Montreal Canadiens

[ericdaoust]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=426518

Habs re-sign Blunden. I am assuming it's a two-way deal. I understand minor league depth but I wanted to see this guy gone. He has no shot at making the NHL. I'd rather see the team sign a college free agent and try him out on Blunden's spot.

Just to clarify, I know that this is a minor move and the consequences are minimal so it doesn't really deserve a lot of attention. I just don't like it.

[ericdaoust]

http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=675543

Kaberle buyout official.

[newfcollins]

No one's posted on the draft yet? Must either be a long weekend or people are underwhelmed.

Anyways, I was pretty disappointed in our first round pick. McCarron may be big, but that's about it. There's no offensive flash there. He'll be a fourth-line player in about six years, once he's done college and spends two years in the AHL.

It's great to have a big guy who wants to protect his teammates, but you don't need to waste a first round pick on one.

[mister_mcgoo]

No one's posted on the draft yet? Must either be a long weekend or people are underwhelmed.

Anyways, I was pretty disappointed in our first round pick. McCarron may be big, but that's about it. There's no offensive flash there. He'll be a fourth-line player in about six years, once he's done college and spends two years in the AHL.

It's great to have a big guy who wants to protect his teammates, but you don't need to waste a first round pick on one.

yeah I like that they got him for sure but it seems like they reached a bit to do so, with two early 2nd rounders they could have probably waited on him. To be fair though if you look across all the rankings he ranged between 23rd and 35th so it's not a huge reach. You never know what goes on behind the scenes in the draft though, could be they had intel that another team was going to grab him if they didn't, could be their scouts have good reason to like him more than his ranking would suggest. Time will tell for sure but I like that the Habs are adding some size and toughness to go along with their speed. I think he's much better than a 4th liner though, I can see him on the 3rd line

I think overall the Habs picked very well...De La Rose is a great acquisition, he plays an excellent 2-way game, never takes a shift off and could well develop into one of the better shut-down forwards in the league. Fucale taken at 36th has to be considered one of the steals of the draft, he was the top ranked goalie in this class and MacKenzie had him at 19th overall. Also when you consider the Habs goalie contracts right now it makes even more sense. You've got Budaj signed on for 2 more years, by that point Fucale will be 20, will have developed more and should be ready to step in as a backup. Price on the other hand is signed thru the next 5 years, just about the time Fucale should be ready to be a starter if he proves to be as talented as projected. It's a smart pick and a good insurance policy for the team in goal. Lehkonen I don't know a ton about but he's supposed to be a sniper and a dangler with the puck so they just need him to add some muscle and he could be a great winger for them down the road.

[LeTrefle]

Bergevin said after the draft that he tried to move top 10, but couldn't find a trade partner.
He also said that they had their fingers crossed 3 or 4 picks before 25 for McCarron to be still available.
I thought they would draft Fucale with pick 25. They did well to grab him at 36.
I like mcgoo analysis on him.
Someone pointed that they didn't draft any D.

[mister_mcgoo]

He also said that they had their fingers crossed 3 or 4 picks before 25 for McCarron to be still available.

Interesting, I think the scouts saw a lot that they liked about his game and made it a priority to snag him. The thing that people always overlook with these pre-draft rankings on the Hockey News or TSN, etc is that they're compiled by media folk, not scouts. There's a good reason the scouts have their jobs and the commentators have theirs

We're starting to see a theme unfold with how the Habs are building their roster...more toughness and grit and size, getting rid of the 'coasters' and replacing them with guys who play at 100% every shift. I like the direction they are taking.

[ericdaoust]

Admittedly I don't know a ton about the prospects beyond the top few so I'm not going to act like I know with certainty that one prospect is better than another, especially at 18 years of age.

McCarron: You don't draft 4th line grinders in the 1st round so this tells me that he'll be given time to develop. Power forwards hit their stride later so I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a breakout season sometime in the next two years.

De La Rose: Good two-way player. Again, I think he'll be given time to try to find his offensive game.

Fucale: Outstanding pick for so many reasons. Since Price is in the crease the team can afford to not make the same mistake with Fucale and rush him to the NHL. I'd like to see him brought in like Markstrom over in Florida. Once he is ready he gives the team a ton of options.

Lehkonen: Love this pick too. He is way undersized but played very well at the pro level in Finland. It's a gamble but one worth taking.

Andrighetto: I wish they would have picked a few more overagers like him. The team has made huge strides but there is still a lack of NHL-ready forwards outside of the Canadiens' main roster. The guys from the last two drafts need time. Andrighetto is 20 so he is closer to being ready and could even jump straight to Hamilton next year.

Not much to say yet on the other guys drafted.

[ericdaoust]

Also, lots of attention to the QMJHL this draft by the Habs. I hope this was the BPA approach and not just bringing in a bunch of hometown guys.

[habs83]

Also, lots of attention to the QMJHL this draft by the Habs. I hope this was the BPA approach and not bringing in a bunch of hometown guys.

Well... not that much of hometown guys, since only two of them were born in Quebec. Andrighetto and Reway are respectively Swiss and Slovakian.

[Excelsior]

John Lu
JohnLuTSNMtl John Lu 3m
#Habs prospects who will be at development camp in Brossard from July 3 - 7.

pic.twitter.com/GymyVabh7u

[ericdaoust]

1) Habs trade Danny Kristo for Christian Thomas.

2) Vinny is paid too damn much!

[mister_mcgoo]

1) Habs trade Danny Kristo for Christian Thomas.

2) Vinny is paid too damn much!

hmmm interesting, Kristo wasn't really doing much so my impression was that they weren't very bullish on him...Thomas on the other hand is supposed to be a nice player that plays solid hockey in both ends...small though but I like the trade for us

[ericdaoust]

hmmm interesting, Kristo wasn't really doing much so my impression was that they weren't very bullish on him...Thomas on the other hand is supposed to be a nice player that plays solid hockey in both ends...small though but I like the trade for us

Kristo actually had a very strong college career but has character/off-ice issues that the team is not pleased about. Yesterday was the first I heard of this but apparently it was enough for the team to look around for alternatives. Thomas reminds me a lot of Gallagher every time I read a scouting report.

[robmyatt]

I said this in the trade thread and I'll say it again.
I actually like this trade for Montreal.

Thomas doesn't have the size but he's produced very respectably at the AHL (pro) level for being an undersized rookie and he's 2 years younger.

Dan Kramer from allhabs.net watches almost every Hamilton Bulldog game and when Kristo played there at the end of the season he said it was a very underwhelming first impression by Kristo.

I feel Bergevin told his scouts to go out there and find any prospect that resembles Brendan Gallagher and find a way to get him. He loves the kid!
__________________

[ericdaoust]

Updated a bunch of prospect profiles here: http://prospects.dobbersports.com/in...real-canadiens

As always if there is some useful info that could add to one of these prospect pages, pass the info along to me and I can get it updated quickly. Just remember that dobberprospects is the fantasy hockey spin on propsects.