Alexander Romanov : Give him a bridge deal, he has improved defensively quite a bit, but he doesn’t have the vision or the offense to become a solid top 4 dman on a contending team IMO. So I am not ready to give him 4M+ long terms this offseason. He got two years to prove me wrong
Rem Pitlick : Great waiver pick up. Came in so strong, but his play as regressed, probably due to him not being used to play so many games in a year. Even if he doesn’t produce, he isn’t a liability out there and I like his speed. Gets a bridge deal, in two years Joshua Roy, Emil Heinemen & Raphael Harvey-Pinard could be knocking at the NHL door and could replace Rem
Corey Schueneman : This guy is the surprise this year. I watched a lot of the Rocket last year and he was the best dman in Laval. Earned a NHL contract last offseason and he finally got his shot. Taking advantage of it, he could become a Brett Kulak 2.0. I would keep him as the 7th dman next year with the team. 2 years deal, getting a little raise
Cayden Primeau : Another full year at the AHL level, keep dominating there and get that confidence for 2023-2024 to back up Carey Price. League minimum due to his play at the NHL level, but I have no doubt he will become a regular in the NHL
Michael Pezzetta : 13th forward, can be thrown in the lineup when you want some grit. The guy got heart, but doesn’t have any skills to be a regular at the NHL level. Average defensively at best
Joel Tesdale : Came back strong from that major injury. A full year healthy in Laval. League minimum
Samuel Montembeault : Can get hot or he is really bad. Not a fan of Monty, I think he gets traded in a minor deal or get waived to Laval. Might get claimed
RFA not getting qualified : Josh Brook (too many injuries, like Joni Ikonen. Both have talent but injuries ruined their chances). Kale Clague : can skate, that’s it. He’s been brutal. Sami Niku : can’t play defense, can’t win puck battles. Nathan Schnarr : doesn’t produce enough at the AHL level, Laval need better options
Chris Wideman : PP specialist, good skater and make solid passes. Since Justin Barron isn’t NHL ready, bring back Wideman 1 year. Everyone likes him in the locker room, veteran presence on the blue line. Get a raise
Laurent Dauphin : Did good in the 30ish games he played. Was used a little bit too high in the line up, but should stay with the team in case of injury at center. Get a raise 800K 1 year
Alex Belzile : Good leader in Laval, might get an AHL contract only. Ylönen would be the first call up and Harvey-Pinard the second call up in case of injury. If he gets a one way contrat, league minimum
J-S Dea : Excellent veteran and he’s been one of the best player in Laval this year with Raphael Harvey-Pinard. Earned a one way contract, league minimum.
Tory Dello : the revelation with the Rocket this year, he’s been so good. Two-way contract, league minimum. Probably won’t get a shot at the NHL level but he’s a good AHL dman.
Reserve List : Brett Stapley gets an ELC 2 years. Will help Laval down the middle. I think he could replace Vejdemo, who got injured too many times this season. I think Vejdemo won’t come back next year.
Kevin Roy : Good leader in Laval, said a couple times he would like to come back. AHL contract 1 year
Hoffman needs a bounce back season. Try to trade him this offseason no salary retained, but I doubt a team bite. So he gets to play on the top line with our two best players
Drouin-Dvorak-Anderson have been solid the time they played together. Now that Ducharme is gone and Dvo is playing way better, this line could be decent offensively. Drouin & Anderson are hot garbage in the Dzone
Gallagher is still in MTL because no one wants him. He is washed up already, and his deal is just beginning. Hopefully he ends up on the LTIR in a couple of seasons. Pitlick & Evans will try to carry him. Good speed on that line, responsable defensively
I like Poehling and I would have him playing higher in the line up, but the only time Armia is playing decent is when Poehling is centering him. Byron is a veteran so he stays in the lineup until he gets injured
Petry has been wayyyyyy better under St-Louis, chips some good offense again. Hopefully Julie & his kids comes back to Quebec and we can leave that bad episode behind them. Petry is still our best dman, even if Edmundson is making a case. Edmundson is such important for Petry, great duo.
Romanov-Savard worked ok, but they shouldn’t play top line every game. Next year, they should be the 2nd pairing (yes, they were our top pairing this year)
Harris-Wideman : Two good skater, good transition game. Underrated 3rd pairing IMO
CAREY PRICE back healthy, it’s been a while we have not seen great goaltending. Allen excellent back up when healthy. Split the games 60-40 to avoid injuries
Draft : MTL draft in this specific order
1 - Shane Wright
2 - Logan Cooley
3 - Juraj Slafkovsky
4 - Simon Nemec
5 - David Jiricek
The only thing I would strongly disagree with all of this is Gallagher. Looking at his points in the last couple of years, he is always good. This is his worst NHL season he has, but at 29, he will bounce back to his old self. Last year still stays a solid season for him, even if he got injured.
The only thing I would strongly disagree with all of this is Gallagher. Looking at his points in the last couple of years, he is always good. This is his worst NHL season he has, but at 29, he will bounce back to his old self. Last year still stays a solid season for him, even if he got injured.
I hope you are right, but everything he does on the ice end up being the bad play. Bad passes, bad shots, but positioning, no cardio, no speed. Anchor on the PP, I can’t see him putting his **** together and come back strong. I really wish he does tho
I hope you are right, but everything he does on the ice end up being the bad play. Bad passes, bad shots, but positioning, no cardio, no speed. Anchor on the PP, I can’t see him putting his **** together and come back strong. I really wish he does tho
Almost every players have at least one terrible season. Take Carey price in when ever that was... 2017 I think. Awful. Then becoming a playoff MVP last playoffs. (IK he didn't win it but he was mad good)
Almost every players have at least one terrible season. Take Carey price in when ever that was... 2017 I think. Awful. Then becoming a playoff MVP last playoffs. (IK he didn't win it but he was mad good)
But the team in front of Price is letting him down big time, the worse regular season I have seen from Price was last year. He couldn’t stop a beach ball and MTL were scoring so much. Toffoli and Anderson were scoring so much at the beginning of the year. They cooled down big time but yeah, that’s the only seaaon I have seen Price getting beat cleanly daily
Very well thought out AGM with excellent explanations. I agree with you with almost everything you said. I think Petry is getting traded. I’d love to have him back but I think the bridge with his wife has been burnt and I also see a team who misses out on Klingberg and Letang making a panic offer that Hughes can’t refuse. I also think that they’re gonna value forwards - specifically 2C - over defence in the draft, so I’d slot Savoie into the top 4 and have Nemec and Jiricek at 5 and 6 respectively. Other than that, fantastic job and I think this is a very realistic possibility for next season.
Very well thought out AGM with excellent explanations. I agree with you with almost everything you said. I think Petry is getting traded. I’d love to have him back but I think the bridge with his wife has been burnt and I also see a team who misses out on Klingberg and Letang making a panic offer that Hughes can’t refuse. I also think that they’re gonna value forwards - specifically 2C - over defence in the draft, so I’d slot Savoie into the top 4 and have Nemec and Jiricek at 5 and 6 respectively. Other than that, fantastic job and I think this is a very realistic possibility for next season.
Some Solid points i agree with. Some I do not..
Rem Pitlick you say isnt a liability when in actual fact 5 on 5 he is 2nd worst defensively in NHL only one worse is Galchenyuk....That is to say when he is on the ice, the chances he creates vs the good chances the other team gets are far out numbered. He does play hard and he has good offensive instincts he just needs to clean his game up a little and a good 3rd line winger yes I agree.
As for Wideman, he is not a PP Specialist, he is ok but I think others can be used, Defensively he is terrible 5 on 5 he is terrible, he is always out of position, I like his compete level but he is bad. You knock Clague, say he can only skate, Clague can handle the puck he can skate it out of trouble can join the rush, he isnt aggressive defensively but I am sure he can do what Wideman does on the PP, and as for Niku, you are basing his inability to play Defense in 13 games? The guy in his rookie year in the AHL put up 56 points and won Defenseman of the year, in 13 games with Habs he had 6 points, and a +3 playing 3rd pairing minutes...I'd say get rid of Wideman, let the younger guys play and give them a legit shot, we arent going to be great next year so why not see what they can do... Also as for Defensive abilities, NONE of the Habs are really showing they know how with the way MSL has them playing.
Some Solid points i agree with. Some I do not..
Rem Pitlick you say isnt a liability when in actual fact 5 on 5 he is 2nd worst defensively in NHL only one worse is Galchenyuk....That is to say when he is on the ice, the chances he creates vs the good chances the other team gets are far out numbered. He does play hard and he has good offensive instincts he just needs to clean his game up a little and a good 3rd line winger yes I agree.
As for Wideman, he is not a PP Specialist, he is ok but I think others can be used, Defensively he is terrible 5 on 5 he is terrible, he is always out of position, I like his compete level but he is bad. You knock Clague, say he can only skate, Clague can handle the puck he can skate it out of trouble can join the rush, he isnt aggressive defensively but I am sure he can do what Wideman does on the PP, and as for Niku, you are basing his inability to play Defense in 13 games? The guy in his rookie year in the AHL put up 56 points and won Defenseman of the year, in 13 games with Habs he had 6 points, and a +3 playing 3rd pairing minutes...I'd say get rid of Wideman, let the younger guys play and give them a legit shot, we arent going to be great next year so why not see what they can do... Also as for Defensive abilities, NONE of the Habs are really showing they know how with the way MSL has them playing.
I won’t discuss with someone who doesn’t watch hockey and only look at statistics … Despite the numbers, Pitlick is decent defensively and MSL is using him on the PK. Wideman is really good, no one can do what he does at the point on the PP. Yes he is not the best dman in his own zone, but like you said he competes hard. Clague & Niku are both straight garbage, there’s a reason Niku cleared waivers. If they were decent, WPG & LAK would had traded them
I been watching hockey my whole life champ, I dont just look at stats, I also see stupid stuff players do with no given hockey sense. As for Pitlick, there was a report out about WHY the Habs should be careful signing Pitlick LONG TERM, Pitlick makes a lot of bonehead no look passes to the other team he throws away the puck in the offensive and defensive zone, being used on the PK doesnt mean you are good defensively, being a penalty killer is about quickness which Pitlick has he is quick to the puck, being defensively aware 5 on 5 is different, he doesnt pick up his guy he doesnt cover anyone he puck watches and chases....Wideman is always out of position, what he does on the PP many other including Clague/Niku could do it if given the chance. Niku was a draft pick playing D on a team with Buff, Chairot, Morrissey, Kulikov, Trouba and Tyler Myers so he never got a real chance to prove himself....Clague is JUST 23, like he is still a kid, as you say there is a reason Niku cleared waivers, there is also a reason Wideman had to go play in the KHL and havent played in NHL since 2018-19, if he was any good and a PP specialist some team would have found use for him...and he is 32....I rather on a rebuilding team let Clague and Niku have a crack at it, not like we are competing for a playoff spot in next few years. ALSO, not just a stat reader but stats are stats for a reason, usually indicators, to go along with watching what players do on the ice matter.
Also here is the Article analyzing Pitlicks defensive woes
https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/canadiens-by-the-numbers-pitlick-delivers-offence-but-d-is-a-concern
Makes sure to read it all.
I been watching hockey my whole life champ, I dont just look at stats, I also see stupid stuff players do with no given hockey sense. As for Pitlick, there was a report out about WHY the Habs should be careful signing Pitlick LONG TERM, Pitlick makes a lot of bonehead no look passes to the other team he throws away the puck in the offensive and defensive zone, being used on the PK doesnt mean you are good defensively, being a penalty killer is about quickness which Pitlick has he is quick to the puck, being defensively aware 5 on 5 is different, he doesnt pick up his guy he doesnt cover anyone he puck watches and chases....Wideman is always out of position, what he does on the PP many other including Clague/Niku could do it if given the chance. Niku was a draft pick playing D on a team with Buff, Chairot, Morrissey, Kulikov, Trouba and Tyler Myers so he never got a real chance to prove himself....Clague is JUST 23, like he is still a kid, as you say there is a reason Niku cleared waivers, there is also a reason Wideman had to go play in the KHL and havent played in NHL since 2018-19, if he was any good and a PP specialist some team would have found use for him...and he is 32....I rather on a rebuilding team let Clague and Niku have a crack at it, not like we are competing for a playoff spot in next few years. ALSO, not just a stat reader but stats are stats for a reason, usually indicators, to go along with watching what players do on the ice matter.
Also here is the Article analyzing Pitlicks defensive woes
https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/canadiens-by-the-numbers-pitlick-delivers-offence-but-d-is-a-concern
Makes sure to read it all.
I disagree with you on Rem Pitlick, I think he is a solid player and I only signed him to a 2 years deal (I see a lot of Jordan Weal in his play). Jordan Weal was good after being acquired at the TDL but the two years @ 1.4M were too much. The difference here is Pitlick aged compared to Weal. For Wideman, the reason he left the NHL was because of the Uber incident. Clague & Niku are nowhere near Wideman level and can’t distribute the puck like Wideman does on the PP. Niku isn’t even good in Laval because he is so soft.
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