GDT: Leafs at Habs (Now, Saturday)

[WinterLion]

I wonder if we will snag another player on waivers this year?

 

[Tyson]

I wonder if we will snag another player on waivers this year?

We have too many bottom tier players as it is.

 

[Rob Sense]

That ship had sailed. Let’s move on.

Exactly and it is likely Barron starting not Mailloux...yet.

 

[Naslundforever]

Yea, that was annoying. I don't understand that. Petry is exactly what we needed. Savard has to be on the third pair if this team has a chance. Or gone.

I would probably not have gotten cable back had he stuck around.

 

[tinyzombies]

Team isn't THAT far off....

1. Go with Guhle-Matheson and get a vet for the second pair?

2. And we need someone to win the 2RW job whether Dach moves to the top line or not. So, Gallagher needs a resurgence basically. If Dach is a center, Monahan moves to wing.

Barron needs to go down unless he rights the ship- meaning in an hour. Mailloux could be on our third pairing now, but probably better to get badly needed reps running things in Laval. I wouldn't be surprised if he's up soon tho.

As for bottom 6, if we can't put together a good bottom 6 with all these bodies...

I think that puts us on the bubble if we get health.

Montembault/Allen is good enough to get us to the bubble. And Dobes is intriguing.

People are yapping about Ottawa and Buffalo, but we have way better team defense. I think we'll be in the mix with the Detroits and Floridas.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

I’m talking about the opposition. Where facing AHL teams, hard to evaluate any players

We struggled to beat an almost full ahl roster against Ottawa while we had our 2 best players who once again carried us to victory against goons.

You don't need to ice big quality to beat us , the second Suzuki and Caufield are well guarded , rest crumbles most of the time.

 

[morhilane]

We struggled to beat an almost full ahl roster against Ottawa while we had our 2 best players who once again carried us to victory against goons.

You don't need to ice big quality to beat us , the second Suzuki and Caufield are well guarded , rest crumbles most of the time.

That Ottawa roster was about the quality of what the Habs had in yesterday game against the Leafs, with more experienced Ds (Ottawa had better D).

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Xhekaj has not looked good so far either... def don't want him on his off-hand. Laval might be good for him too. Maybe trade for Deslauriers if they send him down, but I doubt they do.

If Mailloux is ready, they need to make room is my point.

If these first few exhibition games have shown anything, though possessing significant potential, Mailloux is not ready for prime time. Rushing this promising young player is not good for either Mailloux or the team.

 

[tinyzombies]

If these first few exhibition games have shown, though possessing significant potential, Mailloux is not ready for prime time. Rushing this promising young player is good for neither Mailloux nor the team.

I think Mailloux is ready for the third pair, because that's mostly mano-a-mano on the wall and he can do that now. Positioning though, he likes adventure. I like his aggressiveness, he just needs minutes. I think he's a top 4 though, for sure. And soon. But I agree, the third pair won't teach him what he needs - he needs to play a big role in Laval to prepare him for his ceiling. I mean, unless he continues to progress right now...

 

[montreal]

Just my opinion, but as a coach in a training camp, you would want the struggling guys in uncomfortable situations. You are not there to help with confidence right now. There is another time for that. You are there to see if they can get out of the shits by themselves.
To me, this means they are not sure they believe Barron has it in him. They are testing him.

Not sure he’ll be part of the starting lineup if Matheson is healthy to start. Again, he’s slow out of the gate.

it doesn't make sense to me. I wouldn't put Mesar with 2 guys that can't score in the AHL as what kind of test is that, what do you learn from that as it's not like he's likely to ever really be in the situation long term in the NHL if he were to make it.

If you see a player is struggling with confidence, no matter when you need to work with them as they aren't seasoned vets that know how to handle this.

But the Habs have been making many poor decisions with development over the years so every little mistake gets highlighted more until we start to see these guys do in fact know how to develop these kids or not.

 

[MadMslm]

If it's all Norlinder again I'll be pretty upset yeah

I didn’t mind them putting Norlinder in the spotlight to show his abilities. He did alright on the powerplay. But you’re right, they should have split it and gave Guhle some reps.

We usually bury those player with nobodies with limited ice time and then act surprise when they don’t use their strengths.

It’s just Guhle never gets that chance to shine. Since last year I’ve been hearing “yeah we know Guhle is good but we want to try this guy”. When does he actually get a chance especially in a game where he was displaying his playmaking ability and he’s never scared to activate deep in the zone.

Last night, Mailloux should have had that chance over Beaudin.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

If these first few exhibition games have shown, though possessing significant potential, Mailloux is not ready for prime time. Rushing this promising young player is good for neither Mailloux nor the team.

Mailloux is not making it , he had 100 games like in the last 3 years. He needs to go to the AHL with Barron and perhaps JackEye if he doesnt get his shit up

 

[montreal]

Team isn't THAT far off....

I think they are pretty far off, this year will tell us more though since now we will have so many prospects in the AHL.

 

[tinyzombies]

I think they are pretty far off, this year will tell us more though since now we will have so many prospects in the AHL.

I think the vets are taking it easy because they are coming off injury. But this team is deep and can play a two-way game. Caufield is pretty much the only guy who isn't a two-way. And we are deep down the middle. There's also size sprinkled in there. Also, our powerplay should be much improved if we are healthy. Guhle and Matheson need to have big years. If that happens, I think we are a bubble team.

 

[montreal]

I think the vets are taking it easy because they are coming off injury. But this team is deep and can play a two-way game. Caufield is pretty much the only guy who isn't a two-way. And we are deep down the middle. Also, our powerplay should be much improved if we are healthy. Guhle and Matheson need to have big years. If that happens, I think we are a bubble team.

for sure the vets are taking it easy as that's what you do in preseason. I don't think this team is deep at all, I'd say the exact opposite, we have almost no high end talent and that is highly troubling.

I also don't agree at all that the PP should be much improved, it will suck donkey balls again.

 

[tinyzombies]

for sure the vets are taking it easy as that's what you do in preseason. I don't think this team is deep at all, I'd say the exact opposite, we have almost no high end talent and that is highly troubling.

I also don't agree at all that the PP should be much improved, it will suck donkey balls again.

Define donkey balls.

 

[montreal]

Define donkey balls.

last seasons PP but with less hair on it.

 

[tinyzombies]

What stands out to me is the center depth and the number of forwards who can play d. We need Guhle-Matheson to play together if we want a top pair (altho neither guy is really a playmaker, Guhle does find guys and is a great breakout passer). That leaves a gaping hole on the second pair though. I think that's really the only major problem.

You can move these guys around until you find something that clicks. Newhook probably too small to be on the top line, so... But as a 3C he'd be outstanding. If Monahan refinds his touch around the net...

 

[MadMslm]

What stands out to me is the center depth and the number of forwards who can play d. We need Guhle-Matheson to play together if we want a top pair (altho neither guy is really a playmaker, Guhle does find guys and is a great breakout passer). That leaves a gaping hole on the second pair though. I think that's really the only major problem.

You can move these guys around until you find something that clicks. Newhook probably too small to be on the top line, so... But as a 3C he'd be outstanding. If Monahan refinds his touch around the net...

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This team will be competitive most games, but It’s hard to believe it will translate to the standings.

The Atlantic division is too strong and you have other powerhouses in the Metropolitan.

There’s also multiple question marks throughout the line up.

 

[tinyzombies]

This team will be competitive most games, but It’s hard to believe it will translate to the standings.

The Atlantic division is too strong and you have other powerhouses in the Metropolitan.

There’s also multiple question marks throughout the line up.

Boston is due for a dip, Florida screwed up a bit with their roster, Tampa just lost Vasi for two months (and who knows - back surgery) and have an aging Stamkos they might not re-sign... and have lots of miles....

We really need to catch Detroit who loaded up on vets and maybe Florida for a wild card spot. Ottawa and Buffalo have great offensive potential, but can they stop the puck from going in?

But again- we have a second pairing problem on D. We have boatloads of third pairing guys, but need a solid second pairing vet - another Matheson (or a Petry...).

 

[Habs Icing]

Team isn't THAT far off....

1. Go with Guhle-Matheson and get a vet for the second pair?

2. And we need someone to win the 2RW job whether Dach moves to the top line or not. So, Gallagher needs a resurgence basically. If Dach is a center, Monahan moves to wing.

Barron needs to go down unless he rights the ship- meaning in an hour. Mailloux could be on our third pairing now, but probably better to get badly needed reps running things in Laval. I wouldn't be surprised if he's up soon tho.

As for bottom 6, if we can't put together a good bottom 6 with all these bodies...

I think that puts us on the bubble if we get health.

Montembault/Allen is good enough to get us to the bubble. And Dobes is intriguing.

People are yapping about Ottawa and Buffalo, but we have way better team defense. I think we'll be in the mix with the Detroits and Floridas.

And I suspect Tampa will be seriously affected with their world-class goalie out for 8 to 10 weeks.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

This is why I don’t have high hopes fur Struble - the guy is constantly injured

One of the greatest abilities is availability.

 

[Rapala]

Which is a problem because Gally's cardio can't even sustain a 30 seconds shift now...

Which is exactly why I said he has the stamina of a firefly. Mind you some fireflies can go 40.

 

[Gustave]

@tinyzombies I appreciate the analysis and your take. I am taken aback by your feelings that this team isn’t that far off… to the point of getting a 2D this season to help the team right away.

I think last year’s team paints a picture that’s very similar to this year; Young D, unexperienced, team on the whole is soft to a fault, G’s that aren’t all that to be honest. Also… our special teams were a mess, and nothing has changed so far in my eyes on that front.

I can see that you feel that growth might take care of those issues with the personnel in place, but I’m wary of the second year slump for our rookies. It might be a wash between some growth while others regress.

Your positive input is cool though, I won’t complain if the players actually do carry the weight into March, will make it a bearable winter time

 

[Frankenheimer]

Maybe we'll even get a first for Dvorak... a man can dream.

I think it’s a possibility but has to be on last year of contract as most playoff teams are at cap limit. And yes, he’s the kind of player who could add depth for a playoff run. We’ve lost a sense of what it’s like to compete for cup and what sacrifices may be needed when the time comes. It’s almost impossible in this cap world to build a sustainable, constant playoff contender, so we will spend firsts too.