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Blazingbat11

Molson beer is meh
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Jan. 1, 2017
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Forum: Armchair-GMThu. at 5:08 p.m.
Thread: Big move
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>NHLfan10506</b></div><div>I know less about Barron’s situation, but I don’t think he would be on our list, unless we made moves elsewhere. Guhle very much sounds like the type of dman Fitzgerald as talked about.

And I would guess that Holtz or #10 pick would be on table.</div></div>

Oh there I agree with you! And for me, 10th overall 1 for 1 for Guhle is a fair trade imo. I still think MTL turns it down simply because they are looking at speeding up their rebuild, trading Guhle for a future asset does the opposite. But in terms of value it's fair.

Holtz however is not worth anywhere near a top 10 pick.
And thanks to your friend <a href="/users/dgibb10" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@dgibb10</a>, he provided me a great competition tool that evaluates player matchups (Thanks again for the link!). And Holtz is the most sheltered player on NJD roster, and struggles defensively across the board. There's no way New Jersey gets their value back from where they selected him at 7th overall 4 years ago. There's no doubt he still has offensive potential, but he's much closer to being like Kaliyev in terms of value, those two are very comparable (Holtz being 1 year younger, Kaliyev with better pts per games stats).
Forum: Armchair-GMThu. at 4:49 p.m.
Thread: Levshunov or Demidov
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>squashmaple</b></div><div>As a Jackets fan, I want Chicago to pick Levshunov because that means Demidov probably falls to 4OA. As a Ducks fan, I want Chicago to pick Demidov so the Ducks get Levshunov (once Demidov is gone, I am not terribly pressed about who Columbus ends with). I just hope all of us get the best fit for our teams in the end. Except Montreal—I hope they end up having to settle for a defenseman because reading their fan reactions is always funny.</div></div>

As a Habs fan, if for whatever reason Habs end up selecting Levshunov (highly unlikely) or Silayev, I'd 100% be ok with that.

I still think they take Lindstrom or Demidov (if still there) and have Iginla as their backup option. All good choices imo
Forum: Armchair-GMThu. at 3:57 p.m.
Thread: Big move
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>dgibb10</b></div><div>Barron has some value somewhere. Not in NJD.

NJD would still need to pick up an LD, and after that happens <strong>Barron would be placed on waivers</strong>.</div></div>

Not going to happen. If he's not moved this offseason, Kovacevic is likely gone and Barron will stick with the Habs.

If Hughes has proven anything since he's been GM, is he doesn't throw away assets. He ran with 3 goaltenders almost all year because he refused to waive Primeau. Barron is easily worth way more than Primeau, do you really think Hughes would waive him?! I don't think so.


<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>NHLfan10506</b></div><div>Most Devils fans don’t want to trade Holtz. But since he has been in rumor mill, we are just reacting to what is being discussed.

Holtz played 4th line last year. For some reason, Lindy never liked him and never gave him a chance. In the few moments when he played top-6, he looked good, and we thought it was signs of things to come. But no, he would go right back to 4th line.

We have a new coach this year, so maybe it all changes. But anyone who has watched him play…or looked through his numbers would see a very promising player.</div></div>

Same could be said for Barron. He played primarily on the 3rd pair, but when he was paired with Matheson, he looked great. He also posted 7 goals in 48 games (very promising for a Dman). But due to the sheer quantity of Habs dmen, he never got a decent chance, and due to his waiver exemption, was sent down. If Harris or Kovacevic were waiver exempt, 100% Barron would have stuck around. But anyone who has watched him play…or looked through his numbers would see a very promising player.
Forum: Armchair-GMThu. at 2:44 p.m.
Thread: Big move
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>NHLfan10506</b></div><div>Montreal fanbase circa 2022
NJD fans saw daily trades from Montreal fans (Bratt + 2nd overall, Nemec + 2023 1st, etc).
MTL fans were 100% convinced that was Josh Anderson's value.

No, of course it never happened.
Fitzgerald never spoke to Hughes about Anderson, as multiple had to later report.</div></div>

And those are crazy propositions... I was one of the Anderson defenders back in the day, but I never thought Anderson was worth anything close to that.

but to loop things back to this conversation, what does some Habs crazies Anderson proposals from 2022 have to do with this? My initial comment is poking at the fact that NJD fans love explaining how good Holtz is compared to other players but proceed to include him in every single one of their trades.

Seems to me like he is NJD fans version of Justin Barron for Habs fans. Someone they value, but view as expendable, so they trade him in A LOT of mock trades.

So how's this for a trade: Holtz for Barron lol
Forum: Armchair-GMWed. at 6:25 p.m.
Thread: Alternative to Demidov or Lindstrom
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>dgibb10</b></div><div>Again, something to keep in mind is Arber Xhekaj gets among the easiest matchups in hockey.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:
-Enforcer
-Decent shot
-Mediocre offensively (compared to other 3rd pairing guys)

Cons:
-Has to be incredibly sheltered making the lives of your other dman much harder
-Will constantly put your team on the PK
-Has no value on either special teams unit (most guys contribute on at least 1)
-Not good defensively

The lack of ability to contribute on either special teams units, and the fact that he makes your other dmen's jobs much harder by both forcing them into tougher minutes and making them kill penalties more, means you are almost certainly better off just playing a waivers caliber player, such as a Hanley, Kovacevic, DeSimone, etc. Or giving time to a youngster with actual upside like Barron or Struble.</div></div>

"decent shot"... come on now... you're just downplaying his pros and over-exaggerating his cons to try and hold firm of your opinion of him (which is weird). Evolving-Hockey literally has him valued as a $3.1mil aav dman (I personally think thats too high). Kind of hard to hold firm that he's "an AHL caliber player"...

and, genuinely curious, where are you getting that he's playing sheltered minutes and getting "among the easiest matchups in hockey"? I'm looking everywhere (scouring the internet!) and legitimately can't find anything.
Forum: Armchair-GMWed. at 5:54 p.m.
Thread: Alternative to Demidov or Lindstrom
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>dgibb10</b></div><div>Arber Xhekaj playing well in the AHL proves he's an NHLer caliber dman how?

Arber Xhekaj is not an NHL caliber dman.

He can't defend well, and he can't defend at all without commiting penalties (no player takes penalties not even including fighting majors at a higher rate)
He plays among the easiest, most sheltered minutes in hockey for 15 minutes a night.</div></div>

<img class="for_img" src="https://i.postimg.cc/XvbyBzdc/Xhekaj.jpg" alt="Xhekaj.jpg">

Penalties (excluding fighting majors) are absolutely something he needs to work on, granted. Defensively he's still an NHL caliber 3rd pairing dman, it's a fair assessment. offensively at 5v5 he's been fantastic. Calling him an AHL caliber player is literally objectively false...
Forum: Armchair-GMWed. at 5:23 p.m.
Thread: Alternative to Demidov or Lindstrom
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>dgibb10</b></div><div>Xhekaj is an excellent enforcer. Unfortunately he’s an AHL caliber hockey player.</div></div>

excellent enforcer? Correct! An AHL caliber player? Wrong!

During his rookie season, I probably would've agreed with you, he was just a good story at that point, and really did have sub-par NHL metrics. But this past season, he took major strides and I think it's more than fair that Xhekaj perfectly fits where he is as a 3rd pairing Dman right now, even on a contending team (which is why he's supposedly generating a ton of interest from other teams).

The AHL level stuff was debunked when Xhekaj actually...you know... played for Laval for 17 games.... he dominated, full stop. He was a man in a boy's league (or whatever that saying is lol).
Forum: Armchair-GMWed. at 5:00 p.m.
Thread: The case for trading Guhle
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>F50marco</b></div><div>I wouldn't move Guhle just because Habs have depth on LHD. Guhle could be arguably the best of all of them. Until we know what we have, there is no point moving him IMO. Not to mention that <strong>Guhle is not worth a top 10 pick in the draft</strong>, especially this year, at least not yet. So we'd likely have to move him for another young roster player from another team whose a forward if anything.

Guhle can also play RHD pretty decently so putting him on the right side, at least for 1 year, makes others who are more reasonable, expendable. Harris IMO has no future on this team if Hutson makes the club.
Savard and Kovacevic are likely gone by TDL, freeing up more spots. Barron needs to step up or he may be waiver claimed. Xhekaj can play the right side if need be. Struble is not waiver eligible so he can be sent down. Mailloux also. etc etc

There isn't as much of a rush to move a dmen as many think. Depth is a good thing, especially with how many injuries the team has every year. Also, It'll be nice for Laval to not have to rely on ECHL players for once.</div></div>

I know you said, "at least not yet", but even now there would be teams in the top 10 that would jump at the opportunity to acquire Guhle. It depends on teams situation for sure. NJD almost 100%, OTT, UTA and SEA would most certainly be interested (even if MTL would have to add maybe a secondary asset but Guhle would still be the key piece),

But let's play the hypothetical game. let's say CGY did indeed offer the 9th pick for Guhle, would Hughes accept the deal? We can all debate how close or not in terms of value in a vacuum and whatnot, but realistically, MTL is probably the team turning down the deal.
Gorton and Hughes have made it very clear they want to speed up the rebuild. Moving Guhle for a future asset (of equal or close to similar value) does the exact opposite. And Guhle hasn't reached his full potential yet, everyone agrees with this. He's already showing strong metrics as a top pairing D (playing on his off side no less). And we haven't touched on a key component of Guhle's game either; going back to his draft selection, the whole point and Bergevin's sales pitch for selecting him was... the "InTaNgIbLes"... He's a leader, he's a playoff type performer, he plays "the right way", etc. etc. There hasn't really been a true opportunity for Guhle to showcase those skills with MTL being a bottom feeding team.


It is kind of telling now with Guhle finally playing in a competitive environment, that he's thriving and has been one of team Canada's best defenders in a squad that includes Powers, Byram, Parayko, Severson, and Oleksiak...
Forum: Armchair-GMTue. at 9:43 p.m.