SalarySwishSalarySwish
Avatar

ricochetii

Go Habs Go
Member Since
Mar. 16, 2017
Favourite Team
Montreal Canadiens
Forum Posts
10667
Posts per Day
4.1
Forum: NHLFeb. 14 at 11:50 p.m.
Thread: 2023-2024 NHL Discussion Thread #3: After Further Review...
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>ricochetii</b></div><div>Basically they want to be paid and be able to choose to play with a team other than the one that drafted them, even if that's another league, and/or be able to negotiate between teams other than the one which drafted them.

These are not professional leagues, they are development leagues. They provide ice time, facilities, training, and development. Participation is voluntary.
In exchange, you have to participate in drafting/trading which is intended to balance and maintain the competitive environment necessary for proper development and evaluation.
Drafting and trading are critical elements of the sport.
If you don't like this particular path to the NHL, there are others. You can go NCAA, amateur leagues in NA, or professional leagues in Europe.
You can even work at Costco and earn a tryout after going undrafted.

The only thing reasonable they might be able to request, is a bump in their allowance.
Maybe they get an additional stipend if they are forced to relocate (trade/drafted out of state/province).</div></div>

All of these same arguments were used to defend NCAA football in America; and since then every major lawsuit has ripped that open and created a marketplace with athletes having leverage as it relates to "cost of living", N.I.L., and freedom to move between schools without penalty. "Tradition" and "voluntary participation" held no sway in court.

I am not defending one side or the other, just posting the article and providing what I see as relevant background
Forum: Armchair-GMFeb. 14 at 10:07 p.m.
Thread: experiment
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>ricochetii</b></div><div>It shouldn't come as a surprise that a team may not want Matthews.
$13.5M is a big commitment to a single player. The NMC is also a factor. There are philosophies for roster construction against both of those factors.
Especially when the teams employing those contracts have lacked significant success.

Of course Montreal would accept based on value alone, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong to reject it.
Not everyone attempted to sign Tavares when he was free. There's no single path to success and no single player guarantees it.</div></div>

To add to this Matthews is too greedy, he isn't a "team" player he is in it for the money. If he wasn't he would have signed for 8 years at 13.25 mil not 4 years, the <strong>only</strong> reason he didn't was to get another significant salary increase in 4 years at north of 15 mil. The guy isn't like MacKinnon who has publicly said he would take less if it means the team can upgrade the roster in other areas and remain contenders for longer.
Forum: Armchair-GMFeb. 13 at 11:48 p.m.
Thread: For Cub19 because Im bored
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>ricochetii</b></div><div>Kovacevic is underrated and that includes by Habs fans.
He's a solid 3rd pairing defender who may be capable of more but needs an opportunity.

I'd expect around a 2nd to move him and he's probably not worth that to a team that only sees him as a 3rd pairing option.
If you have a questionable #4 or a hole there next season, that's where I would recommend trading for him.
Colorado isn't really the right fit for that price.

I'm personally in favor of moving Savard at the deadline and bumping Kovacevic's minutes to finish the season. I want to see how he handles a bigger role before I decide to move him.</div></div>

Fair comment and yes for a 3rd pair D a 2nd is a big ask, maybe it's something the Avs would circle back to if/when Manson is moved. Logically moving Savard probably garners a better return at the TDL from the right team for sure.
Forum: Armchair-GMFeb. 13 at 3:14 p.m.
Thread: Finding a trade for Barron
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>ricochetii</b></div><div>People have no patience and don't understand that time in the AHL can actually help a player develop.

Matheson had 17 points in his first 84 games and was averaging over 20 minutes a game.
Barron has 29 points in his first 87 games and is averaging over 17 minutes a game.

We have the opportunity to develop an improved version of Matheson/Petry and get him to peak earlier in his career.
We just need to keep working with him so he continues progressing.</div></div>

The difference between Matheson/Petry and Barron is that Barron can't/won't clear the front of the net which is critical during a playoff run. Barron is a good sized guy who can play a great 2 way game but he just doesn't have the mean streak in him to make life tough on opposing forwards in front of the net. Guhle, Reinbacher, Mailloux, Xhekaj, Matheson, Savard, Kovacevic, Harris, Struble all play a tougher game than Barron, for me this is a main reason he isn't part of the long term future. We will already have Hutson who will struggle to move players we don't want both of our top 4 pairings to struggle with netfront control especially in the playoffs.
Forum: Armchair-GMFeb. 13 at 3:24 p.m.
Thread: Finding a trade for Barron
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>ricochetii</b></div><div>People have no patience and don't understand that time in the AHL can actually help a player develop.

Matheson had 17 points in his first 84 games and was averaging over 20 minutes a game.
Barron has 29 points in his first 87 games and is averaging over 17 minutes a game.

We have the opportunity to develop an improved version of Matheson/Petry and get him to peak earlier in his career.
We just need to keep working with him so he continues progressing.</div></div>

This for sure. Barron has already proven that offensively he's top 4 quality. Defensively, he's been too inconsistent. But the comparison to Petry is good. Petry was a defensive liability in EDM and even the first few years in MTL. But Petry really rounded out his game towards his late 20s.
So if MTL has a 22 year old version of Perty with Barron, I'd have no issues being patient with him. Petry ended up becoming a top20 Dman during his prime.

I do understand the need to move the Habs D prospects for more forwards, but imo RD still isn't deep enough with Reinbacher and Mailloux (who have played zero NHL games yet). Barron is still very much needed. Not to mention that Savard could be on his way out. Making RD even thinner.
That being said, I wouldn't be opposed to a Barron trade, but a prospect swap makes very little sense. I could see Barron being a piece in a bigger deal for more elite talent.
Forum: Armchair-GMFeb. 13 at 9:19 a.m.
Thread: Finding a trade for Barron
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Shanesaw9</b></div><div>I don't understand MTL's usage of Barron. Actually I don't understand their usage of their entire D-core really. I've been watching some questionable defensive efforts for some time now, so I wanted to dig into the numbers using natural stat trick and see what could be learned.

MTL D pairings GF% + xGF% @ 5v5 (&gt;150 min)
1. Guhle - Kovacevic, 58.82 + 54.69 = 113.51%
2. Struble - Kovacevic, 60 + 49.66 = 109.66%
3. Xhekaj - *** , 55.56 + 48.59 = 104.59
4. Matheson - Barron, 58.33 + 43.75 = 102.08%
5. Guhle - Barron, 50 + 48.92 = 98.92%
6. Harris - *** , 47.22 + 50.23 = 97.45
7. Matheson - Savard, 50 + 47.32 = 97.32%
8. Matheson - Guhle*, 50 + 44.18 = 94.18%

*Playing on off side.
***Individual numbers, hasn't played &gt;150 min on one pair.

Of course this doesn't take into consideration things like matchups, usage, etc. however MTL in general is a negative goal differential team so I consider &gt; 100% to be good no matter what your role is. That said, I have a few observations.

1. Guhle - Kovacevic / Struble - Kovacevic / Xhekaj - Kovacevic have been MTL's best defensive pairs. Kovacevic is very underrated by fans and management.

2. What is St. Louis' beef with Xhekaj this year? He barely gets used but he's done just fine other than some bad penalties (which other vets have been more guilty of).

3. Matheson's best D partner is Barron, who isn't even playing in the NHL. Guhle - Barron also put up respectable results and is the most common pairing this season so they did this in the largest sample size. Why is Barron in Laval? What is management's plan for him exactly? Mailloux and Reinbacher are coming shouldn't we be getting a really good look at him in the NHL?

4. Savard puts up some decent results with Matheson (no better than Barron) playing some tough matchups no doubt, however he is abysmal with anyone else on the team. I'd be trading him if he holds any value.

5. Matheson - Guhle is not it, why are we forcing Guhle to play on his offside when there are RHD options that work just fine?

Anyways all this to say based on these results, my healthy lineup without any trades next year would be:

Guhle - Barron
Matheson - Savard
Xhekaj - Kovacevic
Harris

Struble - Mailloux
Hutson - Reinbacher
Trudeau - Tourigny
Norlinder</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>ricochetii</b></div><div>If I'm giving MSL the benefit of the doubt, I see the deployment as a form of stress test. Increase usage and responsibility slowly until a player breaks, then address what was revealed during that time.
If I'm looking at it in a less positive light, MSL (and staff) have a propensity to make decisions based on visible errors, in some kind of a "3 strikes and you're out" methodology.

Barron saw increased usage this year and actually had a long leash. He was showing improvement. Miscues did pile up (as should be expected), but was he pulled to address them or punish them?
Same with Xhekaj, only he seemed to have a shorter leash, but that may simply be because there were less expectations for him beyond controlling his aggression.

Kovacevic is indeed underrated. With only 125 games of experience and improved performance despite less favorable deployment, I'd like to see him rewarded with more playing time. I feel like he's being dismissed too easily as a potential mainstay after Savard's departure.
It's a numbers game with his age and our depth coming up, but he deserves more opportunity.

Struble is in a similar position. He's excelling but the numbers don't necessarily support it. He's passing the eye test with flying colors though. The St Louis game might have been his first real noticeable blunder of the season, and he'll learn from that.

Harris on the other hand has slipped this year. Injuries have been a factor but he's getting less usage and better deployment and still producing worse results.

We need to clear room on our blue line to give these players more time to develop. Savard out. One of Struble, Harris, Xhekaj out. More minutes and less rotation for everyone else.</div></div>

Loving the discussion team!

While I would not argue with either of your analysis, as I agree with it, I will try to add some context to my decision to make Barron the odd man out.

1) First off - Me offering Barron in a trade, does not insinuate that I don't like him. I really like him a lot. When you want to acquire a player of value, you always have to give up something valuable in return.

2) Between Reinbacher, Mailloux, Kovacevic, Harris on his offside, a prospective top 10 pick this year at D, and Barron, I feel we would have too many RHD prospects.

3) We are very weak on forward prospects who can make an offensive impact as soon as next year, and that is why I am trying to swap a defenseman for a forward.

4) If we were to draft a forward this year in the top 10, I would STILL prefer we trade a defender for a forward, because we need immediate relief. I do not want to live through another lost season. I hate the idea of 5 years and no playoffs.
Forum: Armchair-GMFeb. 13 at 8:25 a.m.
Thread: Finding a trade for Barron
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>ricochetii</b></div><div>People have no patience and don't understand that time in the AHL can actually help a player develop.

Matheson had 17 points in his first 84 games and was averaging over 20 minutes a game.
Barron has 29 points in his first 87 games and is averaging over 17 minutes a game.

We have the opportunity to develop an improved version of Matheson/Petry and get him to peak earlier in his career.
We just need to keep working with him so he continues progressing.</div></div>

I think rather highly of him tbh. Reinbacher, Mailloux, Barron on the right side for the next 5-10 looks great to me. In fact, our D core is basically set for the next 5-10 on both sides. A splashy &amp; flashy top 6 offensive forward addition (Zegras-type for example), with the current depth of middle-bottom 6 prospects, and this team is looking wonderful imo.
Forum: Armchair-GMFeb. 13 at 8:13 a.m.
Thread: Finding a trade for Barron
I don't understand MTL's usage of Barron. Actually I don't understand their usage of their entire D-core really. I've been watching some questionable defensive efforts for some time now, so I wanted to dig into the numbers using natural stat trick and see what could be learned.

MTL D pairings GF% + xGF% @ 5v5 (&gt;150 min)
1. Guhle - Kovacevic, 58.82 + 54.69 = 113.51%
2. Struble - Kovacevic, 60 + 49.66 = 109.66%
3. Xhekaj - *** , 55.56 + 48.59 = 104.59
4. Matheson - Barron, 58.33 + 43.75 = 102.08%
5. Guhle - Barron, 50 + 48.92 = 98.92%
6. Harris - *** , 47.22 + 50.23 = 97.45
7. Matheson - Savard, 50 + 47.32 = 97.32%
8. Matheson - Guhle*, 50 + 44.18 = 94.18%

*Playing on off side.
***Individual numbers, hasn't played &gt;150 min on one pair.

Of course this doesn't take into consideration things like matchups, usage, etc. however MTL in general is a negative goal differential team so I consider &gt; 100% to be good no matter what your role is. That said, I have a few observations.

1. Guhle - Kovacevic / Struble - Kovacevic / Xhekaj - Kovacevic have been MTL's best defensive pairs. Kovacevic is very underrated by fans and management.

2. What is St. Louis' beef with Xhekaj this year? He barely gets used but he's done just fine other than some bad penalties (which other vets have been more guilty of).

3. Matheson's best D partner is Barron, who isn't even playing in the NHL. Guhle - Barron also put up respectable results and is the most common pairing this season so they did this in the largest sample size. Why is Barron in Laval? What is management's plan for him exactly? Mailloux and Reinbacher are coming shouldn't we be getting a really good look at him in the NHL?

4. Savard puts up some decent results with Matheson (no better than Barron) playing some tough matchups no doubt, however he is abysmal with anyone else on the team. I'd be trading him if he holds any value.

5. Matheson - Guhle is not it, why are we forcing Guhle to play on his offside when there are RHD options that work just fine?

Anyways all this to say based on these results, my healthy lineup without any trades next year would be:

Guhle - Barron
Matheson - Savard
Xhekaj - Kovacevic
Harris

Struble - Mailloux
Hutson - Reinbacher
Trudeau - Tourigny
Norlinder
Forum: Trade Machine ProposalsFeb. 13 at 1:45 a.m.
Thread: Keller to MTL Zegras to ARZ 7OA to ANA
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>ricochetii</b></div><div>Whatever else you might think about Zegras, he is marketable.
That could make a difference in staying in Arizona or drawing attention if they relocate.
Arizona has the draft capital to upgrade that pick further.
Ylonen was also born in Arizona (though he may not have developed there).
Obviously you're hoping Zegras also ends up as good or better than Keller.



I realize Keller simply may not be available, but with 2 top 10 picks Anaheim can replace Zegras and add a RHD in the draft.
They may also be able to secure a higher pick for a specific target with one of them.
In the meantime they can use Kovacevic as a stop gap and determine if he's capable of more or at least a solid shutdown partner for someone else.

Anyway it's just an idea.</div></div>

keller is 25yo, ylonen 24yo (4thline W) zegras is almost 23 - you give zero reason why AZ would even think about this - hoping zegras becomes equal or better than what you already have is not a reason to swap guys, if AZ wants to upgrade in the draft they can easily do it now, a late 1st isnt that much better than a 2nd (and AZ has 10). unless keller is wanting out AZ is not trading him.