RegDunlop

Is there a buyout process for keepers that don't work out? I think people might need to know how that works in order to properly assess risk on the older guys. That said, I have no experience with partial keeper pools so maybe I'm just asking a noob question here... Also, as you're "1er" (félicitations), can we assume you're in win-now mode?

A true Cinderella story. Awesome!

Yeah what a strange way to score - right up there with this one on Mike Smith: https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2013/12/23/5240598/sabres-vs-coyotes-mike-smith-loses-puck-in-his-pants-carries-it-into

I haven't gotten PM emails to my Hotmail account for the last year. Personally, I don't mind and I can live without them, because I'm almost always on here at least once a day.

Meh. If Koivu can end his career as a Duck, then Turtlenec can end his career as a Leaf. What do people think of Kerby Rychel? Looks like there's some promise there. Is anyone excited?

I'm not sure it's fair to describe Pacioretty as a "much lesser asset" relative to Hall. Personally I think Lee's proposal makes sense. I might throw in a second. Patches, McDavid, and Lucic would be a fun line to watch!

Yeah I would not be surprised to learn that Marc Bergevin is secretly every caller who phones in to TSN 690 on weekday afternoons. "Hey Tony, why don't they just move Shaw for Kucherov already? We need scoring and Tampa needs grit."

It might not be either. The guy has scored at a 30+ goal pace every year since 2010-11 (with little to no supporting cast). He's seen his faire share of pressure in Montreal and it hasn't fazed him. Maybe he's just lost his touch for a bit? In any event, I don't think he's the problem, but the reality seems to be that he is the only player left of any significant value, so I think they have to shop him anyway. I wonder what the realistic expectation on a return would be.

I'd keep Timmins. He drafted what was supposed to be our Cup-contending core: Price, Subban, Patches, McDonagh, Chucky, and Gally. He's got a good track record. The blame falls squarely on Bergevin's shoulders. He has failed at everything, from making trades (Drouin, Weber), to making personnel decisions (Chucky at wing), to signing free agents (too many to list here), to re-signing players (Radulov, Markov). I'd even put Price in that last category - a good negotiator would have had him come in at lower than 10 million a year. And as I've mentioned before, Bergevin consistently fails at choosing socially acceptable pants.

This guy said it all... Bergevin cannot be part of the rebuild, IMO.

I'm with the Commish on this one. Some of these guys were once solid NHL players. Wolski in Colorado, for example.

CBC had this potential lineup in November. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/wharnsby/canada-olympic-hockey-roster-predictions-1.4379792 Definitely a good number of KHL guys on there (Scrivens, Despres, Lee, Brule, Kozun, and more).

Could they in fact form a team? My understanding is that clean Russian athletes can only compete as "neutrals" under the IOC flag. Would this be a team of neutrals?

Yeah. Last time I was at a Habs game, I was in the section with free food. People who know me IRL know that's a big f*ing deal for me. But you better believe that even in those circumstances, I gave up on my third round of hot dogs when I saw that the puck had dropped and the intermission was over... That concourse does look cool, though. Anyway, I think Salros hit the nail on the head. Sports in general are just not affordable. And you'd think the NHL would capitalize on this by undercutting the other North American leagues... but of course, that assumes that the people managing the league are competent.

Ha ha yeah. That one hurts. The worst part is that I own him in the PCFL, so I get daily reminders of his success... As for Veg's draft, Zucker has interesting potential - lots of success despite being the odd man out on the depth chart. It will be interesting to see what he does now that Coyle is back.

Personally I'd rather have Ziba than Brown at 3. As for drops, I would also choose Turris. That guy sucks

Well said, yes, but the fact remains that Therrien messed with this kid from day one, and now the damage is done. Inconsistent opportunity, a persistent desire to reward non-talented "sandpaper" guys (see Weise, Dale and De La Rose, Jacob), and the refusal to give the kid a real chance at C have messed with his head. Only a fresh start in a new city can save Chucky's game at this point. The mismanagement (and disdain, yes, disdain) of high-level talent has been chronic under Bergevin. I think it comes down to jealousy and resentment - he wishes he could have had half the talent of Markov, Radu, or Chucky. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyQswGcQiN0

Wow, Veg, I'm amazed that you still have faith in Bergevin. As I see it, there is no plan.

I don't know but I can tell you this - I saw him play two games for Russia at the 2016 Worlds, and in both games, he was the best player on a team that included Ovie, Kuznetsov, Datsyuk, Panarin, Dadonov, and Mozyakin.

Sigh..... never mind. This is like having a broken arm but having 'no interest' in a cast... why can't we ever have nice things?!?!?

I think the Habs need better production than that. Vadim Shypachyov's agent is Petr Svoboda. Isn't that interesting?

Awesome. Hopefully, your students will get into the Hip - I like to think their music is timeless, but maybe that's because I'm old too...

Forgot about that one. Great addition to the list!

Don't tell me what the poets are doing, Zipper The Tragically Hip - Poets I wish my history and English teachers had sat us down to study Gord's lyrics. The man was indeed a brilliant poet - and freestyler - his famous live rants (as seen in the video above) were awesome.

This post isn't strictly about hockey, but whatever. Canada lost a giant today. For the non-Canadians in the forum, Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip were like Canada's Bruce Springsteen, except that they weren't world-famous superstars, and they didn't really care... which makes them all the more emblematic of Canadian culture. I thought I'd post a few links to some of the Hip's most famous songs referencing the great Canadian game, for those non-Canadians who might not be familiar with Downie and his work. 50 Mission Cap, which is about Bill Barilko - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-t8W4X8Obo Fireworks, which references the Summit Series - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9wW9ENBPlQ Heaven is a Better Place Today, which was inspired by the Thrashers' stoicism after Dan Snyder's death - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvmAaYCk11E Enjoy.