Montreal Canadiens

[ericdaoust]

Side topic, with the firing of Hartley in Calgary, any chance Bergevin goes over his word and fires Therrien in favour of Hartley?

I'll answer with a question: is Bob Hartley a bottom-six forward?

[Bass56]

I'll answer with a question: is Bob Hartley a bottom-six forward?

[Goldendelicious]

Sooooo gents....9th overall where do you the Habs going draft wise?

Personally, I think its between Nylander, Jost & McLeod.

[Bass56]

Sooooo gents....9th overall where do you the Habs going draft wise?

Personally, I think its between Nylander, Jost & McLeod.

Nylander would be great, Jost would be real good and as for McLeod, I'm not familiar enough with him to gauge his potential at the next level so I won't comment. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that Timmins and company don't go off the board with a bold pick (i.e. the Bruins in 2015 passing up Barzal and Connor for guys like Senyshyn and Zboril).

[Eskimo Brother]

Nylander is probably gone, so I think they go with Jost, being the C and all.

[ericdaoust]

Nylander is probably gone, so I think they go with Jost, being the C and all.

You're probably right about Nylander.

[Goldendelicious]

I fully anticipate Nylander to be gone as well. There is the outside chance he slips to 9th, though I doubt it based on the teams picking 4-8.

[Bass56]

A full 48hrs without anything Habs related... Here's a topic to discuss:

Assuming all concerned players remain on the squad come 2016-17, do you think the Canadiens will roll with 4 assistants like they did this year or do they trim it down to 2 and have a clear leadership team?

The way I see it, you have Gallagher and Subban who are the youth and Markov and Plekanec who are the vets. I'm not 100% sure if they had cemented pairings all year; especially with the injuries and all, but it would be fun to see how they go about it this year. We all know that Price is the true leader here, but when 1/6th of your roster has a captaincy letter, sometimes your team may have trouble following 1 clear-cut path. I know alot of this is mumbo-jumbo and that on many teams, the true leaders don't even have letters, but I'm curious to get your take on it nonetheless.

[ericdaoust]

The letters mean more to fans and media than they do to the team. Even if the reason was marketing and jersey sales, going with two of four alternates next year doesn't change anything in my eyes.

[Goldendelicious]

Well Price is the true leader and he doesn't wear a letter lol.

All honesty, Gallagher and Subban should have the permanent alternate captains. I get the veteran aspect of Markov and Plucky but this team isn't "theirs" anymore. They are still a large voice in the room but focus should be to that younger shift. Patches as your captain, Gally & Subby as the alternates is the way it should pan out. Problem is, Habs feel obligated to have Markov and Plucky as alternates and also highlight that torch shift to Gally & Subby.

[Bass56]

I agree with both of you guys in the sense that 1) it's mostly done for marketing and 2) I would let the youth get the letters if they decide to trim down to 2 A's. Big Joe in SJ was probably not too happy when he was stripped of his C in favour of Pavs, same for Benn in Dallas, but that's what happens when there is a change of guard. Some vets feel less pressure, others feel snubbed; too each their own. I doubt Markov or Pleky mind if the Habs were to turn to the youngsters as their veteran voice would still be heard in the locker room no matter the letter or lack of on their jersey (Markov is not a big talker anyways, neither is Plekanec).

I wonder what would happen though if the Habs brought in a veteran player in the offseason that currently wears a letter for his team (i.e. Stamkos, Backes, Okposo, Ladd, Staal, ...)?

[ericdaoust]

I wouldn't care if the Habs made everyone an alternate. OK, well I'd be a bit bothered if Eller got an A.

[Bass56]

OK, well I'd be a bit bothered if Eller got an A.

Hehe why?

[Goldendelicious]

I wonder what would happen though if the Habs brought in a veteran player in the offseason that currently wears a letter for his team (i.e. Stamkos, Backes, Okposo, Ladd, Staal, ...)?

I personally hate when a team brings a UFA and puts a letter on his chest...especially the C. Now there are exceptions to everything (of course Toews can captain any team in the NHL) but for example the Oilers (well, because they're a model franchise and all...) when they signed Ference and then turned around and gave him the C. Letters should be earned after time on the team and the respect you build on the ice and in the dressing room.

[Bass56]

I personally hate when a team brings a UFA and puts a letter on his chest...especially the C. Now there are exceptions to everything (of course Toews can captain any team in the NHL) but for example the Oilers (well, because they're a model franchise and all...) when they signed Ference and then turned around and gave him the C. Letters should be earned after time on the team and the respect you build on the ice and in the dressing room.

Totally agree, but how can you not remove the A from say Gallagher if you land a guy like Stamkos or any previous captain such as Backes? I'm thinking if the current A's on a team are cemented and/or long tenured players, the new player should not be able to get that letter as easily, no matter what his past pedigree is (Crosby and Toews are most likely the exception). But what do you do when your appointed assistants a freshly named and you bring in a past captain still in his prime? The Lightning gave Callahan the A a year later after he was dealt as the NYR captain and although I'm OK with that, the Ference thing is just a joke in Edmonton!

Anyways, I guess if we land one of the top free agents, we will be more focused on what they can bring to the team as opposed to the letter on their jersey.
(I doubt we get to celebrate such a signing but a fan can dream, right? )