seriously underrated and screw MB for not letting him get to 1000 games with the Habs. Another classless move by Bergevin. 
 

If you want loyalty get a dog 🐶 

 

Cutting him loose was a joke of a decision by MB. He wouldn’t pay for one extra year of Markov, but he was only too happy to lock up Gally to a bloated deal, and to have Weber on the books until age 42 🙄 These kinds of glaring inconsistencies are indicative of a guy who let his ego drive the bus - Markov had the TEMERITY to ask for more than MB wanted to give, so screw him, seems to have been the logic.

 

And of course he had no plan to replace Markov, and indeed failed to do so. Also very typical.

 

#79 is certainly underrated; he was probably one of the top-15 D-men in the league year-in and year-out, but he never had any playoff success. That’s the reason his exceptional career isn’t recognized.

[hab29RETIRED]

17 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

Cutting him loose was a joke of a decision by MB. He wouldn’t pay for one extra year of Markov, but he was only too happy to lock up Gally to a bloated deal, and to have Weber on the books until age 42 🙄 These kinds of glaring inconsistencies are indicative of a guy who let his ego drive the bus - Markov had the TEMERITY to ask for more than MB wanted to give, so screw him, seems to have been the logic.

 

And of course he had no plan to replace Markov, and indeed failed to do so. Also very typical.

 

#79 is certainly underrated; he was probably one of the top-15 D-men in the league year-in and year-out, but he never had any playoff success. That’s the reason his exceptional career isn’t recognized.

Letting Markov go was not the only joke. Trying to replace him with Alzner, AND paying stupid $ and terms were also a joke.
 

MB was clueless on drafting and developing a centre, Dman, wingers, or a goalie. This from the guy who when he got hired, said she was going to build the team through the draft!

[alfredoh2009]

Markov was past his prime when he was let go. No other team offered him even a PTO and he did not last in the KHL either.

When he was in his prime, he was great, but he got too greedy on his last year as a Hab.

 

Now, Alzner was a disaster. THe most sought after UFA D that summer and he was a complete disaster.

[Commandant]

He didn't try and replace him with Alzner.

 

He tried to replace him with Mark Streit, which was another disaster, but still. 

 

 

[tomh009]

2 hours ago, Commandant said:

He tried to replace him with Mark Streit, which was another disaster, but still.

Bergevin was desperately hoping that Streit still had some gas left in the tank, which turned out not to be the case.

[GHT120]

Seems to fit here as well as anywhere else.

 

The NHL rulebook has a problem, but we can fix it by removing one word ... The Athletic article (so fair warning to non-subscribers) raises the issue of how a referee is supposed to be able to tell whether a player is injured, or REALLY injured in the case of the Claude Lemieux-s of the world, when deciding between a minor or major penalty ... some injuries are obvious but others aren't even diagnosed until after the game ... so, the suggestion is to remove the word injury from the definitions of penalties and judge based on the act not the result ... I agree ... it has always bothered me that a relatively innocuous deed gets 5 minutes because the victim is unfortunately injured while a more violent offence is a minor because the aggressor gets lucky and the victim is not injured (or does not appear to be injured).

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

.. it has always bothered me that a relatively innocuous deed gets 5 minutes because the victim is unfortunately injured while a more violent offence is a minor because the aggressor gets lucky and the victim is not injured (or does not appear to be injured).

 

I don't have a problem with that, if a star player gets injured because of an innocuous/borderline play and the ref does nothing or gives the player a minor then there will certainly be retribution from the other team, it's perhaps not perfect when the ref does this but it's more about controlling the game. 

 

 

[DON]

22 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

I don't have a problem with that, if a star player gets injured because of an innocuous/borderline play and the ref does nothing or gives the player a minor then there will certainly be retribution from the other team, it's perhaps not perfect when the ref does this but it's more about controlling the game. 

Robot (or AI)  Refs? Or simply more consistent objective ones, in a game where is no 'whistle in pocket' if close/tied in 3rd period, for a start.

 

I wouldnt really consider Newhook a "prospect", interested to see if he is Byron quick?

"...Newhook's speed has defined him as a player. Indeed, his speed, still labeled "elite" by EP Rinkside's David St. Louis..."

 

2023 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #8 Alex Newhook (habseyesontheprize.com)

 

 

ECHL team changes;

Significant Changes in Store for Montreal Canadiens ECHL Affiliate - The Hockey News Montreal Canadiens News, Analysis, and More

[Habsfan84]

Matthews will be the highest paid player in the NHL when the 2024 season starts. Don't feel he deserves that but figured he would get paid handsomely still. 

 

Interesting at four years the contract brings him to 31 where he may be looking at his final big pay day and possibly at a new market to finish off his career. 

[GHT120]

6 minutes ago, Habsfan84 said:

Interesting at four years the contract brings him to 31 where he may be looking at his final big pay day and possibly at a new market to finish off his career. 

 

Matthews is 25 ... he will be 26 when the contract kicks in next July 1st, and 30 when the contract expires ... He is a free agent next summer at 26 because he will have the required 7 seasons (8 actually) ... UFA status is at age 27 OR 7 seasons in the NHL.

[GHT120]

8 minutes ago, Habsfan84 said:

Matthews will be the highest paid player in the NHL when the 2024 season starts. Don't feel he deserves that but figured he would get paid handsomely still. 

 

It is always a matter of timing ... Matthews may well get surpassed by Draisaitl come 2025-26 season, who is a UFA one year before McDavid comes up in the summer of 2026.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

17 minutes ago, Habsfan84 said:

Matthews will be the highest paid player in the NHL when the 2024 season starts. Don't feel he deserves that but figured he would get paid handsomely still. 

 

Interesting at four years the contract brings him to 31 where he may be looking at his final big pay day and possibly at a new market to finish off his career. 

 

He will be the highest paid player until McDavid's contract comes up. I think the Mathews deal is pretty fair, he was in a great bargaining position and probably could have got a little more but I think he wants to win a cup in Toronto. Nylander will be the tough one to sign, wouldn't be surprised to see a trade there. 

 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

11 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

It is always a matter of timing ... Matthews may well get surpassed by Draisaitl come 2025-26 season, who is a UFA one year before McDavid comes up in the summer of 2026.

 

Yup, timing is everything. I didn't see your post before I posted. Draisaitl will come close as far as numbers go. 

[DON]

Savard & Dvorak should have value.

Fans may crave trades, but some player moves shouldn’t be rushed – Hab At Her