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Post by folatre on Jul 31, 2023 14:31:19 GMT -5
No surprise at all, Ylonen signs for 1 year at NHL min ($200 USD if he is in Laval).
Right now the Habs basically have 16 forwards vying for 13 spots and that is not even including kids like Roy and Beck hoping to turn heads in camp. Something has to happen. The guys Hughes would like to move on from, he literally cannot give them away for nothing. So unless injuries bite to start the season, I would anticipate at least a couple of guys will be waived.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 31, 2023 15:46:45 GMT -5
That has to be the case. The challenge with sending Hoffman and whoever down to Laval is that Laval has the same situation and you don't want to give Houle an excuse to not use the kids. I still have real doubts about Houle as a coach who is willing to put development ahead of winning or at least on an even plane. If you send him a vet, he's probably likely to use him 20 minutes a game.
That's really cheap for Ylonen. It's no secret I like Ylonen's game. He has an excellent one-timer and seems to be a responsible winger, who appears more comfortable on the left side despite being a right handed player. Sixteen points in 39 games for a guy who only got 13 1/2 minutes a game last year, almost always on a bottom 6 line so he wasn't attached to great scorers, are good numbers. In the AHL he was a .82 ppg player on a team that wasn't very competitive. That's better than RHP put up. Rafael had better numbers in the NHL, but his scoring percentage was (probably) unsustainably high at 24.7. That's one stat you have to be really careful about, unless the player is an ace scorer. Caufield, for example, posted a 16.5 number. Matthews is a career 15.7, which is very good. Ylonen was at 14 last year in Montreal.
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Post by folatre on Jul 31, 2023 17:11:01 GMT -5
For both Ylonen and Harvey-Pinard the sample size at the NHL level is small. But the basic point that most of us would probably agree on is that these kids need to play on a regular basis because, actually, they are not kids anymore; they are like 23-24 years old with a ton of AHL experience under their belt.
The organization needs to know if these guys are going to occupy future roles on the team beyond this season and the easiest way to get an accurate read on things is to feed them NHL reps (55+ games). And seeing what they can do is not going to cost Montreal a playoff birth.
Management and St. Louis need to recalibrate a little from their approach to vets last season. I get it that they wanted to show vets (Drouin, Hoffman, Dadanov, Armia) respect and give them plenty of runway before resorting to benching or waiving them. And Hughes was probably hopeful that those guys producing could return something half way decent at the deadline. But life is about learning and hopefully St. Louis and management now realize gifting guys ice time on the back nine of their career is not astute strategically. So let's hope management is not afraid to do what needs to do be done.
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Post by Polarice on Aug 1, 2023 12:09:31 GMT -5
I'm guessing you'll see some bodies moved during or after training camp. Give the young guys a chance to impress and the older guys a chance to prove they still belong.
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Post by seventeen on Aug 1, 2023 12:53:24 GMT -5
But life is about learning and hopefully St. Louis and management now realize gifting guys ice time on the back nine of their career is not astute strategically. So let's hope management is not afraid to do what needs to do be done. Those guys had their chance last year to prove themselves and, outside of maybe Dvorak, didn't to a very good job of it. |
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Post by Cranky on Aug 1, 2023 13:19:59 GMT -5
My fear is that we are going to churn out a pile of 30 point Jake Evans...and go nowhere fast.
Slaf, Dach and Newhook at the very least MUST reach top 6 if we have a smidgen of hope of being contenders.
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Post by Skilly on Aug 1, 2023 13:29:24 GMT -5
My fear is that we are going to churn out a pile of 30 point Jake Evans...and go nowhere fast. Slaf, Dach and Newhook at the very least MUST reach top 6 if we have a smidgen of hope of being contenders. I’d put the three of them on the same line. They either sink or swim together |
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Post by mikeg on Aug 1, 2023 13:53:13 GMT -5
My fear is that we are going to churn out a pile of 30 point Jake Evans...and go nowhere fast. Slaf, Dach and Newhook at the very least MUST reach top 6 if we have a smidgen of hope of being contenders. Yup, we have a glut of bottom 6 players, half of whom are overpaid and untradeable. I hope they get sent to Laval. |
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Post by Willie Dog on Aug 1, 2023 16:05:48 GMT -5
My fear is that we are going to churn out a pile of 30 point Jake Evans...and go nowhere fast. Slaf, Dach and Newhook at the very least MUST reach top 6 if we have a smidgen of hope of being contenders. I’d put the three of them on the same line. They either sink or swim together Newhook is the shiny new toy, he'll be in the top line... I would be upset if Slaf is on the 3rd line... Cc-suze-newhook Slaf-dach-monahan I want Monahan with dach and slaf,he a smart guy and they can learn a lot from him. |
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Post by Andrew on Aug 1, 2023 18:23:14 GMT -5
My biggest fear is durability among our young core. We had a similar thread last season wondering how we’d fit all of our forwards on the roster, and ended up finishing the season having dressed 25 or so forwards over the course of the season.
But on the topic of durability, we have Dach that has missed significant time to multiple injuries in his young career. Caufield with shoulder surgery on his entry level deal. Slaf with the lower body and multiple huge hits he took as a rookie. Guhle in his rookie year, and pre previously in his draft +1 I believe. Even Reinbacher was knocked out of the world championships and reportedly has a condition affecting both knees.
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Post by folatre on Aug 1, 2023 21:16:23 GMT -5
I see Newhook as a winger, but I think management believes he can be an effective NHL centre. And given the fact that Dvorak had knee surgery in the spring and thus may well not be available to start the season, my bet would be Newhook is tentatively penciled in as the 3C.
I have no clue how the distribution of wingers will sort out. If it was me, I would try Slafkovsky on the top line. What does the organization have to lose? If he cannot ramp it up and post decent production with Suzuki and Caufield then maybe he needs to spend some time with the Rocket. Dach had good chemistry with Harvey-Pinard and Anderson so St. Louis may see something there. Newhook could be the speedy engine on a line with a couple of very accomplished NHLers in Monahan and Gallagher, though given the injury woes of those two the blender is likely to be plugged in sooner rather later. And I would say Pezzetta-Evans-Ylonen makes sense as the fourth line coming out of the gate. So basically I have Dvorak on IR; Pitlick in Laval; either Hoffman or Armia as the extra forward eating popcorn upstairs and other one hanging out on the Laval roster.
Yeah, Andrew, I hear you man. Until guys put together a run of time in the league where they prove their durability, the label of being injury prone is going to be there, fair or not.
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Post by Tankdriver on Aug 1, 2023 22:40:44 GMT -5
HP still has options, so he will be sent down. So will Barron who also has options. Pitlick will be demoted or waived.
Pezeetta will be the 13th forward, Dvorak on the IR.
Armia will play 4th line because he kills PK. It will be him, Ylonen and Evans.
Hoffman will play the third with Gallagher and Monahan.
2nd will be Slaf, Newhook and Anderson
1st will be Dach, Caulfield and Suz.
Defence: Harris, Kovacevic, Savard, Guehle, Matheson X man/Sheriff
Wideman as the 7th.
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Post by Cranky on Aug 2, 2023 16:29:31 GMT -5
Don't cry or ask for the phone number of my local shrink/masseuse when we start losing guys that can actually play in the NHL.
We will lose "Evans" level from forwards and defense.
This is a critical season to evaluate 5-6 players that are going to get close to waiver wire because of shear volume...if we don't move them first.
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Post by folatre on Aug 2, 2023 17:14:03 GMT -5
Camp is just so short compared to a generation ago and now there are only three preseason games, so in reality training camp battles are not really a thing anymore. Management and St. Louis are going to know who their guys are basically before camp even opens.
Time will say. I see Pezzetta as a regular in the lineup because without him Xhekaj is the only loose cannon and I think it is foolhardy to ever have fewer than two guys who make the opponent keep their heads on a swivel. Hoffman and Armia may well be regulars yet again, but the numbers clearly say that if they are then Harvey-Pinard and Ylonen are not.
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Post by habsorbed on Aug 3, 2023 15:45:21 GMT -5
I appreciate it's summer and all these talking heads are struggling to come up with ideas for a subject to write an article on, but seeing a lot of talk of Habs going after Nylander  . I don't want any part of that guy - talk about soft and has all the characteristics of the guys we don't want on this team. My only comfort confirming this is nonsense is that Nylander ain't settling for Suze money, and he sure as heck ain't getting more than that from the Habs. |
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Post by Willie Dog on Aug 3, 2023 17:06:06 GMT -5
I appreciate it's summer and all these talking heads are struggling to come up with ideas for a subject to write an article on, but seeing a lot of talk of Habs going after Nylander . I don't want any part of that guy - talk about soft and has all the characteristics of the guys we don't want on this team. My only comfort confirming this is nonsense is that Nylander ain't settling for Suze money, and he sure as heck ain't getting more than that from the Habs. He better not, I want nothing to do with MElander or anyone else on the leafs... it's blasphemy I tells ya... blasphemy |
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Post by folatre on Aug 3, 2023 19:17:27 GMT -5
Nylander? The guy wants like 8 x 10.5, so even if he only 'settles' for 8 x 9.5 I would judge that is a lousy cap allocation for a team like Montreal that is not ready to contend. And even in a couple of years I would not sign any winger for more than Caufield's contract because, frankly, that position is the easiest to cover without breaking the bank unless we are talking about a unicorn.
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Post by seventeen on Aug 4, 2023 1:28:05 GMT -5
A few thoughts about Nylander, because I always like bringing evidence to a trial. If we had lots of cap space and our guys were 3 years down the road and we needed a right winger (it's always good to put a lot of ifs into a contrary opinion so you can gracefully back out later), I wouldn't mind Nylander on the team at all. I hear the word 'soft' used a lot around him and while he certainly ain't a banger, he seems to show up when it counts. Phil Kessel is the epitome of soft, especially if you ask Steve Simmons, yet he has 3 Cups and Simmons has a choking fit every time he is reminded of that fact. In two of them, Phil was a huge contributor (should have won the Smythe one year, but Sid was too popular a choice). Nylander has been a full ppg regular season guy the last two seasons and in the last 4 playoff years, he's put up 29 points in 30 games. Who cares if he's soft? Ryan Reaves doesn't score like that, so if you want 'hard'.... Now, having said all that in defense of Mr. Nylander, I wouldn't want him on my team for other reasons, namely his inflated contract opinion of himself. He has earned his salary, I'll give him that, but he won't earn the next one, unless he scores like MacKinnon. The Nylanders are the Swedish version of the Tkachuks. They put up good individual numbers,. they negotiate like longshoremen and their teams never seem to win championships. (Ok, Matt won 1 with the London Knights, but I credit that win to Marner, Dvorak, Tyler Parsons and Victor Mete.  ) |
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Post by folatre on Aug 6, 2023 15:01:41 GMT -5
Well, August is usually very quiet, but amazingly enough Hughes managed to at least partially alleviate the glut of redundant forwards on the roster.
It seems no club update on Dvorak's status will be forthcoming until camp opens.
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. I don't want any part of that guy - talk about soft and has all the characteristics of the guys we don't want on this team. My only comfort confirming this is nonsense is that Nylander ain't settling for Suze money, and he sure as heck ain't getting more than that from the Habs. 
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