Rumor: Eric Engel: "Mtl is locked on Kotkaniemi"

[Kakko Schmakko]

Zibanejad was traded for another center straight up. A then more productive one at that.

no, he was traded along with a high 2nd rounder for a center that was 4 years older and had higher cap hit.

 

[torniojaws]

English isn't his first language, so close enough.

And most important of all, he doesn't speak Russian.

 

[Jarey Curry]

Did you say the same thing when Columbus took Dubois over Puljujarvi?

And in the long run, Puljujarvi will play more glorious career/become the better player out of those two.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Are you actually using top 10 selections as proof that Bergevin has no problem drafting? Well that solves everything, just keep finishing as a lottery team and that's one less thing to worry about for Montreal.

Also it takes almost no skill to draft in the top 10, you could have zero knowledge of hockey, spend 5 minutes on the internet and still be able to make that pick.

We won 3 division titles in 5 years and multiple picks at 25+ range. We also missed a few 2nd rounders as well. That results in guys like Juulsen, Scherbak, McCarron, DLR, Mete, Hudon. Then add Galchenyuk and Drouin (Sergachev). Drafting is not the problem. It's the trades we have made and the ones we couldn't make due to a prospect pool full of grade B prospects. Expecting us to have multiple grade A prospects with 25+ 1st round picks and missing 2nd round picks is not reasonable.

I did a comparison of all draft picks from all teams from 2012-2017 back in December 2017 and the Habs ranked well. We ranked 7th in pts/game for our prospects playing games in the NHL believe it or not. We just lack grade A prospects

 

[Habs Halifax]

but isn't he signed with his team for 2 years or something similar ?

Not sure but even if he is, the Habs have leverage if they push for him to play in the AHL. I don't see it happening though

 

[HockeyDBspecialist]

Not sure but even if he is, the Habs have leverage if they push for him to play in the AHL. I don't see it happening though

I can see him playing 1 more season. but he would need to adapt quickly to NHL ice.

 

[canuckslover10]

Honestly i think its a good move for MTL but they should trade down

 

[Habs Halifax]

I can see him playing 1 more season. but he would need to adapt quickly to NHL ice.

Personally, I rather not rush him. If he needs to play 1 more year of Liiga and another year of SHL, then so be it. I rather start burning his ELC at age 20 or 21 to be honest.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Hobestly i think its a good move for MTL but they should trade down

It's either the Sens or Coyotes or Wings. But there is a risk factor. Also depends on what additional piece we get to move down. Is a future 2nd round pick worth the risk to not being able to draft Kotkaniemi? I think not.

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

What a waste of 3rd OA, unless they downgrade from the pick.

 

[canuckslover10]

It's either the Sens or Coyotes or Wings. But there is a risk factor. Also depends on what additional piece we get to move down. Is a future 2nd round pick worth the risk to not being able to draft Kotkaniemi? I think not.

I personally think hes gonna be better than zadina plus hes a center it would be worth it also montreal he needed a center for a while
Plus i dont see anyone grabbing him after the top 5 so the 5th and 6th spot seem like a good spot

 

[Habs Halifax]

What a waste of 3rd OA, unless they downgrade from the pick.

Propaganda. We control our own faith and we are not getting a potential #1C unless we draft one. It's not like we are drafting a guy ranked 15th at 3rd. We are taking a guy who is ranked top 5 on a lot of peoples rankings. Did you know the rankings are a moving target and the ranking you saw 3 months ago don't mean shit anymore?

 

[LeapOnOver]

Lundestrom could go as high as 19

Olofsson could go as high as 25

Foudy is a late-riser and sometimes they sneak into the late 1st

There's no guarantee any are there at 35

Isn't next years draft flush with centers? Not like Montreal is suddenly going to skyrocket in the standings after this draft...

 

[Habs Halifax]

I personally think hes gonna be better than zadina plus hes a center it would be worth it also montreal he needed a center for a while
Plus i dont see anyone grabbing him after the top 5 so the 5th and 6th spot seem like a good spot

It's possible he goes late in the top 10. But not worth the risk. Habs need to get that grade A prospect at center. I like his game and he will fill into that big body and continue to work on his skating. I have no problem taking him 3rd OA.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Isn't next years draft flush with centers? Not like Montreal is suddenly going to skyrocket in the standings after this draft...

We had the worse start in franchise history and plenty of injuries to key players. We also lost Radulov and Markov and our team confidence was shattered. I think our days of winning our division are over for a while but I do think we can be a fringe playoff team (wildcard contender). So that means 12-15 ish pick next year. Another top 10 pick is also very possible but we don't know what improvements we make this off season. Why wait? Get the center now. And we can get another one next draft. It's time we stock pile them. Other targets are LD depth too.

We are on our plan. Not your plan.

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Propaganda. We control our own faith and we are not getting a potential #1C unless we draft one. It's not like we are drafting a guy ranked 15th at 3rd. We are taking a guy who is ranked top 5 on a lot of peoples rankings. Did you know the rankings are a moving target and the ranking you saw 3 months ago don't mean **** anymore?

Look at what happened to Gabriel Vilardi in last year's draft. He was projected at what? 4th? 5th? Yet, he dropped down to Top 10, technically.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Look at what happened to Gabriel Vilardi in last year's draft. He was projected at what? 4th? 5th? Yet, he dropped down to Top 10, technically.

Look at what happened to PLD and the Canucks own pick last year (Pettersson). We both can go on and on on past examples. We are going after a Grade A prospect at center. Sorry if this ruins your plans.

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Look at what happened to PLD. We both can go on and on on past examples. We are going after a Grade A prospect at center. Sorry if this ruins your plans.

I don't have a plan, really. I just feel pity towards Montreal. You don't upgrade your roster through draft picks; you upgrade it with veteran players.

 

[Agalloch]

I don't have a plan, really. I just feel pity towards Montreal. You don't upgrade your roster through draft picks; you upgrade it with veteran players.

Mtl are rebuilding, it seems.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I don't have a plan, really. I just feel pity towards Montreal. You don't upgrade your roster through draft picks; you upgrade it with veteran players.

Is this suppose to make us want to trade our 3rd OA pick? You don't need to feel sorry for us. Our tank year was the best thing to happen to us. We were stuck in the middle of the pack territory and no spare assets to trade to address our center position. We will be fine with a bit of patience in the next few seasons. If Price and Weber demand trades, so be it.

What is concerning is our GM and his inability to adapt. He is not learning from past mistakes and learning from past mistakes is how you become a good NHL GM. He is making moves for the sake of shaking things up and that is a stupid plan. He still thinks we are division contenders. He needs to go.

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Mtl are rebuilding, it seems.

The point is that they're trying to draft him and put him as a primary center. Draftees need time to develop, and if you put them immediately in the NHL, or in one prime example, put a player too early as a winger than his natural position at center, he might not develop properly.

 

[LeapOnOver]

We had the worse start in franchise history and plenty of injuries to key players. We also lost Radulov and Markov and our team confidence was shattered. I think our days of winning our division are over for a while but I do think we can be a fringe playoff team (wildcard contender). So that means 12-15 ish pick next year. Another top 10 pick is also very possible but we don't know what improvements we make this off season. Why wait? Get the center now. And we can get another one next draft. It's time we stock pile them. Other targets are LD depth too.

We are on our plan. Not your plan.

Everybody is fine with your plan dude....you don't need to keep defending. The less teams to leapfrog to get into the playoffs is a good thing. So Poehling isn't panning out? Isn't he a center?

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Is this suppose to make us want to trade our 3rd OA pick? You don't need to feel sorry for us. Our tank year was the best thing to happen to us. We were stuck in the middle of the pack territory and no spare assets to trade to address our center position. We will be fine

Also, one more thing to keep in mind is Bergevin's one-for-one trades: Subban for Weber, Sergachev for Drouin.

 

[BB88]

Isn't next years draft flush with centers? Not like Montreal is suddenly going to skyrocket in the standings after this draft...

Especially with the lottery you have no idea where team is picking, you either can't say those are locks to become #1C's& Montreal needs more than 1 C option.

Healthy Price+ Weber with bad lottery luck would have them outside top5, and then you wonder how many franchise C prospects are ranked in the 5+ range?

We had the worse start in franchise history and plenty of injuries to key players. We also lost Radulov and Markov and our team confidence was shattered. I think our days of winning our division are over for a while but I do think we can be a fringe playoff team (wildcard contender). So that means 12-15 ish pick next year. Another top 10 pick is also very possible but we don't know what improvements we make this off season. Why wait? Get the center now. And we can get another one next draft. It's time we stock pile them. Other targets are LD depth too.

We are on our plan. Not your plan.

I don't see playoffs as a chance. The worst C group in the league only got worse.

Boston/Tampa/Toronto are on their own level, Florida should keep getting better with the prospects they are adding, from the other division Carolina is improving(unless they do something stupid) with the additions of Svec+ Necas. Both of the 2 were clearly ahead of Montreal this past season.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Everybody is fine with your plan dude....you don't need to keep defending. The less teams to leapfrog to get into the playoffs is a good thing. So Poehling isn't panning out? Isn't he a center?

We will be a broken record when we see comments where "Drafting Kotkaniemi at 3rd is just a waste of a pick" So maybe you are fine with our plan but not everybody. As far as Poehling, he is a start but not a #1C. He is a #2 or #3 center. We need a guy with upside and offensive skill to play #1C. Kotkaniemi fits.