Out of Town Thread: 2018-2019 IV

[Habs Halifax]

NHL Power Rankings: The scariest thing about each team this Halloween, for better or worse

pet peeve: power rankings always seem to mention Carey Price when it comes to the Habs. but IMO he hasn't had much impact on this season so far (one way or another). to me, the surprisingly balanced Top 9 is the main story... thoughts?

Agreed. The top 9 and even all 4 lines if Pleky is the 4th line center is the story here. Price is Price. He is not god. Add that our D is much better with the play of Juulsen and Reilly and that Alzner is being used in a depth role.

I expected rebound but did not expect our record to be 6-3-2 in the month of October. I expected something around .500. Should be interesting to see how they perform now that scoring has come down to reality

 

[26Mats]

Agreed. The top 9 and even all 4 lines if Pleky is the 4th line center is the story here. Price is Price. He is not god. Add that our D is much better with the play of Juulsen and Reilly and that Alzner is being used in a depth role.

I expected rebound but did not expect our record to be 6-3-2 in the month of October. I expected something around .500. Should be interesting to see how they perform now that scoring has come down to reality

Imo we need to maintain the two way play, speed and effort we've shown, while simultaneously increasing the quality chances we get nd increasing our finishing. Can we do that in some ways internally? Do we need to look outside?

Imo Hudon and Scherbak are two potential in house resources. Hudon needs to be in the lineup that least on the 4th line and on the 2nd po. He helped last game even though we didnt get the result.

With Scherbak I think it's a three step process:
Step 1: the guy has to learn and prove that he's learned to not turn the puck over, be strong on puck battles, and play fast.

Step 2: once he's passed step 1, get in the lineup on a regular basis on the 4 thg line, and hopefully the second unit of the power play.

Step 3: hopefully he can take hi offensive game to another level and beat someone out in the top 9.

Step 1 is the most crucial.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Imo we need to maintain the two way play, speed and effort we've shown, while simultaneously increasing the quality chances we get nd increasing our finishing. Can we do that in some ways internally? Do we need to look outside?

Imo Hudon and Scherbak are two potential in house resources. Hudon needs to be in the lineup that least on the 4th line and on the 2nd po. He helped last game even though we didnt get the result.

With Scherbak I think it's a three step process:
Step 1: the guy has to learn and prove that he's learned to not turn the puck over, be strong on puck battles, and play fast.

Step 2: once he's passed step 1, get in the lineup on a regular basis on the 4 thg line, and hopefully the second unit of the power play.

Step 3: hopefully he can take hi offensive game to another level and beat someone out in the top 9.

Step 1 is the most crucial.

With me, I don't value improving our team and position in the standings this year. I value the future and to measure how good our Gallagher and under is moving forward. Hudon and Scherbak need to play and a solid sample of games in the top 6. It's the only way we are going to realize their true potential and if they can reach it.

Our approach is to win games and to ice the best team night after night. I get that but that's not getting us a cup. Tatar, Byron, Petry are all assets I would explore in trades to see who bites. Start the process now. The key to this team is Price/Weber/Gallagher leading a young core. We already have the center depth. We need a gem on D, and a goal scoring winger or two. Get them through drafting please!

Waiving DLR, Not playing Scherbak, and Hudon playing in some games on the 4th line vs playing Peca, Deslauriers, Shaw. Their priorities are all wrong cause they have "rebound/pride" on their minds.

 

[groovejuice]

Please. Galchenyuk got better zone starts too. Gallagher wasn't exactly the perimeter player of his line cashing in easy goals. He worked on every line he played. Gallagher is doing just fine without elite talent by his side today. He creates a lot himself through his hard work.

Gallagher is fairly unique in his skillset. I see that 2 distinct things outside of his usual style that have made him better.

He's better in all zones and his passing, while not elite, is noticeably improved. The other thing is that the zebras aren't going out of their way to pound him. I imagine he finally gained some respect for his hard work which is aggressive but far from dirty.

 

[26Mats]

With me, I don't value improving our team and position in the standings this year. I value the future and to measure how good our Gallagher and under is moving forward. Hudon and Scherbak need to play and a solid sample of games in the top 6. It's the only way we are going to realize their true potential and if they can reach it.

Our approach is to win games and to ice the best team night after night. I get that but that's not getting us a cup. Tatar, Byron, Petry are all assets I would explore in trades to see who bites. Start the process now. The key to this team is Price/Weber/Gallagher leading a young core. We already have the center depth. We need a gem on D, and a goal scoring winger or two. Get them through drafting please!

Waiving DLR, Not playing Scherbak, and Hudon playing in some games on the 4th line vs playing Peca, Deslauriers, Shaw. Their priorities are all wrong cause they have "rebound/pride" on their minds.

As you stated, management aren't tanking and it will be interesting to see where we draft this year. Given not only the way the team has performed, but also the makeup of this team (potentially solid goaltending, a mobile score with potentially Weber coming back, a fast set of forwards, although lacking some offensive bite) I could see us making the playoffs and even winning a round or two, as we've done twice in the past.

So, I wouldn't be only counting on the draft. We need to seize good players when they become available, like Radulov and this summer missing 26 year old skinner, while concentrating on 25 year olds Armia and Peca was a problem...

I also think it's a huge risk to hang onto Weber. If he comes back and plays bad, he will have not trade value. If he comes back and plays well, he will have trade value and I want him moved in a Pacioretty style deal because it's too risky for my liking to count on him maintaining a high level of play each year past 33. I see it as a way to get key assets, given we can't count on a lottery pick. For example I would be interested in a deal like Weber + Poehling for Cody Glass, if Timmins is convinced thinks he's a future number 1 center and Vegas turn it around and are contenders at the deadline (unlikely now, but maybe could have been done in the summer)

 

[groovejuice]

I loved Galchneyuk, despite his imperfections. But I also really like Domi so far. I will need a bigger sample size. Yet, ultimately it's a hard projection. Galchneyuk has quite high upside, but it's not a sure thing that he'll reach it. But I think Domi has high upside too. The biggest thing with Domi is if he'll learn when to shoot. So far he's been doing well on that front.

They're both upping their games so far. Domi with his new found scoring touch and Galchenyuk with surprising one on one puck battles. 2 of his points have come from stripping the puck in the O Zone. The first earned him an assist on a Keller goal and the second was a beautiful reach around the goalie for a goal.

 

[Peanut]

Gallagher is fairly unique in his skillset. I see that 2 distinct things outside of his usual style that have made him better.

He's better in all zones and his passing, while not elite, is noticeably improved. The other thing is that the zebras aren't going out of their way to pound him. I imagine he finally gained some respect for his hard work which is aggressive but far from dirty.

I think another thing people underrate with Gallagher is how good his puck protection skills are. There are so many people that say you need size to be able protect the puck yet Gallagher protects the puck better than most players that are 6'3 plus lol

 

[Habs Halifax]

As you stated, management aren't tanking and it will be interesting to see where we draft this year. Given not only the way the team has performed, but also the makeup of this team (potentially solid goaltending, a mobile score with potentially Weber coming back, a fast set of forwards, although lacking some offensive bite) I could see us making the playoffs and even winning a round or two, as we've done twice in the past.

So, I wouldn't be only counting on the draft. We need to seize good players when they become available, like Radulov and this summer missing 26 year old skinner, while concentrating on 25 year olds Armia and Peca was a problem...

I also think it's a huge risk to hang onto Weber. If he comes back and plays bad, he will have not trade value. If he comes back and plays well, he will have trade value and I want him moved in a Pacioretty style deal because it's too risky for my liking to count on him maintaining a high level of play each year past 33. I see it as a way to get key assets, given we can't count on a lottery pick. For example I would be interested in a deal like Weber + Poehling for Cody Glass, if Timmins is convinced thinks he's a future number 1 center and Vegas turn it around and are contenders at the deadline (unlikely now, but maybe could have been done in the summer)

I'll be watching our season with caution all year. I think we will be disappointed in both where we finish and what pick we get. Lets say we make the playoffs either as a wild card team or the 3rd seed in the Atlantic (imagine). There is a good chance we play one of the Pens, Lighting, Leafs, Bruins, Caps. Getting past them is a stretch!

I'm not worried about Weber. I'm only worried about setbacks in his recovery. Once he is healthy and ready to go, Weber will be Weber. We got 4 or 5 more years (Age 33-36/37). Not worried about him and the role he plays on our team.

I actually liked that we didn't make major moves this off season. We did well with the Patch trade and added Armia with our cap space. Who cares if we signed Peca or not. They are depth moves. Skinner had a NMC... would he be willing to come to Montreal? Hard to say. Even if he was interested, I preferred we did not trade any of our futures away at this stage. Not the time

 

[Toene]

People that criticize AG and prop up Kotka as ''better'' are so full of crap. They have very different skill sets but I see nothing as of now to suggest Kotka is having a better rookie year than AG had in 12-13. Yep small sample size blah blah. Hockey IQ is better, but AG actually converted more of his chances. IDK they seem pretty equal has prospects. People are so quick to dismiss a player's ability as soon as he wears another jersey. That's part of fandom I guess. But AG was a better rated prospect at the same age, ainec. As of NHL-career-wise, AG put up goals at a very good pace considering his opportunities and ice-time. Was often very high in the league in pts or goals by 60 minutes. And when he was given opportunities on the top-line, he usually was close to a ppg. Blah blah blah not good defensively. Who. the. f***. cares. He's an offensive talent, stop trying to fit players in a mold that dont correspond to their skill-sets. We crucially need a goal-scorer and AG has the better shot of any player on the Habs right now.

I dont even prefer one or the other but to say Kotkaniemi is miles ahead overall at the same age is just dumb.

AG wasnt Plekanec so he sucks. Keep drinking the Jacques-Lemaire- fanboys-club kool-aid. We have tons of two-way forwards, Weber and Carey Price. Nobody comes close to the offensive ability of Alex Galchenyuk tho. Domi fits this system better, sure, but AG will make some posters eat some serious crow this year.

Was it the egg(his usage lowered his confidence then lowered his results) or the hen (his results lowered his usage and lowered his confidence). Imo it's obviously the first option. Because give him time with real players (Pacio, Radu, Keller) and he's scoring a point a game. The crowd that pretends it was mostly on him must have slept through his multi-goal games and ppg production when he got first line partners and minutes. He did show he could do it. He just was always demoted for inferior players.

Why does most teams in the league trust their youngsters but we're anal on them being Gainey before putting them on the first line. Would Scheifele be where he is if his mgmt didn't trust him? Gaudreau? same for so many players.

Edit : to be fair, Kotkaniemi has the potential to be more complete than AG and is IQ will make his teammates better. But now that we got rid of Pacio and Galchy I wonder who's gonna be the cannon up front? Gallagher, Lehkonen, Hudon, Byron are good shooters relatively speaking but these are the top snipers we will be giving to Kotka the playmaker? Not sure about this. Suzuki better go hit the shooting drills because hes seemingly our only hope of having a top-end goalscorer in the system.

 

[PaulD]

I agree with you. But when Julien had him on the 4th line at the beginning of the year last year, he said it was because there was no way he could play Galchneyuk over guys like Byron that give it everything every shift.

I think he was confusing "playing the right way" with effort - although Drouin was making the same amount of, if not more, turnovers, but that's another can of worms. I think Julien had gotten Galchenyuk to play better defensively and they were on their way as far as their player-coach relationship.

But Bergevin just doesn't value his stars (imo Chucky was our 2nd best offensive player last year after Gallagher). He took Subban, Radulov, Markov, and now Glachenyuk for granted. It's horrible. I like the new team's emphasis on speed and effort and playing fast. But those qualities aren't antithetical to high skill and talent. Our biggest weakness is our lack of talent, and it doesn't have to be. We could have kept Galchenyuk and brought in players like Skinner and Perron who were available this summer and play hard. Instead our GM, in true to form fashion, focused on Armia and Peca - and getting rid of Galchenyuk. Although I'll give him praise for the return on the Galchenyuk trade.

True. Every team in the league (other than the kings) is fast, speedy. MB follows that , holds a press conference and speaks as if he invented it. But lack of skill and talent will land this team where they deserve to be. The golf course in April.

 

[mariolemieux66]

Jamie Oleksiak for a 4th round draft pick was a steal by Pittsburg.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Gallagher is fairly unique in his skillset. I see that 2 distinct things outside of his usual style that have made him better.

He's better in all zones and his passing, while not elite, is noticeably improved. The other thing is that the zebras aren't going out of their way to pound him. I imagine he finally gained some respect for his hard work which is aggressive but far from dirty.

IMO Gallagher is a better player than Galchenyuk but it's irrelevant because they weren't traded for each other so whatever.

 

[Doc McKenna]

IMO Gallagher is a better player than Galchenyuk but it's irrelevant because they weren't traded for each other so whatever.

Gally works harder-than most players in the league. But most of his goals are dirty. Its like saying Holmstrom is better than Zetterburg. One used a lot of skills. one played hard in front of the net. Different skill set.

 

[Adam Michaels]

I could definitely see LA putting in a claim for Condon now.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Gally works harder-than most players in the league. But most of his goals are dirty. Its like saying Holmstrom is better than Zetterburg. One used a lot of skills. one played hard in front of the net. Different skill set.

I'm not saying Holmstrom is better than Zetterberg. I'm saying Gally is better than Galchenyuk.

Even if you want to say Holmstrom and Gally have similar styles that's fine, i'll agree.

I don't think Galchenyuk is anything close to what Zetterberg was though. So we're really not comparing same thing. Zetterberg was a PPG two-way player who wasn't sheltered. Holmstrom made half the amount of points Zetterberg did.

Gallagher has slightly more goals per game than galchenyuk and slightly less points per game. This isn't holmstrom vs Zetterberg.

 

[PaulD]

I'm not saying Holmstrom is better than Zetterberg. I'm saying Gally is better than Galchenyuk.

Even if you want to say Holmstrom and Gally have similar styles that's fine, i'll agree.

I don't think Galchenyuk is anything close to what Zetterberg was though. So we're really not comparing same thing. Zetterberg was a PPG two-way player who wasn't sheltered. Holmstrom made half the amount of points Zetterberg did.

Gallagher has slightly more goals per game than galchenyuk and slightly less points per game. This isn't holmstrom vs Zetterberg.

Well said

 

[Mrb1p]

Gally works harder-than most players in the league. But most of his goals are dirty. Its like saying Holmstrom is better than Zetterburg. One used a lot of skills. one played hard in front of the net. Different skill set.

Terrible comparison because Zetterberg routinely outscored Holmstrom, by huge numbers. Both Gally's produce similar numbers.

I'm ready to say Gallagher is a slightly better player than the current Galchenyuk.

 

[mariolemieux66]

What is with this NHL schedule!!
Only 1 game on a Wednesday??!!
Besides Saturdays, Wednesday's use to be the busiest day of the week, wasn't it?

 

[groovejuice]

What is with this NHL schedule!!
Only 1 game on a Wednesday??!!
Besides Saturdays, Wednesday's use to be the busiest day of the week, wasn't it?

Maybe Halloween? There are often a large slate of Wednesday games.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Gally works harder-than most players in the league. But most of his goals are dirty. Its like saying Holmstrom is better than Zetterburg. One used a lot of skills. one played hard in front of the net. Different skill set.

All goals count the same.

 

[Doc McKenna]

Terrible comparison because Zetterberg routinely outscored Holmstrom, by huge numbers. Both Gally's produce similar numbers.

I'm ready to say Gallagher is a slightly better player than the current Galchenyuk.

While it was a bad comparison- I was more looking at it toward skill vs playing in the dirty areas. Gally doesn't have a shot, or much for dekes but he plays around the net and scores most of his goals from 5 feet of the net. That was more my point. Chuck plays a more"outside 5 feet" of the net kind of game. Skill wise chuck is better than gally, but gally has an immense work ethic and digs hard in the corners. To me they aren't comparable as their skillset is completely different.

 

[Mrb1p]

While it was a bad comparison- I was more looking at it toward skill vs playing in the dirty areas. Gally doesn't have a shot, or much for dekes but he plays around the net and scores most of his goals from 5 feet of the net. That was more my point. Chuck plays a more"outside 5 feet" of the net kind of game. Skill wise chuck is better than gally, but gally has an immense work ethic and digs hard in the corners. To me they aren't comparable as their skillset is completely different.

Work ethics is a skill.

Also lol at suggesting a 30 goal scorer doesnt have a shot... thats just stupid.

Acting like Gallagher is Kostopoulos or something.

 

[mariolemieux66]

Maybe Halloween? There are often a large slate of Wednesday games.

Make sense, did not even think about Halloween and players wanting to trick of treat with their little ones.

 

[Doc McKenna]

Work ethics is a skill.

Also lol at suggesting a 30 goal scorer doesnt have a shot... thats just stupid.

Acting like Gallagher is Kostopoulos or something.

Thanks for the insult. But no digging and shovelling goals into the net through the goalie isn't a shot. Is he known for his wrister? How about his slap shot? Does gally have a rep for his wicked backhand? Pretty sure no on all accounts. This forum is insane. I didn't say he has NO shot. I said he doesn't have a shot, like most players in the league. Ridiculous way of interpreting things in these forums lately. Did I say he is tommy K, No I compared him to holmstrom you know a 30 goal scorer not known for his slick dekes or a booming slapshot. I compared him to a guy who played very well in front of the opponents goalie, not around the hash marks.

Work ethic isn't a skill. Its a characteristic. You can have the best work ethic but no skills and suck. You can also be Kovalev.

 

[Mrb1p]

Thanks for the insult. But no digging and shovelling goals into the net through the goalie isn't a shot. Is he known for his wrister? How about his slap shot? Does gally have a rep for his wicked backhand? Pretty sure no on all accounts. This forum is insane. I didn't say he has NO shot. I said he doesn't have a shot, like most players in the league. Ridiculous way of interpreting things in these forums lately. Did I say he is tommy K, No I compared him to holmstrom you know a 30 goal scorer not known for his slick dekes or a booming slapshot. I compared him to a guy who played very well in front of the opponents goalie, not around the hash marks.

Work ethic isn't a skill. Its a characteristic. You can have the best work ethic but no skills and suck. You can also be Kovalev.

Is it now that I link his goal against the Bruins just last week or are you going to stop the non-sense?