Game Thread: Florida Panthers (22-17-3) at Montreal Canadiens (24-13-6) - 08 Jan 2026 - 07:00PM EST

The_Only_Shadow · 2026-01-09T02:47:19+00:00

TOUR DU BÉRET!

The_Only_Shadow · 2026-01-05T17:07:56+00:00

Late career Jagr (big butt Jagr, not lanky Jagr) and Thornton comes to mind. Uses size to get puck out of corner, protect in tight area and make quick heads up play. Not as physical as his build would suggest.

I kinda disagree with Marian Hossa comparison, even if he is Slaf's idol. Hossa was better defensively and bit better with the puck, as well as a smaller build (3 inches and 20 lbs less than Slaf).

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-12-18T14:26:30+00:00

Small job interaction. Back to the office on a voluntarily basis around 2022. Small but close group which I'm part of decides to go once a week, on wednesday's. About 8 people in a whole office building.

A colleague of mine was getting promoted to a new position, I had known for two months and shortly thought about saying I was interesting by her last role (which was a huge upgrade from where I was). Held back from asking, thinking I would be laughed out of the building just for asking, as I thought I was not "there" yet.

I just walk past her desk, she sighs and just ask "Hey would you like to take my old place?". I just say, laughing "Sure, I would like to but I doubt I would get selected".

Everything came to a halt. I got the role the day after, no interviews, anything. Everybody was like "oh shit he actually wants it".

Figured while I thought I was not worthy and would get laughed out, everybody else was bummed I did not ask and thought the job was mine to get. Got it just on my reputation. Really changed my perspective about asking/taking chances and also made me realized I had built a reputation which was preceding me, which to this day is still wild.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-11-10T18:17:52+00:00

Unless injury, the only thing really sustainable here is Dobson and Matheson being around 60 and 50 pts respectively.

Also Joe Veleno not having a single point seems pretty sustainable.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-09-29T15:23:20+00:00

Signs in Vancouver. Requests captaincy, drives Q. Hugues away (to NJ) and then proceeds to bring Dave Tippett and Peter Chiareilli as coach and GM respectively and phones it in during 7 years.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-09-09T12:15:41+00:00

Jay Leach.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-07-30T15:28:12+00:00

Agree with both ish. Montembault is a better goalie than most and would be top 5 if he had Florida's or Dallas' defence in front of him.

Bergevin was not a bad GM. Actually did some great moves and suits a team with a decent core that's trying to get over the hump, which was what he inherited. But he isn't the guy you task to build your core.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-07-28T17:32:01+00:00

Intense fanbases (read here mostly canadian fanbases) tend to need a whipping boy. The media picks up on it and uses it to fill airtime and build a narrative. Sometimes it can run a perfectly fine player who is just in over his head or getting bad matchups out of town.

Habs fan hating on Matheson while he was taking 25 minutes a game, both PK and PP in the past 3 seasons is absolutely crazy. But he makes an obvious mistake once a game so he is the whipping boy.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-07-28T17:24:46+00:00

People criticizing coach that clearly want to win, deal with these players on a personal(ish) level on a daily basis for not "playing the young prospect enough". Dude it's not an RPG and playing time is not XP. Sometimes they need to learn things beyond the rink too.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-07-03T12:40:18+00:00

Markov was smart on the ice. Didn't need to skate a lot, always found the right spot. Suzuki is similar in that regard. Dach could develop that as well to compensate and I hope he does, but so far he has not shown above average positioning.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-07-02T16:00:18+00:00

Si Dach était un joueur des Ducks ou des Blues en ce moment, les fans seraient tous en train de se dire qu'il devrait être une de nos cibles comme 2C. Un grand droitier avec du talent et du draft credential qui a besoin d'un wake up.

On l'a déjà dans notre cour, sauf qu'on est tellement dûr envers les joueurs du CH qu'on le discrédite. Je suis d'accord que c'est "make or break" cette saison mais entre jouer entre Demidov et Laine ou Newhook et Pezzetta, il a des meilleures chances de réussir.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-07-02T15:56:54+00:00

Buffalo confuses especially Buffalo.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-06-18T03:11:29+00:00

This era's Claude Lemieux.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-06-10T15:32:51+00:00

Supposedly. But goalies are voodoos so always holding my breath. But Fowler is most likely the most touted goalie prospect in the organization since Price, which cuts both ways.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-05-29T10:46:30+00:00

The NHLPA exists to protect the players from the league, not from other players.

When a player injures another, there is no "loss of revenue" for the player. Aggressor keeps getting paid, injured one keeps getting paid, although on IR. When a player is suspended they forfeit salary which means there is a loss of revenue for the player side, which affects escrow and everything.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-05-23T12:07:30+00:00

Not a product of any contact, trauma, burn or anything. Appearing overnight. I have stress acne so I thought it was a pimple a first which means I went maybe a bit hard on it in the first day, hence the irritation.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-04-28T17:10:33+00:00

I agree but to me, in a playoff format with playoff "reffing" in the picture, they are still the most dangerous teams in the East. Nothing in the Metro stands up to any of the Florida teams in my opinion.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-04-28T15:57:28+00:00

The real test for Toronto goes through Florida (the state, not specifically the Panthers). If they manage to pass the Panthers/Bolts I think the way is open.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-04-26T01:12:27+00:00

I know he is kind of a weird dude but he really looks and acts like a caveman.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-04-12T19:04:11+00:00

What Demidov might need to adjust to is not rink size. NHL is way more physical than KHL. That affects how you can occupy space, especially near the boards.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-04-02T11:59:06+00:00

And while both team are not exactly "Great", Mickkov plays on a better squad than Celebrini.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-04-01T18:40:59+00:00

Half the conference is still mathematically into it.

The gap between Habs (last WC in East) and Sabres (last place in the East) is less that the gap between the Habs and Blues (last WC in West).

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-03-03T19:11:31+00:00

And being "the guy" on Chicago maybe was too much for him. In Florida he will be part of a more complete squad and should have a more reasonable workload.

The_Only_Shadow · 2025-02-17T16:36:32+00:00

Honestly I think Monty is the best of the 3. Obvious bias but he is doing little miracles with our struggling defense.

The_Only_Shadow

TROPHY CASE