NHL 2024/2025

JPRouve said:
As an Habs fan, I get why some would like to add Lafrenière, he is the type of quality winger that team really lacks but there is not actual guarantee to get the 1st pick and this team is already good enough to be regularly in the playoffs with Suzuki and Kotkaniemi not matured yet. I have big hopes for Caufield, Romanov and Norlinder.

Now the question that I ask myself is whether it would be a good idea to try to swap Drouin, Domi or Tatar for someone like Hall? I get all the downsides, he would cost a lot some rumors talked about 10m, his injuriers records aren't great but he consistently scores a lot of points and Tatar/Domi are at the end of their deals, both could cost a lot themselves.
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I'd completely understand if the odds were shorter. If we had a 50% chance of landing the 1st pick. I might even board the tank for Lafrenière train, but as it is, if the Habs lost, it's far more likely that we wouldn't get Lafrenière anyway.

As you say, we do have a bunch exciting prospects to call upon soon, so the team will be in a healthy position with or without Lafrenière.

I would prefer keep Domi, but if there is an opportunity to upgrade the team and move Drouin out of Montreal, I'd take that deal, and Tatar is a good bargaining chip. Hall is a good player.
 
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WeePat said:
Yeah that's how I see it. I'm under no illusions that the Habs will require a minor miracle to pull off a deep playoff run, but the experience guys like Suzuki and Kotkaniemi will gain out these unexpected playoff games is immeasurable. I can be satisfied with that, plus it's not like the Habs don't already have an entire army of potential prospects to get excited about. Good luck to whoever gets Lafrenière.
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He should just be a good QC nationalist and join the Habs anyway. Win-win, case closed!
 
Hall's a curious one if you ask me. I've heard many comments that he isn't a great locker room guy. He's an exceptional talent for sure and the Oilers were crazy to trade him for what they did, even though they had at that point little bargaining tools. However, the odd comment from people around the Oilers locker room and subsequently around the Devils suggest he can disrupt the room which isn't great. I'm not sure the Coyotes looked at him as being a rental when they traded for him, but to hear talk of him moving on already baffles me. He should have been the perfect fit with McDavid and would have scored loads with him. As we know though he left after one season of McDavid in Edmonton, and that was a injury hit year for McDavid too.
 
Tribec said:
Hall's a curious one if you ask me. I've heard many comments that he isn't a great locker room guy. He's an exceptional talent for sure and the Oilers were crazy to trade him for what they did, even though they had at that point little bargaining tools. However, the odd comment from people around the Oilers locker room and subsequently around the Devils suggest he can disrupt the room which isn't great. I'm not sure the Coyotes looked at him as being a rental when they traded for him, but to hear talk of him moving on already baffles me. He should have been the perfect fit with McDavid and would have scored loads with him. As we know though he left after one season of McDavid in Edmonton, and that was a injury hit year for McDavid too.
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The problem is that Hall will be in demand, it's the type of very risky UDFA trades to make because if you don't overpay very early, the player will most likely test free agency since he knows that several teams are after him, it would have been the same story with Panarin last season. You are forced to consider them as rentals if you are not in a sign and trade scenario.
 
@WeePat Regarding Domi, I also want him to stay but I feel that he should be a winger in a line centered by Suzuki or Kotkaniemi, in theory that type of partnership should create the best offensive threats, Domi has a good shot that he doesn't use enough and he is also creative which matches well with playmakers like Suzuki and Kotkaniemi.

Also the other day I was reading EOTP and one of the contributors suggested that Suzuki should play with Tatar and Gallagher in order to accomodate the best offensive players and in particular partnering Tatar with Suzuki because the latter is a better playmaker than Danault which should allow Tatar to reach new point scoring heights. What do you think about that?

I'd be intringued by something like that:

Tatar-Suzuki-Gallagher
Lehkonen-Danault-Armia
Drouin-Kotkaniemi-Weal
Byron-Domi-Belzille

With the second line having the bulk of tough defensive assignements. RW is clearly a weak point, even with the addition of Caufield in 2021-2022 there is a need for upgrade.
 
JPRouve said:
The problem is that Hall will be in demand, it's the type of very risky UDFA trades to make because if you don't overpay very early, the player will most likely test free agency since he knows that several teams are after him, it would have been the same story with Panarin last season. You are forced to consider them as rentals if you are not in a sign and trade scenario.
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It wouldn't shock me to see Hall end up in Seattle at the very start, he may want to be the star man in a new team to cement his legacy in the NHL. He's got the tools that should have seem him be a lock to go into the HHoF, but he hasn't done enough to be considered in my opinion. If he were to go to Seattle and lead them to something he could potentially earn that right. I think he's got the sort of ego that would push him to make that happen.
 
JPRouve said:
@WeePat Regarding Domi, I also want him to stay but I feel that he should be a winger in a line centered by Suzuki or Kotkaniemi, in theory that type of partnership should create the best offensive threats, Domi has a good shot that he doesn't use enough and he is also creative which matches well with playmakers like Suzuki and Kotkaniemi.

Also the other day I was reading EOTP and one of the contributors suggested that Suzuki should play with Tatar and Gallagher in order to accomodate the best offensive players and in particular partnering Tatar with Suzuki because the latter is a better playmaker than Danault which should allow Tatar to reach new point scoring heights. What do you think about that?

I'd be intringued by something like that:

Tatar-Suzuki-Gallagher
Lehkonen-Danault-Armia
Drouin-Kotkaniemi-Weal
Byron-Domi-Belzille

With the second line having the bulk of tough defensive assignements. RW is clearly a weak point, even with the addition of Caufield in 2021-2022 there is a need for upgrade.
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Full disclosure, Danault is my favourite player on the team, and has been since we traded away Subban, but I have long thought that if we ever got our hands on a creative playmaking center, Danault would be a perfect 2nd line center.

I have never thought of Tatar as anything other than an asset to be used in a trade, but who was, at the same time, a really good contributor while he was here. A top line of Tatar, Suzuki, Gallagher probably shows our limitations in terms of lacking top end talent, but it's likely also the best combination I can think of.

Suzuki has really impressed me. His ceiling is much higher than I initially thought. He can be a very good top 6 center for the Habs in the coming years.

Who do you think the Habs should draft now that we've been pushed down to 16th pick? There's a lot of talk about Lapierre, but his concussion history is concerning
 
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How about the Leafs last night.

3-0 down deep into the third period. They pull the goalie, and with an empty net they score 3 unanswered goals to force OT where the golden boy himself grabs the winner.



 
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Wow. NYR got the first pick. Lafrenière must be absolutely buzzing thinking of the endorsement money! New York deserves a good team. Proper hockey city. The kid will be a superstar.
Kakko and Lafreniere should be a devastating combo in a few years.

Now, bring Zuccarello back.
 
WeePat said:
Full disclosure, Danault is my favourite player on the team, and has been since we traded away Subban, but I have long thought that if we ever got our hands on a creative playmaking center, Danault would be a perfect 2nd line center.

I have never thought of Tatar as anything other than asset to be used in a trade, but who was, at the same time, a really good contributor while he was here. A top line of Tatar, Suzuki, Gallagher probably shows our limitations in terms of lacking top end talent, but it's likely also the best combination I can think of.

Suzuki has really impressed me. His ceiling is much higher than I initially thought. He can a very good top 6 center for the Habs in the coming years.

Who do you think the Habs should draft now that we've been pushed down to 16th pick? There's a lot of talk about Lapierre, but his concussion history is concerning
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On Danault I agree, he is my second favorite player behind Gallagher. On Tatar unlike many I was optimistic when we got him because I only considered the Red Wings version which was one of the most consistent goals scorers in the league, he has basically scored +20 goals over 82 games in almost all his NHL season which is valuable for the Habs, the issue is more about cap management, he is going to negotiate his last big contract and unless he gives the Habs some discount I don't think that they should spend the +5m that I anticipate, he would be worth it in isolation but Gallagher, Danault, Domi and Kotkaniemi have to be resigned. For me the key is Drouin you either have faith in him and let Tatar go or you trade him and essentially gives his contract to Tatar but in the mean time Tatar is Montréal's best goalscorer and should be on a line that maximises his abilities. Hopefuly Julien maintains the new lines.

PS: I was really worried about Toronto getting Lafreniére, the Rangers are a much better spot.
 
JPRouve said:
On Danault I agree, he is my second favorite player behind Gallagher. On Tatar unlike many I was optimistic when we got him because I only considered the Red Wings version which was one of the most consistent goals scorers in the league, he has basically scored +20 goals over 82 games in almost all his NHL season which is valuable for the Habs, the issue is more about cap management, he is going to negotiate his last big contract and unless he gives the Habs some discount I don't think that they should spend the +5m that I anticipate, he would be worth it in isolation but Gallagher, Danault, Domi and Kotkaniemi have to be resigned. For me the key is Drouin you either have faith in him and let Tatar go or you trade him and essentially gives his contract to Tatar but in the mean time Tatar is Montréal's best goalscorer and should be on a line that maximises his abilities. Hopefuly Julien maintains the new lines.

PS: I was really worried about Toronto getting Lafreniére, the Rangers are a much better spot.
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The thing is I think the Habs can easily replace Drouin's production and presence. There's a very good player in there somewhere, but sometimes the bright lights of Montreal can be a really tough place to play hockey for Québécois players. If it boils down to a choice between Tatar and Drouin then its a really easy choice.

Admittedly I didn't give Tatar much of a chance, because he was effectively replacing Pacioretty who had been an elite goalscorer for many years. I was surprised by both Tatar and Domi production last season.

Neither Gallagher or Tatar scored in the Pena series, Suzuki might unlock something on that top line. I agree I hope Julien sticks with it.
 
#FireDubas was trending for a bit in Toronto and Ontario in general. The brainless Toronto fans have come out in full force.
 
JJ12 said:
Big time
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It's exactly that kind of short-term thinking that has held back the Maple Leafs for so long. The one moment we started getting good young players into the team, fans started to ramp their expectations way too high up. Most of the times that we lost were due to the immaturity and lack of confidence from our younger attacking talent. We need to give them time like we gave the Raptors time. We can't just throw this away in the hopes of getting someone else to win now whilst disrupting all of the progression of the past few years.
 
mazhar13 said:
It's exactly that kind of short-term thinking that has held back the Maple Leafs for so long. The one moment we started getting good young players into the team, fans started to ramp their expectations way too high up. Most of the times that we lost were due to the immaturity and lack of confidence from our younger attacking talent. We need to give them time like we gave the Raptors time. We can't just throw this away in the hopes of getting someone else to win now whilst disrupting all of the progression of the past few years.
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Ya need to feck off Tavares.
 
Stobzilla said:
Ya need to feck off Tavares.
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I can't tell if you're serious or not, but Tavares is exactly the kind of player we need to give our younger forwards some leadership and composure. Once Marleau left, we needed that, and Tavares offers that. The problem with the Leafs now is the lack of patience from the fanbase.
 
mazhar13 said:
I can't tell if you're serious or not, but Tavares is exactly the kind of player we need to give our younger forwards some leadership and composure. Once Marleau left, we needed that, and Tavares offers that. The problem with the Leafs now is the lack of patience from the fanbase.
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No, your problem is a lack of cap space, leadership is not a quality you need to be paying $11mil per year for, Particularly when you can't pay for a defence or a decent back up goaltender to give Freddy some rest. There is enough league experience between Marner, Matthews and Nylander now to trust them going forward. the Islanders won a series before Tavares did. Just sayin.
 
Stobzilla said:
No, your problem is a lack of cap space, leadership is not a quality you need to be paying $11mil per year for, Particularly when you can't pay for a defence or a decent back up goaltender to give Freddy some rest. There is enough league experience between Marner, Matthews and Nylander now to trust them going forward. the Islanders won a series before Tavares did. Just sayin.
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Yeah, we're lacking in defence, but we're undergoing a transition now. O'Keefe plays more attacking, proactive hockey, and he's done very well with the Marlies over a number of years.

I'm not thinking that we're flawless. Our defence is a clear problem; I just think that O'Keefe will take a different approach to solving that, one that will make him work better with Dubas.
 
Hard-fought game last night. Flyers clearly the better team, so much more cohesion when they attack, which leads to periods of sustained pressure compared to the Habs' uncontrolled haphazard chaos which yields 1 or 2 shots at most before it gets snuffed out. Gallagher and Tatar need to wake up.
 
WeePat said:
Hard-fought game last night. Flyers clearly the better team, so much more cohesion when they attack, which leads to periods of sustained pressure compared to the Habs' uncontrolled haphazard chaos which yields 1 or 2 shots at most before it gets snuffed out. Gallagher and Tatar need to wake up.
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that's an understatement
 
sidsutton said:
that's an understatement
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Boy, did they wake up.

Perfect night for the Habs. Kotkaniemi is an absolute menace this post season. Excellent at both ends.

We have a series on our hands.
 
The Flyers had looked so strong coming into this round, and even the most die hard Habs fans wouldn't have suggested this series was going to be close, but if Montreal can maintain this sort of form who knows what will happen.

Quietly though, the Islanders have been impressing me, they seem capable of winning games in so many ways. It would certainly be fun to see they win, especially after the Tavares departure.

Over in the west, I'm not sure who's going to come out on top. Chicago certainly seem to be living up to the season's form and are being beaten by the Knights, who are showing the Oilers how to do it.

Whilst watching the Lames/Stars match this morning, I was trying to work out what would be worse, seeing the Lames win the cup again or watching Lucic win the cup with them? Both are are nightmare scenarios and whilst I like to see ex-Oilers win the cup, Lucic is one I don't want to see do that.
 
Islanders are surprisingly good. The Bruins should have plenty of quality to win in 5, but the Islanders seem very well coached and they have som very good role players.
 
About time Dallas started scoring. Crazy series. Seconds away from a 3-1 deficit, found a way to win Game 5, then scored 7 unanswered last night to take the series. Will it carry into the next round?
 
Philly shithoused that win in game 6, but it was worth it to see Suzuki get a pat on the head as the buzzer went, after he did the same to Hart eariler in the series. I think the Islanders might slap them around in the next round though. They look impressive.
 
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