Post-Game Talk: Habs lost twice in 24hrs, latest vs the Broons

[salbutera]

Hughes, in my opinion, hasn't done much better than Bergevin. His best players - Suz, CC, Arbs (yes, better player than oh, I don't know... Matheson?), Guhle are Bergevin's picks/trades. Hutson was a great Hughes pick and Slaf... well... still to be seen. I don't he'll ever be great, but hope can turn decent. Maybe. Then, Hughes gave us Dach, Newhook, Barron, Matheson (FFS)... for the second straight year he f***ed up the goaltending situation. I am sorry... I don't see a huge difference. Some good, some bad... team still sucks and will continue to for a foreseeable future.

Hughes this Hughes that… as reported last week all players discussions w other teams are had with Gorton.

I said this when Gorton was hired on, why did Jacobs not think of removing the interim tag from Gorton and making him GM vs bringing in Chia-pet? Gorton was in the org from the time he was a co-op student and worked his way up?

We know why Dolan canned his ass…

 

[ReHabs]

How much better do you expect the team to be? The young players are doing as well or better than they were, and the veterans are playing abysmally short of Gallagher.

I want them to be better than last year, especially the post-rebuild draftees players and the pieces specifically acquired by Hughes. Progress.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

Bad idea. Laine hurt his knee by trying to be a puck possession winger to begin with. Laine needs to watch Ovi video and just keep his game simple. Fight hard along the walls and in battles and also move to open space so someone can find him so he can release his shot. He's has the potential to be an Ovi Light if he can comprehend his game better.

Last thing we want is Laine trying to be a puck possession winger.

But he's so good at protecting the puck while entering the neutral and offensive zone. I don't see anything comparable to Ovechkin except on the powerplay.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I'm a little worried that Hugo have a fox hole going on. Something feels off. They bring in a guy like Newhook but dump a 6"5 monster like Kova who costs nothing.. Just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Guys like Kova are rare, he could have paired with Hutson this season.


We're so thin on the RD though.. and we all knew Barron needed more Laval time but because of waivers we have to keep him up. We have nothing on the right side right now, so thin we have to play Guhle there. Savard should have been dumped over Kova.

They kept Savard because he is a big guy in the room and they need his veteran leadership. That's enough calculus to keep him over Kovacevic. Not to mention Savard is still and always has been the better defenseman between the two.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

They kept Savard because he is a big guy in the room and they need his veteran leadership. That's enough calculus to keep him over Kovacevic. Not to mention Savard is still and always has been the better defenseman between the two.

We could have kept them both. Reinbacher had no business making the team this year.

 

[WeThreeKings]

We could have kept them both. Reinbacher had no business making the team this year.

Reinbacher is not the reason why they traded Kovacevic.

They currently have 7D on the roster, which is the amount most teams carry.

With that, you are still not getting Struble, Xhekaj and Barron in the line-up every game. Adding Kovacevic means two of that group is pretty much always sitting and you are carrying 8D.. or you are unfairly demoting Struble, or waiving Barron.

Rebuilding teams aren't doing that for a Kovacevic.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

Reinbacher is not the reason why they traded Kovacevic.

They currently have 7D on the roster, which is the amount most teams carry.

With that, you are still not getting Struble, Xhekaj and Barron in the line-up every game. Adding Kovacevic means two of that group is pretty much always sitting and you are carrying 8D.. or you are unfairly demoting Struble, or waiving Barron.

Rebuilding teams aren't doing that for a Kovacevic.

You're probably right, it just stings a little to see Kova so solid this year, and his size could have been an asset for the next few years, Savard will be traded this season most likely.

 

[Runner77]

Have you consideted the team isn’t better because they’re rebuilding and haven’t added any of the following:

- any free agent

Yeah, that guy, “any” — he’s been signing with other teams esp if he’s a premium asset.

I don’t know that Hughes will do better than his predecessors on that front. We’ll find out soon enough.

 

[WeThreeKings]

You're probably right, it just stings a little to see Kova so solid this year, and his size could have been an asset for the next few years, Savard will be traded this season most likely.

Good for Kovacevic - it's just one of those things where they had to move on from some defenseman and it was Harris/Kovacevic who ended up being the ones who had to go.

I do expect if they trade Savard this deadline, that they will look on UFA to bring in someone to replace him. I don't think they're just going to hand the reins to any of the young defenseman unless they earn it through their play this season.

 

[admiralcadillac]

Yeah, that guy, “any” — he’s been signing with other teams esp if he’s a premium asset.

I don’t know that Hughes will do better than his predecessors on that front. We’ll find out soon enough.

Well we don’t have a ton of cap space because of some plugs on the team, and would you have signed Stamkos or Marchessault? That’s going well.

Who would you have signed?

I want them to be better than last year, especially the post-rebuild draftees players and the pieces specifically acquired by Hughes. Progress.

Outside of Newhook they are better than last year.

Cole is on pace for 50 goals and suzuki for 80+ points.

Hughes other acquisitions are not in the NHL right now

 

[Runner77]

Well we don’t have a ton of cap space because of some plugs on the team, and would you have signed Stamkos or Marchessault? That’s going well.

Who would you have signed?

I was alluding to signing UFAs after the rebuild, not now. Regardless, we’re not a destination market so I’m not sure how Hughes sells it to a targeted UFA, whoever that might be.

Stamkos and Marchessault should bounce back. And if either falls flat, Hughes can always swoop in to offer relief, at a price. Both great mentors for a young team.

 

[ReHabs]

Outside of Newhook they are better than last year.

Cole is on pace for 50 goals and suzuki for 80+ points.

Hughes other acquisitions are not in the NHL right now

In your opinion Dach, Barron, Matheson are better than ever, I guess.

Cole and Suzuki were mercifully inherited by this regime.

 

[CharleyHorse]

We've been small and lacking goals since 94. They hang onto assets way too long, not drafting Leonard or Michkov , not moving friggen Barron like he was a prized asset.. Primeau.. .getting Newhook (another small player) nothing makes sense with this team. The irony that Allen and Kovacevic are exactly the players we need in this rebuild and they let them go .. why?

It's all so confusing, from the coaching decisions to the draft.

Hindsight is 20/20. Last year, Primeau and Montembeault seemed capable of handling the goalie position in the short term. Neither was/is Carey Price, but they showed they could hold the fort; no one expected them to shit the bed as badly as they are. Trading Allen made sense because given his age, he wasn’t part of the long-term plans. Everybody cheered when the trade was announced - no more 3-goalie system and a return of a 3rd round pick or better to boot, even if salary had to be retained - woooohhhhoooo!

As for the Kovacevic vs. Barron situation, I think the decision was more about fit for the rebuild. Barron’s puck-moving ability and age put him in the “right” bracket for the timeline of this team. Letting Kovacevic go was a risk, but with Hutson and Mailloux coming up and Reinbacher not far behind, we had to make space for them. HuGo likely saw Barron as a better bet for the rebuild.

To me, it’s ironic AF (although not surprising) to hear complaints now about the trades that were cheered at the time. The fact that Kovacevic looks better now may be because he’s playing on a better team that already went through their growing pains. Had Barron been traded instead, it’s not just possible - it’s a near certainty - we’d be sitting here whining that we should have traded Kovacevic to New Jersey - JMO

 

[WeThreeKings]

Hindsight is 20/20. Last year, Primeau and Montembeault seemed capable of handling the goalie position in the short term. Neither was/is Carey Price, but they showed they could hold the fort; no one expected them to shit the bed as badly as they are. Trading Allen made sense because given his age, he wasn’t part of the long-term plans. Everybody cheered when the trade was announced - no more 3-goalie system and a return of a 3rd round pick or better to boot, even if salary had to be retained - woooohhhhoooo!

As for the Kovacevic vs. Barron situation, I think the decision was more about fit for the rebuild. Barron’s puck-moving ability and age put him in the “right” bracket for the timeline of this team. Letting Kovacevic go was a risk, but with Hutson and Mailloux coming up and Reinbacher not far behind, we had to make space for them. HuGo likely saw Barron as a better bet for the rebuild.

To me, it’s ironic AF (although not surprising) to hear complaints now about the trades that were cheered at the time. The fact that Kovacevic looks better now may be because he’s playing on a better team that already went through their growing pains. Had Barron been traded instead, it’s not just possible - it’s a near certainty - we’d be sitting here whining that we should have traded Kovacevic to New Jersey - JMO

Nailed it - please post more!

 

[admiralcadillac]

I was alluding to signing UFAs after the rebuild, not now. Regardless, we’re not a destination market so I’m not sure how Hughes sells it to a targeted UFA, whoever that might be.

Stamkos and Marchessault should bounce back. And if either falls flat, Hughes can always swoop in to offer relief, at a price. Both great mentors for a young team.

In your opinion Dach, Barron, Matheson are better than ever, I guess.

Cole and Suzuki were mercifully inherited by this regime.

Is your point that the players we gave up for any of those guys better?

You want Jeff Petry back on the team?

Dach missed a year, injury isn’t exactly management’s fault.

Barron was part of a deal along with a 2nd, but yes he’s not necessarily an nhl dman. Would you have simply kept Lehkonen or lost him to free agency?

What is your plan exactly, what would you do?

 

[ReHabs]

Is your point that the players we gave up for any of those guys better?

You want Jeff Petry back on the team?

Dach missed a year, injury isn’t exactly management’s fault.

Barron was part of a deal along with a 2nd, but yes he’s not necessarily an nhl dman. Would you have simply kept Lehkonen or lost him to free agency?

What is your plan exactly, what would you do?

No friend, I commented my thoughts clearly: the regression from the players HuGo specifically acquired is (1) not good in general and (2) gives me cause to be sceptical of their judgement and ability.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Is your point that the players we gave up for any of those guys better?

You want Jeff Petry back on the team?

Dach missed a year, injury isn’t exactly management’s fault.

Barron was part of a deal along with a 2nd, but yes he’s not necessarily an nhl dman. Would you have simply kept Lehkonen or lost him to free agency?

What is your plan exactly, what would you do?

Hage came in the Baron trade as well btw. I'd say we did fine there.

 

[Habs]

Hindsight is 20/20. Last year, Primeau and Montembeault seemed capable of handling the goalie position in the short term. Neither was/is Carey Price, but they showed they could hold the fort; no one expected them to shit the bed as badly as they are. Trading Allen made sense because given his age, he wasn’t part of the long-term plans. Everybody cheered when the trade was announced - no more 3-goalie system and a return of a 3rd round pick or better to boot, even if salary had to be retained - woooohhhhoooo!

As for the Kovacevic vs. Barron situation, I think the decision was more about fit for the rebuild. Barron’s puck-moving ability and age put him in the “right” bracket for the timeline of this team. Letting Kovacevic go was a risk, but with Hutson and Mailloux coming up and Reinbacher not far behind, we had to make space for them. HuGo likely saw Barron as a better bet for the rebuild.

To me, it’s ironic AF (although not surprising) to hear complaints now about the trades that were cheered at the time. The fact that Kovacevic looks better now may be because he’s playing on a better team that already went through their growing pains. Had Barron been traded instead, it’s not just possible - it’s a near certainty - we’d be sitting here whining that we should have traded Kovacevic to New Jersey - JMO

It's not Hindsight when we've been bitching about the lack of size and goalie depth, and we trade the 2 pieces we needed for the rebuild. We have enough draft picks in the 2-7 rounds.

I cheered the Harris/Laine trade, always hated the Newhook Barron deal. We've been complaining about size for 30 years, how is that Hindsight?

Nailed it - please post more!

cringe, ewwww

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It's not Hindsight when we've been bitching about the lack of size and goalie depth, and we trade the 2 pieces we needed for the rebuild. We have enough draft picks in the 2-7 rounds.

I cheered the Harris/Laine trade, always hated the Newhook Barron deal. We've been complaining about size for 30 years, how is that Hindsight?

The Barron deal I think will work out for us if for no other reason than we also got Hage out of it.

 

[Habs]

The Barron deal I think will work out for us if for no other reason than we also got Hage out of it.

I thought Barron came with a 2nd rounder, and we used LA's pick???