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Post by NWTHabsFan on Sept 16, 2014 13:34:04 GMT -5
Bobby Mac is doing a cross country tour interviewing all the Canadian based teams' GMs. Today was the Berg's turn.
A few interesting posts from Bobby Mac today regarding Galchenyuk.
Bob McKenzie @tsnbobmckenzie · 38 s Just finished my interview with MTL GM Marc Bergevin, some interesting revelations incl moving Alex Galchenyuk to centre to start camp.
Bob McKenzie @tsnbobmckenzie · 2 min If Galchenyuk can handle the defensive responsibilities at C, that's where MTL would like to see him.
The complete interview with Bergevin will be on tsn.ca tomorrow morning, select clips will be on SportsCentre and That's Hockey tonight.
Good news, hope the kid can stick at centre.
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Post by UberCranky on Sept 16, 2014 14:12:16 GMT -5
I'm from the school "forging through heat and pressure".....basically, if one has a desire to succeed, it's best to push them harder and harder to their next level. Of course they will fall on their face occasionally, so dust them off and push them again....rinse and repeat.....
The problem with the above is that you have to have management/coaching/ownership that understand how to do that, otherwise, it's more likely they will turn rough diamonds into dust. They have to understand that the occasional pratfall WILL HAPPEN, simply take that into consideration, do a head-shake, sigh, re-teach and move forward.
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Post by Willie Dog on Sept 16, 2014 14:37:51 GMT -5
I hope mb has told mt to let him learn at centre.
I assume eller will be a winger now.
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Post by BadCompany on Sept 16, 2014 15:08:06 GMT -5
I hope mb has told mt to let him learn at centre. I assume eller will be a winger now. The problem with that is Eller is terrible as a winger. So you're ruining one potential big center in favor of another. Of course the knee-jerk reaction to THAT is "trade Desharnais" but "26 points." As in that's how many Eller had last year. Sure, he had a great playoff, but so did Brian Bickell a couple of years ago. You still have to play the regular season to get there. We *think* Eller would be a better center with better and more consistent wingers, and we *think* Galchenyuk will be a better center than Desharnais... but neither of those things have been proven yet. Were we to trade Desharnais we would be hoping that BOTH Galchenyuk and Eller can step into their bigger roles. Perhaps it's not that big a gamble... but it's still a gamble. EDIT: You also have to consider depth. If Desharnais is traded, and one of Plekanec, Galchenyuk or Eller gets hurt for any significant amount of time we don't have any natural centers to step into an offensive role. Next up on the depth chart are Sekac and De la Rose, both of whom project more as wingers than centers.
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Post by GNick99 on Sept 16, 2014 15:33:29 GMT -5
Need #1 center to contend for cup. Kings last 3 years been close dynasty as you can get in cap NHL. Outside of center ice position we just as strong as they are. Wingers we trump them. Not that we are bad at center, we are good at center. But at center ice they better than anybody in league.
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Post by Boston_Habs on Sept 16, 2014 15:38:31 GMT -5
Moving Eller to the wing after signing him to a generous 4-year deal that was based largely on his performance during the playoffs -- while playing centre -- is kind of stupid, especially since we KNOW how much Eller struggles on the wing. Whether he should be able to play wing is beside the point, his track record is bad there. Eller is a puck hog (in a good way), a guy that thrives and is much more engaged when he has the puck and has the responsibilities of playing centre. I kind of thought that was implied in the contract he got, so I'm not sure what Berg is thinking.
But we have the issue of Galchenyuk, who was drafted to play centre.
And we have two other centres in DD and Plekanec. It's been my view that ultimately one of Pleks or DD has to go. While my preference would be to keep Pleks, I believe he has far more value in a trade than DD who is really a one trick pony. And all due respect to DD, I think anyone who plays with Pacioretty with the sheltered assignments he gets can be productive on that line.
So we're back to one of my trade ideas: Pleks or DD + Beaulieu or Tinordi + picks/prospects for a top 6 winger. We would clear up the logjam at centre and use one of our D prospects to address the fundamental need which is SCORING. It was the major problem last year until we acquired Vanek and remains the chief concern going into this season.
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Post by Polarice on Sept 16, 2014 15:56:18 GMT -5
Moving Eller to the wing after signing him to a generous 4-year deal that was based largely on his performance during the playoffs -- while playing centre -- is kind of stupid, especially since we KNOW how much Eller struggles on the wing. Whether he should be able to play wing is beside the point, his track record is bad there. Eller is a puck hog (in a good way), a guy that thrives and is much more engaged when he has the puck and has the responsibilities of playing centre. I kind of thought that was implied in the contract he got, so I'm not sure what Berg is thinking. But we have the issue of Galchenyuk, who was drafted to play centre. And we have two other centres in DD and Plekanec. It's been my view that ultimately one of Pleks or DD has to go. While my preference would be to keep Pleks, I believe he has far more value in a trade than DD who is really a one trick pony. And all due respect to DD, I think anyone who plays with Pacioretty with the sheltered assignments he gets can be productive on that line. So we're back to one of my trade ideas: Pleks or DD + Beaulieu or Tinordi + picks/prospects for a top 6 winger. We would clear up the logjam at centre and use one of our D prospects to address the fundamental need which is SCORING. It was the major problem last year until we acquired Vanek and remains the chief concern going into this season. I'm guessing someone is going to be traded.....with Pleky getting an A, my guess is that DD is going.
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Post by Willie Dog on Sept 16, 2014 17:08:09 GMT -5
Moving Eller to the wing after signing him to a generous 4-year deal that was based largely on his performance during the playoffs -- while playing centre -- is kind of stupid, especially since we KNOW how much Eller struggles on the wing. Whether he should be able to play wing is beside the point, his track record is bad there. Eller is a puck hog (in a good way), a guy that thrives and is much more engaged when he has the puck and has the responsibilities of playing centre. I kind of thought that was implied in the contract he got, so I'm not sure what Berg is thinking. But we have the issue of Galchenyuk, who was drafted to play centre. And we have two other centres in DD and Plekanec. It's been my view that ultimately one of Pleks or DD has to go. While my preference would be to keep Pleks, I believe he has far more value in a trade than DD who is really a one trick pony. And all due respect to DD, I think anyone who plays with Pacioretty with the sheltered assignments he gets can be productive on that line. So we're back to one of my trade ideas: Pleks or DD + Beaulieu or Tinordi + picks/prospects for a top 6 winger. We would clear up the logjam at centre and use one of our D prospects to address the fundamental need which is SCORING. It was the major problem last year until we acquired Vanek and remains the chief concern going into this season. I'm guessing someone is going to be traded.....with Pleky getting an A, my guess is that DD is going. Not sure how this plays out. Can't platoon the centre's like wingers. Mb picked up malholtra to be the 4th line centre. With the money eller is making he has to be 3rd or 2nd line centre. Pleky is pleky and mt trusts him. MT loves DD so all this to say they have some personnel decisions on their hands.
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Sept 16, 2014 17:53:22 GMT -5
I'm guessing someone is going to be traded.....with Pleky getting an A, my guess is that DD is going. Not sure how this plays out. Can't platoon the centre's like wingers. Mb picked up malholtra to be the 4th line centre. With the money eller is making he has to be 3rd or 2nd line centre. Pleky is pleky and mt trusts him. MT loves DD so all this to say they have some personnel decisions on their hands. I believe the decision should be in the hands of the players. Bournival is on the team because he earned and deserves it. He wasn't a first round pick with a huge contract and tons of natural talent. He worked his way into the lineup and if he stops working he finds himself in Hamilton. I don't have a problem with 5 centers and let the best four make the team with a spare in case of injuries. Saperlipopette happens every year. DD knows his role is to work with Pacioretty and feed him. Gallagher is there to work hard, shake things up, go into tough areas and draw penalties. Twenty five goals is a bonus if he gets them. Time for Eller to earn his chances and prove he belongs. Galchenyuk has the talent and needs to earn his ice time. Tinordi and Beaulieu, beat out the cube to earn ice time. If some of our talented forwards aren't producing, that's up to them. The NHL is a meritocracy. Thousands are in the minors working hard without big pay days. I remember Henri Richard in his first camp dominating the puck and forcinG the coach and GM to make room for him. Depth is a good thing and injuries will happen. Ability is a poor mans wealth.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Sept 16, 2014 18:22:24 GMT -5
I believe the decision should be in the hands of the players. Bournival is on the team because he earned and deserves it. He wasn't a first round pick with a huge contract and tons of natural talent. He worked his way into the lineup and if he stops working he finds himself in Hamilton. I don't have a problem with 5 centers and let the best four make the team with a spare in case of injuries. Saperlipopette happens every year. DD knows his role is to work with Pacioretty and feed him. Gallagher is there to work hard, shake things up, go into tough areas and draw penalties. Twenty five goals is a bonus if he gets them. Time for Eller to earn his chances and prove he belongs. Galchenyuk has the talent and needs to earn his ice time. Tinordi and Beaulieu, beat out the cube to earn ice time. If some of our talented forwards aren't producing, that's up to them. The NHL is a meritocracy. Thousands are in the minors working hard without big pay days. I remember Henri Richard in his first camp dominating the puck and forcinG the coach and GM to make room for him. Depth is a good thing and injuries will happen. Ability is a poor mans wealth. Good post ... Mr Bergevin is creating the meritocracy you mentioned ... Cheers.
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Post by Boston_Habs on Sept 17, 2014 8:02:57 GMT -5
Watching the interview with Berg (props to Bob McKenzie) I don't think there is too much controversy there. He said that Galchenyuk is going to get plenty of time in camp playing centre, which makes perfect sense just from a development standpoint. He didn't say that the plan is to have him playing centre on opening night. And I don't think he plans on moving Eller to the wing. In camp you have the luxury of playing more guys at centre than you can in the season. I firmly believe Eller is still the #3 centre.
But I think reading between the lines, Berg knows he may have a decision to make. He said the players need to force the issue with coaches and management to make these decisions. If Galchenyuk shows in camp that he's ready to play centre, along with Eller, Pleks, and DD.... then something might happen by way of a trade sooner rather than later. We have depth at that position along with at least one extra dman that I think Berg has the assets to swing an interesting trade.
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Post by PTH on Sept 17, 2014 19:44:39 GMT -5
Watching the interview with Berg (props to Bob McKenzie) I don't think there is too much controversy there. He said that Galchenyuk is going to get plenty of time in camp playing centre, which makes perfect sense just from a development standpoint. He didn't say that the plan is to have him playing centre on opening night. And I don't think he plans on moving Eller to the wing. In camp you have the luxury of playing more guys at centre than you can in the season. I firmly believe Eller is still the #3 centre. But I think reading between the lines, Berg knows he may have a decision to make. He said the players need to force the issue with coaches and management to make these decisions. If Galchenyuk shows in camp that he's ready to play centre, along with Eller, Pleks, and DD.... then something might happen by way of a trade sooner rather than later. We have depth at that position along with at least one extra dman that I think Berg has the assets to swing an interesting trade. Well, if you'll recall, shortly after the playoffs I poked around for Plek's trade value and really it wasn't anything special, so I think we shouldn't overestimate his value. Him + Beaulieu + a first doesn't fetch us a serious scoring winger. That being said, I think the solution is pretty simple: Plekanec on the wing. I think he started there, and his all-around game is solid enough, he'd need to be on a line with some size since he's not the biggest forechecker, but a Plek-Galch-Gallagher line (for example) would be terrific IMO.
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Post by Willie Dog on Sept 18, 2014 7:13:18 GMT -5
Watching the interview with Berg (props to Bob McKenzie) I don't think there is too much controversy there. He said that Galchenyuk is going to get plenty of time in camp playing centre, which makes perfect sense just from a development standpoint. He didn't say that the plan is to have him playing centre on opening night. And I don't think he plans on moving Eller to the wing. In camp you have the luxury of playing more guys at centre than you can in the season. I firmly believe Eller is still the #3 centre. But I think reading between the lines, Berg knows he may have a decision to make. He said the players need to force the issue with coaches and management to make these decisions. If Galchenyuk shows in camp that he's ready to play centre, along with Eller, Pleks, and DD.... then something might happen by way of a trade sooner rather than later. We have depth at that position along with at least one extra dman that I think Berg has the assets to swing an interesting trade. Well, if you'll recall, shortly after the playoffs I poked around for Plek's trade value and really it wasn't anything special, so I think we shouldn't overestimate his value. Him + Beaulieu + a first doesn't fetch us a serious scoring winger. That being said, I think the solution is pretty simple: Plekanec on the wing. I think he started there, and his all-around game is solid enough, he'd need to be on a line with some size since he's not the biggest forechecker, but a Plek-Galch-Gallagher line (for example) would be terrific IMO. That would be an interesting line, but I think the following might work if Sekac makes the team. Patches-DD-Gally Plek-Galch-Parenteau/Sekac Bourque/Sekac-Eller-Weise Prust-Malholtra-Bournival Galch needs someone to put the puck in the net and it's either Parenteau or Sekac imo. I think if Sekac makes the team, he will have to be to be a top 9 forward, maybe even top 6.
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Post by Skilly on Sept 18, 2014 8:36:52 GMT -5
It will never happen this year .... But if you want size ....
Sekac-Galchenyuk-McCarron
Let the kids play!
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Post by flowerpower on Sept 18, 2014 8:46:39 GMT -5
DD has no problem putting points on the board because he centers the first line and the PP. Galcheniuk with his big frame and puck control abilities would be even more productive than DD if he played with Patch and Gallagher on the first line and the PP. The only thing is he must learn to win face offs and play the defensive role of a center in the NHL. Keep Eller at center and trade Plekanec before the deadline for a number 2 or 3 dman to replace Gorges. If we keep Plek one more year, he'll be worth a second round draft pick.
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Post by BadCompany on Sept 18, 2014 11:24:19 GMT -5
My kick at the can.
Sekac - Plekanec - Gallagher: Gives the rookie not only a defensive presence to cover his mistakes, but also a pure energy guy to show you how you're supposed to play in the bigs. I don't know Sekac's skill set well enough, but hopefully he's a shooter of some sort, who can convert passes from Plekanec while Gallagher disrupts the goalie.
Pacioretty - Galchenyuk - Parenteau: If you want Galchenyuk to succeed at center, then give him some wingers. Parenteau is a set-up guy so that will help both Pacioretty and Galchenyuk. Not a great defensive line, and we'll be relying on Galcheynuk to be the guy to dig pucks out of the corner.
Bourque - Eller - Desharnais: A gamble. Desharnais has played his best between two bigger guys, and two bigger guys are what we have here. While I don't think Little Davey is a great winger I think he is a better winger than Eller is. Faint praise perhaps, but it is what it is. He can still be the setup man for this line, with a shooter in Bourque, and a defensive conscience in Eller who also drives the net and works the corners.
Weise - Malhotra- Prust: If we get Playoff Weise then this is an excellent fourth line. Heck, if we have Playoff Weise then Bourque might be in trouble. But if we get Vancouver Dale then Bournival has an opening.
Bournival, Moen: Moen might be gone if everybody is healthy to start the year AND they decide to keep three goalies. But I don't think everybody is going to be healthy, nor do I think they are going to keep three goalies. But that's just me.
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Markov - Subban: Power baby!
Emelin - Gilbert: Gilbert is supposedly an advanced stats machine, so it will be interesting to see whether or not the stats will be validated by the "watching them play" test.
Beaulieu - Weaver: I think the Dream Weaver can play a good enough mentor role in this case. Beaulieu and Tinordi will alternate until either one of them takes the reigns, or somebody gets hurt. Assuming Tinordi makes the team that is. See below.
Tinordi/Paetryn/Nygren/Bouillon
I am not so sure that Tinordi has a guaranteed spot on the roster. I believe that Montreal will carry two rookies on the blueline, and while the knee-jerk reaction is Beaulieu and Tinordi, they are both lefties. Given the way Bergevin handled the off-season it appears that he places a good deal of Babcock-like importance on the righty/lefty thing, so if BOTH Tinordi and Beaulieu make the team then they will have to alternate. Which could mean only 40 games for each, or one player getting 60 or so and the other either being cut later or sitting in the stands for way too many games.
On the other hand, if Beaulieu picks up where he left off last spring and forces management to make him a regular on the blueline, then Tinordi will go to the AHL.
Which means Bouillon has a very good chance of making this team. Why? Because like I said they won't want one of Tinordi or Beaulieu sitting in the stands for weeks on end. BUT they may not want Beaulieu/Tinordi to get too comfortable either. Having a LEFTY vet like Bouillon sitting around might keep them honest and working hard. This is assuming that he plays as well, or nearly as well, as either Paetryn or Nygren. He doesn't have to be better, just not horrendously worse. If that's the case the latter two are gone.
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Price Budaj, Tokarski
Personally, I would be very surprised if they carry three. That just seems like overkill, given that Price is likely to play 65+ games anyways. However, what to do? I don't imagine that either Budaj or Tokarski have great trade value, so I'm not sure that's the way to go. Budaj would probably clear waivers and go to Hamilton, but he's such a great backup that you have to wonder whether it's worth the locker-room hit to have such a good guy treated so shabbily. And whether it's in Tokarski's best interest to have him play a mere 15-20 games next year. Will Tokarski make it through waivers? I think he would, but freely admit it’s a gamble. With MacDonald, Condon and Fucale in the system, to say nothing of Price still being a very young man, do we care?
IF there are injuries to the forward corps then they might carry three goalies in the hopes that in time a solution will present itself. It is not necessarily a bad strategy, but it's not exactly a long term one. If there are no injuries then you are one over the roster limit, meaning that to carry three you have to get rid of somebody. The easy answer is "trade Moen" but that doesn't solve the three-headed-goalie-problem, and we don't exactly have a lot of forward depth. Even less so in the "forwards-with-size" department.
My guess is one of Budaj or Tokarski goes to Hamilton, with my money being on Tokarski. There are a couple of teams that need goalies but not that many and there figures to be a bunch of goalies available as training camp progresses. If Tokarski has a stinker or two during the preseason the odds of him slipping through may go up.
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Sept 18, 2014 12:13:06 GMT -5
DD has no problem putting points on the board because he centers the first line and the PP. Galcheniuk with his big frame and puck control abilities would be even more productive than DD if he played with Patch and Gallagher on the first line and the PP. The only thing is he must learn to win face offs and play the defensive role of a center in the NHL. Keep Eller at center and trade Plekanec before the deadline for a number 2 or 3 dman to replace Gorges. If we keep Plek one more year, he'll be worth a second round draft pick. Dd puts points on the board. Put Moen In his place and he doesn't score and also hurts Max Pac scoring. DD is a good set up man and he has shown chemistry with Max that makes them better together than separately. It is a team game. DD has vision and knows where the play is going.
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Post by blny on Sept 18, 2014 12:49:09 GMT -5
Berg and MT definitely will be presented with decisions to make. Not sure how you trade Pleks after making him one of the 4 alternate captains. Galchenyuk has continually shown he's far better at center. I don't really care how many lapses/mistakes he makes, he needs to get put there long term and be allowed to grow.
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Post by UberCranky on Sept 18, 2014 12:53:06 GMT -5
Too many unknowns to make any line predictions. Sakec is a mystery, Weise can be a top 6 or waiver material, one or even two of Beau/Tinordi/Nygern/Pateryn can be top 4 or all of them back the AHL, Parenteau/Malhorta/Gilbert are vets but their level is unknown with new teammates, Price's medical issue can be a larger factor, PK may not be able to see the puck though the pile of money....too many unknowns.
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Post by UberCranky on Sept 18, 2014 12:56:02 GMT -5
Berg and MT definitely will be presented with decisions to make. Not sure how you trade Pleks after making him one of the 4 alternate captains. Galchenyuk has continually shown he's far better at center. I don't really care how many lapses/mistakes he makes, he needs to get put there long term and be allowed to grow. I doubt Pleks is going anywhere unless there is an overpayment and considerable size coming back. Ummmm.....let's say a crazy trade like.....Thornton.
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Post by Polarice on Sept 18, 2014 14:26:07 GMT -5
Berg and MT definitely will be presented with decisions to make. Not sure how you trade Pleks after making him one of the 4 alternate captains. Galchenyuk has continually shown he's far better at center. I don't really care how many lapses/mistakes he makes, he needs to get put there long term and be allowed to grow. I doubt Pleks is going anywhere unless there is an overpayment and considerable size coming back. Ummmm.....let's say a crazy trade like.....Thornton. DONE!!
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Post by Boston_Habs on Sept 18, 2014 14:58:46 GMT -5
Bourque - Eller - Desharnais: A gamble. Desharnais has played his best between two bigger guys, and two bigger guys are what we have here. While I don't think Little Davey is a great winger I think he is a better winger than Eller is. Faint praise perhaps, but it is what it is. He can still be the setup man for this line, with a shooter in Bourque, and a defensive conscience in Eller who also drives the net and works the corners. The comp I think of is Mark Recchi, who was not a big guy but a good passer, playmaker, and facilitator from the wing position. You don't have to play centre to be the guy that can make plays, and unloading the defensive responsibilties from DD would be a big plus. It's an interesting idea, BC. Assuming Berg doesn't make a trade to break the logjam at centre, I think trying DD on the wing in camp and seeing if Galchenyuk can build some chemistry between Pacioretty and Gallagher or Parenteau makes a lot of sense.
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Post by CentreHice on Sept 18, 2014 15:08:01 GMT -5
We're still going into this year without a legit #1 centre….in terms of true Cup contention. Galchenyuk might be that guy someday….but not this year. Pleks has NEVER been a #1 centre….and Eller is likely #2 career-high at best.
Nothing has changed since the days when Saku was forced to be our #1 centre via no other options.
The team is stronger, yes….but still looking for big strength down the middle. i.e. someone to match Subban on D and Price in G.
Gotta have it.
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Post by seventeen on Sept 18, 2014 17:30:13 GMT -5
My kick at the can. Sekac - Plekanec - Gallagher: Gives the rookie not only a defensive presence to cover his mistakes, but also a pure energy guy to show you how you're supposed to play in the bigs. I don't know Sekac's skill set well enough, but hopefully he's a shooter of some sort, who can convert passes from Plekanec while Gallagher disrupts the goalie. Pacioretty - Galchenyuk - Parenteau: If you want Galchenyuk to succeed at center, then give him some wingers. Parenteau is a set-up guy so that will help both Pacioretty and Galchenyuk. Not a great defensive line, and we'll be relying on Galcheynuk to be the guy to dig pucks out of the corner. Bourque - Eller - Desharnais: A gamble. Desharnais has played his best between two bigger guys, and two bigger guys are what we have here. While I don't think Little Davey is a great winger I think he is a better winger than Eller is. Faint praise perhaps, but it is what it is. He can still be the setup man for this line, with a shooter in Bourque, and a defensive conscience in Eller who also drives the net and works the corners. Weise - Malhotra- Prust: If we get Playoff Weise then this is an excellent fourth line. Heck, if we have Playoff Weise then Bourque might be in trouble. But if we get Vancouver Dale then Bournival has an opening. Bournival, Moen: Moen might be gone if everybody is healthy to start the year AND they decide to keep three goalies. But I don't think everybody is going to be healthy, nor do I think they are going to keep three goalies. But that's just me. ------------ Markov - Subban: Power baby! Emelin - Gilbert: Gilbert is supposedly an advanced stats machine, so it will be interesting to see whether or not the stats will be validated by the "watching them play" test. Beaulieu - Weaver: I think the Dream Weaver can play a good enough mentor role in this case. Beaulieu and Tinordi will alternate until either one of them takes the reigns, or somebody gets hurt. Assuming Tinordi makes the team that is. See below. Tinordi/Paetryn/Nygren/BouillonI am not so sure that Tinordi has a guaranteed spot on the roster. I believe that Montreal will carry two rookies on the blueline, and while the knee-jerk reaction is Beaulieu and Tinordi, they are both lefties. Given the way Bergevin handled the off-season it appears that he places a good deal of Babcock-like importance on the righty/lefty thing, so if BOTH Tinordi and Beaulieu make the team then they will have to alternate. Which could mean only 40 games for each, or one player getting 60 or so and the other either being cut later or sitting in the stands for way too many games. On the other hand, if Beaulieu picks up where he left off last spring and forces management to make him a regular on the blueline, then Tinordi will go to the AHL. Which means Bouillon has a very good chance of making this team. Why? Because like I said they won't want one of Tinordi or Beaulieu sitting in the stands for weeks on end. BUT they may not want Beaulieu/Tinordi to get too comfortable either. Having a LEFTY vet like Bouillon sitting around might keep them honest and working hard. This is assuming that he plays as well, or nearly as well, as either Paetryn or Nygren. He doesn't have to be better, just not horrendously worse. If that's the case the latter two are gone. ------------ Price Budaj, TokarskiPersonally, I would be very surprised if they carry three. That just seems like overkill, given that Price is likely to play 65+ games anyways. However, what to do? I don't imagine that either Budaj or Tokarski have great trade value, so I'm not sure that's the way to go. Budaj would probably clear waivers and go to Hamilton, but he's such a great backup that you have to wonder whether it's worth the locker-room hit to have such a good guy treated so shabbily. And whether it's in Tokarski's best interest to have him play a mere 15-20 games next year. Will Tokarski make it through waivers? I think he would, but freely admit it’s a gamble. With MacDonald, Condon and Fucale in the system, to say nothing of Price still being a very young man, do we care? IF there are injuries to the forward corps then they might carry three goalies in the hopes that in time a solution will present itself. It is not necessarily a bad strategy, but it's not exactly a long term one. If there are no injuries then you are one over the roster limit, meaning that to carry three you have to get rid of somebody. The easy answer is "trade Moen" but that doesn't solve the three-headed-goalie-problem, and we don't exactly have a lot of forward depth. Even less so in the "forwards-with-size" department. My guess is one of Budaj or Tokarski goes to Hamilton, with my money being on Tokarski. There are a couple of teams that need goalies but not that many and there figures to be a bunch of goalies available as training camp progresses. If Tokarski has a stinker or two during the preseason the odds of him slipping through may go up. I don't think MT is going to tinker too much with what he liked last year. Patches / DD / Gallagher Galchenyuk / Eller / Sekac Bournival / Pleks / Parenteau Actually, any of the 3 right wingers could probably be interchanged on any of the lines. I think they'll find Galchy's not quite responsible enough defensively and leave him at left wing, which keeps them from making a tough decision at centre. The easiest line to pick - Prust / Malhotra / Weise. Could be one of the best 4th lines in the league. Defense Markov / PK Emelin / Gilbert Tinordi / Weaver I'm not giving Tinordi the shorter shrift vs Beaulieu. Nathan still reminds me too much of a certain MA Bergeron. Great shot and skater, and a pinball wizard, but not in a good way. He's the pinball itself too often, and needs to get stronger, though he's not bounced around as much as MA used to be. Tinordi looks after the toughness factor and takes the place of Weaver's partner on the penalty kill. He was dominant at the WJC his final juniour year and I can't see the guy losing that much in the next 3 years. He's a slow developer, but he has all the tools and has shown he can play (at least to every coach but MT). Nygren and Pateryn may certainly play their parts as well ast Beaulieu. We were lucky last year overall with injuries. I think we're not going to be as lucky this year, so the depth will be really important. How to keep everyone happy until they get their chance will be the challenge. Gee, it looks like I forgot Rene Bourque. How did that happen? Since it did, let's just keep him out.
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Post by christrpn on Sept 18, 2014 17:44:53 GMT -5
Just to be clear, MB said, during the interview, that Galchenyuk will start CAMP at center. Not all of Pleks, DD, Eller, Galchenyuk and Malhotra will start every preseason game together. He also said that, if Galchenyuk plays well (probably meant VERY well), then it might force him to make a move. Same thing goes with MB saying he'll consider starting the year with 3 goalies. If Tokarski forces their hand, he might make a move.
MB and MT have always told their players "Force us to make place for you here". They said it was always up to the players. My guess is that Galchenyuk will play all preseason games at center, then return to the wing to start the season. If he played REALLY well, look at Pleks to be moved sometime during the season. He and Markov are really the only left from the old regime.
This theory goes for the three studs at d as well. If they all have a great camp, look for all three to make the club. Sometime during the season, Bye Bye Markov
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Post by frozone on Sept 18, 2014 18:19:05 GMT -5
Bourque - Eller - Desharnais: A gamble. Desharnais has played his best between two bigger guys, and two bigger guys are what we have here. While I don't think Little Davey is a great winger I think he is a better winger than Eller is. Faint praise perhaps, but it is what it is. He can still be the setup man for this line, with a shooter in Bourque, and a defensive conscience in Eller who also drives the net and works the corners. The comp I think of is Mark Recchi, who was not a big guy but a good passer, playmaker, and facilitator from the wing position. You don't have to play centre to be the guy that can make plays, and unloading the defensive responsibilties from DD would be a big plus. It's an interesting idea, BC. Assuming Berg doesn't make a trade to break the logjam at centre, I think trying DD on the wing in camp and seeing if Galchenyuk can build some chemistry between Pacioretty and Gallagher or Parenteau makes a lot of sense. I think DD can be just as productive from the wing and I think that our best option (for now) would be to move him there. However, I would put DD on the left and move Max to the right so that they could still play on the same line. DD - Eller - Patches With Max on his off wing, I think he could get his shots off a little better. Not to mention, he could use his speed more often and cut in front of the net on his forehand. With DD on the left, Davey is able to keep his body open to the play and pass from his forehand as the designated setup man. Eller would be the puckhound and defensive presence. It's not perfect, but I like it more than trading away one of our centers.
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Sept 18, 2014 19:26:18 GMT -5
No holdouts, no major injuries, no cap problems, no disgruntled players. Giving a talented kid a shot at center in camp is a controversy I can live with.
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