Game 1 Preseason Habs vs. Philadelphia (Monday Sept. 23 – 7PM ET) RDS

[Pompeius Magnus]

Barron was OK , the problem is Mailloux was better , kid has no shot going up against Mailloux and Rein on the depth chart imo , and his game is not fit for a bottom pair like Struble or Arber or Harris were

Plus, they're both just as able to move the puck and bring in some offense from the blue line, so Barron doesn't have that edge over them. No size advantage either. TBH, had he been a left side shot instead of a right side one, he would already be in pretty big trouble.

 

[Rapala]

How much experience/how many AHL/NHL games was a threshold for retention in the last expansion draft? I'm thinking Rainmaker won't be eligible, but Mailloux might be?

I have no idea.
What I do know is if we make a move it's likely up front and logically it would be at center.
Graduating one this season and one next season just makes sense for a team looking to progress smoothly.
As much as I'm not a fan of Dvorak's Evans might be easier to move without retaining while we keep the left hander.
Only one pre season game in but already a high bar has been set when was the last time we could say that.
Most of the kids graduated recently because of necessity.

 

[Matthew McConaughay]

Hutson didn't have a bad game so far, every game, he was one of the best players.

 

[Rapala]

Barron was OK , the problem is Mailloux was better , kid has no shot going up against Mailloux and Rein on the depth chart imo , and his game is not fit for a bottom pair like Struble or Arber or Harris were

Mailloux was not better and I really don't get the idea that Barron is not fit for a third pairing role.
He is the player they have given that role to.

The players higher up the depth charts are slated to be top pairing guys.
Struble is going to be our 7 and hopefully be able to spell either side.
In what scenario does Mailloux replacing Barron and loosing out on playing top line minutes make sense?

 

[Rapala]

Hutson didn't have a bad game so far, every game, he was one of the best players.

He did get caught out a couple of times and beat with speed twice so it wasn't perfect.
The pucks didn't find the back of our net so that was good.

I'm really curious about what Matheson's mandate will be as a top pairing guy.
My biggest concern with Hutson has always been having two riverboat gamblers in our top 4.
The media asked Matheson about it in a roundabout way and he claims he'll do anything to help the team.
Best case scenario that means focusing on shutting down the opposition's top line(s)
I also don't see how we could possibly give Matheson PP1 if we do indeed put the "Team" first.

 

[Rapala]

@KevSkillz4 Laine’s fiancé IG post tonight bides well for your hope that he resigns here at a lower AAV

View attachment 909133

I wish she would have said "He will so Love Montreal" I know I'm knitpicking

 

[The Great Weal]

They did it with Armia, I think they do have the balls lol

That’s fair but I think it’s a bit different. Armia genuinely couldn’t do anything right at the time and didnt have much of a leash. Dvorak is good on faceoffs and can PK which makes it less likely to waive than Armia. Anderson has speed and size, a history of scoring around 20 goals a season most of the time, and you can see that we’re giving him lots of chances no matter how he plays.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

I have no idea.
What I do know is if we make a move it's likely up front and logically it would be at center.
Graduating one this season and one next season just makes sense for a team looking to progress smoothly.
As much as I'm not a fan of Dvorak's Evans might be easier to move without retaining while we keep the left hander.
Only one pre season game in but already a high bar has been set when was the last time we could say that.
Most of the kids graduated recently because of necessity.

Yes, Evans would be far easier to move. 1.7 mil expiring contract should be no problem and garner something. I doubt they would retain (before the deadline) unless they are getting a 1st or equivalent so Dvorak wouldn't be movable until the deadline. Unless they take a body back but it would have to be someone they can send to the AHL.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Hutson didn't have a bad game so far, every game, he was one of the best players.

I'm not too concerned about the one or two giveaways. Experience will cut those down. Hopefully though, he does not get beaten on pure speed regularly, as it happened twice yesterday.

 

[Habs]

Is it true Barron played? I don't remember him at all

 

[zx81]

That’s fair but I think it’s a bit different. Armia genuinely couldn’t do anything right at the time and didnt have much of a leash. Dvorak is good on faceoffs and can PK which makes it less likely to waive than Armia. Anderson has speed and size, a history of scoring around 20 goals a season most of the time, and you can see that we’re giving him lots of chances no matter how he plays.

Dvorak isn't awful nor great. He's the definition of bland. He should be replaced as soon as possible by a younger player with a bigger upside.

 

[FLHabs]

Say there is a draft in June 2027. We'd be in good shape, losing just one player.

With 7-3-1, we could projecy to protect (exempt have an *)

Suzuki
Caufield
Slafkovsky
Dach (assuming re-signed before draft )
Newhook (RFA)
Roy
Beck
*Demidov
*Kapanen (assuming Sweden this year)
*Hage
*Koivu
*Thorpe
*2025 1st rounder
*2026 1st rounder

Guhle
Reinbacher
Hutson or Mailloux
*Konyushkov
*2025 1st rounder (Calgary)

Montembeault or Primeau or Dobes (whoever is the #1)
*Fowler
*Volokhin


Then Slaf, Hutson and Beck from 2022

If 7-3-1 is the way, losing Mailloux AND Xhekaj would really suck, especially if they fufill their potential.

 

[Trabdy2]

While they don't look great at the moment, the Dach, Laine and Newhook line is worth giving some time to. Dach and Laine need to get their pace of play up a bit and get a bit sharper. Each of them had moments that I liked though; you can see that great things are possible.

Kapanen looks great and seems to have a pretty complete game. Skates well with the puck, heads up playmaker, pretty good on the boards, finds and uses space well to create offensive pressure. It's going to be hard to send him back, as he's pushing hard to snag a role in the bottom 6.

Tuch looks like a solid 4th liner. Moves well and really strong physical play. He's going to be a boon to our bottom six in terms of forechecking. If he doesn't stick with the team, it won't be long before he's called up.

Hutson looks like the real deal. He consistently manufactures offense organically and the coaches will love that. He is going to need to learn to pick his spots in terms of positioning and pinching, but I can't imagine him starting the season in Laval.

Mailloux and Engstrom look like they both need some time in the AHL to continue sharpening their game, especially defensively. They both made some good plays, though. Both of these players have tools that seem good enough for them to eventually find success in an NHL role, whether that's later this year or beyond.

 

[Habby4Life]

Get the optimism but the reality is this is still a bottom 10 (close to 5) team. In the east, the NYR, Bruins, Leafs, Flo, Carolina, Tampa, NYI are on a different level.

They will battle it out with CBJ, Buf, Phil, and Ottawa in the bottom of the standings.

This team is far from being good, still a lot of holes in the lineup.

 

[FLHabs]

I'm not too concerned about the one or two giveaways. Experience will cut those down. Hopefully though, he does not get beaten on pure speed regularly, as it happened twice yesterday.

If I'm not mistaken, Richard is the one that beat him both times and he's a pure burner. He could have beaten most of the defenders tonight, especially with that bad Anderson pass. I'm actually surprised he somewhat kept up. Altough Hutson getting faster/more explosive can only be better for him hehe

 

[habbubba]

Prior to watching the game and seeing the flyers line-up, it reminded me that I forgot to scoop-up after my old newfie broke free from the leash.
Seeing the line-ups I thought it was a distinct possibility that Montreal shut-out the Flyers and on paper shouldn't be close. It was a battle at the start though but the good guys prevailed. For a pre-season game it was actually entertaining and Montreal has a lot of pieces to get excited about. That Kapanen kid is so much more than I was expecting and it should make it difficult to not keep him, but a lot of vets around. The Hutson kid is really dynamic and creates a lot of offense, just needs to be a bit more selective as to when though as there were a bit too many turnovers but improved that aspect as the game went along.

 

[bsl]

I'm not too concerned about the one or two giveaways. Experience will cut those down. Hopefully though, he does not get beaten on pure speed regularly, as it happened twice yesterday.

He must work on his skating. Hard. Everything else is golden

Yes, Evans would be far easier to move. 1.7 mil expiring contract should be no problem and garner something. I doubt they would retain (before the deadline) unless they are getting a 1st or equivalent so Dvorak wouldn't be movable until the deadline. Unless they take a body back but it would have to be someone they can send to the AHL.

They will only move evans until they sure beck and kapenen are for real

 

[bsl]

If 7-3-1 is the way, losing Mailloux AND Xhekaj would really suck, especially if they fufill their potential.

Expansion teams have many choices from 32,teams. If jack and maillouix are essential. Habs can make draft pick deals to protect them. It will hurt but it will hurt every team.

 

[wedge]

Really impressed by Kapanen. The kid was everywhere on the ice.

 

[BaseballCoach]

If 7-3-1 is the way, losing Mailloux AND Xhekaj would really suck, especially if they fufill their potential.

The WORST that can happen is we lose our 4th best D. ONE guy.

And depending on how good any exempt D are, it might be only our 5th or 6th D that gets picked.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

If 7-3-1 is the way, losing Mailloux AND Xhekaj would really suck, especially if they fufill their potential.

4-4-1 makes more sense based on his scenario.
I would rather lose Roy/Beck/Newhook than Mailloux

 

[BaseballCoach]

4-4-1 makes more sense based on his scenario.
I would rather lose Roy/Beck/Newhook than Mailloux

It's an option. No matter what, it is only one player.

For sure if all of our top 4 D are studs, we might want to go that route. I'd try to find a way to keep our 5th best non-exempt F, say Newhook, so the entire top-6 is intact (assuming Demidov in top 6),

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I think he may have been born with a "minor" cleft lip? Surgeries are improving over the years, but there is always a visible scar (like Joquim Phoenix). Typically men will grow a moustache to cover it up as they get older..

Then at least go with a full beard.

 

[Andy]

I want people to set their expectations properly:

Hutson WILL NOT HAVE PERFECT GAMES. With the amount of chances he takes, he will make mistakes. Every d-man of his ilk will make errors during a game. If you are expecting flawless decision making, you have unattainable expectations.

It's always about the aggregate play. So far Hutson's impact outweights the handful of times he gets caught in a bad spot.

 

[G0bias]

I want people to set their expectations properly:

Hutson WILL NOT HAVE PERFECT GAMES. With the amount of chances he takes, he will make mistakes. Every d-man of his ilk will make errors during a game. If you are expecting flawless decision making, you have unattainable expectations.

It's always about the aggregate play. So far Hutson's impact outweights the handful of times he gets caught in a bad spot.

Nonsense. The gods have spoken, he is the golden child.