Rumours

[CaptWelly 0]

7 hours ago, habsisme said:

I'll never understand the rush to trade Petry and Weber

While I would move Shaw for the right player, he's exactly the type you need in the playoffs, and 2 years ago when the team fell apart, he played his heart out every night. I'm not giving him up for nothing

I agree completely with this. Someone said we have players that are similar in Laval. This years playoffs alone and night in and out you need players that will stand up for other players still have skill and make plays. He is also a player that can be used in all situations. He played a lot of top six with Chicago. I think to many people get stuck on offensive numbers. We always hear we need net front presence someone who'll go into the dirty areas ect. . Shaw already does. He's not just a throw in and I don't really think he's that easily replaceable. Intangibles in hockey are a real thing.

[campabee82 0]

2 hours ago, CaptWelly said:

I agree completely with this. Someone said we have players that are similar in Laval. This years playoffs alone and night in and out you need players that will stand up for other players still have skill and make plays. He is also a player that can be used in all situations. He played a lot of top six with Chicago. I think to many people get stuck on offensive numbers. We always hear we need net front presence someone who'll go into the dirty areas ect. . Shaw already does. He's not just a throw in and I don't really think he's that easily replaceable. Intangibles in hockey are a real thing.

I have 2 main issues with Shaw 

1. he is prone to concussions

2. He does too many stupid things when he is played outside the top 6 and with the possibility of having a strong top 6 of Domi, Drouin, Kotkaniemi, Suzuki, Tatar and Gallagher where exactly would Shaw slot in? On the 3rd or 4th line that's where! How many times last year alone were so many of us saying there goes Shaw off for another stupid selfish penalty when he was in the bottom 6? TOO MANY!!!

[campabee82 0]

14 minutes ago, campabee82 said:

I have 2 main issues with Shaw 

1. he is prone to concussions

2. He does too many stupid things when he is played outside the top 6 and with the possibility of having a strong top 6 of Domi, Drouin, Kotkaniemi, Suzuki, Tatar and Gallagher where exactly would Shaw slot in? On the 3rd or 4th line that's where! How many times last year alone were so many of us saying there goes Shaw off for another stupid selfish penalty when he was in the bottom 6? TOO MANY!!!

That's also without even considering guys like Poehling, Lehkonen, Armia, Byron, Weal and Danault all of which are able to play up in the top 6 and are better or equal skill wise to Shaw. Plus I think you may see Caufield get at least a 10 game stint as well depending on how his development camp goes cause he already said to MB he is looking for the quickest path to the NHL. I know he has signed a letter of intent but that only limits where he can play in the ncaa he can go to Laval or join the Habs right out of camp if they think he is ready. So IMHO Shaw is expendable and his value is at its peak right now.

[habsisme 0]

I prefer Shaw to Simmonds, and SOMEONE is going to give Simmonds a 5x5 contract (it better not be us)

If MB wanted to add to Fs, I'd be most interested in a guy like Hartman. We could also possibly sign Morrow again.

My thing is I dont want to go after any high end UFAs

[CaptWelly 0]

1 hour ago, campabee82 said:

That's also without even considering guys like Poehling, Lehkonen, Armia, Byron, Weal and Danault all of which are able to play up in the top 6 and are better or equal skill wise to Shaw. Plus I think you may see Caufield get at least a 10 game stint as well depending on how his development camp goes cause he already said to MB he is looking for the quickest path to the NHL. I know he has signed a letter of intent but that only limits where he can play in the ncaa he can go to Laval or join the Habs right out of camp if they think he is ready. So IMHO Shaw is expendable and his value is at its peak right now.

I'm not saying Shaw couldn't be expendable that said it shouldn't be just a dump , I would only deal him if it was a good trade. It does seem Shaw since his first year really hasn't been taking a lot of stupid penalties actually no more than Domi does sometimes. Danault is already playing top six and him and Poehling are both centers. I've always liked Byron and Weal did have a great finish last season actually outplaying JK at the end. I don't know if Lehkonen actually has a higher value than Shaw , they are both good defensively and Lehk has had flashes of offense but Shaw's offense is just as good or better and he plays in the tough areas. Health wise there is always a risk , but truthfully hockey is a game that any player can be one hit or bad circumstance away from something bad happening. We all saw Subban and Pacs both carried off on stretchers' which could of easily been career ending.

[campabee82 0]

5 hours ago, CaptWelly said:

I'm not saying Shaw couldn't be expendable that said it shouldn't be just a dump , I would only deal him if it was a good trade. It does seem Shaw since his first year really hasn't been taking a lot of stupid penalties actually no more than Domi does sometimes. Danault is already playing top six and him and Poehling are both centers. I've always liked Byron and Weal did have a great finish last season actually outplaying JK at the end. I don't know if Lehkonen actually has a higher value than Shaw , they are both good defensively and Lehk has had flashes of offense but Shaw's offense is just as good or better and he plays in the tough areas. Health wise there is always a risk , but truthfully hockey is a game that any player can be one hit or bad circumstance away from something bad happening. We all saw Subban and Pacs both carried off on stretchers' which could of easily been career ending.

I never said just dump him, I said we have better top 6 options going forward so he should be used as trade bait

[CaptWelly 0]

1 hour ago, campabee82 said:

I never said just dump him, I said we have better top 6 options going forward so he should be used as trade bait

Yes we are "hoping" we have better top six options , not all are proven yet and not all may bring everything he brings to the game. I only said "dump" because of some of the trade suggestions for him were weak IMO.  

[campabee82 0]

53 minutes ago, CaptWelly said:

Yes we are "hoping" we have better top six options , not all are proven yet and not all may bring everything he brings to the game. I only said "dump" because of some of the trade suggestions for him were weak IMO.  

Yeah but I think most people's trade posts involving Shaw are for a top 4 LHD and most of them would be a top pairing on this team maybe not on others but this one for sure. I don't think anyone's trade opinions are meant to just "dump a player and I also think that the old adage "if you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all" can apply to some of the comments returned. Not this one or any by you that I can recall but I have seen some really nasty comments back to others for just some trade suggestions. 

IMO we already have a top 6 that is better options than Shaw, In Domi, Drouin, Kotkaniemi, Gallagher, Tatar and Lehkonen. No one outside of Gallagher goes to the dirty areas but they all have better skill and most are just as defensively responsible as Shaw. Also Shaw takes 2-3 stupid or selfish penalties a week playing in the bottom 6 whereas Domi may take 2-3 a year so I wouldn't wand Shaw in the bottom six at all. I prefer if we keep Shaw we continue to play him in the top 6 but that limits the younger players opportunities.

Edited June 26, 2019 by campabee82

[CaptWelly 0]

2 hours ago, campabee82 said:

Yeah but I think most people's trade posts involving Shaw are for a top 4 LHD and most of them would be a top pairing on this team maybe not on others but this one for sure. I don't think anyone's trade opinions are meant to just "dump a player and I also think that the old adage "if you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all" can apply to some of the comments returned. Not this one or any by you that I can recall but I have seen some really nasty comments back to others for just some trade suggestions. 

IMO we already have a top 6 that is better options than Shaw, In Domi, Drouin, Kotkaniemi, Gallagher, Tatar and Lehkonen. No one outside of Gallagher goes to the dirty areas but they all have better skill and most are just as defensively responsible as Shaw. Also Shaw takes 2-3 stupid or selfish penalties a week playing in the bottom 6 whereas Domi may take 2-3 a year so I wouldn't wand Shaw in the bottom six at all. I prefer if we keep Shaw we continue to play him in the top 6 but that limits the younger players opportunities.

I've never slammed someone else's trades , I have disagreed with some and as stated I know Lehk is younger and has potential but I'm not sold yet he is better than Shaw. Shaw does also go to the dirty areas and battles along the boards helping out his team mates. So far Shaw has also shown a much better finish and scoring ability than Lehk. , maybe Lehk will find his finish but that's still a maybe so far. I like Lehk but he hasn't shown consistently to be better yet and he doesn't play nearly as tough as Shaw and that is something the team does need is some toughness. I love skill but in hockey you still need both this years playoffs alone was proof of that.  This year he wasn't taking 2-3 stupid penalties a week by any stretch. I have seen some (IMO) trades that seemed very light returns and not all were for a LD which we do need. The Shaw for a 1st round pick I disagreed with if it wasn't at least a top ten pick preferably top 5 , because below that there is no guarantee that they'll even play in the NHL or work out long term. Drouin was listed also as top six (not where he finished the season)  and it seems most want to trade him right away. JK definitely has the potential but still has to prove he's going to be top six. I think he will but it may take longer than everyone is hoping. So none of us are professionals at this, it's just a topic board and we all have our own opinions and should be able to disagree with no big deal. No offense to any one has ever been meant. We may disagree with each other on different players values based on our own opinions.

[campabee82 0]

38 minutes ago, CaptWelly said:

I've never slammed someone else's trades , I have disagreed with some and as stated I know Lehk is younger and has potential but I'm not sold yet he is better than Shaw. Shaw does also go to the dirty areas and battles along the boards helping out his team mates. So far Shaw has also shown a much better finish and scoring ability than Lehk. , maybe Lehk will find his finish but that's still a maybe so far. I like Lehk but he hasn't shown consistently to be better yet and he doesn't play nearly as tough as Shaw and that is something the team does need is some toughness. I love skill but in hockey you still need both this years playoffs alone was proof of that.  This year he wasn't taking 2-3 stupid penalties a week by any stretch. I have seen some (IMO) trades that seemed very light returns and not all were for a LD which we do need. The Shaw for a 1st round pick I disagreed with if it wasn't at least a top ten pick preferably top 5 , because below that there is no guarantee that they'll even play in the NHL or work out long term. Drouin was listed also as top six (not where he finished the season)  and it seems most want to trade him right away. JK definitely has the potential but still has to prove he's going to be top six. I think he will but it may take longer than everyone is hoping. So none of us are professionals at this, it's just a topic board and we all have our own opinions and should be able to disagree with no big deal. No offense to any one has ever been meant. We may disagree with each other on different players values based on our own opinions.

I did say that I haven't seen any of YOUR post of this nature and I also said that everyone has their own opinions and has a right to voice them. However I have see posts by others saying that someone else's post was fantasy and video game like and others that could have been interpreted as saying that another's opinion was just stupid. Again I agree everyone has the right to their opinions and I like debating on this topic in particular. I really shouldn't have added that to your post as I wasn't directing it at you and for that I apologize. 

[maas_art 0]

1 hour ago, campabee82 said:

I did say that I haven't seen any of YOUR post of this nature and I also said that everyone has their own opinions and has a right to voice them. However I have see posts by others saying that someone else's post was fantasy and video game like and others that could have been interpreted as saying that another's opinion was just stupid. Again I agree everyone has the right to their opinions and I like debating on this topic in particular. I really shouldn't have added that to your post as I wasn't directing it at you and for that I apologize. 

Yeah i think sometimes things come across harsher than they should. The joys of the internet.

[CaptWelly 0]

1 hour ago, maas_art said:

Yeah i think sometimes things come across harsher than they should. The joys of the internet.

The above statement true enough  

[jeff33 0]

1. We are officially meeting with duchene this week, so I guess we will be offering him something formally

2. friedman has linked us to corey perry, of course

3. marner is actually meeting with other teams, so an offer sheet on him is really not far fetched at all. he recently posted a picture of him and max domi, so from all this i think its safe to conclude hes 100% coming here

 

[maas_art 0]

9 minutes ago, jeff33 said:

1. We are officially meeting with duchene this week, so I guess we will be offering him something formally

2. friedman has linked us to corey perry, of course

3. marner is actually meeting with other teams, so an offer sheet on him is really not far fetched at all. he recently posted a picture of him and max domi, so from all this i think its safe to conclude hes 100% coming here

1. Id honestly be upset if we didnt at least meet with some of the top guys like Duchene.  Even if there isnt a fit, I think its important for a GM to do his due diligence & make sure there's not an option to make his team better that he is missing.

2. Ugg. I could probably live with a 1 year deal but beyond that? no thanks.

3. I actually fully expect some offer sheets to be written. I am not sure how many (if any) will not be matched but i think this is (finally) the year of the offer sheet.  Especailly with the cap being lower than expected.    I didnt realize Max & Marner still hung out together. Interesting. 

[BigTed3 0]

On some of the debate above... I've done this before, but let's say we don't make any further changes to our line-up right now. This is maybe how Julien lines up his players going into the season:

Tatar-Danault-Gallagher

Drouin-Domi-Shaw

Lehkonen-Kotkaniemi-Suzuki

Byron-Poehling-Armia

Thompson, Weal (with Hudon, Deslauriers, Peca, and Weise being the odd men out unless Suzuki or Poehling don't make the team)

Not saying this is what I would do, but I could see CJ doing something like that. And on D:

Mete-Weber

Kulak-Petry

Reilly-Juulsen

Folin (vs. Brook vs. Fleury vs. other)

The line-up actually has decent depth. On D, the obvious questions are whether Juulsen can be healthy/effective enough and then ideally everyone on the left side is bumped down a pairing (Mete better off being 2nd pair, Kulak better off 3rd, Reilly better off as 6th-7th D, Folin not NHL quality...). So there's a definite need for a 1 LHD. Up front, IF IF IF Suzuki and Poehling are ready, then any acquisition is really just adding depth. If you sign a Simmonds or a Nyqist or a Donskoi or a Brock Nelson for example, they're competing with your current players for ice time, but someone decent is being bumped into the 13-14 spot or into a rotation. The two exceptions to that would be if Suzuki or Poehling doesn't make the team, in which case your new acquisition is replacing a Thompson or Weal (much bigger drop-off in talent there) OR if you need to trade on eof your current forwards to fill the LHD opening. Both of those scenarios are really not that far-fetched. If Suzuki goes to Laval, for example, then Armia is maybe your 3 RW and Weal moves to line 4. It's not hard to believe you can find an upgrade on Weal then. If you deal Shaw or Drouin, then you are bumping everyone below them up... do you really want Byron or Armia or Lehkonen as a 2nd line player? Not ideally. So there again, it makes sense to sign another middle-6 player.

Again, I'll come back to signing Duchene. He probably becomes the 1C and bumps Domi to wing, for better or worse. But then it almost forces you to trade a forward for a LHD. And frankly, it makes the most sense to deal Drouin because his salary relief becomes necessary. If you're signing Duchene to 9-10M a year, you need to dump Drouin's 5.5M and not just Shaw's 3.9M in order to get a first-pairing D man.

That's why I'd come back to a player like Anders Lee maybe making more sense for us. Get a guy who gives you more position flexibility... he can play C but he can also just go to LW and allow you to leave Domi down the middle. And he'll likely be cheaper than Duchene (I've hypothesized 5-6 years at 6-6.5M a season, although I have no idea), which means you can add him and then still have cap space to address your left D issue. So maybe now you have the option of moving out Shaw's 3.9M instead of Drouin, and it would leave you with a forward line-up along the lines of

Drouin-Domi-Lehkonen

Tatar-Danault-Gallagher

Lee-Kotkaniemi-Suzuki

Byron-Poehling-Armia

 

Lee is still an upgrade over your current players, it gives you flexibility to make a trade without having a drop-off to Weal or Thompson in your starting 12, and it likely comes at a lesser cost in terms of salary and maybe term compared to Duchene.

 

[habsisme 0]

5 minutes ago, BigTed3 said:

On some of the debate above... I've done this before, but let's say we don't make any further changes to our line-up right now. This is maybe how Julien lines up his players going into the season:

Tatar-Danault-Gallagher

Drouin-Domi-Shaw

Lehkonen-Kotkaniemi-Suzuki

Byron-Poehling-Armia

Thompson, Weal (with Hudon, Deslauriers, Peca, and Weise being the odd men out unless Suzuki or Poehling don't make the team)

Not saying this is what I would do, but I could see CJ doing something like that. And on D:

Mete-Weber

Kulak-Petry

Reilly-Juulsen

Folin (vs. Brook vs. Fleury vs. other)

The line-up actually has decent depth. On D, the obvious questions are whether Juulsen can be healthy/effective enough and then ideally everyone on the left side is bumped down a pairing (Mete better off being 2nd pair, Kulak better off 3rd, Reilly better off as 6th-7th D, Folin not NHL quality...). So there's a definite need for a 1 LHD. Up front, IF IF IF Suzuki and Poehling are ready, then any acquisition is really just adding depth. If you sign a Simmonds or a Nyqist or a Donskoi or a Brock Nelson for example, they're competing with your current players for ice time, but someone decent is being bumped into the 13-14 spot or into a rotation. The two exceptions to that would be if Suzuki or Poehling doesn't make the team, in which case your new acquisition is replacing a Thompson or Weal (much bigger drop-off in talent there) OR if you need to trade on eof your current forwards to fill the LHD opening. Both of those scenarios are really not that far-fetched. If Suzuki goes to Laval, for example, then Armia is maybe your 3 RW and Weal moves to line 4. It's not hard to believe you can find an upgrade on Weal then. If you deal Shaw or Drouin, then you are bumping everyone below them up... do you really want Byron or Armia or Lehkonen as a 2nd line player? Not ideally. So there again, it makes sense to sign another middle-6 player.

Again, I'll come back to signing Duchene. He probably becomes the 1C and bumps Domi to wing, for better or worse. But then it almost forces you to trade a forward for a LHD. And frankly, it makes the most sense to deal Drouin because his salary relief becomes necessary. If you're signing Duchene to 9-10M a year, you need to dump Drouin's 5.5M and not just Shaw's 3.9M in order to get a first-pairing D man.

That's why I'd come back to a player like Anders Lee maybe making more sense for us. Get a guy who gives you more position flexibility... he can play C but he can also just go to LW and allow you to leave Domi down the middle. And he'll likely be cheaper than Duchene (I've hypothesized 5-6 years at 6-6.5M a season, although I have no idea), which means you can add him and then still have cap space to address your left D issue. So maybe now you have the option of moving out Shaw's 3.9M instead of Drouin, and it would leave you with a forward line-up along the lines of

Drouin-Domi-Lehkonen

Tatar-Danault-Gallagher

Lee-Kotkaniemi-Suzuki

Byron-Poehling-Armia

 

Lee is still an upgrade over your current players, it gives you flexibility to make a trade without having a drop-off to Weal or Thompson in your starting 12, and it likely comes at a lesser cost in terms of salary and maybe term compared to Duchene.

 

I wouldn't want Poehling on the 4th line. I'd rather him play 20 minutes a night in the AHL and get called up with the inevitable injury. SO I only see one of Poehling/Suzuki making the team out of the gate. Plus I personally like Thompson and Weal on the 4th line

[BigTed3 0]

22 minutes ago, habsisme said:

I wouldn't want Poehling on the 4th line. I'd rather him play 20 minutes a night in the AHL and get called up with the inevitable injury. SO I only see one of Poehling/Suzuki making the team out of the gate. Plus I personally like Thompson and Weal on the 4th line

I understand that argument in general and I've argued that for other talented rookies... either play them in the top 6-9 or else play them in the top 6 in the AHL. To some extent, I see your point but the caveats here where I have less concern about Poehling:

1. He's a big kid. He already looks NHL size-ready so I have less concerns about his being muscled around by bigger NHLers than say Kotkaniemi or Suzuki coming in without much muscle on their frames. I think Poehling will be able to hold his own in the NHL.

2. Our winger depth is much better than in the past. I don't see the point of bringing up a young scorer and playing them with Laraque or Prust or Moen or Froese or Flynn. But I think if you stick a guy like Poehling on a line with two of Byron, Armia, Lehkonen, Shaw, Suzuki, etc. then you're putting him with guys who can still generate offence with him. I don't think his talents will be wasted there.

3. Our PP was awful last year. Poehling being a bigger-bodied frame might be a guy who gets an opportunity there, and I think the Habs will try to build him into a PK player too. So I think he might get some special teams looks that will bump his ice time a bit more than your typical 4th line player.

4. It's one thing to talk about having him wait a year in the AHL, but in a year, barring a shake-up, Danault, Domi, and Kotkaniemi will all be still be there. So is someone moving to wing? Is there a trade? Or is Poehling just going to have to start as the 4C in a year anyways if he makes the team?

I get your viewpoint, it's logical, but I'm just less concerned about Poehling being lost in the grinders than I have been in past years.

The other interesting thing is that Suzuki did an interview today where he said he is more comfortable at center as a puck distributor and that the Habs have told him they will focus on playing him there. There isn't a real opening at center, which kind of fits to your point that the team maybe sees at least one of Suzuki or Poehling (and more likely Suzuki given he's less experienced and smaller) starting the year in the AHL as a center. I think we all kind of assumed he would be moved to wing, but it's looking like the Habs aren't viewing it that way, at least to start.

[BigTed3 0]

Frank Seravalli reporting a rumor the Canucks were looking into Sebastian Aho and that the player's ask was starting at around 9.5M for 5 years. So not to say he's going anywhere but that that gives you an idea about what some of the young RFA's think they're worth.

[CaptWelly 0]

1 hour ago, BigTed3 said:

I understand that argument in general and I've argued that for other talented rookies... either play them in the top 6-9 or else play them in the top 6 in the AHL. To some extent, I see your point but the caveats here where I have less concern about Poehling:

1. He's a big kid. He already looks NHL size-ready so I have less concerns about his being muscled around by bigger NHLers than say Kotkaniemi or Suzuki coming in without much muscle on their frames. I think Poehling will be able to hold his own in the NHL.

2. Our winger depth is much better than in the past. I don't see the point of bringing up a young scorer and playing them with Laraque or Prust or Moen or Froese or Flynn. But I think if you stick a guy like Poehling on a line with two of Byron, Armia, Lehkonen, Shaw, Suzuki, etc. then you're putting him with guys who can still generate offence with him. I don't think his talents will be wasted there.

3. Our PP was awful last year. Poehling being a bigger-bodied frame might be a guy who gets an opportunity there, and I think the Habs will try to build him into a PK player too. So I think he might get some special teams looks that will bump his ice time a bit more than your typical 4th line player.

4. It's one thing to talk about having him wait a year in the AHL, but in a year, barring a shake-up, Danault, Domi, and Kotkaniemi will all be still be there. So is someone moving to wing? Is there a trade? Or is Poehling just going to have to start as the 4C in a year anyways if he makes the team?

I get your viewpoint, it's logical, but I'm just less concerned about Poehling being lost in the grinders than I have been in past years.

The other interesting thing is that Suzuki did an interview today where he said he is more comfortable at center as a puck distributor and that the Habs have told him they will focus on playing him there. There isn't a real opening at center, which kind of fits to your point that the team maybe sees at least one of Suzuki or Poehling (and more likely Suzuki given he's less experienced and smaller) starting the year in the AHL as a center. I think we all kind of assumed he would be moved to wing, but it's looking like the Habs aren't viewing it that way, at least to start.

I agree that Poehling could easily start out on the 4th line. The great thing is with the current line up it wouldn't always mean the quote 4th line gets less ice time all the time. I think a lot of it would depend on the team we were playing against. Sometimes match ups are the different styles make different lines and players more effective on different nights. Poehling does have size and has been playing against men so other than the schedule (which you could see seemed to effect JK) I agree I think Poehling may surprise and he may compete with JK for additional ice time. He may be good on the PP depending on how he is used. Either way you look at it having depth and lines where they can skate and all contribute I would think would only help a coach. There will probably be injuries and a learning curve so if some of the guys Suzuki/JK/Poehling rotated in and out some it actually might be beneficial over the length of the season. It's actually nice to see about a debate of who "should" stay in vs who "shouldn't" be in for a change!

[CaptWelly 0]

3 hours ago, jeff33 said:

1. We are officially meeting with duchene this week, so I guess we will be offering him something formally

2. friedman has linked us to corey perry, of course

3. marner is actually meeting with other teams, so an offer sheet on him is really not far fetched at all. he recently posted a picture of him and max domi, so from all this i think its safe to conclude hes 100% coming here

 

I have to say it would be fun to watch Marner & Domi playing together, maybe Marner, Domi, Druion 

[HARBORSPORT 0]

2 hours ago, CaptWelly said:

I have to say it would be fun to watch Marner & Domi playing together, maybe Marner, Domi, Druion 

no, I have assigned Drouin to zamboni duty for the upcoming season..................

[BigTed3 0]

A few more recent notes:

- While some think Duchene is already set on playing in Nashville, Darren Dreger reports that Duchene wasn't wasting anyone's time by visiting the Habs and that he hasn't ruled out coming to Montreal.

- Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reporting that the Habs were among at least 10-12 teams that have contacted Mitch Marner. Doesn't mean they have any interest in actually giving him an offer, but good to know MB is at least gathering information to know what the market is going to be like to sign a coveted RFA. It means he hasn't ruled it out completely.

- Larry Brooks of the NY Post says both Panarin and Bobrovsky are in New York right now, with Panarin meeting with both the Isles and Rangers. The feeling is that Panarin is down to signing with either one of the NY teams or the Panthers. Bobrovsky is heavily rumored to be going to Florida, especially with Luongo retiring, but let's keep in mind the Isles still haven't re-signed Lehner, which makes you wonder if Lou Lamoriello is fishing his nose around Bobrovsky as well to see about an upgrade in goal. If the Isles manage to sing Panarin and Bobrovsky, then you'd have to figure Lee is a good bet to be going elsewhere.

[kinot-2 0]

Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reports on Thursday that the Canadiens held discussions with Marner and his camp. 

There's two ways the Canadiens' could acquire Marner, either through an offer sheet where they'd have to give up four first round picks, or through trade where they'd have to give up some pieces. 

And:

The Montreal Canadiens and general manager Marc Bergevin had a very important meeting on Wednesday. 

Pending free agent forward Matt Duchene of the Columbus Blue Jackets was in Montreal to discuss a possible contract with the Canadiens'. 

The Canadiens' appear to be one of the front runners to land Duchene along with the Nashville Predators who he'll be meeting on Thursday. 

Duchene has openly stated that his family grew up Habs' fans and he's worn #9 throughout his career as a tribute to The Rocket. 

Edited June 27, 2019 by kinot-2

[habsisme 0]

5 minutes ago, BigTed3 said:

A few more recent notes:

- While some think Duchene is already set on playing in Nashville, Darren Dreger reports that Duchene wasn't wasting anyone's time by visiting the Habs and that he hasn't ruled out coming to Montreal.

- Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reporting that the Habs were among at least 10-12 teams that have contacted Mitch Marner. Doesn't mean they have any interest in actually giving him an offer, but good to know MB is at least gathering information to know what the market is going to be like to sign a coveted RFA. It means he hasn't ruled it out completely.

- Larry Brooks of the NY Post says both Panarin and Bobrovsky are in New York right now, with Panarin meeting with both the Isles and Rangers. The feeling is that Panarin is down to signing with either one of the NY teams or the Panthers. Bobrovsky is heavily rumored to be going to Florida, especially with Luongo retiring, but let's keep in mind the Isles still haven't re-signed Lehner, which makes you wonder if Lou Lamoriello is fishing his nose around Bobrovsky as well to see about an upgrade in goal. If the Isles manage to sing Panarin and Bobrovsky, then you'd have to figure Lee is a good bet to be going elsewhere.

My stomach hurts just think of signing Duch... PLEASE NO

[ramcharger440 0]

24 minutes ago, habsisme said:

My stomach hurts just think of signing Duch... PLEASE NO

LOL! thats a bit strong! he will be too expensive but he is a very good hockey player. i don't think he is what we need but you never know how things may shake out.