Confirmed with Link: Simon Despres signs PTO with Laval (12-2)

[PaulD]

Ya, I don't have a problem with it either, especially now considering we will suck anyways. We should get a bunch of reclamation guys we will hopefully flip.

Chelly would be low risk.

 

[MXD]

His off-ice issues are not alledged. He confirmed to TVA Sports a long time ago that he drank a lot, causing him a lot of health issues. He also had problems controlling his low blood pressure.

I didn't remember the specific issues, and didn't want to end up in libel territory.

 

[76]

His off-ice issues are not alledged. He confirmed to TVA Sports a long time ago that he drank a lot, causing him a lot of health issues. He also had problems controlling his low blood pressure.

I'm surprised nobody else seems to know this. Like you said, the main problem of Despres was his drinking habits and he already made it public in the past. He also talked about that (off ice issues) on his recent tsn interview and I really liked how he sounded while he was talking about it. He seems extremely serious about his new goal and in a great mentally disposure. He looked also very confident about his capacities on ice. Since that listening I am really looking forward to watch him at camp and I now have him as a serious candidate to surprise a lot of people and make the team. Good luck Simon!

 

[Dominator13]

I don't get why people are writing him off as a Laval bound player.

He was a solid NHLer before he had his concussion issues. Now he's working harder than ever at getting fitter and being more fluid on the ice. This try-out has a home run feel for me.

He's NOT another Eric Gelinas.

 

[montreal]

I don't get why people are writing him off as a Laval bound player.

He was a solid NHLer before he had his concussion issues. Now he's working harder than ever at getting fitter and being more fluid on the ice. This try-out has a home run feel for me.

He's NOT another Eric Gelinas.

they already have too many bodies if Mete and Juulsen make the team. With Weber, Petry, Reilly, Mete, Juulsen, Alzner, Schlemko and Benn. So someone will likely have to go once Weber is back unless we carry 8 which we rarely do. Unless a trade is made at some point. Personally I hope Mete/Juulsen are in the AHL and then you could keep Ouellet and Despres until Weber is back and just send down whoever is worse.

Despres will likely be in competition with Ouellet for the first call up if he does well at camp and then in Laval.

 

[NORiculous]

they already have too many bodies if Mete and Juulsen make the team. With Weber, Petry, Reilly, Mete, Juulsen, Alzner, Schlemko and Benn. So someone will likely have to go once Weber is back unless we carry 8 which we rarely do. Unless a trade is made at some point. Personally I hope Mete/Juulsen are in the AHL and then you could keep Ouellet and Despres until Weber is back and just send down whoever is worse.

Despres will likely be in competition with Ouellet for the first call up if he does well at camp and then in Laval.

Maybe but I think Despres will be on Petry level.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

they already have too many bodies if Mete and Juulsen make the team. With Weber, Petry, Reilly, Mete, Juulsen, Alzner, Schlemko and Benn. So someone will likely have to go once Weber is back unless we carry 8 which we rarely do. Unless a trade is made at some point. Personally I hope Mete/Juulsen are in the AHL and then you could keep Ouellet and Despres until Weber is back and just send down whoever is worse.

Despres will likely be in competition with Ouellet for the first call up if he does well at camp and then in Laval.

We could drop Benn, Schlemko, Alzner, without missing a beat and if Despres' play is good enough I could see him bumping one of these 3 rather easily.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

they already have too many bodies if Mete and Juulsen make the team. With Weber, Petry, Reilly, Mete, Juulsen, Alzner, Schlemko and Benn. So someone will likely have to go once Weber is back unless we carry 8 which we rarely do. Unless a trade is made at some point. Personally I hope Mete/Juulsen are in the AHL and then you could keep Ouellet and Despres until Weber is back and just send down whoever is worse.

Despres will likely be in competition with Ouellet for the first call up if he does well at camp and then in Laval.

I'm sure Mete and Juulsen in the AHL wouldn't hurt in the least. Let them over ripen there.

 

[Adam Michaels]

LD: Reilly, Schlemko, Alzner, Mete, Ouellet, Sklenicka, Moravcik, Valiev, Depres (PTO)
AHL Contract LD: Culkin
Prospects LD: Tyszka, Walford, Romanov, Harris

RD: Weber, Petry, Benn (shoot left but plays RD), Juulsen, Taormina (shoots left but plays RD), Lernout.
AHL Contract RD: Melancon, Plant
Prospects RD: Brook, Fleury, Koberstein, Henrikson

 

[DAChampion]

I'm surprised nobody else seems to know this.

Are you really surprised? TBH I (and probably others?) don't keep track that much of gossip of other team's players.

 

[DAChampion]

Completely irrelevant.

It would be nice if the Habs had several legitimately good players on their roster a few years down the line.

I don't agree, I think that it's beneficial if the Habs can get local, and yes French Canadian, players to contribute in a constructive manner to their roster. Nominally, French Canadians are a majority in Quebec, we should only evaluate everybody on skill, and we live in a post-racial society, but ...

In practice sports are part of civic pride and it's good to see communities represented. It's not altogether different from how American sports teams probably benefit when they have Black and Hispanic players on their roster -- it helps them reach out and grow their fanbase, by including Black and Hispanic fans, and giving them a favorite player as well. Meanwhile, English Canadian fans in every other Canadian city get to watch English Canadian players do well, over time of course.

Second, if there are multiple good French Canadian players on the roster, the extra media attention gets diluted and that reduces the pressure on that player. If there's only one Quebecois player on the roster, he will be stalked by RDS/TVA after every period, that's no good. You guys might not like this second argument but it's a fact of life.

This doesn't mean that I want any particular player pushed above their level of competency, as happened with Desharnais, Danault, and Drouin. I want players to play at roughly their level of competency, and ideally, there should be a few French Canadian players on the roster in various roles.

Right now,
Drouin, top-6 winger
Danault, middle-6 centre
Hudon, middle-6 winger
Ouellet, depth dman
Despres, depth dman, with potential to rise up the charts

This is not a lot if we're honest. It can only hold the team back if they're mismanaged, which is what would happen under Therrien.

 

[LaP]

Considering these reclamation projects are low or no risk, I don't see what the issue is and what's "pathetic" about it. It's one of the few things that Bergevin has done that I think is smart.

Giving chances to guys like Semin, Fleishmann, Streit, Gelinas, Hemsky and Despres is a chance to add a guy, for literally nothing and if it works, great, and if it doesn't cut them loose, no harm no foul.

Fleishmann was able to carve out a spot and get flipped for an asset. I don't see what the problem is.

The smart move would be to draft well and give kids a chance. Reclamation projects rarely work. Success rate must be around 5 to 10% at the very best. And this is the chances you have to get something like a middle six player (which is not enough to help us we have plenty of those). Success rate to get a legitimate top player out of a reclamation project is probably around 0.000001%. It's a smart move when you are ready to compete and have cap problems not when you have a bad team and are 12 millions under the cap.

This said Despres was a very good young dman a couple of years ago. He's still young and if he's healthy it could be more than just a reclamation project.

 

[VirginiaMtlExpat]

i honestly wouldnt even be suprised if Despres makes the team, ditto for Ouellet.

They cant be worse than Schlemko, Benn, or Alzner.

Just play the MOBILE guys.

Mete, Juulsen, Petry, Reilly, Ouellet , Despres.

Forget the pylons. The defense would be better just by being able to quickly skate or pass the puck out.

I like the idea of this. Also jibes with the plan to take a flier on a guy like Peca, possibly as 2C or 3C. It would be great if Julien is on board and formulates game plans as well as allocates ice time accordingly. It would be cool to morph into a speed-oriented team, albeit talent-starved, over one summer, especially if top brass was paying attention to Vegas' run. I might actually watch a team like that.

 

[angry pirate]

.Personally I hope Mete/Juulsen are in the AHL and then you could keep Ouellet and Despres until Weber is back and just send down whoever is worse.

So much this. Quite frankly, I hope Mete and Juulsen are nowhere near this train wreck of a season. Generally, young players should be put in positions to succeed while facing quality competition. They will most likely have high expectations and be playing much higher up the depth chart in Montreal than they should. Leave them in Laval, maybe give them a few NHL games here and there when the schedule allows.

If Despres allows us to shelter Mete for a season than it's a good PTO. If he can even remotely rebound his career we'll either get a pick out of it at the deadline, or best case scenario, add a decent LD to a middling left side that is a pretty big organizational weakness.

 

[76]

Are you really surprised? TBH I (and probably others?) don't keep track that much of gossip of other team's players.

It's no gossip it's called fact and personally that's what I'm tracking, facts.

 

[angry pirate]

The smart move would be to draft well and give kids a chance.

I'm a big believer that young players need to be put in positions to succeed. I don't see that being a very likely scenario in Montreal this year. So I'd much rather see a player like Despres getting limited minutes in Montreal and a Mete getting 25 minutes a night in Laval. If our D-Core wasn't in shambles, and we had a bit of an offence so to speak, maybe I'd be more open to Mete and Juulsen starting in Montreal. But as we stand, I just don't think giving kids a chance is necessarily best.

 

[Nedved]

I think he'll be on the team come November, maybe earlier, just my useless opinion though.

 

[DAChampion]

It's no gossip it's called fact and personally that's what I'm tracking, facts.

Facts and gossip are not mutually exclusive. Regardless, my point remains, a lot of us don't track the personal lives of every player in the rest of the league, or even on the Habs.

 

[LaP]

I'm a big believer that young players need to be put in positions to succeed. I don't see that being a very likely scenario in Montreal this year. So I'd much rather see a player like Despres getting limited minutes in Montreal and a Mete getting 25 minutes a night in Laval. If our D-Core wasn't in shambles, and we had a bit of an offence so to speak, maybe I'd be more open to Mete and Juulsen starting in Montreal. But as we stand, I just don't think giving kids a chance is necessarily best.

Then you will never progress. The fact is this team wont get better without kids. Reclamation projects wont make this team good enough for it not to be a train wreck. The Pens missed the playoffs the first year Crosby played and it was not a good team. The first year Crosby played with the Pens the team finished 29th in the league. The first year Toews played with the Hawks the team finished 20th and missed the playoffs. The first year Kopitar played with LA the team finished 28th in the league. There's a clear picture there imo.

It's a chicken and egg situation. You don't graduate kids cause the team is not good enough but then the team will never be good enough cause you don't graduate kids.

I get being patient this year to get another good draft pick. Not a bad strategy. And i agree with it like i agreed being patient with AG the first year he was here. But it MUST NOT become another situation of the typical "we don't trust kids we'd rather play average vets à la DD". If we get another top 5 pick this year and if this pick, Kotkaniemi and Poehling can't help this team progress by 2019-2020 then it will be 100% a failure and history will repeat itself.

 

[angry pirate]

Then you will never progress. The fact is this team wont get better without kids. Reclamation projects wont make this team good enough for it not to be a train wreck. The Pens missed the playoffs the first year Crosby played and it was not a good team. The first year Crosby played with the Pens the team finished 29th in the league. The first year Toews played with the Hawks the team finished 20th and missed the playoffs. The first year Kopitar played with LA the team finished 28th in the league. There's a clear picture there imo.

But everyone of those players had individual success immediately. Even though their teams weren't playoff bound, they were playing night in night out and finding their own success. They weren't failing as individuals. Even with bad teams around them, they were put in positions to succeed on a personal level. I don't think we have that for our young defensemen this year hence I would rather see away from the big club this season.

I think the opposite for Scherbak. Team is still going to be bad, but I think he can have a positive individual season, so you won't see me advocate for him to be stuck in Laval for another year.

 

[LaP]

But everyone of those players had individual success immediately. Even though their teams weren't playoff bound, they were playing night in night out and finding their own success. They weren't failing as individuals. Even with bad teams around them, they were put in positions to succeed on a personal level. I don't think we have that for our young defensemen this year hence I would rather see away from the big club this season.

I think the opposite for Scherbak. Team is still going to be bad, but I think he can have a positive individual season, so you won't see me advocate for him to be stuck in Laval for another year.

But that's the whole point. If those guys can't help by 2020 it means we need to improve drafting. Reclamation projects is not a viable solution to build a team. It's okay for this year and maybe the year after but things will have to change and not in 2025 but as soon as 2020. Top players are for the most part ready to play in the NHL by the time they turn 20. Most top players were playing in the NHL when they were 20 and already doing very well. There's exceptions like Kuznetsov but for the most part elite talents graduate early and do not play in the AHL. If Kot is not ready until he turns 22-23 then he is likely a 2nd line center.

Here's the age at which the top 20 scorers of last year graduated in the NHL

McDavid 18
Giroux 20
Kucherov 20
Malkin 20
MackInnon 18
Hall 18
Kopitar 19
Kessel 19
Wheeler 22
Crosby 18
Ovechkin 20
Stamkos 18
Marchand 22
Barzal 20
Voracek 19
Tavares 19
Rantanen 20
Gaudreau 21
Kuznetzov 22
Panarin 24

75% of those players graduated at 18-29-20. IMO if we don't see some changes by 2020 it will be the time to throw the towel on MB and his administration.

 

[HABitual Fan]

How many of those were drafted in the top 10? You need to adjust your expectations based on draft position as well. We have 1 top 10 drafted prospect,everyone else should not be compared to that list.

 

[DAChampion]

I wish that all Habs prospects could spend a full season with Joel Bouchard this year, but it's not realistic.

 

[LaP]

I wish that all Habs prospects could spend a full season with Joel Bouchard this year, but it's not realistic.

If we send Mete, Fleury and Juulsen in the AHL it means one of them will not have a lot of TOI and will play against weak players. IMO we almost must keep one up. I don't understand people who say Mete must play in the AHL. If he plays as well as last year it's better to keep him up. Sending him down would be seen by him as a retrogression so if it happens it must be because he had a bad training camp. If he beats the other guys at training camp keep him up.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

If we send Mete, Fleury and Juulsen in the AHL it means one of them will not have a lot of TOI and will play against weak players. IMO we almost must keep one up.

IMO, it wouldn't be a big deal for a guy like Fleury to be the one with less TOI. He's going to be entering the season as 19 year old. As long as they don't pull a Simon Bourque and not play him, I don't mind.