State Of The Habs 2018-19

[maas_art]

2 hours ago, kinot-2 said:

Karl Alzner recalled from Laval.

 

The move was expected as the team never formally announced him being sent down. It was effectively a “paper transaction” - a transaction done for administrative purposes without needing the player to report. In this case, the Canadiens have two extra days to send him back down without needing waivers but that seems unlikely at this point.

Maybe there's a trade...  

[HabsRuleForever]

I just got a notification that he (Alzner) was loaned to Laval today.

McNiven recalled to back-up Niemi as Price will serve his one game suspension for missing the all start game.

[BigTed3]

On 1/30/2019 at 1:04 PM, jennifer_rocket said:

I'm okay with acquiring Bouwmeester if it's like, Michael McCarron and Calgary's 4th rounder. I wouldn't be interested in him if it's a pick in the first three rounds or a quality prospect... I think that would be a big ask of St. Louis. I'm sure someone will toss something better at them. I'm kind of in for a low-risk, low-reward (low-cost) move heading into the play-offs (assuming we'll make it). Just getting some of our players the first round experience will be totally worth it.

McCarron has been out since December and has a major injury which is threatening to end his season. I doubt he's a major trade chip.

I could absolutely see the Habs using Hudon as a trade chip though, and I think MB would part with a B level prospect like Ikonen/Ylonen/Evans/etc. I also wonder if he'll deal Charlie Lindgren. Not a fan of trading for Bouwmeester unless it's for a low-mid draft pick alone... if they want a 3rd or 4th for JB, fine. Anything of more value isn't worth it for a guy who isn't useful to us past this season.

[maas_art]

1 hour ago, BigTed3 said:

Not a fan of trading for Bouwmeester unless it's for a low-mid draft pick alone... if they want a 3rd or 4th for JB, fine. Anything of more value isn't worth it for a guy who isn't useful to us past this season.

I agree but i also could see them doing a 3rd and Evans or something.  I mean if it means we win a round - or even an extra game - in the post season its probably worth it to the organization.  We've got a lot of depth forwards. Ideally we would use them to acquire more picks and/or defensive prospects but either way they arent all going to make this nhl roster most likely. 

[caperns61]

IF we are going to throw picks just for Bouwmeester. I would be more interested in reaching out to Chicago for Duncan Keith. I am sure you could get another 2 or 3 solid seasons out of Keith playing alongside Weber. Keith was always a great skater. Now I would not be willing to give up alot, but I would certainly give up a second, hudon and one of Ikonen, evans etc if the want another lower end prospect like MCcarron well they can have that also. 

[BigTed3]

3 hours ago, caperns61 said:

IF we are going to throw picks just for Bouwmeester. I would be more interested in reaching out to Chicago for Duncan Keith. I am sure you could get another 2 or 3 solid seasons out of Keith playing alongside Weber. Keith was always a great skater. Now I would not be willing to give up alot, but I would certainly give up a second, hudon and one of Ikonen, evans etc if the want another lower end prospect like MCcarron well they can have that also. 

Hard pass. Keith is already 35 and has 4 more years left on his contract after this one. His production has already fallen off over the past few years and he's likely already a 2nd-pairing defenceman. With his age and remaining contract, that just becomes another Alzner/Gomez/Kaberle type situation. No no and no.

[ramcharger440]

1 hour ago, BigTed3 said:

Hard pass. Keith is already 35 and has 4 more years left on his contract after this one. His production has already fallen off over the past few years and he's likely already a 2nd-pairing defenceman. With his age and remaining contract, that just becomes another Alzner/Gomez/Kaberle type situation. No no and no.

Yeah that ship has sailed! good player but far too old to give up anything meaningful for.

[caperns61]

 

4 hours ago, BigTed3 said:

Hard pass. Keith is already 35 and has 4 more years left on his contract after this one. His production has already fallen off over the past few years and he's likely already a 2nd-pairing defenceman. With his age and remaining contract, that just becomes another Alzner/Gomez/Kaberle type situation. No no and no.

Not even close to any of these players. He is top 30 assists among deeman, he is top 40 among deeman in points. He still plays over 22 minutes a game. He has always been a very good skater which adds longevity to their game. All the while playing on a really bad team. No he is not the Duncan Keith of 5 years ago if he was it would cost you multiple first round picks. But he is still better then anything we have on the left side. And would be a perfect stop gap for a couple of years while our kids develop. 

I have seen members wanting to throw top end prospects and players for Ghost yet he plays less minutes then keith, has less points then keith and a worse plus minus then keith. We were upset when we did not resign Markov at 38. Keith is 35 plays a really controlled game like Markov, makes a really good first pass. And all the while still one of the better skating deeman in the game. 

If we could get him for a offer of Hudon, Evans and a second i would take that in a heart beat. 

[BigTed3]

37 minutes ago, caperns61 said:

 

Not even close to any of these players. He is top 30 assists among deeman, he is top 40 among deeman in points. He still plays over 22 minutes a game. He has always been a very good skater which adds longevity to their game. All the while playing on a really bad team. No he is not the Duncan Keith of 5 years ago if he was it would cost you multiple first round picks. But he is still better then anything we have on the left side. And would be a perfect stop gap for a couple of years while our kids develop. 

I have seen members wanting to throw top end prospects and players for Ghost yet he plays less minutes then keith, has less points then keith and a worse plus minus then keith. We were upset when we did not resign Markov at 38. Keith is 35 plays a really controlled game like Markov, makes a really good first pass. And all the while still one of the better skating deeman in the game. 

If we could get him for a offer of Hudon, Evans and a second i would take that in a heart beat. 

It would be different if Keith's contract was expiring. It's not. He's 35 and due 4 more years after the current one. That takes him through the age of 40, and the number of D men who hold up and produce from ages 35-40 is small. It's not just about what a player is doing right now, it's about what he's going to do over the course of his remaining contract, and Keith is simply not worth it.

Let's look at Kaberle for example. In the 5 years before we acquired him, he put up 58, 53, 31 (in 57 games), 49, and 47 points. He was 33 when we acquired him, and he fizzled out. In the 4 years he was healthy over that span, he was 13th, 16th, 21st, and 17th in the league in D men points. So very clearly a #1 D man in terms of production. yet by the time we got him, he just saw his play drop off. Ditto for Hamrlik. Ditto Plekanec. Ditto Gomez. Markov managed to keep up his point production to some degree but he was still a shell of his former self and wasn't able to play the PK nor big minutes ate even strength. The only reason people wanted to keep him was because we had weak options on the left side (Emelin, Streit, and so on) and even then, people wanted to sign him to a 1-year deal. I'd have no problem with Keith here for 1 or 2 years, but for 4.5 more seasons? No thank you. I'm not giving up assets for that. If they want to take Alzner's contract back as part of the deal, then we can talk.

[maas_art]

8 hours ago, BigTed3 said:

Hard pass. Keith is already 35 and has 4 more years left on his contract after this one. His production has already fallen off over the past few years and he's likely already a 2nd-pairing defenceman. With his age and remaining contract, that just becomes another Alzner/Gomez/Kaberle type situation. No no and no.

agreed.  if it was an expiring contract like boowmeester and the ask wasnt too high? sure.  but with 4 years left after this one?  No thanks.

 

The only way id take on Duncan Keith at this point is if it was a straight up swap for Alzner.   I think Keith is already probably better served as a 2nd pair guy (although he'd be our #1LD by default) but at least you can probably expect him to be an NHL caliber dman for the remainder of his contract. Alzner is not.  So we pay an extra Million or so a year and we add one more year (I think keith has 4 more and alzner has 3?) but we get overall a better player who should be at least a top 6 dman for the balance of his contract.  For the same reason Id do it, i cant see chicago doing it because Alzner doesnt help them any more than he does us. 

 

 

[I-Am-Canadian_mtl]

With regards to Subban and Serghachev has anybody noticed that they’re not having great seasons?? Subban I know has been hurt...but only 4 points on the power play?? No points the last 5 games...I assume his injury has hampered him...and Serghachev benched again tonight for the fourth time this season...is he falling out of favour with the coach?

[habs1952]

I wonder if any teams out there would be willing to take Drouin off our hands. He's replaced Patches as our floater.

[BigTed3]

21 minutes ago, I-Am-Canadian_mtl said:

With regards to Subban and Serghachev has anybody noticed that they’re not having great seasons?? Subban I know has been hurt...but only 4 points on the power play?? No points the last 5 games...I assume his injury has hampered him...and Serghachev benched again tonight for the fourth time this season...is he falling out of favour with the coach?

Subban was playing really well before his injury. He was near the top of the league for points by D men. And yes, he hasn't found his stride since coming back, but I think he'll be fine. Nashville often runs 4 forwards on their PP and they play Josi and Ellis and Ekholm there too, so Subban is splitting time to get out there. The team has also had key injuries up front, so their offence hasn't been full-force for most of the year.

Sergachev has also struggled, but he's a 2nd year player. Guys have slumps, and Tampa also has a really deep D corps, especially after adding McDonaugh last year. It's cut into Sergachev's ice time too. I think Tampa just doesn't need to rely on young players as much.

4 minutes ago, habs1952 said:

I wonder if any teams out there would be willing to take Drouin off our hands. He's replaced Patches as our floater.

Drouin has played well at times, but yes, he's often invisible and he often makes bad no-look passes and doesn't skate hard when he should. And yes, he's kind of fallen into that Pacoretty/Galchenyuk type group. The difference is that Pacioretty scored a lot more and Galchenyuk got put down consistently by the coaches and stuffed into the bottom 6. Drouin, on the other hand, got a full season at center last year and has pretty much stayed in the top 6 the entire year this season. So he hasn't really been held as accountable for his play. He's very much a valuable offensive player, but of all the guys MB has dogged for attitude issues, Drouin tops my list as a guy who doesn't give you full return on your dollar. He's a guy who ironically would be good trade bait to get a top #1 LHD.

 

[CANADIENS27]

Inability to finish scoring chances last night.  

 

 

[campabee82]

Ok after the win today we are closer than most think to being a serious threat to win a round or maybe two so let's fix our PP by getting a power forward for the front of the net and our #1 LHD.

[ChiLla]

Instead of competing for last place with the Senators, as most of us probably expected, we're in a pretty good position and right in the middle of the playoff race. I don't think we'd stand a chance against Tampa Bay or Toronto in a 7-game series but could probably give Boston a run for their money. The additions of Domi, Tatar, and Kotkaniemi have changed the complexion of the team and made us much more difficult to play against. I do miss Pacioretty's goal scoring but Tatar has been the better overall player, both the Domi and Pacioretty trades look really good right now.

[BigTed3]

5 hours ago, ChiLla said:

Instead of competing for last place with the Senators, as most of us probably expected, we're in a pretty good position and right in the middle of the playoff race. I don't think we'd stand a chance against Tampa Bay or Toronto in a 7-game series but could probably give Boston a run for their money. The additions of Domi, Tatar, and Kotkaniemi have changed the complexion of the team and made us much more difficult to play against. I do miss Pacioretty's goal scoring but Tatar has been the better overall player, both the Domi and Pacioretty trades look really good right now.

Both those trades are definitely wins for us right now, which doesn't mean the other teams lost, just that they've each worked out for us. If you look at Vegas, they got a great scorer on a reasonable long-term deal and they gave up a guy in Tatar who didn't fit in there. The kicker for me is not just the head to head though, it's that we also have other assets in the deal, including Suzuki, who if we're lucky, might be the most valuable piece in the trade when all is said and done. With Domi, he's been lights out and he's surprisingly fit in as a center, which we've been lacking for years. We're easily better with him right now. That said, Domi was playing poorly in Arizona, and I think they're also getting more from Galchenyuk than they did from Domi when he was there. It's a trade where the change of scenery has helped both players and teams.

When you look at a lot of this year's roster, MB has won a good deal of the moves he's made. Not just Tatar and Domi, but Danault was a steal, Petry was a steal, Armia and Byron and Kulak and Reilly were all cheap pick-ups at virtually no cost, and so on. The Drouin trade is still up in the air for me. It's difficult to compare two players at different positions and especially with a young defenceman, where they take a big longer to develop on average. What I don't like is that LHD is our weakest spot right now and we made that position weaker via that deal. And while Weber has played well and has the great shot, you can see his mobility is lacking and he's still not anywhere close to the player Subban is. Is Weber a #1 D man? Yes, I think he's shown that especially this season. But the on-ice roster would still be better with Subban than Shea. The swap of Eller for draft picks for Shaw in essence was also a horrible set of moves. All in all, though MB has won more trades than he's lost due to his summer moves. It just hurts that he's lost the biggest one he made.

So what has MB not done well? We'll come back to the fact he hung on to Therrien and Lefebvre for too long. That set us back a couple of years. We're still seeing how poor our development system has been, with most of the draft picks playing a role with the Habs being guys who bypassed the AHL altogether (Kotkaniemi, Lehkonen, Mete, etc.). We lost a lot of decent prospects to the fact that Lefebvre and company bungled them all up and that hurts in a cap era. We're also crawling out from a lot of bad MB acquisitions... Schlemko. Alzner. Deslauriers. And going back, the Dwight Kings and Andreas Martinsens and Nesterovs of the NHL. MB took too long to realize that these players don't fit into today's game and it's really only been this season with the arrival of the new coaches that we've gotten away from using these players. It's nice that the team has finally figured out these slow unskilled players don't work any more, but it took MB 6+ seasons to get it together and again, that's just too long in the NHL. You've already wasted an entire cohort of players and what could have been a Cup run or two on the backs of a great nucleus of Price-Subban-Pacioretty.

So yes, you kind of feel like the team has turned a corner in terms of its philosophy. It still needs some higher-end talent, especially at left D, but the future is looking up at least. It will largely depend on JK and Poehling and Romanov and Brook and Suzuki and so on and how fast they can become impact players and whether they can do so before Price and Weber fizzle out. But at the moment, I feel a lot better about this team than I did 12 months ago, so it's a start. Next, we need to make sure MB doesn't sacrifice the building path for a rental or overpaid veteran. If anything, I still believe he can/should look at moving a veteran or two to bring in assets that can help us for longer.

[CANADIENS27]

Penalty kill hurt us yesterday.  

 

 

[kinot-2]

The Canadiens, surpassed their win total from last season (29-40-13).

[kinot-2]

 Kotkaniemi has scored each of his nine goals at home. 

[Fanhab81]

We need a center and a scoring winger...acquiring a d-man is only worth it if benn is the defenseman who loses his roster spot...but I believe mike Reilly loses his spot if we add a defenseman...rumor has it MB doesnt wanna ruin the teams chemistry...wish he felt that way b4 he added ott Mortensen king and fired terrian while we held top spot in the Atlantic and got bounced outta the playoffs in 6games vs rangers 

[26NCounting]

The forwards look good, we are in desperate need of a legit D man.  Reilly really needs to ride the pine or play a more limited role, his offensive skills are a nice compliment however his D is atrocious.  I would really like to see MB make a move and get a Cam Fowler, Olli Matta type of D man

[Habs_Hockey_Nutz]

Frankly, I'm not totally convinced the 4th line couldn't be better. I think Reilly has struggled at times this year and agree he could be the odd man out if the Habs acquire a better left-defenseman

[jennifer_rocket]

I know Anaheim is a struggling team, but I was still pretty impressed with the team's performance last night. We looked like a really solid team. I was especially impressed with Kotkaniemi's line, Max Domi, and Jonathan Drouin (three primary assists).

[H_T_L]

Starting to believe in this team. We have a brutal stretch coming up the rest of this month. Currently have a small playoff cushion but it's still a fragile hold.