Habs chose Nikita Scherbak. I wasn't familiar with him (and wanted the Habs to take Goldobin), but he won me over with his interview on TSN.
I'm a lot less worried than I was last time he signed at the same price when the cap was much lower. I do think three years is too much but it probably came down to maybe sacrificing a bad year down the road to keep the player. Like I wrote earlier, it's the cost of doing business. Bergevin chose to do business.
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Habs chose Nikita Scherbak. I wasn't familiar with him (and wanted the Habs to take Goldobin), but he won me over with his interview on TSN.
Writer of the weekly Top 10 column.
12-team Keeper pool, straight points for forwards & dmen. Goalies get: 2 points per win, 3 per shutout, 1 point per assist & 1 point per shootout loss.
League champ in 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Top 8 forwards, 5 dmen and 2 goalies count.
We keep 15 players (any position) plus two rookies.
Forwards: Panarin, Ovechkin, Kopitar, Stamkos, Tuch, Rust, Marchessault, Pavelski, Miller, Bertuzzi, Stone, Kakko, Brown, Stankoven, Kovalenko
Defence: Hedman, Fox, Matheson, Thrun, Jiricek
Goalies: Kochetkov, Talbot, Vasilevskiy, Campbell, Schmid
Pretty happy about Scherbak. I don't follow juniors very closely, but based on the little I've read leading up to the draft I was hoping the Habs could get their hands on either Scherbak or Lemieux.
Plus, the interview was pretty funny.
I wonder if the Habs are after Iginla and if Iginla would agree to play in Mtl. Iginla seems to be the kind of player Bergevin is after. He would be a significant upgrade to Gionta as he could play on the top line. I would love to see that, but I'm probably day dreaming.
Iggy wants a contender (Pittsburgh two years ago, Boston last year). I don't think he'll go to Montreal at this point, although I would like to see it.
Writer of the weekly Top 10 column.
12-team Keeper pool, straight points for forwards & dmen. Goalies get: 2 points per win, 3 per shutout, 1 point per assist & 1 point per shootout loss.
League champ in 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Top 8 forwards, 5 dmen and 2 goalies count.
We keep 15 players (any position) plus two rookies.
Forwards: Panarin, Ovechkin, Kopitar, Stamkos, Tuch, Rust, Marchessault, Pavelski, Miller, Bertuzzi, Stone, Kakko, Brown, Stankoven, Kovalenko
Defence: Hedman, Fox, Matheson, Thrun, Jiricek
Goalies: Kochetkov, Talbot, Vasilevskiy, Campbell, Schmid
Haha, that Scherbak interview was hilarious
I gotta confess, I think most Russian 1st rounders are more risk than reward but it's hard not to like him right off the bat. He's got a great attitude and he's clearly thrilled to be in the league and wearing a Habs jersey so that will go a long way for him.
You gotta think the Habs decision with Markov might have played into this pick at least somewhat. He's got good size and reach and soft hands around the net and he plays with some sandpaper in his game so we might see him in a Habs jersey sooner rather than later. Check out the reel on him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_NRHZllwZA
I don't think we'll be seeing anyone from this draft in Montreal anytime soon. It's not a bad thing (I like giving prospects more development time anyway) but that's just the nature of the beast with this draft class. Maybe we'll see Scherbak get cups of coffee in his first pro season but otherwise I think it's 3+ years for all of the players picked by the Habs.
Overall I'm happy with what they did with their six picks. We'll see how it turns out though.
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So... What will Bergevin do in exactly 12 hours?
I'm guessing a free agent on D... Boyle's name have popped up a few times in the last few days. Would bergevin be willing to overpay for stralman or niskanen?
Let's play "where is gorges going to be traded and for what return"...
I'll guess to Dallas for Alex Chiasson... Wild guess
I'm guessing the Habs sign Weaver. And maybe make a pitch for a third-liner to replace Gionta.
As for Gorges, I'd like to see goes to Edmonton for Yakupov. But Edmonton isn't on his list, so to Pittsburgh for Pascal Dupuis. Pens get a shutdown dman they need, Habs get a top-nine player with Quebec roots and another guy who can play on the PK.
Writer of the weekly Top 10 column.
12-team Keeper pool, straight points for forwards & dmen. Goalies get: 2 points per win, 3 per shutout, 1 point per assist & 1 point per shootout loss.
League champ in 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Top 8 forwards, 5 dmen and 2 goalies count.
We keep 15 players (any position) plus two rookies.
Forwards: Panarin, Ovechkin, Kopitar, Stamkos, Tuch, Rust, Marchessault, Pavelski, Miller, Bertuzzi, Stone, Kakko, Brown, Stankoven, Kovalenko
Defence: Hedman, Fox, Matheson, Thrun, Jiricek
Goalies: Kochetkov, Talbot, Vasilevskiy, Campbell, Schmid
I was always ok with the Habs dealing Gorges, but as long as they replace him in their top 4. Weaver is ok, but he is no where close to be considered a top 4 Dman. If they deal gorges and don't end up with a better guy on the blue line, I'll be pissed.
Also, if they trade gorges for a RW, they really don't need to sign one. Parenteau-Gallagher-New guy-weise would be perfect
Quick look at the Habs' depth chart following the recent surge in transactions:
http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/...hchart.php?Mtl
Some unresolved issues:
-Subban/Eller RFA status
-Bourque must go ASAP
-I think the team will sign one more winger (Vrbata?)
-7th dman (Bouillon?) to allow Tinordi one more year in the minors
-If Bourque leaves, then it opens the door for one more addition up front. Could be a promotion from within like Gabriel Dumont or even Jiri Sekac if they plan on using him immediately.
I'll have more on this later when I hopefully have the time to catch up on everything.
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How do Habs fans feel about the way Gorges was dissed? He was popular with the fans I know, I'm not sure why they felt they had to get rid of him, and for Gilbert nonetheless.
I hate it personally but once you go down that road (I think the Habs were looking for a winger at first from the Leafs) then it's hard to go back on it after Gorges was notified about trades being on the table. Regarding Gilbert, I think he is a bit underrated. Right-hand shot, 20-22 minute guy and plays both special teams. So while the Habs lose a bit in PK strength they do gain a guy that can play PP2 (which was awful last year with Gorges/Emelin/Bouillon taking turns and Subban often times being stuck out there the full two minutes). Now it's going to be Beaulieu/Gilbert on PP2.
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Don't like the way it all happened, but at the end of the day, the Habs are a better team with Parenteau, Malhotra and Gilbert than with Brière, White and Gorges. Gilbert is a better puck mover than Gorges, and is underrated on the PK. The fact that he is right handed solves a logjam on the left side. Also bigger than Gorges, which can't be overlook.
I was expecting a better D to replace Gorges, but as one reporter asked Bergevin yesterday, the extra cap space might be there jut in case an idiot GM gives PK a 11 M$ offer sheet for 7 years.
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