Montreal @ Calgary Saturday Mar 16th @ 7 PM EDT

[Willie Dog]

Now its game over

[folatre]

I love those guys, but there is getting around the fact that the Habs top line and top pair have been brutal tonight.

[jkr]

D zone coverage is just awful. The Calgary winger came around the net completely alone to make it 5-2.

Does anyone know what to do? It takes a lot of incompetence to make the Flames look this good.

[seventeen]

Flames didnt take the game away. The refs did. Perfect example where a solid play is called a penalty at a key point in the game. I know I hate when they refuse to call legitimate penalties in the playoffs, but something that mild won’t be called and that’s good.

[seventeen]

I like our chances with Calgary’s pick in 2025. This is a team that’s ready to die off.

[Willie Dog]

Thank goodness pearson and white are gone at the end of the season...

[jkr]

I think that 37 shot total is deceiving. I dont think they've really tested Wolf.

[seventeen]

I believe Matheson was on the ice for all 5 goals. Just sayin’.

[Willie Dog]

Mar 16, 2024 20:35:29 GMT -5 seventeen said:

I believe Matheson was on the ice for all 5 goals. Just sayin’.

-3.. him and Guhle...

Savard/Xhekaj are +2

[Willie Dog]

Mar 16, 2024 20:38:17 GMT -5 Willie Dog said:

Mar 16, 2024 20:35:29 GMT -5 seventeen said:

I believe Matheson was on the ice for all 5 goals. Just sayin’.

-3.. him and Guhle...

Savard/Xhekaj are +2

Matheson gets 24 minutes... why? No one else is over 20

[folatre]

Unfortunately, Conroy can probably safely tear it down and not worry about their pick, because the roster construction of the Panthers strongly suggests Florida is not going to be a bad team in 2024-25. I would say it is 95+ percent likely that Montreal will have Florida's first rounder in 2025.

[Willie Dog]

These clowns pass too much... one minute left and no one shoots

[Willie Dog]

Mar 16, 2024 20:40:36 GMT -5 folatre said:

Unfortunately, Conroy can probably safely tear it down and not worry about their pick, because the roster construction of the Panthers strongly suggests Florida is not going to be a bad team in 2024-25. I would say it is 95+ percent likely that Montreal will have Florida's first rounder in 2025.

We need to hire Tonya Harding to take care of some guys on Florida

[jkr]

Mar 16, 2024 20:41:42 GMT -5 Willie Dog said:

Mar 16, 2024 20:40:36 GMT -5 folatre said:

Unfortunately, Conroy can probably safely tear it down and not worry about their pick, because the roster construction of the Panthers strongly suggests Florida is not going to be a bad team in 2024-25. I would say it is 95+ percent likely that Montreal will have Florida's first rounder in 2025.

We need to hire Tonya Harding to take care of some guys on Florida

I think I finally understand this situation. Montreal gets one of either the Florida or Calgary picks - whichever is worse?

[folatre]

Jkr, I saw it the same way. Not to take anything away from Wolf or the help he got on 2-3 occasions from the iron, but Montreal was really imprecise passing moving the puck and when they got rubber on net most of the shots were of the low calorie variety and without any traffic in front.

The refs were strange in a couple of their judgments. But the Habs had their own power plays too and got nothing, so the loss seems like a case of the boys lacking crispness and playing a distracted brand of hockey. Who knows, maybe the guys in the room were thinking about their coach and just could not dial in their normal game prep routine without St. Louis there.

[folatre]

Mar 16, 2024 20:47:16 GMT -5 jkr said:

Mar 16, 2024 20:41:42 GMT -5 Willie Dog said:

We need to hire Tonya Harding to take care of some guys on Florida

I think I finally understand this situation. Montreal gets one of either the Florida or Calgary picks - whichever is worse?

It would be the better of the two picks if both are outside the top ten. However, based on what a lame roster Calgary has (and Markstrom is probably going to be traded at some point in the next few months), I would be surprised if the Flames are not bottom ten type bad.

The only small hope I have is that Calgary's owner simply will not tolerate being totally wretched because he is worried about ticket sales, concessions, etc.

[jkr]

Thank you for the clarification. I knew it was complicated but I didnt know how much.

[PTH]

Mar 16, 2024 20:55:07 GMT -5 folatre said:

Mar 16, 2024 20:47:16 GMT -5 jkr said:

I think I finally understand this situation. Montreal gets one of either the Florida or Calgary picks - whichever is worse?

It would be the better of the two picks if both are outside the top ten. However, based on what a lame roster Calgary has (and Markstrom is probably going to be traded at some point in the next few months), I would be surprised if the Flames are not bottom ten type bad.

The only small hope I have is that Calgary's owner simply will not tolerate being totally wretched because he is worried about ticket sales, concessions, etc.

We can only hope the minor rebuild they were attempting before it all fell apart will still lead to enough dividends to keep them out of the top 10 at the draft. Conversely, we can hope Florida has a bad season and ends up with a pick in the late teens.

[folatre]

And there are still going to be some abjectly bad teams (San Jose, Arizona, Chicago, Anaheim, Columbus) doing their thing in 2024-25 so there will only be about half the bottom ten sort of up in the air. And modest rosters in the East like Ottawa, Buffalo, Montreal, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia could all sink down there if they get even slightly below average NHL goalie play.

Now this is not to say Calgary will not be among the bottom ten. I actually think they will. But the case is not a mortal lock. And naturally as Habs fans while we are enjoying the summer life and watching the draft, we will be curious to see if Calgary adds a little to their roster or further depletes it.

[habsorbed]

Mar 16, 2024 18:41:12 GMT -5 seventeen said:

Forgot Newhook. 1 2/3 lines.

And that really is the problem. I'm good with our goaltending situation. They're not studs but can get the job done: many teams with average goaltending have won the Cup and both golaies will likely get better as the age. Our D is young and is going to get much better as the prospects arrive; our strongest asset by far! But the depth up front is pathetic. This 3rd, actually 4th, line of Anderson, Evans and Gally is hopeless. I don't mind Evans defensive abilities but he has limited offence. Josh and Gally are absolutely hopeless and chewing up $12 million in cap space. I wouldn't be happy paying either of them the league minimum as they bring nothing. Our 4th line is not even a 4th line - you could pick up thise scrubs any day of the week - in fact that's how HuGo got White and Pearson; no one wanted them.

So when Dach comes back, we can hope he takes Newhook and Roy to a new level, but we still need to improve our 3rd and 4th line and by a lot

[Willie Dog]

Mar 17, 2024 12:39:09 GMT -5 habsorbed said:

Mar 16, 2024 18:41:12 GMT -5 seventeen said:

Forgot Newhook. 1 2/3 lines.

And that really is the problem. I'm good with our goaltending situation. They're not studs but can get the job done: many teams with average goaltending have won the Cup and both golaies will likely get better as the age. Our D is young and is going to get much better as the prospects arrive; our strongest asset by far! But the depth up front is pathetic. This 3rd, actually 4th, line of Anderson, Evans and Gally is hopeless. I don't mind Evans defensive abilities but he has limited offence. Josh and Gally are absolutely hopeless and chewing up $12 million in cap space. I wouldn't be happy paying either of them the league minimum as they bring nothing. Our 4th line is not even a 4th line - you could pick up thise scrubs any day of the week - in fact that's how HuGo got White and Pearson; no one wanted them.

So when Dach comes back, we can hope he takes Newhook and Roy to a new level, but we still need to improve our 3rd and 4th line and by a lot

Beck is the heir apparent for the 3C position and Florian is the heir apparent for the 4C position... after the 25/26 tdl, depending on if laval makes the playoffs they can be brought up... the question is who plays 3C in the meantime while Evans plays 4C... I can see Hugo pick up a cap dump for the 3C position

[Tankdriver]

I know we blame the third and fourth lines, but someone needs to play the PK. In that sense Armia and evans are doing the job.

[folatre]

It would be hard to get anything remotely worthwhile for Dvorak in the summer since he is coming off surgery and there will be no game 'tape' for GMs and pro scouts to analyze. Therefore, assuming the glass man does not get hurt yet again, I believe it is probably safe to pencil him in as the 3C for the October-February portion of the 2024-25 season.

Without a crazy gift like Celebrini falling from the heavens, the situation up front is going to be a work in progress for a couple more seasons. I sure hope that Hughes goes with a forward if all the kids in the 2-8 range look more or less equal with respect to their long-term projection as NHLers.

[seventeen]

We tend to forget Mesar, but he has to take a leap or he'll have simply been a pick to comfort Slafkovsky.

We also have to remember that unless a sinkhole appears at the draft in June, we're going to have one of Celebrini, Lindstrom, Demidov, Catton or Iginla in the pipeline. That boosts the top 6 and when you do that, the quality flows down to the lower levels. We also have these ethereal picks of Winnipeg's and Calgarys'/Florida's. The odds are lower, but you can get a guy late sometimes who you just don't expect a lot from, and they surprise. Or the picks are traded for a prospect.

[PTH]

Mar 17, 2024 18:04:31 GMT -5 seventeen said:

We tend to forget Mesar, but he has to take a leap or he'll have simply been a pick to comfort Slafkovsky.

We also have to remember that unless a sinkhole appears at the draft in June, we're going to have one of Celebrini, Lindstrom, Demidov, Catton or Iginla in the pipeline. That boosts the top 6 and when you do that, the quality flows down to the lower levels. We also have these ethereal picks of Winnipeg's and Calgarys'/Florida's. The odds are lower, but you can get a guy late sometimes who you just don't expect a lot from, and they surprise. Or the picks are traded for a prospect.

I fully expect Winnipeg's first to be moved for a Newhook type, someone like Holloway in Edmonton or Krebs in Buffalo, high picks who haven't lived up to their draft billing. Adding Pittsburgh's 2nd next year and/or Harris might take it up a notch, but I'd be amazed if we picked with Winnipeg's 1st rounder.

[habsorbed]

Mar 17, 2024 18:04:31 GMT -5 seventeen said:

We tend to forget Mesar, but he has to take a leap or he'll have simply been a pick to comfort Slafkovsky.

We also have to remember that unless a sinkhole appears at the draft in June, we're going to have one of Celebrini, Lindstrom, Demidov, Catton or Iginla in the pipeline. That boosts the top 6 and when you do that, the quality flows down to the lower levels. We also have these ethereal picks of Winnipeg's and Calgarys'/Florida's. The odds are lower, but you can get a guy late sometimes who you just don't expect a lot from, and they surprise. Or the picks are traded for a prospect.

The good news is that most draft rankings have a majority of dmen in their top 5 and top 10. So if we don't get Celebrini, we're likley to get the 2nd, maybe 3rd, best forward in the draft. I'm good with that. I suppose HuGo might take the BPA even if he's a dman and then trade his various d prospects for the forward we will desperately need to help our 2nd line.

[Tankdriver]

Mar 18, 2024 0:05:07 GMT -5 habsorbed said:

Mar 17, 2024 18:04:31 GMT -5 seventeen said:

We tend to forget Mesar, but he has to take a leap or he'll have simply been a pick to comfort Slafkovsky.

We also have to remember that unless a sinkhole appears at the draft in June, we're going to have one of Celebrini, Lindstrom, Demidov, Catton or Iginla in the pipeline. That boosts the top 6 and when you do that, the quality flows down to the lower levels. We also have these ethereal picks of Winnipeg's and Calgarys'/Florida's. The odds are lower, but you can get a guy late sometimes who you just don't expect a lot from, and they surprise. Or the picks are traded for a prospect.

The good news is that most draft rankings have a majority of dmen in their top 5 and top 10. So if we don't get Celebrini, we're likley to get the 2nd, maybe 3rd, best forward in the draft. I'm good with that. I suppose HuGo might take the BPA even if he's a dman and then trade his various d prospects for the forward we will desperately need to help our 2nd line.

After looking at the standings; if Columbus can string a winning streak together and we go on an extended loosing streak, 4th place isn't out of the question.