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Post by ChiLla on Feb 23, 2024 7:12:14 GMT
^^ I still like Gallagher a lot for all he's done for us, it's sad to watch him being largely ineffective on the ice. Starting to decline and being a lesser player than you used to be is one thing, it happens to a lot of guys around the league. Once you start actively hurting the team, it becomes problematic though. He has to find a niche for himself where he can help the team in a limited role, he's never going to live up to that contract but he shouldn't be costing the team on the ice.
I believe it was Basu who recently wrote an article about Bergevin basically losing 2 really good players when he let Danault go, it seems like Gallagher has been looking for a new role on the team ever since.
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RCAF48
Captain Kirk
Posts: 359
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Post by RCAF48 on Feb 23, 2024 15:56:23 GMT
I don't think Sportsnet announcers blamed Gallagher for the loss although I watched most of the game with the sound off. The feed I saw featured poor goal tending, a lack of effort and poor play from 10 of our forwards, strange coaching decisions, atrocious PPs and a bad PK. I was a little surprised that RDS & Houde picked up on a different reason for the loss.
Coaching: Gallagher on the PP?? The only reason I can think off is that MSL thinks that none of our development prospects will go anywhere near the blue paint. In the Buffalo game a player took 3 penalties, two of which contributed to our too common second period meltdown so when Gallagher took a penalty leading to a PP goal in the second period of this game, given our history, I hoped the coaching staff would step up to settle the team down but I was disappointed. MSL treats timeouts like they cost a draft choice.
Perhaps Gallagher should sit and allow Pezzetta or Heineman a chance to get Ylonen or Pearson going. Our forwards have not scored in two games and Gallagher, as an alternate captain, should accept taking a turn sitting in the press box as just another facet of leadership.
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regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Feb 23, 2024 18:00:34 GMT
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Post by maasart on Feb 23, 2024 20:25:20 GMT
That article points out one thing ive often wondered: What if we had let Gallagher walk & re-signed Danault. Oh well, water under the bridge. This contract will definitely not age well.
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Post by BigTed3 on Jun 22, 2024 0:04:02 GMT
IF the Habs were to make no more moves to acquire players, this is perhaps what they would be looking at as a starting line-up on opening night (what I think the Habs will do, not what I would necessarily do):
Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky Newhook-Dach-Roy Armia-Dvorak-Anderson RHP-Evans-Gallagher Pezzetta, Ylonen
Matheson-Guhle Xhekaj-Savard Struble-Harris Kovacevic
Montembeault Primeau
So have a look at that and tell me where you see the biggest need for upgrades? There are a number of problems with this line-up that jump out if your goals are shifting from the player development aspects of the past two seasons to building a winning culture:
1. There is a lack of balance in scoring and a lack of scoring in general in the middle 6. Newhook and Roy are ideally still 3rd-line players. Armia is ideally a 4th liner who spots the middle 6 in rare circumstances. Adding 1-2 more 2nd-line players allows you to put these players back in the right seats.
2. The bottom 6 is weighed down by a lot of overpaid veterans. Armia, Dvorak, and Evans will all be UFAs at season's end, and it's unlikely any will be here longterm. Gallagher and Anderson are not worth their contracts. These players are not only using up cap space, they're also blocking you from putting in players who could help you win past this season. I'm not convinced an Evans does more for you than an Owen Beck. I'm not convinced Anderson and Gallagher do more for you than a Heineman, for example, with the latter being a lot cheaper and permitting you to upgrade elsewhere. I'm not even sure RHP fends off a Simoneau or a Davidson for a job over time. It's one thing to have veterans, but they have to be contributors, and there's a lot of fluff in the bottom 6 right now.
3. In the top 6 D men, you have two lefties playing off-wing. Now sure, they could incorporate Mailloux, Reinbacher, or Barron in the top 6, but how much of that would be a player being ready and how much would be just filling a gap because the gap exists? There's a lot of depth, but not a lot of quality at the top in the correct seats. Something has to give sooner rather than later. Hutson may force their hand. Mailloux or Barron may do so too.
When I put all of this together, the Habs probably want to move out a few players to make space in the line-up: ideally Dvorak but if not then Evans and then 1-2 of Guhle, Matheson, Savard, Harris, or Kovacevic. There's a need to find 1-2 top 6 forwards so that we can shift players back down the line-up. Ultimately, that potentially bumps a Ylonen or Pezzetta out of the line-up entirely. So let's say, for argument's sake that the Habs do manage to sign Stamkos and pull off a trade around Matheson for Necas, in addition to re-homing Dvorak. It would leave us looking more at
Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky Necas-Stamkos-Dach Roy-Newhook-Armia Beck-Evans-Gallagher RHP, Anderson
Hutson-Guhle Xhekaj-Savard Struble-Harris Kovacevic
Still leaves some work to help the right side of the D, but it's helped to put players in the right spots up front. The 3rd line looks a lot better, and it allows you to groom Beck to take over a bottom 6 center role soon enough.
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regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Jun 22, 2024 2:28:42 GMT
👆 If there are no more moves , I hope Dach stays healthy , and contributes because the bottom six is the same as last year and they s*cked . They aren’t getting younger .
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Post by BigTed3 on Jun 22, 2024 2:49:27 GMT
👆 If there are no more moves , I hope Dach stays healthy , and contributes because the bottom six is the same as last year and they s*cked . They aren’t getting younger . Yeah, that was one of my points... it's filled with overpaid, non-contributing veterans. I think you probably keep 2-3 of them on a strong team: Armia, one of Evans or Dvorak, and then hiding another guy somewhere in there. But what really needs to happen is for us to see Newhook, Roy, and Beck in that bottom 6 in place of 3 of the current guys. We need better players to pair with Dach in the top 6 (or to split Caufield and put him with Dach, then find one new guy for each of the top two lines). We have the draft, we have assets to trade, and we have free agency. Should be able to find guys if we want to.
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regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Jun 22, 2024 14:14:15 GMT
We were the 7 th lowest in GF last year ( for whatever reason ) I believe Washington was the only team ( of the 7 ) that made the playoffs with a lesser amount of GF than us . We’re going to need to find more scoring from somewhere . Hopefully Dach’s return addresses some of that but that poor guy has been injured every year . People are hoping that Anderson has a better year . But aside from his 27 goals in 2018/19 he’s at most a 20 goal scorer / 30 points in a good year . That’s not a lot . Gallagher is what he is . For whatever reason people adore this guy . But he’s getting older , slower etc . Upfront Hughes & co know what they need and I’m sure they’re trying to acquire it . 🤞.
On D , we had the 5 th most GA in the league . So we need to be better . Be it better D , team D , goaltending , whatever it needs to be better I don’t know what to expect from Hutson , Reinbacher or Mailleux and I’m not going to make a prediction .
Savard and matheson are the veterans . I can see them moving Savard as his contract is up this year ( I think ) Matheson I can’t see them moving him ( yet ) unless they are comfortable that one of the younger guys is ready to replace him .his Minutes, points etc The rest of the D I’m not as in love with as others . It looks like they’re all capable of playing in the NHL but are any of them capable of being the #1 guy . Or, is what we’ve seen of some of these guys the best we’re going to get . I dunno . They are fine but none of them has shown ( yet ) that they are capable of leading the D. There seems to be more young D than we have room for so hopefully some other team is as enthralled with them , or someone , as we are and a deal can be made . Remember we were raving about Norlinder , and I think he’s done .
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Post by ramcharger440 on Jun 22, 2024 16:41:31 GMT
We were the 7 th lowest in GF last year ( for whatever reason ) I believe Washington was the only team ( of the 7 ) that made the playoffs with a lesser amount of GF than us . We’re going to need to find more scoring from somewhere . Hopefully Dach’s return addresses some of that but that poor guy has been injured every year . People are hoping that Anderson has a better year . But aside from his 27 goals in 2018/19 he’s at most a 20 goal scorer / 30 points in a good year . That’s not a lot . Gallagher is what he is . For whatever reason people adore this guy . But he’s getting older , slower etc . Upfront Hughes & co know what they need and I’m sure they’re trying to acquire it . 🤞. On D , we had the 5 th most GA in the league . So we need to be better . Be it better D , team D , goaltending , whatever it needs to be better I don’t know what to expect from Hutson , Reinbacher or Mailleux and I’m not going to make a prediction . Savard and matheson are the veterans . I can see them moving Savard as his contract is up this year ( I think ) Matheson I can’t see them moving him ( yet ) unless they are comfortable that one of the younger guys is ready to replace him .his Minutes, points etc The rest of the D I’m not as in love with as others . It looks like they’re all capable of playing in the NHL but are any of them capable of being the #1 guy . Or, is what we’ve seen of some of these guys the best we’re going to get . I dunno . They are fine but none of them has shown ( yet ) that they are capable of leading the D. There seems to be more young D than we have room for so hopefully some other team is as enthralled with them , or someone , as we are and a deal can be made . Remember we were raving about Norlinder , and I think he’s done . I never raved about Norlinder! Don't be to tough on our young Dmen it is not often that a team only has two legit NHL level Dmen in the roster! some of them should show us a next level this season as they have now had some seasoning Guhle and Struble look like solid players for sure Harris has skill but plays light game in my opinion although he may be able to figure it out as time goes on Arber is as tough as they come he just needs to settle down a bit and he will be fine. Barron is one that I just don't know if he will ever get sorted he has the talent he just seems to freeze up in our zone as for Mailloux and Hutson I think they can be game breakers and Reinbacher will be a solid NHL Dman for sure. I think having three goalies last year was a bad thing for the team I know it was kind of the way things played out but once Primeau got the second spot he started to come around and I think our goalies will be good this season. The way I see it last year we were so short on offence we were always in tight games and often play from behind this does not help with the goals against at all! I think if we can add two offensive threats to our forward line up we will be much better, lets face it losing Dach then trading Monahan meant that we were relying on pretty much three players for our offence up front and they were all on the same line! not a recipe for success!
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Post by BigTed3 on Jun 22, 2024 17:00:32 GMT
We were the 7 th lowest in GF last year ( for whatever reason ) I believe Washington was the only team ( of the 7 ) that made the playoffs with a lesser amount of GF than us . We’re going to need to find more scoring from somewhere . Hopefully Dach’s return addresses some of that but that poor guy has been injured every year . People are hoping that Anderson has a better year . But aside from his 27 goals in 2018/19 he’s at most a 20 goal scorer / 30 points in a good year . That’s not a lot . Gallagher is what he is . For whatever reason people adore this guy . But he’s getting older , slower etc . Upfront Hughes & co know what they need and I’m sure they’re trying to acquire it . 🤞. On D , we had the 5 th most GA in the league . So we need to be better . Be it better D , team D , goaltending , whatever it needs to be better I don’t know what to expect from Hutson , Reinbacher or Mailleux and I’m not going to make a prediction . Savard and matheson are the veterans . I can see them moving Savard as his contract is up this year ( I think ) Matheson I can’t see them moving him ( yet ) unless they are comfortable that one of the younger guys is ready to replace him .his Minutes, points etc The rest of the D I’m not as in love with as others . It looks like they’re all capable of playing in the NHL but are any of them capable of being the #1 guy . Or, is what we’ve seen of some of these guys the best we’re going to get . I dunno . They are fine but none of them has shown ( yet ) that they are capable of leading the D. There seems to be more young D than we have room for so hopefully some other team is as enthralled with them , or someone , as we are and a deal can be made . Remember we were raving about Norlinder , and I think he’s done . This team definitely lacks scoring, which will need to be addressed. Right now, I think we have 4 players capable of playing in the top 6. I think we have 7 guys capable of playing top 9 (with Newhook, Dvorak, and Roy being acceptable 3rd-line talent in my view). And we have a plethora of guys who can play the 4th. The problems are that we lack two top 6 guys, which puts everyone out of position, and that we have a number of bad contracts clogging up the line-up. Subtract Anderson and Gallagher from this roster and we're a better team. I can live with one of Dvorak or Evans in the bottom 6 middle. I can live with Armia in the bottom 6. But the other two contracts are just plain bad, and I'd personally prefer to see Beck, RHP, Simoneau, Ylonen, Heineman, Kapanen, or someone else younger and cheaper getting that ice time.
On D, I have high hopes for Hutson. I think he at least has the potential to become a top-pairing guy. You look at guys like Quinn Hughes and Adam Fox and these aren't physically-imposing players. Hutson needs to be able to handle himself well enough that he's not a disaster at ES. If he can hold his own and be paired with a solid, bigger partner like Reinbacher, that's good enough. I think Hutson will earn his keep via his puck-moving and his PP quarterbacking. We haven't had a player who can do that since Andrei Markov, who himself was a bit bigger than Hutson but not a very physical player and one who frequently got hurt. Despite that, he was a good player for a long time and IMO, a #1 D man. With respect to Norlinder, I don't think anyone ever said he would be a #1, just that he too had the potential to be very good. Some Swedish scouts said they thought he was the best offensive D man they had seen since Karlsson, and there was certainly the possibility of that upside. He had some issues adjusting to North America and he hasn't panned out, but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth taking a swing on that type of player. Most later-round picks never become stars or even make the NHL, so why not take a swing on players with upside? I'd rather that than draft a guy we anticipate becoming a 4th-line goon. You can find depth players as free agents.
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Post by ramcharger440 on Jun 22, 2024 18:16:38 GMT
We were the 7 th lowest in GF last year ( for whatever reason ) I believe Washington was the only team ( of the 7 ) that made the playoffs with a lesser amount of GF than us . We’re going to need to find more scoring from somewhere . Hopefully Dach’s return addresses some of that but that poor guy has been injured every year . People are hoping that Anderson has a better year . But aside from his 27 goals in 2018/19 he’s at most a 20 goal scorer / 30 points in a good year . That’s not a lot . Gallagher is what he is . For whatever reason people adore this guy . But he’s getting older , slower etc . Upfront Hughes & co know what they need and I’m sure they’re trying to acquire it . 🤞. On D , we had the 5 th most GA in the league . So we need to be better . Be it better D , team D , goaltending , whatever it needs to be better I don’t know what to expect from Hutson , Reinbacher or Mailleux and I’m not going to make a prediction . Savard and matheson are the veterans . I can see them moving Savard as his contract is up this year ( I think ) Matheson I can’t see them moving him ( yet ) unless they are comfortable that one of the younger guys is ready to replace him .his Minutes, points etc The rest of the D I’m not as in love with as others . It looks like they’re all capable of playing in the NHL but are any of them capable of being the #1 guy . Or, is what we’ve seen of some of these guys the best we’re going to get . I dunno . They are fine but none of them has shown ( yet ) that they are capable of leading the D. There seems to be more young D than we have room for so hopefully some other team is as enthralled with them , or someone , as we are and a deal can be made . Remember we were raving about Norlinder , and I think he’s done . This team definitely lacks scoring, which will need to be addressed. Right now, I think we have 4 players capable of playing in the top 6. I think we have 7 guys capable of playing top 9 (with Newhook, Dvorak, and Roy being acceptable 3rd-line talent in my view). And we have a plethora of guys who can play the 4th. The problems are that we lack two top 6 guys, which puts everyone out of position, and that we have a number of bad contracts clogging up the line-up. Subtract Anderson and Gallagher from this roster and we're a better team. I can live with one of Dvorak or Evans in the bottom 6 middle. I can live with Armia in the bottom 6. But the other two contracts are just plain bad, and I'd personally prefer to see Beck, RHP, Simoneau, Ylonen, Heineman, Kapanen, or someone else younger and cheaper getting that ice time.
On D, I have high hopes for Hutson. I think he at least has the potential to become a top-pairing guy. You look at guys like Quinn Hughes and Adam Fox and these aren't physically-imposing players. Hutson needs to be able to handle himself well enough that he's not a disaster at ES. If he can hold his own and be paired with a solid, bigger partner like Reinbacher, that's good enough. I think Hutson will earn his keep via his puck-moving and his PP quarterbacking. We haven't had a player who can do that since Andrei Markov, who himself was a bit bigger than Hutson but not a very physical player and one who frequently got hurt. Despite that, he was a good player for a long time and IMO, a #1 D man. With respect to Norlinder, I don't think anyone ever said he would be a #1, just that he too had the potential to be very good. Some Swedish scouts said they thought he was the best offensive D man they had seen since Karlsson, and there was certainly the possibility of that upside. He had some issues adjusting to North America and he hasn't panned out, but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth taking a swing on that type of player. Most later-round picks never become stars or even make the NHL, so why not take a swing on players with upside? I'd rather that than draft a guy we anticipate becoming a 4th-line goon. You can find depth players as free agents.
I agree with all of this, Hutson showed he can get the job done in the couple of games he played I expect he will wear down in his first season as this will be a big jump for him but he has the talent and the smarts to do it. I also agree we need two impactful top six forwards right away to get us going in the right direction, we will have to find some way to get rid of Anderson and or Gally! and lastly I also agree we have the young cheap talent in house to replace them right away we just have to find takers!
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Post by claremont on Jun 22, 2024 22:06:35 GMT
We were the 7 th lowest in GF last year ( for whatever reason ) I believe Washington was the only team ( of the 7 ) that made the playoffs with a lesser amount of GF than us . We’re going to need to find more scoring from somewhere . Hopefully Dach’s return addresses some of that but that poor guy has been injured every year . People are hoping that Anderson has a better year . But aside from his 27 goals in 2018/19 he’s at most a 20 goal scorer / 30 points in a good year . That’s not a lot . Gallagher is what he is . For whatever reason people adore this guy . But he’s getting older , slower etc . Upfront Hughes & co know what they need and I’m sure they’re trying to acquire it . 🤞. On D , we had the 5 th most GA in the league . So we need to be better . Be it better D , team D , goaltending , whatever it needs to be better I don’t know what to expect from Hutson , Reinbacher or Mailleux and I’m not going to make a prediction . Savard and matheson are the veterans . I can see them moving Savard as his contract is up this year ( I think ) Matheson I can’t see them moving him ( yet ) unless they are comfortable that one of the younger guys is ready to replace him .his Minutes, points etc The rest of the D I’m not as in love with as others . It looks like they’re all capable of playing in the NHL but are any of them capable of being the #1 guy . Or, is what we’ve seen of some of these guys the best we’re going to get . I dunno . They are fine but none of them has shown ( yet ) that they are capable of leading the D. There seems to be more young D than we have room for so hopefully some other team is as enthralled with them , or someone , as we are and a deal can be made . Remember we were raving about Norlinder , and I think he’s done . This team definitely lacks scoring, which will need to be addressed. Right now, I think we have 4 players capable of playing in the top 6. I think we have 7 guys capable of playing top 9 (with Newhook, Dvorak, and Roy being acceptable 3rd-line talent in my view). And we have a plethora of guys who can play the 4th. The problems are that we lack two top 6 guys, which puts everyone out of position, and that we have a number of bad contracts clogging up the line-up. Subtract Anderson and Gallagher from this roster and we're a better team. I can live with one of Dvorak or Evans in the bottom 6 middle. I can live with Armia in the bottom 6. But the other two contracts are just plain bad, and I'd personally prefer to see Beck, RHP, Simoneau, Ylonen, Heineman, Kapanen, or someone else younger and cheaper getting that ice time.
On D, I have high hopes for Hutson. I think he at least has the potential to become a top-pairing guy. You look at guys like Quinn Hughes and Adam Fox and these aren't physically-imposing players. Hutson needs to be able to handle himself well enough that he's not a disaster at ES. If he can hold his own and be paired with a solid, bigger partner like Reinbacher, that's good enough. I think Hutson will earn his keep via his puck-moving and his PP quarterbacking. We haven't had a player who can do that since Andrei Markov, who himself was a bit bigger than Hutson but not a very physical player and one who frequently got hurt. Despite that, he was a good player for a long time and IMO, a #1 D man. With respect to Norlinder, I don't think anyone ever said he would be a #1, just that he too had the potential to be very good. Some Swedish scouts said they thought he was the best offensive D man they had seen since Karlsson, and there was certainly the possibility of that upside. He had some issues adjusting to North America and he hasn't panned out, but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth taking a swing on that type of player. Most later-round picks never become stars or even make the NHL, so why not take a swing on players with upside? I'd rather that than draft a guy we anticipate becoming a 4th-line goon. You can find depth players as free agents.
I have been lamenting about the lack of excitement and goal scoring for ages that I get tired of reading and repeating my own comment. Virtually every contending team has a scoring 2nd line that can be tossed out for the 2nd unit power play. We have been severely lacking that let alone a top line that has just recently emerged with Slaf deposing Josh Anderson. If we have any hope of getting close and challenging for a playoff spot next year, then Dach at minimum needs a top 6 forward and shooter to compliment his puck possession and set up skills. A balancing act on the first pp unit could also be to drop a dman and put Dach as a point man, or replace Slaf (I believe Slaf is good enough for 1st unit pp). At present putting Dvorak on the 2nd unit pp or putting Newhook there IMO won't get the job done. Whether we can convince Stamkos or obtain a Necas, Ehlers, a cheap Zegras (who I don't really like), Kent Johnson, Perfetti, Marchessault, etc., we need another established presence. Joshua Roy - has PP background but not enough experience in the small sample size - same thing for RFA''s Berggren (Det.) or Vegas' Dorofeyev, Holtz (NJ) etc. The big question is do HuGo play the long game on prospects / picks with trade assets or can they make at least one significant current addition? 3rd line - I would be jettisoning Armia ASAP. Sell him at his highest point. You need to fit Dvorak for at least next year and set him up for success. I would love to "Rehome" him as well, but I think Armia is first in line for me on value - Probably move Newhook to the left wing, Roy back to Right with Anderson platooning between 3rd and 4th lines. 4th line - I would love to see Beck make the lineup - I am not so sure he makes the jump. Will be a battle for Heineman and Beck in camp for a utility forward. RHP holds little value he is probably a spare. Evans I suspect is well liked on the team and he survives another year injury free TBD. Ylonen and Pezz - ka boom out of here or to Laval via waivers. On D - I believe Mailloux makes the jump. Not sure he has much to prove sending him back to the AHL unless it is with Hutson to see if there is pairing compatibility. Kovacevic could be a RHD casualty unless Savard can be traded.
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Post by claremont on Jun 30, 2024 19:55:46 GMT
Projecting ahead two years, 2026-27 roster, here is how I see the depth chart and my odds or percentages of players that make the group of 23 (14 forwards, 7 D, 2G). I am forgetting about line combinations and anyone without brackets is 100% on the roster.
LW – Slafkovsky, Newhook , Roy (80%), Heineman (50%), Tuch or Xhekaj (4th line power forwards) (30%), Kidney converted centre (20%)
Centre – Suzuki, Dach – is he a centre despite faceoff issues, Beck (90%), Hage (90%), Kapanen (25%) ,Davidson, Koivu or Sawyer or Kidney ( all 20%)
RW – Caufield, Demidov, Mesar (40%), Farrell (30%), possibly Dach shifted to RW, but at this point I see Gallagher bought out, Josh Anderson likely traded)
LHD – Hutson, Guhle, two of Harris / Struble / Xhekaj (75%), Engstrom (40%)
RHD – Reinbacher, Mailloux (90%), Barron (40%), Bogdan Konyushkov (40%)
Goal – Sam Montembault, Jacob Fowler (90%), Cayden Primeau (50%), Jakub Dobes (20%)
Other notes – we move on from Pezz, Armia, Dvorak, Savard, RHP, Matheson, Kovacevic. Free agent addition – we could use a strong Centre to be able to mover Dach to RW, could use a puck moving RHD
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regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Jul 8, 2024 19:12:08 GMT
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regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Aug 20, 2024 17:57:18 GMT
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Post by maasart on Aug 20, 2024 18:05:28 GMT
I think a lot of people believe Newhook will play on that second line with Dach & Laine but i actually think MSL really wants to keep that Armia-Newhook-Gallahger line together as it really clicked down the stretch and gives us a really nice possession line lower down the lineup. This creates a bit of a problem with Dvo and Evans but i think that one might be traded or moved to the wing. I think our top 9 to start the year will be: Slaf - Suzuki - CC Laine - Dach - Roy/Anderson Armia - Newhook - Gallagher I have a sneaking suspicion Anderson is going to bounce back this year so Roy may have trouble making the roster to start the year. I know he doesnt want to go to the AHL again but i think it makes more sense than playing him on the 4th line
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Post by ramcharger440 on Aug 20, 2024 21:04:39 GMT
I think a lot of people believe Newhook will play on that second line with Dach & Laine but i actually think MSL really wants to keep that Armia-Newhook-Gallahger line together as it really clicked down the stretch and gives us a really nice possession line lower down the lineup. This creates a bit of a problem with Dvo and Evans but i think that one might be traded or moved to the wing. I think our top 9 to start the year will be: Slaf - Suzuki - CC Laine - Dach - Roy/Anderson Armia - Newhook - Gallagher I have a sneaking suspicion Anderson is going to bounce back this year so Roy may have trouble making the roster to start the year. I know he doesnt want to go to the AHL again but i think it makes more sense than playing him on the 4th line I agree with these lines 100% I am less sure about Anderson but getting married and working on whatever was holding him back may give him a boost this year?
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regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Aug 20, 2024 21:16:39 GMT
The thin* with Anderson is , 32 points is his “max “ which is not too good . It would be nice if he could regain 2018-2019 form but 🤷♂️
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Post by ramcharger440 on Aug 20, 2024 21:26:44 GMT
For me I would rather see what Roy could bring to this line he has good hockey IQ and I feel like Laine and Dach would do most of the scoring on this line anyways my fear is Anderson would not know how to play with these guys!
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Post by BigTed3 on Aug 21, 2024 0:39:34 GMT
There's a lot of assumption that CC-Suzuki-Slaf will continue to be a line, and the odds are high that they'll start the season together, but let's also remember that CC-Dach-Slaf looked good last year before Dach got hurt, so I still wonder if CC-Dach becomes a thing. CC and Laine both fit the same sort of role, as elite snipers who tend to benefit from playing on the left side of a right-handed center. So it sort of makes sense that one will line up with Suzuki and the other with Dach. But with that in mind, perhaps it makes more sense to play Caufield with the larger Dach and balance out the size a bit more. Suzuki and Caufield really needed a player with size to complement them, and they did well with Dach or Slafkovsky next to them but less well when the two of them lacked that player. Perhaps CC-Dach and Laine-Suzuki are less dependent on who is next to them.
If we think of things that way, then you have more flexibility put Slafkovsky where you want. Now many have Newhook penciled into the top 6, but he's really a player who provided more dynamism to the 3rd line and could be a nice fit there with Roy and Armia. However, Roy may be needed in the top 6, so as Maas said, Newhook with Armia and Gallagher could be another option. Dvorak-Evans-Anderson becomes the 4th line somewhat by default for now.
So it gives us
Laine-Suzuki-Roy Caufield-Dach-Slafkovsky Armia-Newhook-Gallagher Dvorak-Evans-Anderson
I'd personally like to see room for Heineman and/or Beck here, but it'd take some more trades to make that happen.
On D, moving Harris helps to sort out the pile a bit. Matheson-Guhle still projects as the top pair, given the lack of RHD. Savard is the 2nd-pairing RHD, but whether he plays with Xhekaj or Hutson is a question. Struble, Barron, and Mailloux become the players most likely to be duking it out for ice time on the 3rd pairing. But the odds have increased that Hutson makes the team out of camp. So we could see
Matheson-Guhke Hutson-Savard Xhekaj-Mailloux Struble
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