Grant McCagg
@grantmccagg
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Former NHL scout. Co-host of Recrutes Draftcast @sickpodnhldraft. Author of Valley Snapshots.
Canada
Joined January 2011
Bold 2022 NHL draft predictions:. 1/ Wright will not go top two. 2/ Ostlund goes much higher than expected.
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@mcfatback99 @samlymatters My mom used to smell burning rubber. We never did find ot who was squealing tires in the basement.
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Imagine starting your NHL career as a rookie defenceman, and in three of your first four games, being tasked with keeping Matthews, Crosby and Ovechkin in check, and holding the trio to one measly assist while picking up two yourself. Welcome to the NHL, Kaiden Guhle.
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NHL centers' playoff goals before age 21:. Kotkaniemi - 7 (and counting).McDavid - 5.Matthews - 5.Yzerman - 5.Messier - 3.Beliveau - 0.Mario - 0.Dionne - 0.Espo - 0.Sakic - 0.Malkin - 0.Francis - 0.Sundin - 0.
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@BreitbartNation @TomFitton @RudyGiuliani @realDonaldTrump I hear ya. they never even investigated Benghazi. So unfair!!.
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It cheapens a Canadian NHL playoff broadcast so much to dedicate several minutes to a "betting expert" at the end of the intermission. I change the channel instantly.
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The whole BU team showed up for Hutson's first game at the Bell Centre. Pretty neat.
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@simmonssteve Thankfully. none of your questions or comments are ever translated into French. I envy the Quebecois in that regard.😉.
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It looks like the Habs are going to end this season with the 2nd-best hockey team in the world, 2nd-best goalie in the world, the best 21-year-old center on the planet today, two of the best 20-year-olds in the NHL and 8 picks in the first 4 rounds of the 2021 draft. Not bad.
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BREAKING - 6-3, 210 pound NHLer courageously proclaims he's willing to fight 5-11, 185 pound NHLer with one career fight because concussing him with a cheap shot last playoff wasn't sufficient.
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In his 15-year NHL career, John Tavares has won two playoff series. He has been paid $51M for every series win. Sleep well, Li'l Johnny. Sleep well.
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Here was the hit on 17-year-old, 152-pound defenceman Adam Jiricek in the Czechia Extraliga by 27-year-old, 201-pound Jan Scotka yesterday. Exhibit A for why you shouldn't rush kids into men's leagues. This wasn't easy to watch.
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Slaf picked up Hutson and drove him to the game. Lane repays him by setting him up for his 20th. giving him a 250k bonus. The circle of hockey life.
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None of the last six Cup winners had a 100-point scorer. VGK's top scorer this season had 66 points. MTL isn't trying to win an Art Ross Trophy. they want to win Cups. Maybe Michkov becomes a 100-pt scorer. Maybe Reinbacher helps MTL win Cups. Who knows?.We will see.
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Look who I ran into. Got back to Montreal this morning. Drove up to Ottawa to see Cole in the big match.
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Slafkovsky played 19:44 tonight the most of his young career, including a shift in the last 2 mins, two in OT, and a chance in the shootout. He showed off those soft mitts but hit the post. Four pts in his last five games. he's coming on.
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CAN - $8000 in relief money over 4 months.US - One $1200 payment. CAN - free health care for infected.US - $40-$60,000 in health care costs for uninsured. CAN - Premiers & PM cooperating/leading.US - Trump partisan divisive shitshow. Glad I'm Canadian.
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You bench the third overall pick for the two most important games of his young life. You penny pinch with him all summer on a new contract. You say nothing reassuring in a PC when asked if he'll be the 2nd-line center. Can you blame KK for signing the offer sheet? I don't.
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This particular shift from Juraj Slafkovsky stood out last night. Once again, he came back hard on the backcheck and then drew the penalty on the rush, which led to the Monahan game-winner on the power play. His size/speed combo is formidable.
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Shane Pinto suspended for participating in an activity the NHL has shoved down our throats for the past two years.
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Congratulations to Nick Suzuki. The first Montreal Canadiens center to EVER make the NHL All Rookie Team. It only took 37 years. 🙂.
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Hmmm. A few gloves shots to the helmet of an AHLer or destroying the knee of an $8M player? Which is more violent, and thus, should be more consequential? Gonna take a wild guess that a Torontonian decided to post this garbage question.
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Stats through their first 134 NHL games:. Slafkovsky 25 46 71.Jack Hughes 26 43 69.
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An NHL scout had a good response when I mentioned to him that according to polls, 75 percent of Habs fans think the Habs should let KK go. He said: "It's the same 75% who will complain about having no 2nd-line center.".I cannot disagree.
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I met Logan Mailloux last night. He was pumped about the Slafkovsky pick. He was very polite and pleasant. He is looking forward to development camp. His first chance to train with the Habs.
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Montreal gets stuck with the worst NHL schedule to start the season by far? No problem. Pick up ten out of a possible 12 points, no regulation losses, and score 29 goals in six games. The next highest-scoring team in the entire league has 19. No, this is not a dream.
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People who complain that the coverage of Guy Lafleur's passing has been over the top have simply never had a true hockey hero. The sadness that so many of us have felt is very real and genuine. We need this, and Guy earned every bit of it. RIP Guy.
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Bobrov told me last year that Demidov was "the real one". He loves the kid. No surprise whatsoever that the Habs took him.
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The Habs have been outscored 11-2 in games where Arber Xhekaj has been a healthy scratch. Perhaps Arber Xhekaj shouldn't be a healthy scratch.
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Petry was not better than Matheson last season (he was worse). MM is six years younger and almost $1.5M AAV cheaper. Matheson played 23+ per night vs. the Rangers in the playoffs and had 6 points, tied with Malkin for 4th best on Pens. Not sure why folks are bitching.
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Great officiating boys. What is Pare doing playing in an exhibition game this late into preseason? And no penalty for the blatant knee? Leafs and league are a farce.
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Kirby Dach is on pace for 54 points. His career high is 26. He is 21 years old, and the best is yet to come. Why do I get the feeling that Chicago is going to regret that hasty decision?.
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@jeffmason1 Rake the riverbeds and ocean floors like they do in Norway. Stir up water pressure.
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Kirby Dach has loads of potential and size at at center. Habs dealt from a position of strength. Love the deal.
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Slaf has been Montreal's best defensive forward the last 20 games. But Sportsnet analysts find two minor defensive plays to focus on and say he's got to work on his defensive game based on those two plays. Someday, Sportsnet may get an analyst who actually watches them regularly.
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Trading Ryan Poehling, Rem Pitlick and Mike Hoffman for Matheson, Legare, Desmith, a 2023 fourth and a 2025 second-round pick seems like fairly good asset management.😉.
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Reinbacher AND Laine knee blowouts four minutes into a preseason game? You've got to be f'ng kidding me. This team is cursed.
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A coach that tries to win in OT instead of not lose. A refreshing change in Montreal.
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Here is what I heard from one very tied-in NHL source today concerning how the top six picks may go. Chicago - "Levshunov locked in" .Anaheim - "Silayev from everything I'm hearing " .Columbus - "Scouts think Lindstrom is going 4th".MTL - "Everyone thinks MTL is taking Demidov.
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Suzuki is the tenth-highest-scoring center in the NHL. I am officially putting the "Suzuki isn't a legitimate first-line center" narrative to bed. For good.
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Does this team have swag or what? From the rookies to the captain. Something special is developing in Montreal, perhaps even a lot sooner than everyone expected.
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The Slaf we've seen in the past ten games is the one I saw in Liiga post Olympics. physically dominating men at 17 years of age. He didn't get a ton of points but his combo of size, speed, skill and strength was evident. and highly tantalizing. We're seeing why MTL took him #1.
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Toews saying how unfair it is that Bowman would "lose his livelihood" infuriates me. And how he made it a great place to play hockey. Was it great for Beach? Bowman got to keep his job for 11 years after the incident and make another $20M. and Toews is worried about livelihood.
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Jonathan Toews better not be wearing a letter on his sweater at the Olympics. Unacceptable. I wouldn't invite him at all, but we all know that's not how the NHL works.
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Suzuki is on pace for 54 goals and 101 points. He is tied for 4th in both goals and points among all NHL centers, and is at least two years younger than all of those ahead of him. He is Montreal's top penalty-killer as well. But he's not an elite #1 center? I strongly disagree.
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It took Stutzle about 18 months to find his footing. Sens fans were patient as they saw flashes. Habs fans with Slafkovsky? Seems like about half of them are writing him off 2 weeks into his first camp. For a fan base lauded for its intelligence, sometimes you really wonder. 😄.
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Brett Kulak.Jordan Harris.Justin Barron. FOR. -Lane Hutson.-Patrik Laine.-Alex Carrier.-2026 2nd round pick .-Rasmus Bergqvist. When Kent Hughes calls offering a defenceman, you are best served to hang up.
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This shift from Slafkovsky was his best so far as a rookie. He also threw in a between-the-legs pass that demonstrates his new-found confidence. It was shifts like this I saw last year that made him the clear-cut #1 for me.
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Carey Price defeats Vasilevkiy for the first time in a dozen games. The monkey is off of his back. Terrific effort from him. He and the Habs didn't deserve to be swept in the finals after their playoff.
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Simpson criticizes Caufield's shooting a minute before he threads the needle. The reason why so many of his shots are "high and wide" is because he doesn't shoot pucks into the goalie's chest. he's going for an open spot. Sometimes he misses. often he doesn't.
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Hage is a great skater. Very skilled. Good size. I ranked him 18th overall. A great pick at 21 for Montreal.
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Leafs' captain Tavares is 21-33 lifetime in the playoffs with two series wins in 14 seasons. Two more years at $11M and he turns 33 before next season. His decision to not even talk to Montreal as a UFA turned out to be a blessing for les Canadiens.
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First 44 NHL games:. Caufield - 9g 8a.Shutt - 8g 8a .Pacioretty - 4g 9a . Cole will be fine.
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I don't understand folks being shocked that Carey Price is pro gun. A rodeo and country music-loving westerner with an outspoken, anti-masking American wife. I'd have been shocked if he was the opposite.
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The only 18-year-old I can recall with comparable strength/puck-protection skills to Slafkovsky was Lindros. Even Jagr wasn't this physically dominant until his 20s. Slaf is going to be the ideal linemate for CC and Suzuki IMO when he's ready.
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Reaves said today that Xhekaj "knows where to find me", but he didn't appear to be too anxious to "find" Arber when he left the penalty box, as noted by @TonyMarinaro in our conversations on @thesickpodcasts on Wednesday night.
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Pacioretty, Galchenyuk, Simon Bourque and a fifth round pick for Armia, Domi, Reilly, Suzuki, Tatar, a second, fourth, seventh and Mason. It may be time to start giving Bergevin some props.
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No points for Slaf tonight but all over the scoresheet. Two shots, two blocked shots, a hit, his first NHL fight, his first shootout goal and game winner.
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Reinbacher covers a lot of ice. Players aren't getting around him at this level to the outside. Very mobile and rangy, uses his stick well. Dishes the puck smartly on the rush. Very solid first period of AHL hockey. NHL scout I'm beside said "He didn't look out of place." Agreed.
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Habs fan in August - "I am fine with the rebuild.". Habs fan in November - "Why are we losing???? Why aren't defencemen with fewer than 120 NHL games of experience playing great? This team will never be good!".
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Those who have questioned Slaf's skill level got a big dose of it on that goal. His hands and feet are plenty silky.
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Goals per 60 minutes. Rantanen 1.46.Kucherov 1.41.McDavid 1.39. HEINEMAN 1.38 .Matthews 1.33.Barkov 1.25.J. Hughes 1.07.Pastrnak 1.06.MacKinnon 1.03.Stutzle 1.03.Kopitar 0.95 .Marner 0.83.EIchel 0.81.Crosby 0.80.
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If Suzuki keeps this up he's going to crack 70 points by season's end. He has ten points in his last five. 21 points in his last 19. It's been a long time waiting for a legitimate first-line center in MTL - He has arriveth.
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Imagine retiring from hockey for almost four years in your mid 30's, coming back to the NHL, and at the age of 38 being on pace for 70 points over 82 games? It gives you an idea of the innate talent of Guy Damien Lafleur. My most formative hockey hero by a country mile.
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Pierre Luc Dubois is averaging 1.56 points per 60. Gabe Vilardi is averaging 3.66 points per 60. Alex Iafallo is averaging 1.75 points per 60. The Jets also have LA's 2024 second-round pick. Best trade the Canadiens never made.
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How does Slafkovsky's start to his career stack up against other 18-year-old first-overall picks in their rookie seasons? Pretty, pretty good.
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Slafkofky is second on the Habs behind Caufield (and top 40 in the NHL) in goals per 60 minutes (1.8), yet he is consistently last on the team in ice time. Suzuki and CC are the only players with more goals. It is time to move him up in the lineup.
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Reaves tough for the first time this season versus the Habs conveniently in the game that Xhekaj misses. Has been.
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Where four Habs players rank this season in NHL scoring among all players in their draft classes:. 2022: Slafkovsky 1st. 2019: Caufield 1st. Dach 3rd. 2017: Suzuki 2nd. I would suggest this bodes well for the future.
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I hate to bring up Ducharme but he'd have had Savard, Lagesson and Wideman in the lineup and on the ice in OT. MSL? Harris, Barron and Schueneman. I love it.
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Kucherov slams Guhle head first into the glass. No penalty. Cirelli spears Struble - no penalty. Struble wrestles with Cirelli though. power play. and a goal. Horseshit officiating.
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Nick Suzuki had some games in junior that were among the most dominant I've ever seen at that level. Last night's contest reminded me of some of those games. A lot of folks were suggesting a month ago that he's not going to be a #1 center. He already is.
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Matheson has 21 points in his last 23 games. One of the best skating defencemen in the league, and just keeps getting wiser with the puck as he's matured. A lot of defencemen's best years are 28-34. Mike looks like one of them. Terrific acquisition.
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The Canadiens have four lines rolling, three defence pairs playing solidly, and two goalies stopping pucks. They are winning at a .666 clip since Laine joined the team. Don't sleep on the Habs. They believe in themselves, and with such a young team, confidence/momentum are keys.
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Steven Stamkos's career in Tampa Bay may be coming to a close. Given his close ties with Lecavalier and St. Louis, I keep picturing him on a line with Dach, and a PP with Hutson, Slaf, Suzuki and Caufield.
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@Talon_Jenkins94 Twenty-four-year-old Suzuki has more NHL playoff series wins than Matthews, Marner, Nylander and their 79 years on this planet combined. I think Habs fans are feeling just fine.
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Alexis Lafreniere is on pace for 41 goals in his fourth NHL season. Exhibit A for why you wait a minimum of five years before trotting out the "Bust" tag. Not convinced? Please examine Exhibit B (Kotkaniemi).
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In 9.5 years of work. Bergevin never traded for/signed a defenceman that could walk the line like THIS. Barron is definitely not a dman in his image:
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If the Slovaks had Slafkovsky and Nemec in the lineup. they may have been unstoppable. Right now is the golden age of Slovakian hockey - the U20 class is superb. My WJC darkhorses.
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Marty HAS to get Hutson out there on 5-on-3s. I get that he's not on the first unit but that one is a no brainer.
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Laine sprained his knee. will miss 2-3 months, no surgery. Great news!.
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It looks like Drouin and Dadonov will sit out opening night. Among the many concepts Marty St. Louis has brought to the organization, the concept that the players who performed best in camp get to play is the best one, and a refreshing change.
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According to Elliotte Friedman, Kent Hughes is going to meet with Demidov in Russia. No word on whether Hughes will be using the Patr Svoboda car and whether the trunk is empty.
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Slafkovsky is the first teenager in club history to play a regular role on Montreal's first line. Not Boom Boom. Not Richer or John Quilty. Not Henri Richard, Tremblay, Latendresse, Mark Hunter, KK, Wickenheiser or Galchenyuk. Not Beliveau, Flower, Rocket, or Morenz. Slaf.
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Here's the deal. Some players in Laval are playing well. Some players in Montreal are going through the motions. I would send down Dvorak and Armia and call up Roy and Tuch. If one or both get claimed. fine. They need a shakeup.
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Jeez. Canada's "braintrust" doesn't pick Suzuki to play for the team. and now they're wondering why ridiculously priced ticket sales for an exhibition event are slow in Montreal? Real deep thinkers. .
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Okay Bergevin. your experiment to see if a team with six non-puck-moving 6-3 defencemen could average a goal every two playoff games has a proven conclusion. Can you try a different experiment next season? Signed - Habs fans.
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Dach, Reinbacher and Slafkovsky have mega potential. You see it. Two top-three picks. three top-five picks, all under the age of 23. The Habs haven't had that "pedigree" since Tardif, Lafleur, and Shutt. Add in 4 top-16 picks under 24 in CC, Suzi, Newhook, Guhle. bright future.
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Tampa will start the season with a 30-year-old Jake Guentzel and 36-year-old Ryan McDonagh instead of 34-year-old Steven Stamkos and 26-year-old Mikhail Sergachev. Stamkos is still scoring 80+ per season. Progress?.
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Sean Monahan signs with the team that had faith in him for $4.4M less than he was making even though he's still in his 20s and played very well (when healthy) last season. I love Sean Monahan. Class personified.
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A comment from an NHL scout on Logan Mailloux. "He looks like a young Brent Burns". I like that comp.
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If Habs GMs listened to the majority of fans for decisions, the core roster today would be Zadina, Jost. Wright, PLD, Palmieri, Duchene, Galchenyuk, the ghost of Subban, Gostibehere and Halak.😉.
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No cap room. No first round pick. No top 25 picks in the entire system. No goalie (perhaps). All but two core players at least 30 next season. And no playoff berth. Vegas gambled. and lost.
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Eight points for Hutson in his last four games, including two three-point games. He is on pace for 67 points and a Calder Trophy.
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