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2023-24 Montreal Canadiens Discussion Thread


GHT120

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2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

 It bothered me a bit that MSL left him out against the Pens. 

I dont think Marty likes bad penalties and Harris already sat a couple games, likey played into scratching.

But, Habs dont play till next wed and him not being quickly demoted says something (does he collect an NHL cheque for non-game days?).

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14 minutes ago, DON said:

I dont think Marty likes bad penalties and Harris already sat a couple games, likey played into scratching.

But, Habs dont play till next wed and him not being quickly demoted says something (does he collect an NHL cheque for non-game days?).


If parity exists then Gallagher would be permanently benched for bad penalties 🥳

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44 minutes ago, DON said:

Shouldnt be any surprise but, tuesday's game had small herd of scouts there

ImageImage

 

After 49 games, the Habs need a break – Hab At Her

 

Games in Montreal often do because [a] Habs are in rebuild so likely to trade some vets, [b] scouts undoubtedly like visiting the city and [c] Montreal has good flight connection options as compared to Ottawa and Buffalo (maybe even compared to Detroit, Pittsburgh and Columbus).

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57 minutes ago, DON said:

But, Habs dont play till next wed and him not being quickly demoted says something (does he collect an NHL cheque for non-game days?).

 

Wages are determined by the number of days on an NHL roster, not NHL games.  For each day Xhekaj is up, he's collecting his pro-rated NHL salary.

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I dont think the idea of xhekaj-mailloux being a pair should change the development plan for either.  Pairings like NHL lines change far too frequently to worry about that 

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3 hours ago, DON said:

Shouldnt be any surprise but, tuesday's game had small herd of scouts there

ImageImage

 

After 49 games, the Habs need a break – Hab At Her


I don’t put too much stock in this kind of thing but this is the longest scout list that I’ve seen. 
 

I hope something happens this week but it’s likely that we have to wait another month. 

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55 minutes ago, Commandant said:

I dont think the idea of xhekaj-mailloux being a pair should change the development plan for either.  Pairings like NHL lines change far too frequently to worry about that 


I agree with the heart of your post but why keep Xhekaj with the Habs if they aren’t playing and/or Xhekaj sits. 
 

Both Mailloux and Xhekaj seem to sharpen each other. 

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43 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

I hope something happens this week but it’s likely that we have to wait another month. 

 

The buyers with regular cap space are going to want to wait out the week at a minimum simply to make the cap effect of whomever they add cheaper.  For teams with LTIR room, they could act sooner.

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2 hours ago, Commandant said:

I dont think the idea of xhekaj-mailloux being a pair should change the development plan for either.  Pairings like NHL lines change far too frequently to worry about that 

I agree with that, but right now it does look like both of them are having a positive influence on each other, and both were playing really well. Just having both play with a guy that is helping their play improve is good for their development.

 

the only hesitancy I’d have about sending wifi back to Laval is that it looked like guys on other teams were trying to make a name for themselves at getting a shot a wifi. I credit him for not engaging and showing that restraint, but that game when the guy went for our goalie, could have been done to try get wifi to fight. Speculation on my part, but it did look like guys we’re constantly trying to get  him to fight.

 

if he could show as much restraint on not taking dumb penalties on day to day plays as he did with not taking in all comers in the AHL, would help keep him in the lineup, but showing that kind of restraint and judgement is much harder to do than just not accepting an invitation to fight.

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5 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:


I agree with the heart of your post but why keep Xhekaj with the Habs if they aren’t playing and/or Xhekaj sits. 
 

Both Mailloux and Xhekaj seem to sharpen each other. 

 

He sat one game.

 

One of Harris, struble, Kovacevic, Xhekaj will sit.  Its 4 players for 3 spots.

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15 hours ago, BCHabnut said:

Is it just me or do players stay out way longer under MSL? They seem to play long shifts. 

 

yes they do, it has been a sore point with various RDS commentators; also how MSL overplays Suzuki, Matheson.

 

I have never hears a reporter ask MSL about it post-game.

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13 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

 

yes they do, it has been a sore point with various RDS commentators; also how MSL overplays Suzuki, Matheson.

 

I have never hears a reporter ask MSL about it post-game.

 

Well, “overplaying” a guy is different from his taking long shifts, no? The former means you’re getting too many shifts per se. The latter means you aren’t coming off in a prompt way, making your shifts too long. One is about bench management, the other about player discipline. (Of course, if the coach isn’t insisting that players keep their shifts to a reasonable length, then he tacitly encourages long shifts to the detriment of the team).

 

The other thing about long shifts, of course, is that when your team sucks, you tend to get trapped in your own zone for extended periods, thus bloating your shift length. 

 

Suzuki was double-shifted for at least one game and it doesn’t seem to have helped him at all. Whether the problem was fatigue, or being saddled with Anderson, or both, he looked gassed heading into the break. But within reason, I can’t really blame MSL for going with his best player. Mattheson seems fine to me, and again, as by far our best defencemen, he is going to get the call quite a bit.🤷‍♂️

 

It raises interesting questions, though. How good is MSL at bench management? And is he doing a good job of instilling structure and discipline on the team? 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

The other thing about long shifts, of course, is that when your team sucks, you tend to get trapped in your own zone for extended periods, thus bloating your shift length.

That's a really good point: longer average shift length can also be a symptom rather than the cause of the problems. It would probably be more instructive to look at the median shift length rather than the average, but I don't think anyone is providing such analysis at the moment.

 

This is the best I have, the shift report from naturalstattrick.com. Note the highlighted ones, for players who had the most long or extra-long shifts:

 

image.png

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Quinn Hughes 0.57/ shift; Makar 0.58/shift; so Matheson is on par with them.

Mackinnon/Rattenan play more/shift than Suzuki .

 

So i 'think' RDS is whining about nothing important, my guess.

 

image.png

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1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

Well, “overplaying” a guy is different from his taking long shifts, no? The former means you’re getting too many shifts per se. The latter means you aren’t coming off in a prompt way, making your shifts too long. One is about bench management, the other about player discipline. (Of course, if the coach isn’t insisting that players keep their shifts to a reasonable length, then he tacitly encourages long shifts to the detriment of the team).

 

The other thing about long shifts, of course, is that when your team sucks, you tend to get trapped in your own zone for extended periods, thus bloating your shift length. 

 

Suzuki was double-shifted for at least one game and it doesn’t seem to have helped him at all. Whether the problem was fatigue, or being saddled with Anderson, or both, he looked gassed heading into the break. But within reason, I can’t really blame MSL for going with his best player. Mattheson seems fine to me, and again, as by far our best defencemen, he is going to get the call quite a bit.🤷‍♂️

 

It raises interesting questions, though. How good is MSL at bench management? And is he doing a good job of instilling structure and discipline on the team? 

 

 

 

 

 

Part of his issue is that we don’t really have another all-round centre, other than Monohan, and Monohan has also been used as a winger. So I get giving Suzuki more ice time. 
 

dame thing with Matheson. I have more issues when Savard gets a lot of time, because he is already playing higher up in the lineup, than he is capable of playing. May as well give more time to the kids that are doing better in any given game.

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2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

It raises interesting questions, though. How good is MSL at bench management? And is he doing a good job of instilling structure and discipline on the team? 

This is exactly why I have long wondered whether MSL needs a veteran HC as an assistant or consultant to help him develop as an in-game tactician.

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6 hours ago, GHT120 said:

This is exactly why I have long wondered whether MSL needs a veteran HC as an assistant or consultant to help him develop as an in-game tactician.

No hurry anyways if Mgmt wants to hire an oldimer to put behind the bench, just hire someone sometime before fall of 2025 if need be.

Who fits the bill, or who were you thinking of maybe?

 

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36 minutes ago, DON said:

No hurry anyways if Mgmt wants to hire an oldimer to put behind the bench, just hire someone sometime before fall of 2025 if need be.

Who fits the bill, or who were you thinking of maybe?

 

By Fall 2025 MSL will be pretty much "set-in-stone" as a NHL HC

 

I have no specific ideas ... it has to be someone that MSL respects and can work with

 

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Guy and Norman identified their Habs core players:

 

Mine is (3F, 2D):

Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, (Dach instead of Caufield if he regresses - which I doubt)

Guhle, Struble

 

what is yours?

Edited by alfredoh2009
added noe on a 4th F
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Habs after 49 games last year:

20-25-4 - 44pts, GF: 130, GA: 179 GD: -49 (Edit, post originally said 48pts. typo on my part.)

 

After 49 games this year:

20-21-8 - 48pts, GF: 136, GA: 175, GD: -39

 

Just thought it was interesting comparison. Will the Habs bomb the rest of the year like they did last season?

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29 minutes ago, huzer said:

Habs after 49 games last year:

20-25-4 - 48pts, GF: 130, GA: 179 GD: -49

 

After 49 games this year:

20-21-8 - 48pts, GF: 136, GA: 175, GD: -39

 

Just thought it was interesting comparison. Will the Habs bomb the rest of the year like they did last season?

 

It's funny that this season *feels* at least somewhat better than last season, even though this isn't really the case.

 

I suppose the emergence of Slaf into an impactful player has helped our psyches, or at least my psyche. 🤷‍♂️

 

Or maybe, as you imply, we just haven't hit the "second-half doldrums" full force yet. 

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