That Carey Price Fella...

[RGM81]

2 goals allowed in 3 games since his return. 100 saves on 102 shots. Some of those 100 were pretty spectacular.

He's baaaaaaack!!!

And it's easy to see how his confidence is infectious throughout the team. They just seem to have a little more mojo when he's in the lineup.

[canucksfan007]

He's basically always been a band aid for that franchise since they've been any "good"

Good for Montreal to see he's playing how he can, and maybe that buys Bergevin a couple months to make a couple more bad deals to before hes run outta town.

Likes its been said for the past couple years, too bad Price cant make quick outlet passes to the forwards ..... or score goals ..... because that team is rough right now.

I dont think any GM would want that line up, aside from a couple players.

[Leafsman]

It's astonishing how much Carey Price means to the team. I'm not sorry for saying this because I believe it to be true - Carey Price IS the Montreal Canadiens. Without him, they are NOTHING.

The fault for this falls squarely on Marc Bergevin and his scouting staff, who have a HORRIBLE drafting and trading record and haven't helped poor Carey Price one bit in terms of the talent he has to work with. Carey Price is the best goalie in the world and it will be a golden era wasted because Bergevin has mismanaged this team into oblivion.

Here's hoping Price can rise above once again, stay healthy, and push this mediocre team towards the playoffs. Here's hoping as well that either Bergevin learns that you have to build through the draft and finds a way to draft well, or that Geoff Molson brings in someone who realizes that you can't build a championship team at the expense of your prospects,

[RGM81]

If you think the Canadiens have a bad drafting record, you clearly do not follow the team closely at all, and just like to rely on narratives from the media. And that's your choice, but it's simply not the reality. When a team regularly drafts in the 15-30 (now 31) range it is not as easy as being able to walk up and claim superstars in the making. Often you have to find a diamond in the rough that takes a couple years to polish into a legitimate NHL player. The Habs drafting record under Trevor Timmons is top ten in the past decade. They've had some questionable picks, and a couple busts, but again, when you don't get to pick the Connor McDavids or Auston Matthews of the world, that's to be expected.

Where things often go astray is player development. The two things are not the same. Nikita Scherbak should be much further along than he is. Noah Juulsen is on the cusp. Injuries have hampered both of these late-first-round choices.

Alex Galchenyuk at this stage of his career should not be a player moving up and down the lineup. They seem to have finally realized that. Looking at that 2012 draft, outside of Filip Forsberg name one forward you would rather have than Galchenyuk.

Brendan Gallagher and Victor Mete have been two of the team's top players this season. Gallagher is a 5th round pick, currently leads the team with 9 goals. Mete is a 19-year old drafted in the 4th round. You can say him being here is an indictment of the rest of the blueliners (and I would concede that point) but he has just been that good that he's earned his spot.

Mikhail Sergachev is a player Tampa thought so highly of they traded him for Jonathan Drouin, a 9th pick for a 3rd pick. Solid move for both teams.

Philip Danault is a solid 2nd line centre. He's not flashy, but he gets great results out of Pacioretty, and is himself a former first rounder of the Blackhawks.

Paul Byron is a waiver wire pickup that scored 22 goals last year. He's a perennial threat to score shorties.

Max Pacioretty takes a lot of heat for his leadership and streakiness, but he's a consistent 30+ goal man the last five years. Only 4 players in the entire NHL have more goals than him over that time frame. And he's on a great contract for this year and next. Great first round pick at #22, thank you San Jose.

Arturri Lehkonen, presently injured, is a great 2nd round pick from 2013 that will be in the NHL for years to come. Nearly cracked 20 goals as a rookie last year under two coaches that don't trust rookies.

So that's the much-maligned forward group. Shaw was a pretty good trade acquisition that basically cancelled out Lars Eller. Don't think many people miss that guy. It's easy to talk smack and point out that they don't have high-octane guys up there. Well, no, because you don't get that when you're not drafting in the top ten year over year over year.

The D. I'm not really going to put in much effort to defend them here. Weber is as advertised. Petry they got for a song from Edmonton and when he's playing well (which has been more frequent lately) he's decent. Benn took a big step back from last year. They miss Markov and didn't have a plan to properly replace him. As such, guys who are 3-6 D are being asked to do more and it's not really working. But they're stabilizing. And having Carey back makes everyone look better.

See, I'm able to be critical of my team where appropriate. But narrative-based trash talk from Leafs fans I won't sit by idly and let that happen. LOL

[odjickfan]

If you think the Canadiens have a bad drafting record, you clearly do not follow the team closely at all, and just like to rely on narratives from the media. And that's your choice, but it's simply not the reality. When a team regularly drafts in the 15-30 (now 31) range it is not as easy as being able to walk up and claim superstars in the making. Often you have to find a diamond in the rough that takes a couple years to polish into a legitimate NHL player. The Habs drafting record under Trevor Timmons is top ten in the past decade. They've had some questionable picks, and a couple busts, but again, when you don't get to pick the Connor McDavids or Auston Matthews of the world, that's to be expected.

Where things often go astray is player development. The two things are not the same. Nikita Scherbak should be much further along than he is. Noah Juulsen is on the cusp. Injuries have hampered both of these late-first-round choices.

Alex Galchenyuk at this stage of his career should not be a player moving up and down the lineup. They seem to have finally realized that. Looking at that 2012 draft, outside of Filip Forsberg name one forward you would rather have than Galchenyuk.

Brendan Gallagher and Victor Mete have been two of the team's top players this season. Gallagher is a 5th round pick, currently leads the team with 9 goals. Mete is a 19-year old drafted in the 4th round. You can say him being here is an indictment of the rest of the blueliners (and I would concede that point) but he has just been that good that he's earned his spot.

Mikhail Sergachev is a player Tampa thought so highly of they traded him for Jonathan Drouin, a 9th pick for a 3rd pick. Solid move for both teams.

Philip Danault is a solid 2nd line centre. He's not flashy, but he gets great results out of Pacioretty, and is himself a former first rounder of the Blackhawks.

Paul Byron is a waiver wire pickup that scored 22 goals last year. He's a perennial threat to score shorties.

Max Pacioretty takes a lot of heat for his leadership and streakiness, but he's a consistent 30+ goal man the last five years. Only 4 players in the entire NHL have more goals than him over that time frame. And he's on a great contract for this year and next. Great first round pick at #22, thank you San Jose.

Arturri Lehkonen, presently injured, is a great 2nd round pick from 2013 that will be in the NHL for years to come. Nearly cracked 20 goals as a rookie last year under two coaches that don't trust rookies.

So that's the much-maligned forward group. Shaw was a pretty good trade acquisition that basically cancelled out Lars Eller. Don't think many people miss that guy. It's easy to talk smack and point out that they don't have high-octane guys up there. Well, no, because you don't get that when you're not drafting in the top ten year over year over year.

The D. I'm not really going to put in much effort to defend them here. Weber is as advertised. Petry they got for a song from Edmonton and when he's playing well (which has been more frequent lately) he's decent. Benn took a big step back from last year. They miss Markov and didn't have a plan to properly replace him. As such, guys who are 3-6 D are being asked to do more and it's not really working. But they're stabilizing. And having Carey back makes everyone look better.

See, I'm able to be critical of my team where appropriate. But narrative-based trash talk from Leafs fans I won't sit by idly and let that happen. LOL

Ryan McDonagh was a good pick. Too bad they let it go for Gomez :(

[RGM81]

Carey let in three tonight. Habs scored six. Guess the magic is over hahaha


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[RGM81]

Ryan McDonagh was a good pick. Too bad they let it go for Gomez :(

Best not to think about it haha Worst trade ever.


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[Leafsman]

If you think the Canadiens have a bad drafting record, you clearly do not follow the team closely at all, and just like to rely on narratives from the media. And that's your choice, but it's simply not the reality. When a team regularly drafts in the 15-30 (now 31) range it is not as easy as being able to walk up and claim superstars in the making. Often you have to find a diamond in the rough that takes a couple years to polish into a legitimate NHL player. The Habs drafting record under Trevor Timmons is top ten in the past decade. They've had some questionable picks, and a couple busts, but again, when you don't get to pick the Connor McDavids or Auston Matthews of the world, that's to be expected.

Where things often go astray is player development. The two things are not the same. Nikita Scherbak should be much further along than he is. Noah Juulsen is on the cusp. Injuries have hampered both of these late-first-round choices.

Alex Galchenyuk at this stage of his career should not be a player moving up and down the lineup. They seem to have finally realized that. Looking at that 2012 draft, outside of Filip Forsberg name one forward you would rather have than Galchenyuk.

Brendan Gallagher and Victor Mete have been two of the team's top players this season. Gallagher is a 5th round pick, currently leads the team with 9 goals. Mete is a 19-year old drafted in the 4th round. You can say him being here is an indictment of the rest of the blueliners (and I would concede that point) but he has just been that good that he's earned his spot.

Mikhail Sergachev is a player Tampa thought so highly of they traded him for Jonathan Drouin, a 9th pick for a 3rd pick. Solid move for both teams.

Philip Danault is a solid 2nd line centre. He's not flashy, but he gets great results out of Pacioretty, and is himself a former first rounder of the Blackhawks.

Paul Byron is a waiver wire pickup that scored 22 goals last year. He's a perennial threat to score shorties.

Max Pacioretty takes a lot of heat for his leadership and streakiness, but he's a consistent 30+ goal man the last five years. Only 4 players in the entire NHL have more goals than him over that time frame. And he's on a great contract for this year and next. Great first round pick at #22, thank you San Jose.

Arturri Lehkonen, presently injured, is a great 2nd round pick from 2013 that will be in the NHL for years to come. Nearly cracked 20 goals as a rookie last year under two coaches that don't trust rookies.

So that's the much-maligned forward group. Shaw was a pretty good trade acquisition that basically cancelled out Lars Eller. Don't think many people miss that guy. It's easy to talk smack and point out that they don't have high-octane guys up there. Well, no, because you don't get that when you're not drafting in the top ten year over year over year.

The D. I'm not really going to put in much effort to defend them here. Weber is as advertised. Petry they got for a song from Edmonton and when he's playing well (which has been more frequent lately) he's decent. Benn took a big step back from last year. They miss Markov and didn't have a plan to properly replace him. As such, guys who are 3-6 D are being asked to do more and it's not really working. But they're stabilizing. And having Carey back makes everyone look better.

See, I'm able to be critical of my team where appropriate. But narrative-based trash talk from Leafs fans I won't sit by idly and let that happen. LOL

I disagree with your assessment that this is coming from "a Leafs fan who just like to rely on narratives from the media". I also don't like the "when a team regularly drafts in the 15-30 (now 31) range it is not as easy as being able to walk up and claim superstars" excuse (yes, I said excuse). Detroit, Anaheim, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Chicago, have had exceptional success when drafting late in rounds. Also, if you keep trading second and third round picks, you have no choice but to draft deeper and deeper in the draft. However, if you have great talent evaluators, it doesn't mean a roll of beans where you draft. I firmly believe that.

Yes, the scouting staff should be better. I will agree that the player development really needs to improve. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the general manager (or his assistant) choose the coaching staff for the AHL. So, either directly or indirectly, Bergevin (or the assistant he chose) is responsible for the lack of player development.

For the sake of Canadiens fans, Carey Price better stay healthy.

[RGM81]

Yes those five teams have had good success drafting. Chicago’s foundation, however, is a core group that were all top-end draft picks. How close is Detroit to winning a Stanley Cup despite all their great drafting? Same goes for the Blues. Tampa Bay completely fell apart last year after Stamkos was out and is doing much better this season—sounds almost like Montreal a couple seasons ago so maybe Yzerman better pray Stammer doesn’t get injured again right?

You are correct about having great talent evaluators making the difference. Trevor Timmons has done a fantastic job getting late round picks and turning them into valuable assets for the Habs. He’s got a lot of players in the lineup and guys that have been dealt away are often for players who are in the lineup.

Carey Price is an integral part of the team. Has been for a decade. Like a great quarterback or ace pitcher, he’s central to a team winning. But he’s part of the team and it’s really nonsensical to say “without him the team is blah.” Yeah but he is with the team. Even Eli Manning can get benched and he’s won two Super Bowls.


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[30ranfordfan]

Couldn't disagree more on the Red Wings. They have what I consider to be the most overrated draft success in the entire league.

There is this narrative out there that the Red Wings draft great players in the later rounds, and that's how they've been so successful. It's a load of hooey.

The Red Wings drafted two great players in the later rounds: Pavel Datsyuk & Henrik Zetterberg. Both of those picks were made in the prior century, and you have to go back to Zetterberg to find the last time they drafted anyone I would consider a "star". Good players since then? Sure.

I'm not trying to defend Montreal. I think Bergevin's career as a GM will be defined by the fact he made the blunder of trading away PK Subban (I believe that to be the worst trade in the NHL in at least a decade). They've made a whole lot of moves I think were boneheaded, but their draft record isn't the problem.