Post-Game Talk: Habs defeat Jersey's new jersey in New Jersey. Break 12 game winless streak again them in regulation. Wings for all!

[Habs Halifax]

He’s a perfect 3c. They need to find a 2c this summer. If they do the C position will start to solidify.

Personally, during rebuild/youth movement years, I don't think we need to fill that 2C unless it's through the draft. Why try to sign someone now? Maybe we can get a meh center for depth in the Petry trade where we get a bit more futures in the package at the same time?

Who would be a team looking for a RD like Petry and has a center they would send the other way? Someone who is a 3C while Dvorak plays 2C? I agree Dvorak is a perfect 3C but during rebuild years, he's fine at 2C.

Getting Wright would be ideal. Suzuki/Wright/Dvorak and you let Wright develop properly while Suzuki/Dvorak get most of the load in usage at both ends.

 

[le_sean]

You missed the point.

Shallow assessment will of course lead to a shallow take... so understandably, you might not see the reasons for optimism. Maybe next year indeed lol

The shallow assessment is looking at point totals in a lost season and thinking it’s an indication of things to come. Pump the brakes a bit. Suzuki and Caufield aren’t 100 point players. Just like Galchenyuk never did anything after scoring 30 in a lost season. Erik Cole didn’t keep scoring 35+ goals a season. You’re overvaluing the impact of the coach and undervaluing the lack of pressure, lack of opponents taking the team seriously, the backup goalies they see, etc.

 

[beowulf]

Would not have bet on Suzuki being the first to 20 but he is almost there. It's sad though when I look at say Calgary they have 4 30+ goal scorers and the Habs will be lucky if they get 3 20 goal scorers but nobody is there yet.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Would not have bet on Suzuki being the first to 20 but he is almost there. It's sad though when I look at say Calgary they have 4 30+ goal scorers and the Habs will be lucky if they get 3 20 goal scorers but nobody is there yet.

There's a reason why we are in a race to draft first overall.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Can't shake off the feeling this was a 3-2 game if both team had NHL level goaltending but whatever.

Thought we were outplayed and out chanced for large portions of the game. Am I the only one who loses considerable interest when Harris and Barron are not playing? I want to see the promise of the future rather than confirmation of the sorry past.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

His skating was what made him effective. He bulked up and lost his game.

There was a reason why he was overlooked for Team Canada. Too many here were blinded by his brilliant beginning to see his shocking transformation into a stationary player. I still remember the posts of Nashville fans after the 'trade' who stated: "I thought he was faster". We traded him one year too late to maximize his return. But at least the Idiot Savant received some value for what was clearly a fading asset, even then.

 

[RandomTask26]

Missed the game but watching the highlights, I find it hard to blame Hammond on the goals

Suzuki’s was a cross ice pass, plus the shot was a knuckler (puck was on edge)
Evans’ deflected on a Devils stick
Caufield breakaway
Armia was quite a nice play/shot by him
Wideman’s deflected off a Devils stick
Dvorak breakaway

The moral is that the devils just really suck as a team, it’s not just goaltending. They’re definitely finishing below the Habs in the standings despite having an easier schedule going forward

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

I have a ton of respect for Wideman's performance so far this year.

Even when the team sucked badly under Ducharme, he was one of the few players who looked like they cared and despite being a smaller guy he's been one of the few guys standing up for their teammates (last night for CC/NS and previously going up against a bigger Scheifele).

He hasn't taken anything for granted and I hope he's done enough so far to earn a contract from someone for next year.

 

[JianYang]

There was a reason why he was overlooked for Team Canada. Too many here were blinded by his brilliant beginning to see his shocking transformation into a stationary player. I still remember the posts of Nashville fans after the 'trade' who stated: "I thought he was faster". We traded him one year too late to maximize his return. But at least the Idiot Savant received some value for what was clearly a fading asset, even then.

The last time we ever saw Subban in a habs uniform was him being taken off on a stretcher, if I remember correctly.

I always thought he was a great skater though, not in terms straight line speed, but he eluded defenders all the time with sharp pivots. Most players wouldn't dare do them because they would fall on their ass.

He's one of the rare guys I'd say who was a great skater without being really fast in the traditional sense.

 

[JianYang]

I have a ton of respect for Wideman's performance so far this year.

Even when the team sucked badly under Ducharme, he was one of the few players who looked like they cared and despite being a smaller guy he's been one of the few guys standing up for their teammates (last night for CC/NS and previously going up against a bigger Scheifele).

He hasn't taken anything for granted and I hope he's done enough so far to earn a contract from someone for next year.

He has no choice but to bring his best. This has been his audition back into the nhl after the uber video came out. He knows that part of the rehab is to show other teams that he's got a good attitude.

I won't miss him if he leaves but it's no surprise that he's bringing the best version of himself as far as being a professional because he's still fighting for a long term nhl deal.

 

[Scintillating10]

He became a businessman/celebrity first and lost his edge.

Bergevin was smart to dump Subban.

 

[dcyhabs]

I am puzzled on Poehling. I don't think he was a bad pick at that stage of the draft and he did have good development before turning pro. He is tracking depth type though and not sure what else we could have done to develop him better once he turned pro.

Not over yet but he needs to start showing his potential or he's going to be a bottom 6F or even 4th line guy. Personally, I would like to see him in a more stable role. It's been a yoyo ride for him

He was a late first so he had known flaws. A team with good development might or might not have been able to correct those. Combination of habs coaching and his hat trick right before season end didn’t help, nor did the injuries.

The problem isn’t so much Poehling as that they didn’t get anyone useful in a whole series of late firsts.

 

[Habs Halifax]

He was a late first so he had known flaws. A team with good development might or might not have been able to correct those. Combination of habs coaching and his hat trick right before season end didn’t help, nor did the injuries.

The problem isn’t so much Poehling as that they didn’t get anyone useful in a whole series of late firsts.

Poehling slipped in the draft cause he accelerated his NCAA start date for his age 17 season. Graduated HS early and wanted to play with his brothers. But his age 18 and 19 seasons were very good development and you can't ask for much more than that. Pt/game level in the NCAA and did very well in the WJC at age 19.

I think his problem is he is not able to use his body frame/skating assets to his advantage at the pro level. I don't think he was ever a top notch offensive type but he has not grown much in the other areas of the game like face offs, body leverage, edge work, etc. He might have an identity issue.

 

[Habs10025]

GO HABS GO.

 

[1909]

Personally, during rebuild/youth movement years, I don't think we need to fill that 2C unless it's through the draft. Why try to sign someone now? Maybe we can get a meh center for depth in the Petry trade where we get a bit more futures in the package at the same time?

Who would be a team looking for a RD like Petry and has a center they would send the other way? Someone who is a 3C while Dvorak plays 2C? I agree Dvorak is a perfect 3C but during rebuild years, he's fine at 2C.

Getting Wright would be ideal. Suzuki/Wright/Dvorak and you let Wright develop properly while Suzuki/Dvorak get most of the load in usage at both ends.

Wright won't be ready to take #2 centerman duties next season, maybe not before 2 or 3 seasons.

 

[dcyhabs]

Poehling slipped in the draft cause he accelerated his NCAA start date for his age 17 season. Graduated HS early and wanted to play with his brothers. But his age 18 and 19 seasons were very good development and you can't ask for much more than that. Pt/game level in the NCAA and did very well in the WJC at age 19.

I think his problem is he is not able to use his body frame/skating assets to his advantage at the pro level. I don't think he was ever a top notch offensive type but he has not grown much in the other areas of the game like face offs, body leverage, edge work, etc. He might have an identity issue.

Ex-Leafs skill coach Jack Han wrote an article years ago blasting the habs for not correcting Poehling's skating technique so that he could keep his upper body more stable while carrying the puck. He claimed it eliminated any possibility that Poehling would be a good playmaker. Who knows if it's true, if the habs tried, or if he cooperated. I expect it's pretty tough to change fundamentals, and it has to be tough to sacrifice speed for control, assuming that Han analysed his stride correctly.

I think his concussions were pretty bad, too. Any concussion is bad, but about 10% of people really don't recover fully.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Wright won't be ready to take #2 centerman duties next season, maybe not before 2 or 3 seasons.

It would be interesting to see what Wright can do if he is even in the NHL next season. I do think teams will think about inserting 18 year olds more carefully moving forward. Sabres and Power is a good example of that.

But if Wright is drafted by the Habs, he might make our team as the 3C. Hard to guess but I can see a Suzuki/Dvorak/Wright center mix where Wright works at being the 2C as time moves forward.

 

[Rapala]

They pay him $9M per year. Everytime I watch him he is awful.

The only place he looked half decent was in Carolina but he was always a concern in the D zone.

 

[Cournoyer12]

I feel the same way. I still hate the trade though and I hate Bergevin for making that trade. The way they ran his name through the mud and tried to paint him as some sort of cancer was disgusting. There's people that still believe that nonsense.

Pierre LeBrun was talking during one of the intermissions about how much the NJ organization likes PK and values his leadership. That doesn't sound like a locker room cancer to me.

Always liked PK, did a lot for the kids. Maybe had too many brands in the fire. Also very difficult to stay at the same level once the back goes. Will always remember him as a Hab!

 

[Rapala]

Ex-Leafs skill coach Jack Han wrote an article years ago blasting the habs for not correcting Poehling's skating technique so that he could keep his upper body more stable while carrying the puck. He claimed it eliminated any possibility that Poehling would be a good playmaker. Who knows if it's true, if the habs tried, or if he cooperated. I expect it's pretty tough to change fundamentals, and it has to be tough to sacrifice speed for control, assuming that Han analysed his stride correctly.

I think his concussions were pretty bad, too. Any concussion is bad, but about 10% of people really don't recover fully.

The upper body stability control and concussions go hand in hand. I've seen him decimated more than once on checks that others are able to absorb.

 

[Runner77]

When the Hamburglar joined the Habs, he had his Minny green goalie pads.

Now that he's a Devil, we're seeing signs of his time as a Hab -- a giant Devils sticker that doesn't completely cover the Habs logo on his helmet:

He's a hoarder -- wherever he goes, he takes something with him. The Hamburglar cartoon from his Ottawa days, Habs logo, Devils logo and who knows what Minny item he's still using.

 

[Rapala]

Thought we were outplayed and out chanced for large portions of the game. Am I the only one who loses considerable interest when Harris and Barron are not playing? I want to see the promise of the future rather than confirmation of the sorry past.

I had the same goalie keeping us in it feeling I've had for our last 10-15 games. So I get your confirmation of the sorry past take.

 

[Rapala]

When the Hamburglar joined the Habs, he had his Minny green goalie pads.

Now that he's a Devil, we're seeing signs of his time as a Hab -- a giant Devils sticker that doesn't completely cover the Habs logo on his helmet:

He's a hoarder -- wherever he goes, he takes something with him. The Hamburglar cartoon from his Ottawa days, Habs logo, Devils logo and who knows what Minny item he's still using.

He needs to hoard while he can because his chance to do so will end abruptly.

 

[dcyhabs]

The upper body stability control and concussions go hand in hand. I've seen him decimated more than once on checks that others are able to absorb.

Evans gets destroyed, too, but for opposite reasons, I suppose. People hit Poehling randomly because he moves and some of the hits go like Suzuki on Stutzle the other day, some just go badly. Evans knows he's going into bad situations, but he just goes anyway and gets hammered making the play. I doubt either of them will have a long career.

 

[dcyhabs]

I had the same goalie keeping us in it feeling I've had for our last 10-15 games. So I get your confirmation of the sorry past take.

I wonder if they are intentionally not resting Allen? They could improve his stats and, possibly, win more by playing another goalie more often. I wonder if it's the tank, the next negotiations, or trying to build his stamina?