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Blazingbat11

Molson beer is meh
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Forum: Armchair-GMThu. at 3:27 p.m.
Thread: Depth Add
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Shanesaw9</b></div><div>I think you've made a few presumptions here that I don't agree with.

First, Reinbacher will probably still spend the season in AHL. I'm just saying there is absolutely no need for Chatfield with Reinbacher already there as depth.

Second, I would also start Mailloux in Laval and call him up if there are injuries or maybe if MTL trades Savard and/or Kovacevic at the TDL. MTL can just claim defenseman off of waivers I'd they don't want to interrupt a potential Laval playoff run as well.

Why does having Hutson in the NHL force Guhle to right side? I would personally dress 7 defenseman next season (Montreal barely uses their 4th Line anyways).

Matheson - Barron / Savard
Guhle - Barron / Kovacevic
Hutson - Xhekaj - Savard

Essentially Matheson and Guhle would play full minutes on the left side. Barron / Kovacevic / Savard would split time on the right side in the top 4, while Hutson, Xhekaj, and the veteran Savard would split time on the 3rd pair.

Icetime would look like this,

- Matheson: 21:00 (-4:33)
- Guhle: 19:00 (-1:51)
- Savard: 18:00 (-2:14)
- Hutson: 15:45
- Barron: 14:50 (-3:48)
- Kovacevic: 13:40 (-2:51)
- Xhekaj: 13:15 (-2:41)

My belief is that Matheson was overused last season and Guhle was misused on the wrong side. This 7 D system fixes both of those issues without having to make any moves on defence.

Edit: Also, I just noticed you buried Barron in the AHL to accommodate this move? In which case he will be claimed off of waivers. Strongly disagree with this move, I don't see any reason to acquire a depth defenseman like Chatfield when MTL is trying to incorporate youth and upgrade.</div></div>

Or to not overcomplicate things in your scenario, just scratch Kovacevic, use him in case of injuries, and play Xhekaj on the right side (he can do that too)... 7 D systems never work long term...Teams usually roll with them if there is an injury but the player can still play, or if there's roster waiver issues, both temporary problems.
And I'm assuming in your scenario Harris is traded and Struble is sent down.
Forum: Armchair-GMThu. at 2:52 p.m.
Thread: Depth Add
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>HabsCanucks</b></div><div>Reinbacher should spend the year in the AHL.
If Mailloux is going to play in the NHL, he can take Kovacevic's spot. The Habs can move Kovacevic for assets, while getting an upgrade in Chatfield for free (It costs cap space, but that Habs aren't using that anyway in this scenario).
If Hutson is in the NHL, Guhle has to play on the right, which I would rather avoid. Plus, having him in the AHL with Reinbacher allows them to get used to playing together.




You can go for a guy like Pesce, but he'll be in higher demand and will likely prefer to play in a competitive American market, not a rebuilding Canadian one.
The idea with Chatfield is to give Guhle a solid RHD partner, so that he can develop properly on the left side. Chatfield is playing nearly 20mins a night in the playoffs, so he and Guhle can play 18-20 mins a night together.

Yes, other defencemen will have to be dealt, but that is going to happen anyway, and I would prefer to prioritize the development of the one that's definitely staying over the ones that are probably getting traded out soon. Plus, if Chatfield has a good season as a 28-year-old right shot fourth defenceman, he might be worth something decent at the trade deadline or in the off-season.</div></div>

Sales pitch to Pesce is "We'll drop off a truckload of $$$, give you 7 years and a NMC, and you'll get 1st pairing minutes the whole time". $7mill x 7 years.

If you want to develop Guhle on the left side as a top pairing Dman...Matheson <strong>HAS</strong> to go. full stop. Guhle played 1st pairing minutes at 5v5 all year, but had to do it on the right side because of Matheson. So if they were to give him the same time but, on the left, you'd be taking away time from Matheson (and subsequently everyone else on the left side like Hutson, Xhekaj, etc.), and I just don't see Marty St.Louis cutting Matheson's ice time, or even bumping down Guhle to playing 2nd pairing minutes (he's a top pair talent, stick to that).
Also, Guhle's style of play, utilization, and performances follow very closely Jacob Slavin's at the same age... and guess who Slavin's partner was who complimented each other perfectly....yup, Brett Pesce.
Forum: Armchair-GMWed. at 11:23 a.m.
Thread: Ready for the offseason
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Joblow</b></div><div>Mtl won’t be spending any assets to shed money. They don’t need to. Especially Dvorak who can be a assets at the deadline.</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>BorisBagel</b></div><div>Habs definitely decline</div></div>

I disagree, a 3rd rd pick is an insignificant price to pay to move Dvorak. and it has nothing to do with the money, it's to free up a roster spot for the youth about to make the jump (Beck, Kapanen, F.Xehkaj, Tuch, etc). Not only that, for "vet" players to guide the younger players, Habs already have Evans in their bottom 6, and could easily use Gignac (who arguably was playing better than Dvorak when in the lineup).

but I doubt MTL would have to pay to move him, Dvorak is a good serviceable defensive 3rd line Center. But I don't see them getting much though.
Forum: Armchair-GMMon. at 9:32 p.m.
Thread: Why not Silayev
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>F50marco</b></div><div>Im always of the belief you go BPA with the caveat that you put a little emphasis on position to differentiate between equal players. <strong>Taking Silayev simply doesn't make sense unless they had a Guhle/Hutson/Matheson trade locked and loaded.</strong>

If they don't, then I would be fine picking the positional need whose slightly worse than Silayev. Its not like the gap is that great this year. 3-10 is basically a toss up and any one of them could be the best player at that point.

That is kind of the nice thing about this draft, they can't really mess it up as long as they take a player from the consensus top 12-13 players. Last year was the year to NOT reach for a dman...... but hindsight is 20/20 I guess.</div></div>

One of the points I made is the exact opposite. There’s no rush to trade anyone since Silayev is signed for 2 more seasons in the KHL. Habs could take their time, and naturally move from Matheson (trade deadline deal of 2026?)
And going with BPA… if Gorton, Hughes, Bobrov and Lapointe all think Silayev is a bonafide #1D who could be the next Hedman or prime Chara, it’s kind of hard to pass on that, regardless of handedness.
And as much as I love Hutson, Reinbacher, and Guhle (the Habs best young dmen imo) none of them have that bonafide #1 franchise D.
So if Hughes steps to the podium and calls Silayev’s name, then says at his press conference that he’s found a franchise defenseman to build around. I won’t complain.


I do agree that if MTL has someone on their list (let’s use Lindstrom hypothetically) who’s <strong>slightly</strong> worse in their minds, but is a better fit (a forward), pick him. No issues.
But slightly worse than a franchise Dman is still a true #1C, does Lindstrom fit that description for the Habs? Who knows. Same could be said for Silayev as a possible franchise D. Tough call.
Forum: Armchair-GMMon. at 12:12 p.m.
Thread: Demidov Enjoyers
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>aedoran</b></div><div>Yeah and with Chariot, Petry and Holl most thought Detroit would be one of the worst teams in the conference but that wasn't the case either. Who knows if Montreal had kept Chariot and Petry maybe they would've been in the playoff hunt after the all star game.

Detroit didn't have to give up anything for Chariot they signed him as a UFA and Montreal is paying the same amount for Petry as Detroit. Montreal got a 4th and Lindstrom for Petry. Lindstrom was claimed off waivers and I'm good with giving up a 4th to get Petry at half price. <strong> I'm not even going to go into what you had to give up just to get Petry back</strong> so you give him to Detroit at half price.</div></div>

ummm MTL got a 2nd rd pick in 2025 and were able to shed Hoffman and Pitlicks contracts (with no retention) for taking Petry back, and Poehling was an irrelevant throw-in project at that point... so Habs fans are very happy with that return. But the return they got from DET was definitely underwhelming, no doubt. Hughes already admitted he wanted to do right by Petry and sent him where he wanted to go vs getting a better return. So that was very much a "reputation building" move on Hughes' part.
Forum: Armchair-GMMon. at 10:15 a.m.
Thread: Sabres fans what do you want for Kulich
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Dcochy</b></div><div>I mean he turns as quickly as the titanic</div></div>

What are you talking about??? Mailloux isn't slow at all. He's great in transition and has amazing handles. The big concern with Mailloux was always his decision making in his own zone. Even in the OHL, he would make dumb turnovers and be caught out of position, and that's literally what he fixed this past season in Laval. He started the season pretty much exactly like he was in junior (poo poo gabage in his own zone, chasing big hits and being caught out of position), and by the end of the season he was playing on the #1 PK unit, and played crucial minutes at the end of games when Laval were holding a 1 goal lead... It was very much the focus of the Habs development team (Rob Ramage, Francis Bouillon, etc.) when it came to working with Mailloux.

So, he's quite the opposite of turning "as quickly as the titanic" lol And Habs fans would know what that looks like, we have to watch David Savard every game.