The 2012 NHL Entry Draft rolls tonight in Pittsburgh, the Canadiens scheduled to draft third in the first round.
No shortage of opinions about what the Canadiens should do, what they need, what they should want…
Mike Boone will be live-blogging the draft before it gets underway at 7 pm ET. For now, feel free to use this post to tell Habs general manager Marc Bergevin what he should do tonight. Or any of the other 29 GMs.
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Beau”s Beer is good stuff! Organic beer ,family business in Hawkesbury.Available in some bars and beer stores in Ont. Don’t know if available in Que. Hola!
They are actually in Vankleek Hill and I have not seen it in Quebec yet, myself, but you’re right….very good beer!
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
Who would you most like to see the Habs take at #3? Assume Yakupov and Murray are off the board.
1) Galchenyuk
2) Forsberg
3) Reinhart
4) Dumba
5) Tervainen
6) Other?
I like Galchenyuk. If he’s gone, I like Murray. After that, Teravainen.
Full Breezer 4 Life
1. Galchenyuk
2. Teravainen
3. Trade Out
4. Trouba
5. Dumba
Are there two highly touted Murrays?
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Opinions are like kittens, I’m giving them away.
Haha, I meant if someone took Galchenyuk instead of Murray, sorry.
Full Breezer 4 Life
…Galchenyuk
…Grigorenko
…Yakupov
…Dumba
…Murray
…Forsberg
…and, M. Subban
are the 7 on My wish-list
…whichever of these is/are chosen I will be satisfied
I’ll take Yakupov if I were Bergevin or Timmins. If not, Forsberg.
1. Galchenyuk
2. Grigorenko (and a prayer)
3. Forsberg
4. Teravainen
5. Faksa
“Et le but!”
1) Forsberg
2) Grigorenko
3) Teravainen
4) Trade down
Really, no Galchenyuk?
I think he’ll be a good player. But the Habs desperately, desperately need a player that scores goals. I think Galchenyuk is going to be more of a playmaker in the NHL.
Don’t take it so much as a knock against Galchenyuk as faith in Plekanec. Give Plekanec some wingers and I think he can be a heckuva centre for the Habs.
But without wingers, Plekanec (or Galchenyuk) will be wasted.
Grigorenko, for me, represents a guy who could be a good fit as a winger and he’s bigger. I know he plays soft, but you can perhaps work on his aggression. You can’t teach size and the kind of innate skill he’s already got.
Forsberg and Teravainen are both wingers who are touted for their shooting ability. I like the sounds of that.
Wow so refreshing to hear someone appreciating Plekanec! I like those choices now.
What an interesting observation … and that is not sarcasm. The knock against Koivu’s tenure was that he was never given truly great wingers to play with and yet what most people think the Habs need is a huge center. If Pleks needs wingers, then the same should be true for Eller. I believe in Eller and I love Pleks. So I guess I am hoping that Bergevin is going all out to get the no. 1 pick. He still has a couple of hours. : )
Late to the party but another big advocate of Tomas Plekanec, my current favourite player in the NHL and Lars eller, my second favourite current Hab
“Et le but!”
Revised Mock:
1. Edm: Murray
2. Clb: Howson goes to the washroom, gets distracted by artwork on the wall, misses pick.
3. Mtl: Yakupov
2.a Clb: Back from washroom, Howson picks Forsberg, but calls him Peter.
4. NYI: Galchenyuk
5. Tor: Who effin’ cares?!
So for the past 10 years, I’ve had to read up on the draft going-ons a few days (if not weeks) after it happened as we would always be up at the family cottage for the long weekend.
This year is different, we’re staying home. Which is great because the Habs have a high draft slot … but now Mrs. Mondavi is insisting we leave the kids at home and hit up the RibFest going on downtown Ottawa.
I feel so torn… I’ve never not wanted Ribs so bad. I guess I’ll have to settle for watching the highlights with a bellyfull of ribs, licking my fingers and drinking another bottle of Beau’s Lugtread Ale.
Sigh… a tough Friday night, indeed.
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Opinions are like kittens, I’m giving them away.
Beau’s Lugtread Ale? Where do you buy that in Montréal? If that’s where you live, of course.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
It isn’t available in Quebec, but they’re based out of Vankleek Hill. About 75 minutes from Montreal. Highly suggest the road trip.
Also sold in LCBOs in Ontario.
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Opinions are like kittens, I’m giving them away.
Interesting video regarding to Patrick Roy having lunch and talking to NHL Commissioner Gary ‘Buttman’ Bettman. I wonder what could they be discussing about? If it means landing Roy to an executive job offer in the NHL brass, congrats to him. Or a Pro-scouting position or a Coach in need of an NHL team, so be it. – http://watch.tsn.ca/tsnradio-montreal/#clip706968
Quite Honestly, those idiot backstabbers from RDS really didn’t helped him at all in his nomination as the next Head Coach of the Montreal Canadiens (not ALL of them but some of them, specifically from the l’Antichambre gang). And to think that asshole editorialist named Bertrand Raymond would make an editorial “Roy merite du Respect”, ha ha!! What a Hypocrite!
Lets me remind you all that you’ve never watched any of these prospects play.
So let’s just trust whoever the highly paid professionals take.
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To quote the great Carey Price: “Chill out.”
E.
I’d appreciate you not telling me how often I have or haven’t seen prospects play.
If you aren’t able to go to a few games or purchase a season ticket package from a CHL team, you could turn on this wonderful thing called television or the computer and watch games.
So to sum up, both live attendance and watching from a television or computer does in fact allow people to avoid never seeing prospects play.
Nice response Tom. I haven’t seen many of them play, therefore I leave most of the commenting to people like you….and I read and learn what I can.
Cheers.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
I will fire a puck at my big screen TV if I hear ANYTHING other than a high-end skilled Russian forward coming this way at no.3, and that’s *not* Forsberg, who is a dud with no hands. The last top 10 scorer the Habs had was in 1986, Mats freaking Naslund. That’s 26 years ago, top 10, not scoring leader. Not even Koivu ever finished top 10. Tired of settling for less.
Loving the Habs since 1965
Let me remind you that Galenychuk is not a real Russian. He is an American ok?
Sort of the same way that Dany Heatley is German, right?
Sort of same way Scott Gomez is mexican
Will you be putting that thur your house insurance policy?
Then i hope you have a tv with a dial and rabbit ears or piss poor shooting accuracy.
It’s 2012. Time to drop the “big screen” descriptor.
Earlier this month I saw a house get torn down. The walls were all demolished and all … and at the centre of the rubble and big screen TV. I kid you not. That hunk of topnotch mid-90s electronics was too big to move out (and worthless) so the collapsed all the walls around it.
_______________________________
Opinions are like kittens, I’m giving them away.
That’s awesome!
You should have grabbed a chair and a bag of popcorn and sat in front of it for the subsequent passersby.
Who we should pick at #3 in order of priority
Gachenyuk
if he is not available
Grigorenko
or Forsberg
(under no circumstances should we pick a D-Man)
Grigorenko
Not a fan of Grigorenko after watching him in Q playoffs. I know he had health issues but many others have concerns as well. I like the US-Russian with the Swede as second choice.
Agree 100%
Loving the Habs since 1965
Teuvo’s a possibility as well. More likely than Grigo, I’d say.
@HabsinBurlington, Apparently Pat Hickey will be in Brantford on August 15th for Hockey night in Brantford….
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hockey-Night-in-Brantford/330215883680188
Thought Montreal was looking for size – Teravainen is a smurf.
He is pretty small. It is all draft smoke…it is all part of the master plan.
I think you are right. Disinformation is a very valuable tool.
Chrisadiens and HabFan10912, one of the few father son tandems on HIO.
Sorry if this is a re-post, but HockeyBuzz states: “There are reports out of Montreal that the Habs will take Finnish prospect Teravainen…If they do they will have their best Finnish player since Saku Koivu. Were I drafting, I would take this kid at #1.”
As the new kid on the block, I have no idea how much credibility is behind the post, but wow – to me that comes out of left field! My head is spinning.
It’s one RDS reporter saying that’s what he thinks will happen…nothing more.
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Me skull and crossbones arn’t the only thing I plan on raisin’ tonight.
That would be Eklund. The gentleman who throws darts with NHL team flags on them at a board with player names in place of each scoring area.
His word is about as good as the Charmin beside my porcelain throne.
HockeyBuzz is for fools. lol
Thanks, my heart rate is dropping back to normal. Phew. (Not that I have any ability to rate Teravainen relative to the others – I leave that to Timmins et al) But the post seemed so … random.
Why are you believing this crap? Eklund’s rumors are always inaccurate and made up on spur of the moment!
Chalk it up to being a newbie to all of these sites. Just starving for draft information!
You gotta learn from us old farts.
Here’s my advice: Do not follow Eklund, @hockeyinsiderr and @the_creasy on twitter.
Just follow REAL hockey media people like Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, and so on.
Darren Dreger? Not really. He just seems to spout theories that most informed fans could come up with.
Teravainen really looks good. Might wind up being the second-most offensively-skilled player in the draft, after Yakupov.
But, it must be said, NOBODY knows what the Habs are doing except the extreme inner circle, and I seriously doubt they are leaking info to the press.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Hi everyone,
I was emailed two Canadiens Draft Party Tickets for tonight at the Bell Centre. Does anybody want them? I’m not sure what they entail (other than another way to get people to the Bell Centre to spend more $), but they’re yours if you live in MTL and want to go.
This from Ryan Murray’s brother via twitter……
Nathan Murray@Murzzy18
not that i know for absolute sure but its looking pretty good that we could be making some alberta trips in the near future.
Oh ho! Interesting.
Full Breezer 4 Life
Haha. Will there be a similar reaction at around 7:30 tonight Bill?
I think he’d a tremendous pick by Edmonton.
Full Breezer 4 Life
If Edmonton drafts Murray with the 1st overall pick, I give up on Tambellini as a GM.
As long as Kevin Lowe has a say in the future of that organization, it’s in trouble.
Is Tambellini the worst incumbent GM i the NHL? ( I mea after the Scott Howson exemption. I am astonished that he still has a job).
And does it reassure anyone that possibly the two worst GMs in the league are drafting ahead of the Habs in 1 and 2? Be still my heart, there is still hope for Galchenyuk.
“Et le but!”
I am telling you, we just might get Yakupov at #3. I feel it.
Nathan Murray is a clever one — his brother will most certainly be making trips to Alberta in the future — as a member of an opposing team!!!!!
At lunch break I seen , courtesy of Sports Net, that Montreal is taking Carey Price to arbitration!! They do this with the corner stone of the franchise! Seriously?
ef this
I believe it is only so that other teams would not sign him to an offer sheet.
okay, that makes sense. thx
ef this
You don’t get a chance to be the Voice of Reason too often, Timo, way to seize the opportunity
Who would ever think that Marc Bergevin’s first serious roster move would be to deliberately alienate a franchise cornerstone?
Full Breezer 4 Life
Real cute. This francise doesn’t exactly have a clean track record. I’ve seen a lot of dumb moves from the Montreal Brass so me questioning what MB does is fairly legitimate.
ef this
Reading your first few posts your track record is nothing to brag about either.
I just got an email. Eric Smith of “Fire the Cannon” a columbus blue jackets radio show wants to interview me during the draft.
Go Habs Go!
Visit Your NHL Draft Headquarters
http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/05/31/last-word-nhl-draft-headquarters-directory/
I got that same email!
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
LOLLLLLLLLLLLL
Go Habs Go!
Visit Your NHL Draft Headquarters
http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/05/31/last-word-nhl-draft-headquarters-directory/
Big question. Will the rookie GM get schooled by the Vets tonight?
Could Happen…….
It better not be Bergy!
The TSN mock draft by McGuire and Button had everybody pass on Sebastien Collberg.
I would be absolutely over the moon if the Habs landed Collberg at #33. That would make my day. Whoever gets Collberg is getting my darkhorse choice for the best player outside the top 5 guys. I honestly don’t see him falling that far, but man it would be nice if he did.
We had a discussion about him a while back Chris and we’re in agreement today.
Collberg at #33 could well turn out to be comparable to Dallas getting Loui Eriksson in that neighbourhood a few years ago.
Listening to 2 scouts on the radio saying Galyenchuk was absolutely the most mature player at the combine. Most easy going and down to earth. Columbus will have a hard time passing on him.
Hahaha. LA with the 30th pick. LOSERS!!!!!
Haha!
Full Breezer 4 Life
Maybe NJ will forfeit their pick (re: Kovie clause) and LA will pick 29th. Winners again! haha.
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Opinions are like kittens, I’m giving them away.
They’ve already said they aren’t forfeiting their pick, which is an awfully odd decision given that it is #29.
There must be someone they REALLY like ranked 30-50.
They need a goalie…..Malcolm is projected to be a late first rounder. Thats the only thing i can think of.
Chrisadiens and HabFan10912, one of the few father son tandems on HIO.
They’ve got Scott Wedgewood, and he’s a keeper. I sat right behind that bugger through three playoff games this spring and he is absolutely fantastic. GREAT glove hand, good size (6’1″, 190 pounds), good movement.
I’d be surprised if New Jersey drafts Subban with Wedgewood in place.
Thanks, Chris. I had missed that news tidbit.
Hopefully they will rank lower than the Habs next year and the CH will move up a spot.
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Opinions are like kittens, I’m giving them away.
Want a Quebecois player? Loïk Poudrier. Not a superstar but he was pretty dangerous shorthanded during the Memorial Cup. Committed player with lots of get up and go.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
I have a feeling that the Flyers will draft Malcolm Subban.
With their luck with goalies, it should be.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Subban picked #15 by the Senators. Craig Anderson is 31 years old, so Subban would be ready to replace him in 3-4 years. Ottawa only has one other goalie in their system (Robin Lehner) and if there is one franchise that has been burned by perceived shortcomings in net, it is Ottawa.
Ottawa just got Ben Bishop.
Right you are…I was looking at their prospect list.
Not sure what Bishop’s long-term ceiling is. He’s huge and had a great AHL season last year. But his career before that was unspectacular.
For some reason I keep thinking San Jose.
Bobby Ryan – ain’t goin anywhere without a load of real good players going the other way – why would a GM give up a young Right winger 25 yrs old he’s big 6.02 – 218 lbs and averages 30 goals per season – I would want the best line on your team to let him go – not happening.
So with teams seemingly getting good returns for younger goalies (Lindback and Bobrovsky trades), who else is out there?
Washington needs to get rid of one of Neuvirth or Holtby, as there isn’t enough net for both guys and they’ve both shown they can be starters in the NHL.
Buffalo could get a mint for Jonas Enroth.
Los Angeles has got Jonathan Bernier available.
Vancouver is obviously shopping Luongo, but that is a different case.
With some good goalies potentially on the move, there could be some surprising destinations for Vasilievski and Subban in this draft.
Not sure I will be able to handle watching first and second picks, wringing my hands, wiping my sweaty palms, praying that the Habs have the expected options open to them.
Good thing I’m out West at the moment, less time to drive myself insane waiting for the draft after work.
Meanwhile,over at the Manulife LPGA in Waterloo,Paula (what a rack) Creamer is at -3.Go Paula!!
Re: Bobrovsky to Columbus – It now appears the the loser of this summer so far has to be Vancouver. Luongo’s trade value has really dropped with Toronto being the only team without quality NHL goaltending. The Canucks are better off holding onto Luongo until there is a greater need for his services. (Same goes for Bernier in LA) They also have to re-sign Schneider.
As for Florida, Dale Tallon will lose a lot of credibility if he trades for Luongo. Better to wait a few years for Markstrom to develop.
Now that Columbus has a goalie, does that push Ottawa out of the Nash sweepstakes?
Shoutout to our new Hab GM – sit tight, don’t do anything major during the next two weeks. Better days are ahead for those who wait!
Why would he lose credibility? He would bring in a guy who could hold down the fort while Markstrom develops. And his contract was signed when he was under 35, which means he can retire whenever and no cap penalty (assuming this does not change under the next CBA).
If they can get him cheap, I think he would be a good addition to the panthers. And he will play better out of the limelight.
My thinking is that Luongo has another 7 years left on his “real” contract terms. He also has a NM clause.
Markstrom is a blue chip prospect. He will be ready to take over full time duty in two years. Why give an asset away when you don’t have to do so? As well, why pay a goalie over 6M a season when you can get a guy for just over a mil or two? Especially on a team that is hard pressed for coin.
This would be Brian Campbell all over again in Chicago. Teams that are re-building shouldn’t make moves like this. And Florida is still rebuilding regardless os what happened last season.
The Luongo situation is untenable. The Leafs are the logical team to acquire him, since they need goaltending and have the cap flexibility in the coming years to accommodate RL’s contract. Also, if you look at how many UFAs they have after this season – most of whom probably won’t be resigned – they look to be beginning Brian Burke’s second rebuild after 2013. And Luongo could be a good part of that rebuild.
But after everything that happened in Vancouver, Toronto is probably the last place Luongo would like to go. That place is a goalie graveyard. He needs a fresh start in a less-obsessive market.
So actually, Florida would be a great fit for him. I think he’d serve that team well, too: Markstrom can develop as his back-up, and take over when the time is right.
Full Breezer 4 Life
And his wife is from Florida (from when he played there the first time). I actually think she is still down their with their kid.
Who would want to defend the Luongo situation anyhow? Vancouver should be in an enviable situation, with both Luongo and Schneider.
Given that there is a higher % of UFA goalies out there, I’m not certain who (aside from – as you said – Florida) would even want to sign him with his heavy baggage.
Bri
Not trying to troll, but I recall many suggesting how impossible it would have been to keep Price and Halak. I can’t remember whether this was because $6M would have been too much to pay in total or if somehow the fabric of the universe would tear if they shared the workload, but evidently this will not be the case for Luongo and Schneider and their total compensation which will be in the $10M vicinity.
ducks
“Et le but!”
Hmmm….I fear this Bobrovsky deal is an indicator of Burke getting his goalie and it not being Luongo…..
Burke may be working on a blockbuster involving CLB, Bobrovsky, the picks and maybe even Nash…3 way trade with someone? This trade just reeks of something larger …
Not sure I agree. Why would CLB trade 3 picks and then trade the guy they got. They need a goalie and they got one.
becuase maybe they have more picks coming back in exchange for someone else moving up
could be. but there was alot of talk about CLB needing a goalie so I think he stays.
Bobrovsky to CBJ for 45 and 117 this year and 4th rd. (PHX) next year.
tweet from dreger.
This has to be one of the stupidest trades in NHL history. There has to be more to this.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=398972
That’s fair value, especially seeing what Tampa gave up.
How is this for a rumour, what about some team bringing back Huet on a cheap contract as an experienced second goalie?
We probably should pick a goalie.
Here are the top three according to TSN:
Andrei Vasilevksi No. 24
Malcolm Subban No. 25
Oscar Dansk No. 35
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Malcom Subban playing with his bro is the right thing to do!
Why not invite Dansk to the dance?
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Aaron Portzline @Aportzline
Have confirmed @DarrenDreger report of #CBJ trade for G Sergei Bobrovsky. Three draft picks going to Flyers, including No. 45 this year.
Three picks!
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
That’s crazy.
What’s also crazy is that David Poile stopped being silly long enough to land two seconds and a third for his backup goaltender (Anders Lindback) and a checker (Kyle Wilson).
GM’s are acting crazy this summer.
Lindback for AK and Gill. Nice bounce back by Poile.
Now if he can only get that first rounder returned….
Three picks, seems a bit excessive for a guy who looks like he could be decent in a backup role.
Philly knows how to wheel and deal. Not sure they all work out but you blame them for trying.
Maybe the Canucks will get a decent haul for Luongo after all.
Bluejackets GM should be fired.
CBJ have given up too much for this average goalie.
You know, I found this video again and it still kills me…
After Canada absolutely destroyed Denmark 10-2 in the World Juniors, five of the Danish players were fooling around with some of the tournament volunteers in the interview room.
After some clowning around, one of the guys mentioned that they were recording and asked them how the Canadian guys were. One of the Danish kids joked around that the Danes were crushed to lose as such big favourites, laughing the whole time.
The Danish coach then suspended the five for unprofessional behaviour.
You know, I understand that you should go to these tournaments and try to win. But Denmark was never going to beat Canada in the World Juniors. Most of those kids play the equivalent of high school hockey. They had some fun, and their idiot coach suspends them.
The “winning is the only thing” mentality in sports is really sickening sometimes. Joking around after a game doesn’t mean you didn’t care during the game. I remember some of Ovechkin and Semin’s teammates being furious when they were caught laughing with Ilya Kovalchuk after a tough loss to New Jersey. The game is over…you’re going to spend time talking about it tomorrow while watching tape.
Is it really so terrible for an athlete to just have fun sometimes?
Well I think that whoever is funding the team may expect a more professional approach at a world tournament. So I can understand the reaction. But they are just kids so it cuts both ways.
I could understand if it were an official news conference. But it was a bunch of kids joking around with tournament organizers and volunteers, and their happened to be a camera crew there waiting for the coaches’ press conferences.
When you take the fun out of sports, you risk hurting the player as well. Sidney Crosby is much more reserved in public since his lashings over exuberant behaviour as a teenager in the QMJHL, prompting some to label him as boring.
Alexander Ovechkin was frequently described as playing the game with passion and joy, but that has disappeared now.
P.K. Subban hasn’t lost that joy on the ice yet, and I hope he never does. But there is so much pressure on these guys to be automatons as opposed to letting them just be who they are.
Well, except for Vernon Fiddler. That dude is hilarious.
Canadiens will make the following trade with Anaheim prior to their pick tonight:
To Anaheim: 3rd Pick, 33rd pick, Weber, Prospect
To Montreal: 6th Pick, Bobby Ryan
With the 6th pick the Habs will select Tevmo Teravainen.
“If you’re a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, you can probably say “we,” because your faithful devotion to that miserable team is the principal reason they will always be s**t. You might as well accept your share of the blame” – Chris Jones on Grantland.com, 10/18/2011.
I think Anaheim would only go for it if the deal looked like this:
To Anaheim: 3rd Pick, 33rd pick, Beaulieu
To Montreal: Bobby Ryan
Do you think that’s a fair price for Bobby Ryan? I certainly don’t think so.
I would do it if we didn’t have to include Beaulieu.
Ryan, smyan. Keep what we already have.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Columbus trading for Bobrovsky proves it.
The talk that Columbus won’t take a chance on a Russian was all paranoid xenophobic media B.S.
Go Habs Go!
Visit Your NHL Draft Headquarters
http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/05/31/last-word-nhl-draft-headquarters-directory/
Thats funny
Coyotes D Keith Yandle reportedly on the block. One of the most underrated D in the game.
Yandle is a very good player. Love to have him.
There’s been some negativity on this site in the recent past, so I have created this form that can be filled in around 8:00 tonight, to make posting easier and faster….Just fill in the blanks, and underline one of the items in brackets:
Oh my God! I can’t believe the Habs drafted _______________. What were they thinking?? They had a chance to draft ______________, who would have helped their (power play / penalty kill / defensive woes).
This joke of a team is turning into the (Toronto Maple Leafs / Cleveland Barons / Oakland Seals). Even (Rejean Houle / Pierre Gauthier) could have drafted better tonight. At this rate we won’t see a Stanley Cup in Montreal before ___________.
Have some confidence my man…think good and hopefully they do good
You forgot to add: copy, complete and paste. Now my screen’s all messy.
Oh my God! I can’t believe the Habs drafted Jean Guy LeFloater.What were they thinking?? They had a chance to draft Bubba Raymond(Bertrand’s illegitimate son) who would have helped their season ticket drive.
This joke of a team is turning into the NHL’s version of the Buffalo Bills. Even Ralph Wilson could have drafted better tonight. At this rate we won’t see a Stanley Cup in Montreal before the Messiah arrives..
LOL
I can’t wait for tonight, I’m very nervous!
So many questions, they’ll all be answered tonight.
Galchenyuk or Forsberg?
What about a defenseman?
What if Galchenyuk’s gone?
Imagine if Yakupov falls to the 3 spot?
Will the lafs trade up and steal Galchenyuk?
Lol I bet all these possibilities are going on in every Hab fans head.
Galchenyuk.
Maybe in the 2nd round.
That would possibly mean Yakupov is available. If so take him.
See above.
Doubtful.
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GO HABS GO! Maybe 2012-13 will be our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
Agree, I just hope the lafs don’t trade up…
I think we’re safe. Boston doesn’t pick until later in the round. LOL
———————–
GO HABS GO! Maybe 2012-13 will be our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
Twitter abuzz with possibilities of Yakupov falling to 3, but likely only if EDM goes with Murray…apparently the Jackets aren’t high on Yakupov- the question is, do they prefer Galchenyuk, or Forsberg (as was earlier reported/suggested)?
I’d be okay with Yakupov.
I know we need Centre more, but you just can’t pass on Yakupov if he falls into your lap. He’s too good.
Go Habs Go!
Visit Your NHL Draft Headquarters
http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/05/31/last-word-nhl-draft-headquarters-directory/
I don’t think we need a centreman. I think we absolutely need an elite talent at forward.
I will load my diaper, and keep wearing it while drinking Champagne if we somehow land Yakupov.
That would make up for a lot. The guy has an edge, you can see it on the ice or in person and that with his skill would light things up around here. He would be our most exciting player since Kovalev (when he was on).
my twitter is abuzz with #nopantyday
Dreger tweets that Bobrovsky is headed to Columbus for some draft picks.
Hmmm, thought he would be part of package for Nash. Interesting.
Yeah, someone mentioned the other day that they’d be shocked if a goalie wasn’t involved in the Nash trade, but a multiple trade scenario was always likely in order to avoid limiting the Nash suitors.
Well Philly is fairly set up in the middle, so if Howson was dumb enough to give up the second pick (I know, but of all the GMs out there, he’d be the one to do it), the Flyers would likely pass on Galchenyuk.
I highly doubt the draft picks they are referring to will include the 2nd overall. If so, Columbus should fire Howson before the team has a chance to step up to the podium.
“They don’t hang Conference Championship Banners from the rafters here”
Carey Price
Well here’s to fail for Nail Yakupov and I hope we get him and then CLEAN HOUSE of most of our small ,older ,overpaid deadbeats that made the Montreal Canadiens the laughing stock of the Hockey world….
Eller maybe a star someday I don’t know – but he hasn’t impressed me so far – you can use minutes played or half ass wingers for an excuse – the best I see is a 3rd liner….
An excuse for what?
Who’s making excuses for a 16 goal season as a third line centreman on an offensively challenged team?
If Eller doen`t become at least a second line center then you can add the deal to the list of bonehead moves by the Goat.
He didn’t do any better than Pouliot and they got rid of him
If Eller’s getting 16-20 goals next year on the 3rd line the 2 centers ahead of him will have to be having really good years whuch would be really good for us. BTW difference between Pouiliot and Eller is the blue line doesn’t trip Eller every second rush.
Mr. Biter
No Guts No Glory
I’m not a mathematician but I think 16 goals is better than 13 goals. Eller’s also had less power play time and overally less opportunity to be in an offensive role. Eller > Pouliot by a good margin. Hell, he can traverse the blue line without tripping, so that’s something.
———————–
GO HABS GO! Maybe 2012-13 will be our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
what do we know so far?
Eller has demonstrated he has great wheels.
Eller has demonstrated he has great hands.
Eller has demonstrated he plays in both ends.
Eller has demonstrated he will go to the net/into traffic.
Does that sound like a guy you would want on your bench?
Sometimes there is more to see in a player than his point production. He is still young, has not been used or coached properly and could stand some better wingers. I think he is going to turn into an amazing late bloomer.
Let’s support the team and players on it.
c’est le but!
Bob in Ottawa
Any player that can score four goals in one game shouldn’t be sneezed at.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Wow..I am very gald to see all the love for Eller…..last season he got a bum rap on here quite often but it appears many are coming around. I think that is as exciting as the draft becuase many appeared to resent him for his involvement in the Halak deal….nice to see.
“Coming around”?
My background is Danish, Rob…I’ve been on the Eller train for quite a while. If they trade him, I will be so angry…that’s my next Habs jersey, darn it!
(I’m also cheering for Peter Regin, Mikkel Bødker, Phillip Larsen, Jannik Hansen, Frans Nielsen. With Nicklas Jensen and Mads Eller coming up, maybe the Danes will start to get enough players out of their 23 rinks to give me a second team to cheer for at the Olympics!)
lol wasn;’ directed at anyone in particular…but everytime I would post something last year showing how he was ahead of both Pleks and DD at the same age (even offenively)then factor in his size,etc…I would normally get about 3 posts supporting it and about 10 against…that doens’t seem to be the case lately..In looking it appears to be all people who I don’t think ever doubted Eller but I don’t see the 10 negative responses you would have last year.
Damien Brunner signs with Detroit.
http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/06/22/report-damien-brunner-chooses-detroit/
Go Habs Go!
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Kaberle and Gomez are both untradeable.
if the Habs are not able to get rid of Gomez – let them figure out how – minors, trade, retire – whatever…then this team will be bad again…you simply cannot have that kind of cap space tied up in zero production….think about what $7M could get you spread across 2 forwards….
You could pay the salaries of both AK46 and René Bourque!! awesome! :p
Let AK go to the KHL. His comittment to the Preds. was impressive.
Mr. Biter
No Guts No Glory
ok, I’ll admit, I dont really care who the habs draft tonight, I know they’ll get a beauty. I just hope that whoever we get turns out to be better than whoever toronto drafts at #5. If some drafted at #16 or 22 ends up being amazing down the road, oh well, as long as he’s not french canadian…. lol
I’m pulling for forsberg, cause no real reason, all the youtube videos i watch on these kids look like they all have some dangle in em, the ability to pick corners and whatever. I guess I just have more confidence in forsberg being that he’s swedish and probably took hockey in school growing up.
After Scott Howson screws us over by taking Galchenyuk with the second pick:
Plekanec, Weber, Kristo and the 3rd overall pick to Anaheim for Ryan, the 6th overall pick and 36th overall pick.
We take Grigorenko 6th, package the 33rd and 36th picks to get a mid 20s pick, take Matheson, and miraculously find Frk still on the board at 51.
We come away with Ryan, Grigorenko, Matheson and Frk by Saturday afternoon…not bad. One can dream, right?
Man, why aren’t you GM? That’s pretty good.
Frk? This guy is overated. So is Grigorenko. Did you watch the Mooseheads in the playoffs? I do like Galchenyuk. I hope we get him.
blah blah blah playoffs….. he had MONO!!!! lol
If you can get a talent like Frk at 51, you do it. He has a far higher ceiling than most projected second rounders.
I think it’s moot anyway, he’ll probably last until the high 30s at best.
I agree. I think Marty will be late first round/early second round. Hopefully still available for the Habs #2 pick.
———————–
GO HABS GO! Maybe 2012-13 will be our year!
“Scott Gomez is an elite NHL player” – VancouverHab
Chat with me on Twitter @TheRealRGM81
If you want staal – a Plekanec deal is the only possible deal that may work and we would be adding size and equal skill. not sure who you would add in the mix to get a deal like that done and don’t say PK….
I would add Gionta. If this team is in a rebuild he can go. But only if Staal can be signed long term or no deal.
If they deal Staal though, they’re trying to shed salary — Plekanec and Gionta wouldn’t help them with that. I’d be reluctant to lose what Staal is admittedly worth in exchange for a guy who may elect to go UFA next summer.
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”
They just offered Staal big money and he said no so I think he will be moved. Pit knows that Sid and Geno are more important. But I agree no Staal without a long term deal.
Not easy being a Habs fan here in L.A. right now. Everyone at the rink is in their Stanley Cup sweatshirts and I’m either wearing Ironhead or a Habs zip up sweatshirt and my Schwartz’s lid – and on top of it Kings own my kid and I’m about to write a check for $4,100.00 dues for his Squirt travel team’s next season.
I’m not cheering for the Kings on top of all that.
How did the cap work when Crosby was out so long? Didn’t insurance pay him and Pens would have had use of that cap space?
Or are they just overall capped out?
gomez
Forget the draft – this one is huge!
http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Battle+Blades+partners+Craig+Simpson+Jamie+Sale+marry+California/6820105/story.html
It maybe huge but I hope there is bigger news to come.
It IS a nice story.
But if the Habs signed MAB, that would be bigger.
Hmm, she was still married to Pelletier when Battle of the Blades started. How nice a story is it?
Go Habs Go!
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Apparently, Sale & Simpson were merely platonic pirouetting partners at the time.
They had a pirouetting baby.
Oh Oh.
THat is what I first thought of when i read the timeline. Good old hockey player Simpson….
I think you meant this was the big news of the day.
http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2012/matches/round=15173/match=2003344/prematch/index.html
Say Gerald,if the unthinkable happens and Greece wins Euro 2012,can that country afford to throw a parade?
If Germany offers enough, Greece might be willing to throw the game …
lol. never thought of that.
I am thinking if Germany loses, suddenly the interest rate on the bailout may increase slightly
Why do I get the impression there is more excitement amongst us today than for any game we played all this past season!
Lead us to the promised land MB!
Make it so.
Because this past season was about as much fun as a simultaneous root canal and enema, while fully conscious.
And because we haven’t had a top 5 pick since 05, the year we wiffed on Kopitar.
You say wiffed on Kopitar I say we scored with Price. Different Perspectives.
HIB = glass half full kinda guy
LA = glass half empty kinda guy.
But if HIB’s glass is half-full at the top and LA’s glass is half empty at the bottom, all’s good.
I’m kind of down on Price lately, mainly based on his shoot-out performance, I admit. And there was no way to guess that the goalie market would be so flat. If we had a big maie center I would be less concerned. Hopefully we will fix that this weekend.
Not easy being a Habs fan here in L.A. right now. Everyone at the rink is their in their Stanley Cup sweatshirts and I’m either wearing Ironhead or a Habs zip up sweatshirt and my Schwartz’s lid – and on top of it Kings own my kid and I’m about to write a check for $4,100.00 dues for his Squirt travel team’s next season.
I’m not cheering for the Kings on top of all that.
Price would have looked better on the shootout if the Habs could have scored on the shootouts…
re Price on shootouts.
I don’t understand the argument except in a purely statistical sense. Whether we score or not on a shoot out has nothing to do with our goalie, except whether he faces another shot or not. Hockey for a goalie is a game between he and the shooters. That’s all. yes there is a larger team game, but the bones of it are Goalie vs Shooters. That’s all.
Price was not great, but Habs shooter were awful.
Wow. The poll on our coach up on the right is 65% negative. I remember when Therrien was on the short list only 4% wanted him.
I am committed to keeping my mouth shut on the coaching until at least Christmas, and I guess the upside is his popularity has nowhere to go but up… I guess the question is how long do you think Therrien’s honeymoon will be?
I agree Christmas would be a good measuring stick. But he needs a few players too. If the team is the same then I can’t see much hope
As long as there’s a detailed escape clause.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
I agree, got to cut the guy some slack.
Players you can expect to be gone by Monday.
1. Tomas Kaberle
2. Yannick Weber
3. Danny Kristo
really?
That would be ok with me
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Who do you think will take Kaberle? The other guys I can understand.
Also are you giving up on Kristo or just think he will be desirable?
Kaberle does fill a need. He isn’t exactly washed up. There are teams out there who do need life injected into their powerplay and can use him as a #5 or #6 guy instead of a #3 or #4 guy.
Dallas, Minnesota, Columbus and Detroit could all use him.
I think Kristo is a piece that Bergevin could live with trading and yes should be very desirable for other teams.
If we drafted Ryan Murray, AND Markov was healthy and played well into March, can you see us trading him to Detroit to replace Lidstrom and whom / what might we get in return?
addendum: I’m not saying we should, I’m saying if we did. I just think with the wild card of the KHL it’s an aspect of risk management that has to be considered, that’s all.
If this team drafts a defenseman tonight at #3 I have no comment about them until further notice.
It would be a colossal mistake in my opinion.
I don’t think Kaberle will be traded, as much as the team would like to, and the team simply can’t afford to give up on any winger prospects with scoring potential. The cupboards are pretty bare, and I just can’t see why they would give up on him after he had what seemed to be a pretty solid all-around season at North Dakota, where he worked hard and improved his defensive game quite a bit. In some respects, I see Kristo being groomed to replace Gionta.
I do see Weber getting dealt as a favour to his own development, probably for a third- (ideally) to fifth-round pick.
I would call Gallagher the replacement to Gionta, but that’s just me.
Gallagher scares me for some reason. I’m sure it is just a silly aversion to the WHL due to previous burnings with Habs prospects. Maybe they will BOTH replace Gionta.
Chris – I think the jury is out on Kristo. It might be quite a stretch to ever see him being a Gionta.
BTW, can he still go the UFA route next summer if the Habs don’t sign him?
Yes. Once he graduates, the Habs have 30 days to sign him or he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
I can see Gomez losing alot of ice time that could go to Eller in part, I have a problem understanding why Eller and Plekanec can’t or shouldn’t be on the same team.
What ice time? Gomez played 38 games this season, saw Powerplay time ahead of Desharnais and was a 4th line centreman for most of it.
I honestly think they were hoping he could get some assists on the PP so it would make it easier finding a partner to give him to….that didn’t work out so well
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
LOL, he’s gone and he’s not going to have any ice time, give it to Eller, seems fair, no?
The point is that Gomez wasn’t taking any ice time away from Eller this season so his removal from the roster does nothing to add to it.
I don’t get the logic, Gomez is gone and his ice-time needs to be replaced, doesn’t Eller deserve to get a piece of that? Gomez had 16 minutes a game in the last 3 games at least…
Gomez was taking powerplay time away from Desharnais. He wasn’t when Plekanec was on the point on the powerplay.
That stupidity isn’t likely to be rehashed.
Plekanec and Desharnais will centre the two powerplay lines the Habs have.
the reason you cant give him gomez’s ice time, is cause it was actually float and fukup time.
Of coarse gomez is gone, they have been trying to find a way to get rid of that overpayed SOB for a solid year now, the only reason he was getting ise cause of injurys, maybe thought he could pull out of his slump. eller had more goals in his first 4 goal game then gomez had all year. if the habs buy him out it will be a 3 mill and change cap hit, lets just do it and forget abou this guy. worst trade in habs history.
All the talk about Staal is great but how can you trade for a guy when he could be gone after next season? This is one reason that Pit wants to trade him. You would have to give up a lot to get him and could lose him soon. So I can’t see it.
So I need a bit of help for tonight.
I’m down in the US for work right now and I’m not confident that the tsn.ca live stream of the draft will work for me…and I don’t think nhl.com is going to stream it. The US network carrying it on TV is NBC Sports Network (formerly VS) but I doubt the hotel I’m cooped up in has it….any suggestions?
You can listen to it live on Team 990 online.
I’m going to be following Bob McKenzie on Twitter.
Do you get NHL Network?
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Hockey I/O might well feature some draft-related talk…
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
I”m in Mexico and I’m going to try on the streaming sites… maybe myp2p.pe or justin.tv… there are streamers that leave their feed active on TSN long after the chosen game is over. I watched TSN all day the other day, but the initial game was a EURO 2012 match… eventually I turned it off at bowling 7 hours later.
It’ll be painful to go through all of the links but if I find something I’ll be sure to share (provided I’m home).
I am sick of the endless speculation. You can only move these imaginary pieces so many times. IOW, let the wild rumpus begin!
LA Loyalist – I’d love to have Staal but it certainly looks like he’s holding out to go to Carolina. Staal will be a better catch than Nash. Shero’s comments about Staal turning down $60M/10years is another way of saying he’s now on the trade market.
The assets the Habs would have to give up for Ryan would be substantial. None of this Kristo/Weber/Diaz/Holland crap. RW is the least of our problems right now so I think I’ll pass.
I find it interesting how the return for players such as Staal, Nash and Luongo may have decreased as time has gone by (and circumstance has changed). The Rangers better be careful.
Lots of chatter about Steve Ott being on the market.
Not many people are talking about UFA Dman, Justin Schultz, but he’s the real catch this summer. He would be a top five pick this year and comes absolutely free. If Edmonton drafts Yakupov and signs Schultz they immediately become the winners of the 2012 sweepstakes. Not to mention they also get the 32nd player available after having all night to sleep on their decision. Poor Tom Renney, one year too early.
Ryan is a left winger first, and a centre second. Our LW needs some serious shoring up beyond Pacioretty.
Brain cramp! You’re right, I was thinking of Perry.
In that case how about Subban and our 3rd overall pick for Ryan
Our Defence would be in shambles without PK this season, we then have another sizeable contract in Ryan, and we haven’t added an elite Centreman talent with small contract.
Nope, I want this draft pick.
Gerald – I can’t believe it was you who responded to my tongue in cheek post! It was a take-off on Maguire earlier in the week.
It seems that
doesn’t carry much weight on HI/O!!!
My most sincere apologies, I am in pregame mode here for the soccer game, rather tense.
Stall had 25 goals in 60 games last year, he’s only 23-years-old, he’s big and strong and screaming to get out from behind Malkin and Crosby.
This guy is easily one of the better 2nd line centers in the league if given the chance and has a good chance of taking another step forward this year and becoming a solid number one.
I would hate to give away our young prospects but I’d definitely consider a lot of things to get Staal from the Pens.
HH – He also does all the heavy lifting in Pittsburgh.
If I thought we could sign him I’d certainly give up our 1st round pick. The Habs could then trade Pleks for a mid 1st rounder and still get something decent at that point in the draft.
That’s shrewd Steve and I like it. You’d have to have one hell of a guarantee he’s signing though.
I don’t see how it would be possible. A RFA can’t sign a new deal until July 1st of his final contract eyar. The fact we’re talking about major draft picks means the deal has to go down today.
That would mean Montreal would have to take Staal at his word (or his agent’s). Even then Montreal could be charged with tampering and lose a 1st rounder like NJ.
The Pens will now have to accept less in any Staal deal as they are boxed in. It’s not as bad as the Luongo situation for Vancouver but also isn’t quite as viable as any Nash deal (Ottawa now in the mix?)
It would be an agonizing decision but you’d have to think it would make sense to trade our 3rd pick for Staal.
Staal had 30 points in 42 games as the Pens number 1 Centre while Crosby and Malkin were injured.
Centring a line with James Neal and Chris Kunitz, Neal had 1 goal in 20 games.
On the same line Malkin won the Art Ross and Hart Trophies and Neal scored 40 goals.
This is all you need to know about Staal’s potential to be a true number 1 centre. He’s not… he’s a damn fine #2, but he gets overrated by playing matchups against easier defence pairings because he isn’t Malkin or Crosby.
Go Habs Go!
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That is all you need to know? Pretty small sample size. Change of environment, different set of wingers, new season…that could EASILY change. Very small sample size.
Although I do believe the odds are he’s better suited to be a great number two center. But we may not have seen it all at this point. HE is 23-YEARS-OLD!
Have we seen Subban’s best season yet?
If he didn’t have a famous brother in the NHL, he’d be seen as a second liner.
Go Habs Go!
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I don’t agree with that…he has shown a lot of potential and is just hitting the age where power forwards often break out.
I think that Jordan Staal could easily become a #1 centre in the NHL with the right linemates. Lines can make a player.
Last summer, I was hyping Tomas Fleischmann as a potential UFA signing. Most people basically stated that he was little more than a second line player. He found nice chemistry with Weiss and Versteeg and put up 27 goals and 61 points, comparable numbers to Rick Nash (30 goals and 61 points) and Nash is the dream acquisition for fans of numerous franchises.
Also remember Pens did real well even when Crosby was out for so long. yeah a lot was Malkin but Staal came through too. I am no Pittsburgh fan but you have to respect how they battled through that adversity, a credit to the players and coaches.
Why is everyone saying that Jodan Staal wouldn’t want to go anywhere but where his brothers play? Did he actually say that? Isn’t it possible he just doesn’t want to play on the 3rd line for his entire career? He’s 23 years old and miles ahead of guys like Eller. He should be given his own scoring line.
I like Jordan Staal. I don’t like that he reportedly turned down a ten year deal that would have given him an average of $6 M per season.
Staal is ahead of Eller, no question. But his contract is miles ahead of Eller’s too.
I wasn’t putting down Eller though, just using him to show how Staal is exceptional.
I share the same opinion. I’m just not sure we could fit Staal, although maybe the Pens would take Plekanec in return.
Hmm…
Yep, I’d do that trade.
Admit it: Nail Yakupov is a killer hockey name.
Let’s come up with some others (and relieve stress):
Bolt Upright
Nokka Netsov…
Go for it, guys.
Scott Gomez
LMAO
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Timo you always cheer me up. Thank you. Don’t you think Gomez would look good in a Columbus Blue Jacket jersey?
First sincere LOL from a post in quite awhile. well played, sir
The Montreal Canadiens: sporting the best AND worst fans since 1909!
Blade Rippedov.
Jacques Strap
I really appreciate Chris and Tom’s comments below regarding Eller.
As some of you might remember a few months back I posted that I thought it was time to give Eller 2nd line minutes.
Although Eller averaged around 30 seconds of power play time, he was still able to produce at a decent clip.
Any analysis of a scorer MUST include his power play time and how many points he gets on the power play.
Some players get 30% and even 50% or MORE of their season’s points on the power play.
If Eller gets 30 seconds a game and he is being compared to someone who gets 3 or 4 minutes a game, it is hardly a fair comparison.
Eller is a warrior as well; his work ethic is great, his attitude is excellent, he is mature beyond his age, and ready to do whatever it takes to help the team win.
He is NOT A WINGER. He is not a natural scorer, and his first instinct is to carry the puck and distribute the puck.
In fact, he plays like he is lost on the wing, and that experiment was a huge failure; effectively blocking his development by about 1/2 a season over the last 2 years.
Give Eller the puck and let him skate with it!!
This young man can blossom into a terrific player.
I absolutely hated Gauthier – his arrogance, his cookie rationing, everything about him.
But the man in St Louis who recommended and convinced St Louis to draft Eller is a pure hockey Guru – one of the great hockey minds in the world; Jarmo Kekäläinen.
And now that Gauthier is gone – thank the Hockey gods – I will give him credit for trading for Eller.
believe in Eller like we believed in Pacioretty; give the man his minutes!!
Ditto. He’s ready now. And if I’m Bergevin and I can find an excellent trade for Plekanec out there, I do it.
The anit-Plekanec lobby has no replacement for Pleks. Without him we have what in the middle?
Desharnais, Eller, Gomez, White?
Not exactly intimidating.
Galchenyuk
Desharnais, Eller, Galchenyuk,
I would take that.
+++ we get a Kings Ransom for plekanec!!
There is NO ONE outside of Parise who is available as a Free Agent this year, and we would have several teams bidding for Plekanec.
That lack of forwards as free agents has never happened like this and might not again for years.
the bidding war for Plekanec would land us a solid 1st round pick, a top prospect from a previous draft, and maybe another asset as well.
re: below about Galchenyuk not being ready.
fine; that might be true.
But that’s what they said about Skinner, and then that’s what they said about Landeskog
And I think Galchenyuk might be every bit as ready come Sepetember as those 2 were.
It’s very possible he blows us away at training camp like Skiinner and Landeskog did.
Another example was last year when no one thought that Philly would keep Couturier; he turned out to be NHL ready as well.
If Galchenyuk continues to work as he does, harder then almost anyone in the gym, I would NOT be surprised if he makes the jump next season.
I just hope that its for us!!
Come on, he ain’t ready.
Galchenyuk is not NHL ready….
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Eller is the replacement for Plekanec. Desharnais stays with Pacioretty and Cole and you sign a UFA centreman to play a defensive role and chip in some offense here and there.
Not nearly enough offense, not nearly enough, keep Pleks give him some wingers, give Eller another year to mature, but give him more ice time.
And who do you take ice time away from? Hockey games are usually only sixty minutes in length. Not enough mouths to feed.
preaching to the converted, tom.
you and I agree 100%
I’d still rather trade DD, it seems safer to me, but the return might not be as good, then again DD produces alot for his salary, and Pleks though older still has alot of good years in him.
But if someone dangles a young top 6 winger, I would be hard pressed not to accept my favorite Habs players departure.
there is very little return for DD.
he would not even get us a 1st round pick.
that’s the point.
DD is cheap, and the league doesn’t believe in his talent cuz he’s so damn small.
Plekanec yields the great return in a trade.
I know, but I still feel the team would be better moving forward with Pleks and Eller instead of DD and Eller.
To me this just reinforces that Eller should have been in Hamilton on his first year, even if he could handle NHL minutes in a smaller role, he would have benefited from the added roles and special team duties…
For now hopefully Therrien plays a balanced way with his 3 top lines, but that would require adding on some wingers of quality.
That would have gone well. Trade your star goalie who took the team to the ECF for an AHLer. Eller is a 3rd liner at best… he will remain there most of his career. I don’t get what people see in him.
He was 21 at the time, prospect play in the AHL, there’s nothing weird with that… You only say he is a 3rd liner as that’s the only place he played, he is young and can definitely improve.
Well, sure he can. Will he, is another question. I am skeptical, as you can probably tell. There is nothing I saw in Eller that would suggest he’ll be a threatening player in the NHL. He may become #2 in Mtl, which… let’s admit it, is not hard. But playing on an actual NHL team he will be hard pressed to ever move beyond 3rd line. Time will tell, Shiram, but I still maintain we should have gotten more for Halak.
I think Eller was a nice piece to get for Halak, but Ian Schultz is not all that great…
Someone that knows what they’re talking about – right on Timo
I 100% agree that it would have helped his development
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Reading that I feel like I was just at a Billy Graham Revival!
I believe, I believe!
Thankyou Preacher ED!
Love the passion of that post bud.
I don’t think Eller has showed us much with the exception of that AK/Eller masterclass against the Jets – but given his ice time and lack of PP time, I cut him some slack.
It didn’t help that Pleks and Cams took the year off last year. By the time Pleks woke from his parental slumber the season was toast.
If you ship Pleks, you better get a left winger for Eller… and get mentally prepared for another year of mixed results and another low draft pick.
The Habs survived without Koivu and didn’t have a lottery pick. Why would they be destined to without Plekanec?
Yes.
I also don’t get why Ducks would trade Ryan. One of the better players out there. Doesn’t strike me as Gomez or Cammilleri type either. What’s the scoop?
He has a pathological hatred for Mickey Mouse which is controled by very expensive drugs not covered under any private drug plan in the U.S. The Ducks are tired of the cost and are worried about the danger to Mickey should they stop administering the anti-dote.
They want to trade him to a Florida based team.
That i buy.
But shipping him to Florida only moves the problem from Disneyland to Disneyworld.
I’d trade him North of the border where he’s safe from mice with big yellah shoes…
That’s the irony, or the conspiracy. Take your pick. Mice can be viscious don’t forget, if he’s traded to Montreal it might be a case of saving ryan’s privates.
I am with Timo, I buy that. Sounds like Canadian Medi-Care will be his saviour.
Penguins ask Staal if he will agree to a 10-year contract extension worth $60 million. Me, I woulda said “I do.” Not Jordan. Maybe he has a quota on ‘I do’s’ in a week. Wonder if he talked it over with his bride-to-be, and if their wedding vow includes mention of “for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health”? He’s obviously confident he’ll still have the opportunity to become richer after another season and that his career won’t be derailed by a major injury. But that sort of thing never happens, right, Sidney?
Tell the other 29 GMs to get lost.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Okay, time’s up. Olly olly oxen free
LMAO!
No problem Chris, there are a ton of inaccurate numbers with the kids. Just letting you know, I managed to get a hold of the actual accurate ones.
Still keep in mind 18 year old kids, many will add another inch or 20 lbs in 3-4 years, so they won’t be good for long.
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Best example was Alexei Kovalev. When he was drafted, he was 6’0″ and 180 pounds. When he had his big season with Montreal, he was playing at 230 pounds.
He added 50 pounds of muscle to his frame over his career. WOW.
sure it was 50 lbs of muscle? lol
Did you see how ripped he was that season? It was muscle.
remember the tucker elbow…..lol that was awesome. I will always be a Kovalev fan for that reason. Not just that he was a player when on the ice was always a threat
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Galchenyuk is not Emelin or a Lindros where he goes looking for a huge hit. But that said, he’s strong on the forecheck, will take the body, will battle in corners and in front of the net, and isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty to make plays.
You are getting a lot more physical player in Galchenyuk (think a Toews or Hossa) than in Grigorenko (thik a Spezza type).
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Thanks, that frames it all nicely.
Still saying Habs priority list should be Yak/Gal/Grigs/Fors..
Great comparisons…
So, who / what would you trade to Anaheim this morning for Bobby Ryan?
Or to Pittsburgh for Stall? Let’s have some fun, this waiting around is freaking stressful. It’s only 8 am here so I can’t start drinking yet (I have my kid home today, and he has tryouts tonight, so I have to behave).
Staal is probably looking to play in Carolina, so I would not try to deal for him.
Ryan is more interesting, what are the Ducks missing?
Ducks need a mature stay at home Craig Ludwig type D. Their best D are good but really young. They would kill for Markov were he healthy.
Markov is in his twighlight and we really don’t have any solid D that we can move….Our D is in bad shape
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
My first though was send them Emelin, but that would only mean the Habs need more solid D’s.
Agreed Shiram….Emelin at least hits. I do like him i just hope he plays better D this year. he showed he really could struggle in the North American game. A year with the Bulldogs would have done him wonders but the KHL thing screws it all up.
I wonder what the habs will offer him. They need his hitting on the back end for sure. Keeps the other team thinking when you are coming up the ice
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I’m thinking to keep him in the NHL, he will ask for Hal Gill money, something just over 2 millions.
Wouldn’t touch Staal. I would offer Kristo, Ellis, Kaberle and a 2nd.
Why do you want to get rid of Ellis? Looked pretty solid to me. Better than Beaulieu, in many respects.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
Is including him in part of a package for an excellent young goal scorer getting rid of him?
I’d rather trade him than Tinordi or Beaulieu. How’s that?
I’d rather not. Would prefer to keep all three. Look at the defensive corps that the Mighty Ducks had several years ago. We could have that quality in a few more years.
Richard R
Price is an oyster. Unfortunately not all oysters produce pearls.
You have to give to get…..
not all GM”s are as crazy as BG was in the Gomez trade tossing in our best D prospect….oh that was a bad trade.
Should have kept Koivu
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
So you want Ryan, but don’t really want to give quality back? Seems fair to me. I wish there were more GM’s out there with that attitude.
Why not Tom? I don’t know him well enough to have an opinion, please explain?
If you’re talking about Eller. The answer is that you don’t know him and have no idea what his mental toughness is like.
PM says JStall is as good as gone.
Pitts hangs on to him for a year and goes for the Cup or trades him to Carolina or NY.
And the Canes aren’t trading Suter or Faulk. I guess they might be trading #8 then to get this done this year.
Big gamble for Pitts. Can they win the Cup with a healthy lineup this year while Stall is still around? I doubt it.
So Stall is out… For Ryan, Pleks and a pick. How many years does Ryan have left on his contract?
PM also says we should trade PK to get Yak….
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I knew that was coming… I just wanted to keep that thread alive.
Sorry…there is one in ever crowd….lol I guess today it was me.
I really don’t like PM.
I would agree to trade for Ryan. Just not sure we have what the Ducks need. We could trade a centre but they are also looking for D…something the habs can’t currently spare
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
How important is Staal to the Penguins anyway? I was surprised to see them throw a sixty mil over his way. They would probably be better off dealing him now if they can.
Curious why Anaheim wants to trade Ryan. Is there more behind the scenes we don’t know? I think he is a very nice player, but has he not also had the benefit of playing with Getzlaf and Perry for most of his young career?
I am not saying don’t go after him, but I would be hesitant to start giving up big key pieces for him.
Great point. Rebuilding teams don’t normally want to trade away 25 year old players who’ve put together four straight thirty goal seasons.
He’s just stuck behind Getzlaf and Perry on depth chart, not unlike Stall behind Crosby and Malkin. I’ve seen Ryan play a lot and I think he’d be great for us in a more offensive style (assuming we are going to open it up a bit with the new coach).
Maybe he is sick of playing in a crap market. Probably wants to go to the Rangers
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I would love to see Ryan come on board but I have to ask; why would any player from any American team ever want to come to the pressure cooker of Montreal just to get lamb-basted by the media and Revenue Canada?
I think Tom is right on the money (as par usual) by giving up Kaberle, Kristo and a pick…maybe throw in Weber for good measure.
Teuvo Teravainen would be a surprise at 3, but I trust Timmins if that’s where we go.
Still think he’ll take Galchenyuk though.
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I want to see what he does with those two second rounders, well if they aren’t dealt.
Stephane Leroux of RDS speculating that the Habs might select Teravainen with their pick.
If both Yakupov and Galchenyuk are off of the board, I would put my money on that.
I’d be disappointed, if they go after him, might as well trade down, and I don’t like that idea.
The actual heights and weights of players from the NHL combine can be found on my site (2nd article down). The numbers I’m seeing quoted here are inaccurate.
Grigorenko is 6’3″ 200 lbs.
Galchenyuk is 6’0.5″ 194 lbs.
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Thanks for sharing. Will have smartphone and laptop by my side this evening. Never can have enough data. I love it!
———————————–
yakupov doesn’t look that big (though certainly buff) what are his numbers? (I’m too lazy to look it up
)
5’11.25″ 185 lbs
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Always tough with these kids…I grabbed the numbers from the NHL website, which were attached to the last CSS rankings. Galchenyuk’s been putting on some weight all season. I guess that is one benefit of not having much else to do but work out in the gym while rehabilitating his knee.
I’ve heard that despite his size, Grig does not play much of a physical game, but I have not heard much on Gal in that department, even your piece on him mentions grit, but not much else, care to expand on their physical game?
Lars Eller – 6’2″ and 198 pounds
Alex Galchenyuk – 6’1″ and 185 pounds
Mikhail Grigorenko – 6’3″ and 200 pounds
Somehow, I think that if paired with good wingers Eller still has the potential to be that big centre people are so desperate to land.
Eller entered last season as a 22 year old…here’s how his season stacked up compared to some of his compatriots from the Swedish Elite League:
Lars Eller: 79 GP, 16 G, 28 PTS, 66 PIM
Loui Eriksson: 69 GP, 14 G, 31 PTS, 28 PIM
Henrik Zetterberg: 79 GP, 22 G, 44 PTS, 8 PIM
Johan Franzen: 37 GP, 2 G, 6 PTS, 14 PIM (Linkoping, Swedish Elite League)
Henrik Sedin: 78 GP, 8 G, 39 PTS, 38 PIM
Daniel Sedin: 79 GP, 14 G, 31 PTS, 34 PIM
I definitely don’t want to say that Eller will match the exploits of any of those guys. On the other hand, he didn’t do too badly for a guy playing mostly third line minutes with plugs as wingers, and he certainly did not have the confidence of his head coach at the beginning of the season.
I think the emphasis on “big centres” by many Habs fans is perhaps too much. If there is a good centre on the board that the team thinks is the best player available, then of course they should draft him.
But I really don’t think the team needs to “reach” for a centre this year…there are no centres that stand out to me as sure-fire future All-Star players, and with Desharnais, Plekanec and Eller the team is actually already three-deep in centres that could be here for a long time.
Eller is big, fast and has started to show more confidence. I have a good feeling that Eller will take huge strides forwards in his development over the next two seasons and we may not actually have that need for a big centre after all.
Chris I did an analysis early this week showing that given Plekanec’s minutes, Eller would have been his superior offensively. Granted Eller would have to be in the kind of physical condition that allows him to sustain excellent play for 1700 minutes instead of 1300 but I don’t think that’s much of a stretch considering he played his first AHL season with mono and did quite well.
Naturally the opinion wasn’t very popular but the point remains. The only statistical categories offensively where Eller fell short were Powerplay points and assists. But it was also noted that Eller’s powerplay points and assists were prorated based on his production on a third line with third line wingers.
I don’t believe it’s a stretch to say that with continued development that Eller will be this team’s #1 centreman. He does however need the opportunity and he won’t get it with Plekanec and Desharnais ahead of him on the depth chart.
He also falls short on PK time and ability. Which is a huge benefit Plekanec brings to the game. Give Plekanec some decent wingers and he’ll be OK.
Eller was 130 minutes short of Plekanec in PK time and with the prorated stats would have more takeaways and less giveaways than Plekanec.
He won’t be as good defensively right away, but he’s developing into an upgrade on Plekanec very quickly.
I find it very difficult to judge Plekanec based on this years circumstances, frankly, with no wingers it’s very difficult to put up points. Not complaining about it and going out and playing your ass off shift after shift is not something that is readily replaceable.
Eller is getting better and better, which is great, but I think they can play on the same team and each bring something to the table.
Believe me, I pray Eller evolves into a number 1 centre, but that still leaves room for Plekanec.
The argument that Plekanec’s wingers weren’t up to par does speak to Plekanec’s offensive production individually, but not in comparison with Eller. Plekanec had better wingers than Eller all season.
@ TomN
I would hardly say Pleks had better wingers for the entire year. In fact, I think he had worse wingers by the end. It seemed his line had become almost a shut down line…. or a line where those with less offense went to get a boost (at least that is the hazy memory I have of the last few months of their season)
At least Eller had A tits consistantely on his line for the better part of the year. Love him or hate him, A tits could score every now and again. Which is more than can be said for Darche and Blunden and to some degree Moen (still love Moen, just not on the 1 or 2 line).
BleedHabs,
Plekanec had Bourque, Gionta and Cammalleri for equally substantial stretches.
Funny you mentioned Blunden and White. Those are the wingers that Eller had for the majority of the season.
White played the majority of the season???
Oh, who the heck came back on February 15 then??
Wait… that was Ryan White. I guess 20 games is close to the majority of the season… wait, there are 82 games you say??
Pleks had a bad year, Eller improved… both had sh*tty wingers… maybe things are not as bleak as eveyone thinks.
Also, I still believe Pleks is one of the best 2nd line centers in the league. He will bounce back (especially if he is given someone who isn’t a pylon to play with)
Thanks! This was very informative. Let’s hope Eller continues to improve and silence his nay-sayers.
If we do get Fosberg, I hope he makes the show and plays with Eller. Our favourite Dane needs an explosive and enthusiastic winger that wants it bad.
Eller has fantastic vision and always surprises me with how well he is able to go into corners and retrieve a puck. He does well in tight spaces with the puck too. My one concern is that he has shown difficulties in finishing a play – though we’ve seen flashes of brilliance.
It would be crazy to give up on him at 22. I would love to see him on a line with Louis Leblanc and another offensive player – rather than always going with grinders.
One of my issues with Eller is that I’m not sure he’s a goal scorer, but that is the expected role for him on the wing. Throughout his career, he has shown to be more of a playmaker than a sniper.
I also like his boardwork, and I’ve been impressed with both his acceleration and top-end speed. He should go spend a couple of months with Erik Cole this summer and continue to work on that. A big man that can move like that could become very dominant.
I remain a naysayer. Eller’s ceiling is 2nd line. I don’t think he has it between the ears and the mental toughness to be #1.
Make me wrong, I won’t complain.
Wow.
His ceiling will very much be 2nd line if he is forced to play with Travis Moen.
I’m always loathe to ascribe ceilings to the bigger guys until they turn 24 years old. Too many of them are late bloomers. Throw in that many of the Swedish Elite League alumni seem to need some time to adjust to the different style of the NHL and I’ll be watching Eller very carefully this winter to see where he’s at.
My biggest worry is that the Habs draft a centre this summer and fail to land a goal-scorer through free agency to fill their top-6 winger need. The team would have almost no choice but to convert Eller to a winger permanently, and I’m just not sure that is the best role for him.
Don’t understand how you have him judged as stupid and not mentally tough. Wouldn’t it require more of that than most in order to make it all the way to the NHL coming from a country that has little hockey roots in comparison to Canada/Russia and even the States?
If anything Eller will develop a little slower as he hasn’t had the benefit of playing his entire life against great competition. Towards his later teen years he finally was able to get into some leagues with more competition, but his early years of hockey would have just been pretty much what his father could teach him.
I’m happy to be wrong. I also agree that big guys take longer to mature and grow into their bodies. I’m happy to keep Eller and let him develop to his max, I just don’t want to bet the farm on him.
Chris – I’ve loved Eller since I first saw him. I think he has tremendous vision and hockey sense. Towards the end of his first year with the Habs, he started to put it all together, and this continued last year, giving us some really tantalizing glimpses of what he could be in a couple of years. I’m stunned when I read posts suggesting he be traded. As fans, we’ve often criticized management for giving up too quickly on young players – yet a lot of fans are ready to ship this kid out before he’s had a real chance to reach his potential.
I don’t think we should make any big trades this season. Realistically, we will not be contenders; the team is rebuilding, and the coming season should be an opportunity for our young players to develop and get as much ice-time as possible, without the results mattering too dramatically. If we make the playoffs, fine; but the real focus should be on building the team to be contenders over the long term. With this in mind, it makes no sense to trade away a promising young player like Eller.
If the team is rebuilding why keep Markov and Gionta?
You need some established veterans and winners to help teach the kids. Markov is the established veteran, Gionta is the winner. Both guys are hard workers and classy veterans from whom the kids can learn how to be professionals.
Additionally, the presence of Markov could be very important should the team land one of Yakupov or (to a lesser extent) Galchenyuk to serve as a mentor for them and Emelin as they transition to life in Montreal in the same way that Gonchar acted for Malkin.
I don’t disagree with what they bring but their presence only supplements the same qualities that Cole and Moen bring.
If this team isn’t able to compete for a Stanley Cup within the next couple of years, Markov and Gionta should both be traded in my opinion. Only for the right return though.
As a UFA, I don’t really see the Habs holding on to Travis Moen. He will get a good offer from elsewhere, and he never brought the toughness that the team was hoping to get from him.
To add to what Chris just said, those 2′s value is quite low right considering their recent injuries.
I can’t imagine a team willing to spend assets away on a risky knee.
In Gionta’s case, it was a biceps injury, wasn’t it? That should carry less concern than a knee (even though it is one nasty injury).
Yeah that’s right, and usually he plays most games in a season. He was on pace for about 40 something points though, and that for the 3rd straight season, so 5 millions for a 40-45 points guy might be a tad too much for him to be a great trade asset.
Mentors…I would guess. Our D is really young. gionta is a good leader but with Cole I would say he could be traded for something
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
I do actually see some trades involving some youngsters over the next couple of years simply to open up some opportunities.
Let’s say they draft Galchenyuk…he is 100% going back to the OHL next season because the team already has Eller, Plekanec and Desharnais and he needs to get a year of hockey in following his long layoff.
But then what? Do you send him back to the OHL for a second season? I don’t think he can play in the AHL for another two seasons (he would have to be 20 years old by December 31 of 2013 to play in the AHL in the 2013-14 season, as I understand it, and he doesn’t turn 20 until Feb. 12 2014).
The team would have an uncomfortable decision to make: do they turn Eller into a winger? Do they move one of Desharnais, Eller or Plekanec to make room for Galchenyuk? Do they leave Galchenyuk to play as a 19/20 year old in a league he dominated as a 16 year old?
If they land Yakupov, he can join the team right away as they need a scoring winger and he fits the bill. He’s a natural right winger (left-handed shot), but Cole could always move back to his natural left side to play with Plekanec and Gionta.
If they get Forsberg or Teravainen, they can stay in Europe until they are ready to come over.
If they draft a defenceman, then they could have real headaches trying to find meaningful minutes for all of Mac Bennett, Jarred Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, Morgan Ellis and whoever they draft this summer, even if they do move one or more of Diaz, Weber and Nash.
They are good problems to have, but there can be some negatives to the “best player available” philosophy.
1st – MURRAY
2nd – YAKUPOV
3rd – GALCHENYUK
You heard it here first!
So who would YOU take as Edmonton, Columbus and us?
Very fired up for this.
No playoffs. This is our pay off. Go for gold Mr Timmins. Get us a winner!
If the Canadiens want to make a splash in the draft, they might go this route:
Trade their No. 3 pick and Weber to Islanders for New York’s No.4 and No. 34 picks
Trade Gionta and No. 64 pick to Sharks for this year’s No. 47 and No. 55 picks
Trade Bourque, Geoffrion and 2013 second round draft pick acquired from Nashville to Columbus for No. 31 pick in this year’s draft
Trade Diaz, Kaberle and 2013 second round draft pick acquired from Calgary to Edmonton for No. 32 pick in this year’s draft
Trade No. 47 and No. 55 picks acquired from Sharks and Montreal’s second round pick in 2013 to Toronto for No. 35 pick in this year’s draft.
Voila! Five consecutive second round choices in this year’s draft and all Montreal had to do was drop down one spot, trim the roster and make its 2013 second round picks go away. This GM stuff isn’t so hard when you put your mind to it. And I wouldn’t stop there:
Trade an ice pick and toothpick for a guitar pick to give Hab fans a good reason to nitpick
You need to go to Pittsburgh now to explain this…my head is spinning!
Good theory though
Maybe they should start with one red paperclip!
Interesting. Except we won’t trade Geoffrion because of his PR value.
And the problem with this type of analysis it presumes it is all actionable. With 29 other teams all making moves, the number of potential interactions gets nuclear very quickly.
Gomez to Edmonton for first pick
Kaberle to Columbus for second pick
Thats what Im hearing
Ooh Aah Habs on the war path
Every blog, every site and not a sniff about the Habs. The only news about the arbitration on Price.
Guess we are standing pat again this year? Not even a speculation?
Second. Too bad Habs aren’t. first that is.
First… Yakupov!
: )
Mike Boone: “With Gainey at my side, I’d walk into any dark alley in the world.”