Player Discussion Brett Kulak: Top pairing candidate #6

habsfan891

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Jun 24, 2012
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We'll my question was, assuming there is no trade, what is your opinion...

But, although I'm no Bergevin supporter, he doesn't like to trade 1sts. I could see him moving the 2nd we got in the Pacioretty deal. And, I liked what he did when he got Petry and Vanek. I'm convinced in both cases he only made the deals because their value was low compared to what they bring AND he only planned to give up the 2nd because he wanted to resign them. In Vanek's case it just wasn't a fit so, and had in fact slowed down, so Bergevin wasn't going to try to outbid Minnesota.

Getting Petry, Vanek, and Radulov were great ways to add high quality players cheap. It's too bad he botched the Radulov negotiations, and Vanek both wanted to go home and still had a market value way above his diminished abilities at the time. But I still would have liked to have had Vanek back at a reasonable salary, but under those circumstances it wasn't happening. Without him I don't think me make it to the conference finals. And, without Price's injury, who knows what would have happened.
If theres no trade then sadly I think the best option is moving a RD over to the left we have way too many good ones as it is
 

Hfbsux

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Dec 22, 2012
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Show me when he said he wasn’t trading SERGACHEV ? Subban thats another story. He didn’t think the roomwould be so divided as it turned out to be.

Why would he say that he is looking for a defenseman while the defense seems to be gaining confidence? I know some fans wants more transparency, but there is a limit.
 
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Tyson

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Mar 1, 2007
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Skates really well but I think he tries to do too much. He might need to stop imitating Bobby Orr and concentrate more on solid defense.

He is a very nice acquisition for sure. We gave up nothing and got an NHL Dman in return
 

KKWG11

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Nov 25, 2017
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Skates really well but I think he tries to do too much. He might need to stop imitating Bobby Orr and concentrate more on solid defense.

He is a very nice acquisition for sure. We gave up nothing and got an NHL Dman in return

I was at the game last night.. I agree he is trying to do too much at times..He got lucky with a couple passes but overall fairly solid and moves well
 
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THE HOFF

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Sep 26, 2007
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I haven't watched him enough to judge his progression. (haven't watched him before he played for the big club) But in the small sample size I have I can say that even if he looked like a Dman that needs polishing, he bailed Weber out quite a few times and they seem to understand each other. I know Weber helps him more than the other way around, but I was happily surprised to notice it was a two way street.
 

groovejuice

Without deviation progress is not possible
Jun 27, 2011
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He just said he wasnt going to do that. So your prediction is way off

Bergevin's record for veracity is not that impressive. It wouldn't be unusual for him to claim something and then do something else.

Don't bet money on it.
 

Goldenhands

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Well I called that Kulak was probably the best option we had to play with Weber before he got called up, he tries to do a bit too much at times but its better a kid who is trying and wants to take charge than a timid player effraid to make mistakes... so far so good...
 

admiralcadillac

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Oct 22, 2017
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Much rather have a guy like Kulak who is confident enough to try things than yet another safe dman who ends up not doing anything.

Not sure I understand why we need to criticize a guy for taking risks when that is literally what we need right now, especially alongside Weber. That's what Subban was by the way.

Pre-empting the inevitable, I'm not comparing Kulak to Subban, but if you want some of these guys to develop an inkling of offensive flair, it has to come through trial and error, and a bit of risk.
 
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ECWHSWI

TOUGHEN UP.
Oct 27, 2006
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lets hope he plays better vs Hawks as he was no good vs Sens Thursday. Started well though so let's see.
 

Lshap

Hardline Moderate
Jun 6, 2011
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Much rather have a guy like Kulak who is confident enough to try things than yet another safe dman who ends up not doing anything.

Not sure I understand why we need to criticize a guy for taking risks when that is literally what we need right now, especially alongside Weber. That's what Subban was by the way.

Pre-empting the inevitable, I'm not comparing Kulak to Subban, but if you want some of these guys to develop an inkling of offensive flair, it has to come through trial and error, and a bit of risk.
I'm also good with this. You can teach restraint; you can't teach flash. This season was supposed to be about learning & building, so let 'em learn when to push the envelope and when to be cautious. A little overconfidence is better than fear of making mistakes.
 
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JianYang

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Sep 29, 2017
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We have pretty much seen what kulak is about. Obviously, he's not the ideal solution, but the experiment has gone okay so far.

The big question is whether he can sustain his play. The big threat when you put a depth dman in a top spot long term is that they could wear down, and start to make terrible mistakes, and they end up being worse off than their baseline performamces.
 
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1909

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Jul 6, 2016
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We have pretty much seen what kulak is about. Obviously, he's not the ideal solution, but the experiment has gone okay so far.

The big question is whether he can sustain his play. The big threat when you put a depth dman in a top spot long term is that they could wear down, and start to make terrible mistakes, and they end up being worse off than their baseline performamces.

Right.

How come MB cannot make some kind of package to get a top four LD ? He is constantly throwing young players on waivers and loses them.
 

JianYang

Registered User
Sep 29, 2017
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Much rather have a guy like Kulak who is confident enough to try things than yet another safe dman who ends up not doing anything.

Not sure I understand why we need to criticize a guy for taking risks when that is literally what we need right now, especially alongside Weber. That's what Subban was by the way.

Pre-empting the inevitable, I'm not comparing Kulak to Subban, but if you want some of these guys to develop an inkling of offensive flair, it has to come through trial and error, and a bit of risk.

And this is why I scratch my head when people put schlemko and Benn in the same group. To me, you have to have schlemko ahead just because he does bring some offensive assets, and Benn does not.

Don't get me wrong, schlemko drives me nuts and I'd rather not have him in the lineup, but when it comes to choosing between him and Benn, I'd take schlemko.
 
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habdynasty

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May 26, 2008
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schlmko is the worst I have seen in a couple of decades. Slow , can’t pass. Terrible useless.
 

JianYang

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Sep 29, 2017
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Right.

How come MB cannot make some kind of package to get a top four LD ? He is constantly throwing young players on waivers and loses them.

Probably because those kinds of guys are a hot commodity.

Habs have strength at RD, and I think those guys are an even hotter commodity because they tend to be more scarce.

Eventually, the plan should probably be to move petry. Give up something on RD, for a little help on LD.

The tricky part is that Weber is in his mid 30s, and this assumes Brook can be a top 4 guy but he could still be a couple years away if he gets there. So you could go from a position of strength to a position of weakness pretty quick, but it's the way to go IMO.
 

1909

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Jul 6, 2016
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Kulak and Reilly are #6 d-men...

Schlemko and Benn are spare parts that should be #7 or #8 d-men on any serious NHL orgs.
 

1909

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Jul 6, 2016
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Probably because those kinds of guys are a hot commodity.

Habs have strength at RD, and I think those guys are an even hotter commodity because they tend to be more scarce.

Eventually, the plan should probably be to move petry. Give up something on RD, for a little help on LD.

The tricky part is that Weber is in his mid 30s, and this assumes Brook can be a top 4 guy but he could still be a couple years away if he gets there. So you could go from a position of strength to a position of weakness pretty quick, but it's the way to go IMO.

Trading Petry won't get you a young stud left D-Man, but just a guy of about the same age than Petry, like a Nick Leddy for example. Habs have to start drafting good left shooting d-men. Sergachev and Sam Girard (if picked with one of the traded 2nd rounder to Chicago) would had solved the problem for years to come.
 

Heffyhoof

Registered User
Jan 17, 2016
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Right.

How come MB cannot make some kind of package to get a top four LD ? He is constantly throwing young players on waivers and loses them.

Unfortunately it's constantly tossing meh young players who will most likely never be more than the talent of the average free agent class. Most teams don't let you pile as many meh players as you want and some later picks to grab a good defender. To get a good player you have to give up good assets, Sherbak and De La Rose weren't really that.
 

JianYang

Registered User
Sep 29, 2017
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Trading Petry won't get you a young stud left D-Man, but just a guy of about the same age than Petry, like a Nick Leddy for example.

Well, if you go the route of getting younger, then the idea is that he goes to a contender, who is willing to give up young assets.

That young asset would currently not be a roster player, or a fringe one, otherwise there would be no reason to trade.

So the idea is that they get a decent prospect who is most likely going to be a top 4 guy, but since he is a prospect, he can move up or down as well. And since there is that uncertainty involved with prospects, it would require more to the deal than just that to balance out the risk/reward factor, as petry is already a proven top 4 player, and a pretty decent one at that.

The other option is go the proven route, and swap to get an established top 4 LD. And LD for RD move.
 

yianik

Registered User
Jun 30, 2009
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Trading Petry won't get you a young stud left D-Man, but just a guy of about the same age than Petry, like a Nick Leddy for example. Habs have to start drafting good left shooting d-men. Sergachev and Sam Girard (if picked with one of the traded 2nd rounder to Chicago) would had solved the problem for years to come.

A trade I had suggested for Petry early in the season was yo the " win now " Blackhawks for Jokiharju, a potential top pair D man who was yet truly tried at the NHL level, and the Hawks 1st. Too late now I think.

That's what I would be liking for.
 

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