I think bringing in Nick Foligno back to Ottawa is a great idea.
He could be had very cheap and for nothing going out.
He has a good history here, tons of grit and leadership and if basically the perfect vet to help our young guys develop and still contribute.
thoughts?
- Maverick1818

Not sure adding a guy who will be 33/34 is such a great plan, especially on the wing where there's already a logjam (Tkachuk, Stutzle, Batherson, Paul, Formenton, Brown, Dadonov, Watson). The gap is really at C, particularly if Tierney is the most likely pick from Seattle.

An alternative idea to consider would be a guy like Phillip Danault... who just turned 28, could fill in at #2C until a better option emerges (e.g. Brown, Pinto, White, Greig) and still be very useful as a #3C/4C in future years. He's the kind of player who can handle 1,000 faceoffs/year at >50%, significantly upgrade the PK, and play an effective shut-down role come playoff time.

I was thinking about this the other day.

I think bringing in Nick Foligno back to Ottawa is a great idea.

He could be had very cheap and for nothing going out.
He has a good history here, tons of grit and leadership and if basically the perfect vet to help our young guys develop and still contribute.

thoughts?
- Maverick1818

hard pass. that guy is years past his prime and is in no way an upgrade over any of our centers.....just another stepan/gudbrandson/paquette type acquisition

hard pass. that guy is years past his prime and is in no way an upgrade over any of our centers.....just another stepan/gudbrandson/paquette type acquisition
- sensarmy_11

The thing is, We wouldn't be bringing him in for scoring ability. It's a mentor role. So you bring him in cheap and let him teach.

The thing is, We wouldn't be bringing him in for scoring ability. It's a mentor role. So you bring him in cheap and let him teach.
- Maverick1818

He'd still be taking a roster spot from one of the younger players.

I'd also pass on him.

He'd still be taking a roster spot from one of the younger players.
I'd also pass on him.
- david22

Agreed, plus it's a position where they have no clear weakness, so it actually detracts from playing the younger players. Part of the idea of signing a guy like Phillip Danault is that he can absorb the hardest minutes, game scenarios, and line match-ups, and allows the team to keep a younger C like Brown or Pinto in the regular NHL lineup, as the #4C. It also presumes that Tierney is the player Seattle takes, but that seems to increasingly be the consensus opinion.

The thing is, We wouldn't be bringing him in for scoring ability. It's a mentor role. So you bring him in cheap and let him teach.
- Maverick1818

I mean, that’s what we said about Stepan, Gudbrandson, Cobourn, etc.....and we all know how that ended.

Guys who are there to mentor, but don’t actually provide any “roster value” are completely pointless IMO.

I mean, that’s what we said about Stepan, Gudbrandson, Cobourn, etc.....and we all know how that ended.

Guys who are there to mentor, but don’t actually provide any “roster value” are completely pointless IMO.
- sensarmy_11

He also likely wants a contract with more term than Id be comfortable with.

If a player is brought in and doesn’t address the #1C or #1RD needs, it will be a redundant move. Not sure why you’d want to replace middle of the lineup players on a team that made such great strides last season when youngsters got the opportunity.

Stay the course. Fill lineup holes when the opportunity presents itself. Do not add for the sake of adding or “leadership”.

If a player is brought in and doesn’t address the #1C or #1RD needs, it will be a redundant move. Not sure why you’d want to replace middle of the lineup players on a team that made such great strides last season when youngsters got the opportunity.

Stay the course. Fill lineup holes when the opportunity presents itself. Do not add for the sake of adding or “leadership”.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

I guess it also depends if its done to acquire draft picks from cap stretched teams? But even then you may be right and it may not be worth it to take ice time away.

I know this is Ottawa, but there may be some desperate teams with the flat cap / expansion, and it happened in the past with Tampa's second rounder.

I guess it also depends if its done to acquire draft picks from cap stretched teams? But even then you may be right and it may not be worth it to take ice time away.

I know this is Ottawa, but there may be some desperate teams with the flat cap / expansion, and it happened in the past with Tampa's second rounder.
- david22

I feel for this season, you gotta roll with what you have to see if this group is legit. There are also a good crop of prospects who will come along at some point (Sanderson, Sokolov, etc). Adding overpaid vets to get a bonus pick may not be as useful as it would have been a year or 2 ago.

Still an avenue worth exploring depending on the player, but hardly see Eugene giving that kind of a deal a thumbs up.

If a player is brought in and doesn’t address the #1C or #1RD needs, it will be a redundant move. Not sure why you’d want to replace middle of the lineup players on a team that made such great strides last season when youngsters got the opportunity.
Stay the course. Fill lineup holes when the opportunity presents itself. Do not add for the sake of adding or “leadership”.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

I agree to a point... but those "great strides" were mostly about the young players finding their offensive game, and taking more responsibility on the ice. However, last year, they were also 4th-worst in Goals Against/GP, 4th-worst in Shots Against/GP, 6th-worst in Faceoff %, had a <79% PK, and were conspicuously ripped to pieces more often than not by teams with a dominant scoring line (e.g. EDM, WPG). They've got very promising talent on the horizon at D (e.g. Bernard-Docker, Sanderson), but their C situation remains a major issue.

This is why I really don't see a player like Danault as being redundant, especially if Seattle picks Tierney. "Maybe" a guy like Pinto develops into that kind of C in a couple years, but you can always trade from a position of strength. Meanwhile, Danault was one of just 14 NHL players to take >900 faceoffs and won 52.5%, and is currently leading the playoffs in faceoffs, and won 53.7%. He's also effectively shadowed some of the best players in the league, and has the most playoff ice time of any Habs forward. Personally, I don't see that as a redundant skill set in Ottawa any time soon.

If they do look to improve the RD situation, David Savard might be an interesting UFA option as a kind of Methot v2.0... but with Zaitsev still in the mix, you have a logjam for the next 3yrs ahead of Bernard-Docker, Thomson, etc.

I agree to a point... but those "great strides" were mostly about the young players finding their offensive game, and taking more responsibility on the ice. However, last year, they were also 4th-worst in Goals Against/GP, 4th-worst in Shots Against/GP, 6th-worst in Faceoff %, had a <79% PK, and were conspicuously ripped to pieces more often than not by teams with a dominant scoring line (e.g. EDM, WPG). They've got very promising talent on the horizon at D (e.g. Bernard-Docker, Sanderson), but their C situation remains a major issue.

This is why I really don't see a player like Danault as being redundant, especially if Seattle picks Tierney. "Maybe" a guy like Pinto develops into that kind of C in a couple years, but you can always trade from a position of strength. Meanwhile, Danault was one of just 14 NHL players to take >900 faceoffs and won 52.5%, and is currently leading the playoffs in faceoffs, and won 53.7%. He's also effectively shadowed some of the best players in the league, and has the most playoff ice time of any Habs forward. Personally, I don't see that as a redundant skill set in Ottawa any time soon.

If they do look to improve the RD situation, David Savard might be an interesting UFA option as a kind of Methot v2.0... but with Zaitsev still in the mix, you have a logjam for the next 3yrs ahead of Bernard-Docker, Thomson, etc.
- khawk

Oh, they are far from taking a step to be competitive, but the team was better at the end of the season than it was at the start. Lots of young players in the mix. Some will get better, some will get worse, some will just stay the same. You can’t figure that out adding bodies that don’t bring a ton of value.

I personally think Ottawa is going to roll the dice with Logan Brown if Teirny gets selected and see if he is an NHLer or not. Probably do that either way, actually.

Philip Danault has big contract written all over him with the current playoff run. Can’t see Eugene biting on that, especially with how Dadanov turned out. Maybe if you moved out Colin White?

Philip Danault has big contract written all over him with the current playoff run. Can’t see Eugene biting on that, especially with how Dadanov turned out. Maybe if you moved out Colin White?
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

That's a fair point, in terms of potentially being over-priced... it's just that C is a very hard position to legitimately improve upon, and just going out and buying the highest-scoring UFA centre has worked out badly in recent years. I'm also kind of wary of over-investing high-value assets like a top-10 pick in the likes of Monahan, Kadri, or Reinhart, who have pretty established limitations, and may not have more than a 1-2 year guaranteed impact on the team. It all depends on how close you believe the current roster is to being in playoff contention. Personally, I think they're closer than many believe, but that could just be dumb on my part.

Davidsson announces he's going back to Europe. So with that, two pieces of the Duchene trade gone for nothing. Although Davidsson never seemed to have as much of an upside as Abromov.

You win some you lose some, but it does put a bit more pressure on Thomson.

Davidsson announces he's going back to Europe. So with that, two pieces of the Duchene trade gone for nothing. Although Davidsson never seemed to have as much of an upside as Abromov.
You win some you lose some, but it does put a bit more pressure on Thomson.
- david22

There was some initial buzz around these guys, but was anyone seriously thinking that Abramov and Davidsson were going to be relevant NHL assets? That trade was always about adding a 1st round pick in 2019, to help compensate for the loss of the 4th overall pick. Davidsson at best would be a 3rd/4th line energy winger, and Abramov is basically a #2LW-or-bust player who would be playing behind any of Tkachuk, Stutzle, Paul, or Formenton... not to mention Jarventie and Greig down the road. Like Balcers, Jaros, Chlapik, and Wolanin, there's going to be some bleeding of lesser assets, due to the higher level of roster competition.

There was some initial buzz around these guys, but was anyone seriously thinking that Abramov and Davidsson were going to be relevant NHL assets? That trade was always about adding a 1st round pick in 2019, to help compensate for the loss of the 4th overall pick. Davidsson at best would be a 3rd/4th line energy winger, and Abramov is basically a #2LW-or-bust player who would be playing behind any of Tkachuk, Stutzle, Paul, or Formenton... not to mention Jarventie and Greig down the road. Like Balcers, Jaros, Chlapik, and Wolanin, there's going to be some bleeding of lesser assets, due to the higher level of roster competition.
- khawk

All Sens prospects are the next Daniel Alfredsson. Are you knew here?

There was some initial buzz around these guys, but was anyone seriously thinking that Abramov and Davidsson were going to be relevant NHL assets? That trade was always about adding a 1st round pick in 2019, to help compensate for the loss of the 4th overall pick. Davidsson at best would be a 3rd/4th line energy winger, and Abramov is basically a #2LW-or-bust player who would be playing behind any of Tkachuk, Stutzle, Paul, or Formenton... not to mention Jarventie and Greig down the road. Like Balcers, Jaros, Chlapik, and Wolanin, there's going to be some bleeding of lesser assets, due to the higher level of roster competition.
- khawk

I never had any real hopes for Davidsson.

I will admit I had held out hopes for Abromov.

Thoughts on David Savard as a possible RHD partner for Chabot? He's 6'2-225, with pretty good mobility, was tied for 30th in hits last year, top-10 in blocked shots, and had over 19:30min/GP of ES/SH ice time. He's 30, but has pretty strong lateral movement, and can move the puck more effectively than you'd expect based on his point totals - plus, Tampa Bay invested a 1st and 3rd round pick to acquire him for their playoff push. Chabot needs some veteran help out there, and Savard strikes me as kind of a Methot-light, who could be quite useful on the RH side, even if his role diminishes over time as the likes of JBD and Thomson begin to take on more minutes.

was Michael abducted by aliens? he has not posted on either sens or Tampa for over 2 weeks

was Michael abducted by aliens? he has not posted on either sens or Tampa for over 2 weeks
- Mithos

It's probably one of those illuminati-type social experiments, where he's monitoring to see how long it takes for things to go all "Lord of the Flies" around here.

So, can people bring themselves to cheer for the Habs?

As much as I'd love to see the cup come back to Canada, I don't think I can.

We'd never hear the end of it.

Perhaps the greatest bitter sweet moment.

So, can people bring themselves to cheer for the Habs?

As much as I'd love to see the cup come back to Canada, I don't think I can.

We'd never hear the end of it.

Perhaps the greatest bitter sweet moment.
- david22

I like to think of them as a non-Canadian team since the province wants to separate from Canada...

It's a nice Cinderella run to be sure. Part of me feels Carey Price hasn't gotten enough credit and this may lead to other middling teams thinking they can pull off a run like this too but without an elite goalie.

I will not be cheering for the Habs but nice to see the fanbase have fun.

I like to think of them as a non-Canadian team since the province wants to separate from Canada...

It's a nice Cinderella run to be sure. Part of me feels Carey Price hasn't gotten enough credit and this may lead to other middling teams thinking they can pull off a run like this too but without an elite goalie.

I will not be cheering for the Habs but nice to see the fanbase have fun.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

*Cough Cough*?

The separation aspect isn't such an issue anymore. But we know the loudest fans will claim it to be so. Despite Price being from BC.

Price has been amazing, I've been very impressed with Montreal's young stars though, Caufield, Suzuki and kotk....

*Cough Cough*?

The separation aspect isn't such an issue anymore. But we know the loudest fans will claim it to be so. Despite Price being from BC.

Price has been amazing, I've been very impressed with Montreal's young stars though, Caufield, Suzuki and kotk....
- david22

This isn't a political forum, but Quebec nationalism is very alive and well. There just hasn't been a referendum like in the 90s...

Caufeild and Suzuki have been great and the teams system is working well but having a goalie with a GAA of 2 and SV% of .934 is going to elevate a lot of teams. There hasn't been a goalie perform this well in the playoffs for quite sometime. There was even a conceding rhetoric that teams just need to have an "ok" goalie to win as long as the roster was strong. Price is proving that a goalie can still carry a team to the promise land.

was Michael abducted by aliens? he has not posted on either sens or Tampa for over 2 weeks
- Mithos

Bring back Yost!