Brandon Smillie: Habs Look For First “W” Of Preseason Against Ottawa

Brandon Smillie: Habs Look For First “W” Of Preseason Against Ottawa
- Brandon Smillie

No one wants to watch this hot mess....

No one wants to watch this hot mess....
- Mashadar

I think they will be better than you think. Don't get me wrong the Habs aren't cup contenders but they added some offense, few more pieces and they will be fine

I think they will be better than you think. Don't get me wrong the Habs aren't cup contenders but they added some offense, few more pieces and they will be fine
- Maverick1818

He's talking about the line-up for tonight.

I think they will be better than you think. Don't get me wrong the Habs aren't cup contenders but they added some offense, few more pieces and they will be fine
- Maverick1818

they added offense?!? when where? Drouin is basically replacing Radulov.
they will start the season 5-5, fight all year for a playoff spot and miss.
MB will be fired, righfully so.

entering the summer months, he had 2 tasks:
1- find a #1C
2- find a partner for Weber
he failed on both and is about to start the season with over 8M in his pocket.

He's talking about the line-up for tonight.
- deadpoulet

I still think it'll be okay

they added offense?!? when where?
they will start the season 5-5, fight all year for a playoff spot and miss.
MB will be fired, righfully so.
entering the summer months, he had 2 tasks:
1- find a #1C
2- find a partner for Weber
he failed on both and is about to start the season with over 8M in his pocket.
- fidopro

They picked up Drouin, he had 21 goals in basically his first year. That is absolutely offense.

Pair that with Alex Galchenyuk and it could be terrifying how good they are with some chemistry.

Yes Weber needs a partner but he is so solid on D he can basically play with anyone and be responsible.

Yes there is some tweaking to do but it's not as bad as it looks and this is coming from a Sens fan, I should want them to be bad

they added offense?!? when where? Drouin is basically replacing Radulov.
they will start the season 5-5, fight all year for a playoff spot and miss.
MB will be fired, righfully so.

entering the summer months, he had 2 tasks:
1- find a #1C
2- find a partner for Weber
he failed on both and is about to start the season with over 8M in his pocket.
- fidopro

You wanted Bergevin to play hardball with his ufas. He did.

You wanted Bergevin to play hardball with his ufas. He did.
- deadpoulet

he sure did, and he gets good marks for it.
but that as nothing to do with the above.

even if Markov reup, we all know he's no longer a top pairing dman. they would still need a guy to play top minutes.
as for Radulov, yes, MB replaced him by Drouin, so he is still missing a top C (or top RW as you wish).

he sure did, and he gets good marks for it.
but that as nothing to do with the above.

even if Markov reup, we all know he's no longer a top pairing dman. they would still need a guy to play top minutes.
as for Radulov, yes, MB replaced him by Drouin, so he is still missing a top C (or top RW as you wish).
- fidopro

Any way you put it, this team would be better with Markov or Radulov and you know it. There was nothing on the market to replace them. And he already traded his best asset to get Drouin.

Any way you put it, this team would be better with Markov or Radulov and you know it. There was nothing on the market to replace them. And he already traded his best asset to get Drouin.
- deadpoulet

at the end of the day, he had two holes to fill, and a week before season starts he still does. that's fail in my book. not sure how you can see it differently.
I'm done with excuses like there's nothing on the market. excuses are for losers.

they added offense?!? when where? Drouin is basically replacing Radulov.
they will start the season 5-5, fight all year for a playoff spot and miss.
MB will be fired, righfully so.

entering the summer months, he had 2 tasks:
1- find a #1C
2- find a partner for Weber
he failed on both and is about to start the season with over 8M in his pocket.
- fidopro

What's the deal with Galchenyuk ? One minute i hear he could take the next step to being a number 1, the next people seem to have soured on him.

What's the deal with Galchenyuk ? One minute i hear he could take the next step to being a number 1, the next people seem to have soured on him.
- david22

he's (frank)in dumb

No one wants to watch this hot mess....
- Mashadar

I do.

I want Ottawa to kill you guys tonight so I can laugh at the Ottawa fans who think any of this matters.

they added offense?!? when where? Drouin is basically replacing Radulov.
they will start the season 5-5, fight all year for a playoff spot and miss.
MB will be fired, righfully so.

entering the summer months, he had 2 tasks:
1- find a #1C
2- find a partner for Weber
he failed on both and is about to start the season with over 8M in his pocket.
- fidopro

Price, and team defense.

The Habs will be at or near the top of the Atlantic again. The question, as always, whether or not they can get "just enough" offense.

What's the deal with Galchenyuk ? One minute i hear he could take the next step to being a number 1, the next people seem to have soured on him.
- david22

He is one of the guys you might as well not even watch in pre-season. We'll have to wait to regular season to see if he has improved.

I do.

I want Ottawa to kill you guys tonight so I can laugh at the Ottawa fans who think any of this matters.
- Aetherial

I think this matters to you more than any of them...

Price, and team defense.

The Habs will be at or near the top of the Atlantic again. The question, as always, whether or not they can get "just enough" offense.
- Aetherial

only if they start the season 10-0 again.
that's a bet I'm not ready to make.

I think this matters to you more than any of them...
- david22

I see Hemsky as replacing (some) of Radulov's offense. If he provides even 40 points this year, that's a pretty good deal.

If you count Hemsky as Radulov's replacement (production-wise), then there's the addition of Johnathan Drouin and Charles Hudon, who both seem poised to a have solid season. Count in rebound years for Plekanec, Gallagher and (somewhat) Galchenyuk, and Lehkonen and Danault continuing to take a step forward, and you've got yourself quite a bit more offense.

On defense, replacing Markov's production will be tough, but Jerabek has been quite good so far, so perhaps he can take on some of Markov's minutes and run with it.

A lot of things have to go right - Drouin working as a top-line center, Hemsky producing and being healthy, everyone rebounding from bad years while nobody else has any, guys continuing to develop, and no injuries. But if everything goes right, the Habs roster may be underrated and perhaps capable of going the distance.

So what is the early take on Drouin so far? I haven't been following the Habs camp or preseason. Has he seen any action yet?

they added offense?!? when where? Drouin is basically replacing Radulov.
they will start the season 5-5, fight all year for a playoff spot and miss.
MB will be fired, righfully so.

entering the summer months, he had 2 tasks:
1- find a #1C
2- find a partner for Weber
he failed on both and is about to start the season with over 8M in his pocket.
- fidopro

Just proves you know nothing about the habs. 5-5? We all know they start every year 15-0 and then go into a tailspin.

So what is the early take on Drouin so far? I haven't been following the Habs camp or preseason. Has he seen any action yet?
- GalacticStone

he'e been great so far, seem to click with Pacioretty which is important. He will be fine in MTL

Notes from MA Godin

• The most interesting news of the morning came from the group that will not play tonight. With Phillip Danault and Alex Galchenyuk still working on their chemistry, the coaching staff gave them a new right winger. Ales Hemsky skated with the two of them this morning while Brendan Gallagher took his spot next to Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Drouin. Claude Julien has been considering moving Gallagher up the depth chart, but appears unwilling to break up the Galchenyuk-Danault duo for now. Julien is normally patient with his forward lines and gives them an opportunity to figure things out.

• It will be the third preseason game for a number of players the Canadiens want to take a good look at, such as Michael McCarron and Jacob De La Rose up front and Brett Lernout and Joe Morrow on the blue line. “I want to create a bit more offense in my game,” McCarron said. “The first two games I wasn’t able to do too much on offence. Tonight I’m playing with a couple of offensive guys. Hopefully we can find the net and get around that net.”

• David Schlemko (hand) and Andrew Shaw (neck) skated before the team took the ice this morning. Claude Julien said Friday he expects Schlemko to be available to play at least one preseason game, but they want to be cautious with his injury.

• Jordie Benn has not skated on the right side for the great majority of camp. If Victor Mete were to stay with the team to start the regular season, Benn would be forced to move back to the right, where he played last season. Benn did not have his strongest game on the left side against the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

• Chris Terry, who was dealing with an upper body injury, will play his first preseason game. He will be on the point of the first power play unit, the first time we have seen a unit with four forwards and one defenceman in training camp. “It’s a position I’m very comfortable with, I played it all last season,” Terry said. The former Carolina Hurricane finished first in the American Hockey League in power play goals (19) and points (37).

• The Canadiens should be making some cuts either after tonight’s game or tomorrow. The Rocket’s training camp opens Monday and the Canadiens play their next game Monday night in Toronto.

• Zach Redmond cleared waivers today and will report to Rocket camp. The 29-year-old defenceman is on a one-way contract and is currently buried under a mountain of defencemen competing to make the club. “I see the same things you see,” he said Thursday on his spot on the organizational depth chart.

• For the Senators, Logan Brown, all 6-foot-6, 220 pounds of him, will centre the top line between Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone. Injuries to Derick Brassard and Colin White have made it possible that Brown begins the season in Ottawa instead of Windsor in the Ontario Hockey League. Defenceman Thomas Chabot will be in the lineup paired with Mark Borowiecki.

Notes from MA Godin

• The most interesting news of the morning came from the group that will not play tonight. With Phillip Danault and Alex Galchenyuk still working on their chemistry, the coaching staff gave them a new right winger. Ales Hemsky skated with the two of them this morning while Brendan Gallagher took his spot next to Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Drouin. Claude Julien has been considering moving Gallagher up the depth chart, but appears unwilling to break up the Galchenyuk-Danault duo for now. Julien is normally patient with his forward lines and gives them an opportunity to figure things out.

• It will be the third preseason game for a number of players the Canadiens want to take a good look at, such as Michael McCarron and Jacob De La Rose up front and Brett Lernout and Joe Morrow on the blue line. “I want to create a bit more offense in my game,” McCarron said. “The first two games I wasn’t able to do too much on offence. Tonight I’m playing with a couple of offensive guys. Hopefully we can find the net and get around that net.”

• David Schlemko (hand) and Andrew Shaw (neck) skated before the team took the ice this morning. Claude Julien said Friday he expects Schlemko to be available to play at least one preseason game, but they want to be cautious with his injury.

• Jordie Benn has not skated on the right side for the great majority of camp. If Victor Mete were to stay with the team to start the regular season, Benn would be forced to move back to the right, where he played last season. Benn did not have his strongest game on the left side against the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

• Chris Terry, who was dealing with an upper body injury, will play his first preseason game. He will be on the point of the first power play unit, the first time we have seen a unit with four forwards and one defenceman in training camp. “It’s a position I’m very comfortable with, I played it all last season,” Terry said. The former Carolina Hurricane finished first in the American Hockey League in power play goals (19) and points (37).

• The Canadiens should be making some cuts either after tonight’s game or tomorrow. The Rocket’s training camp opens Monday and the Canadiens play their next game Monday night in Toronto.

• Zach Redmond cleared waivers today and will report to Rocket camp. The 29-year-old defenceman is on a one-way contract and is currently buried under a mountain of defencemen competing to make the club. “I see the same things you see,” he said Thursday on his spot on the organizational depth chart.

• For the Senators, Logan Brown, all 6-foot-6, 220 pounds of him, will centre the top line between Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone. Injuries to Derick Brassard and Colin White have made it possible that Brown begins the season in Ottawa instead of Windsor in the Ontario Hockey League. Defenceman Thomas Chabot will be in the lineup paired with Mark Borowiecki.
- Symba007

Holy!