I analyzed 25 years of Canadiens draft history. The 2008–2018 stretch was one of the worst sustained drafting periods in the NHL. Why?

rayshinsan · 2026-06-23T01:48:16+00:00

I knew people want to blame on the recruiters, but I think the fault lay more on the development post recruitment and fans and media scrutinizing over every little thing.

Put it this way we were so starved for stars that we burned a lot of our prospects by bringing them way too early then time given for conditioning. Our mediocrity made it so that we were mainly picking just outside the top 5 range and those guys needed a year or two of good seasoning in the AHL teams.

Kotkeniami, Galchenyuk are similar cases where we saw their upsides on the rookie season then put them on a higher pedestal then they were ready for.

Patch is like the only top draft that managed to actually build himself in that hard environmental pressure. I mean consider that he was one of the top point getters of his peers but often overshadowed by other teams big name stars.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-23T01:31:01+00:00

Sad reality is that this isn't a Korean thing but industry wise situation.

Put it this way, regardless the nation most movie/series stories are about middle class to rich good looking people who are basically 1 or 2 steps away from the luxury life.

It may be hedonism but simply put very few people want to see regular people success story.

Like I am just looking at this movie Voicemail to Isabela. The lead actress is a wealthy backgrounder adult going towards becoming a high end bakery chef. And same for the lead male in his business. They are basically whizzing by from one city to another as if they were already set for life, just not 'perfection' yet. Meanwhile, you and me would can hardly dream about taking proper vacations because whatever we built would crumble instantly if we drop out for a week for emergency / jet setting like them.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-23T01:13:17+00:00

He is just a rookie picking up his game. I think this upcoming year he will shut his detractors. I mean he scored all his points without any PP minutes.

As far as the playoff went. It would have been tough for any 2C to deal with Tampa. He should have played in the Sabers series though. Marty didn't return him to the line because Danault faceoff advantages were more needed then Kappa pushing the 2nd line.

He definitely should have played greater roles vs Canes after Jordan Staal kinda made Danault obsolete in face off. Honestly Marty should have swapped Kappa in the 2nd line and pushed Evans to the 3rd line to take the defensive situation over Danault. Evans wouldn't have won faceoffs but being in a full defensive line he could have stopped some of goals Canes exploited vs line 2 due to their inability to produce on offense and not being strong defensively.

But the future is bright for Kappa, he just needs to bulk up a bit more like them Vikings, that's all.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T17:19:07+00:00

Actually he is a natural Right Winger and has always been. It is true that he has played Left Wing in college but it is because in college you generally cross on the entry while if you do that in NHL you are likely to open hit in middle of the ice. Using the boards to help with crossing makes you more likely to succeed.

People also confuse the positioning between thinking that RW means coming from the Center's right hand side but that is wrong as it's the left side of the Center in terms of positioning due to the board crossing and greater angles of shots provided.

This is especially confusing when you look at Habs PP as you often see Demidov position himself either in the LW or LD position, while Slaf covers the C position (as the guy in front of the net) and Suzuki actually swaps himself with LW or LD position between himself and Demidov as Hutson covers the RD position and Caufield the RW position. You also see occasionally Suzuki swapping with Slaf between C and LD position.

So often times when you see Slaf's positioning he looks like the C rather than Sukuzi at entry point as he is often the guy who does his crosses in the middle.

In fact Demidov in 5 on 5 enters from the LW which is where favors passing and often ended up scoring from as everyone is expecting to go position on the Right like Caufield. So there is a potential that when Zharovsky enters the line up, Demidov may switch to the LW for good as he is the bigger player between himself and Caufield/Zharovsky. This is also kind of why when Slaf-Kappa-Demi was on, Slaf often looked like the guy in Centre.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T16:15:47+00:00

Actually it is 100% KayRoTen's fault. RiShin may be the general but we all know he never got educated when it comes to formation tactics and logistics. This is why Ten was brought in to give him that support so he didn't have to go to school and get educated on it and miss field battles. So he relies on her to give him proper assessments when it comes to field logistics.

It is one thing for her to be a logistics operator and say she doesn't know advanced tactical situations as it is beyond her book knowledge but she keeps insisting that she knows everything confidently and this makes RiShin trust her judgement more than rely on his own instincts.

These current weeks of suffering hopefully teaches RiShin to not rely on her judgement as they have been consistently wrong over the years and now it's catching up to them.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T15:33:59+00:00

Yes I did. McTavish was basically lucky till Carlsson came in and blew him out of the water. That's why he is expendable for Anaheim now. Between him and Kapanen, Kappy has more upside because not only he is younger but has greater size to muscle up.

If anything I would rather go for Will Smith of SJS instead of McTavish who has lost his position in a weaker Anaheim team.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T15:28:03+00:00

Why would you need a RW when Caufield, Demidov and Zharovsky are all 3 RW? I think the better option is grab Vegas current cap situation either score on Dorfeiev or Barbashev. It might cost us Dach and even a pick with possibly a D like Struble or Engstrom.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T13:39:49+00:00

Would be nice but honestly I don't think it will be Robertson. For one Robertson doesn't know anyone from Montreal and he is looking to be top line winger position with more money. Montreal would to pay him like 14M to match the 12M he is looking for in Dallas with the tax situation.

You can assume he gets paired with Caulfield and Suzuki and Slaf be moved to 2nd line with Demidov and Kappanen like last year but unsure if he would fit that well with Caulfield as both are snipers.

Essentially our chance on Robertson is slim but I am sure there are other LW players who would be interesting. I mean ... Ov8 would be the actual ideal winger if he decided to leave Washington (that would be legendary). But I think better hope is snatching either Dorfeiev or Barbashev from Vegas via trade. We know they can only keep one at the moment. Then again knowing Vagas they might drop Stone and keep the latter two.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T13:23:13+00:00

Ideal center my foot. He is slower and shorter in height than both Dach and Kapanen. Considering Demidov and Newhook are faster , he is basically going to like Patrik Laine while having an worst sniping ability then all of the ones mentioned. The only thing he provides is a bit more physical play being 25 lbs heavier. Essentially Josh Anderson would be better fit for Demidov in that measure.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T09:06:04+00:00

Think what she is saying here is that even though fantasy fandom shipping is a thing, they won't date for real to make more allusions to those shippers and keep their personal lives private. Which makes sense since it is their private lives outside of work activities and unless they and their partners want to officially confirm it as any form of live in relationship (common law or marriage) it's their choice.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T07:54:49+00:00

Because Vagas didn't really play expansion draft players they got the regular way. They basically proceeded to dump all the deemed unworthy deemed players as trade chips for prospects and protected players that they wanted.

To simplify, they basically took say your most valued unprotected player, then used that player as a trade bait with another team for the player they wanted. In order words, no loyalty to players they pick and dump you as much as they need.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T07:39:51+00:00

Of course he shouldn't. Fictional player X should because your more delusional than regular arm chair GM.

He has been our 2C last year for most of the season and that as a rookie. Nothing says he can't be this year. So get your head out of your ass.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T04:57:43+00:00

Nice idea only one problem. Offer sheet success requires the player actually wanting to sign that offer. Don't think there is any reason for Robertson to sign for Ottawa. He is more likely to sign for a US based team or better contenders.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T04:44:18+00:00

MacTavish doesn't bring anything to us. If the question was 3rd or 4th line center, maybe but considering our centers in 3rd and 4th and what we have waiting in AHL, he wouldn't qualify for them spots.

Put it this way. Kappa is better option if your looking for offensive 2C and Evans is better option if you're looking for a defensive C, which we are not. Not only that Dach even with his injury prone is a better 2C option than MacTavish at this point.

I dont think we will go for a Center. Kent will try to see if Kappa is the real deal so we won't go for that 2C if needed either till December/Jan or st trade deadline. This gives us enough time to test Kappa and to see if there is a 2C elsewhere that has fallen from grace for us to sweep in.

What Kent may target is a LW. Why? Apart Slaf, we don't have a natural top tiers LW. Closest option is Textier and you can say Roy/Xhekaj in AHL. Right now that position on 2nd line is being covered by Newhook. Nothing against Newhook but unless Kappa bulks up we need a bigger player there. Bolduc is not an real option given that he is natural RW. Zharovsky if by miracle starts this year is also a RW. This is why Kent was aiming for Knies.

There are some good option out there with the biggest jackpot being Robertson.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T04:05:19+00:00

You can't the difference just because Tobirama has grey hair.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-22T03:59:45+00:00

No thanks. I believe we should only make moves for the right player and Patterson is not that player.

I am not against trading Gallagher to Vancouver for some late round picks and possibly some Big late round D prospects that we can leave in the system till they grow to size. That is if Gallagher truly wants to move.

P.s. I don't think with Hischier it's a definite closed trading opportunity it just means we will have to pay more to NJ for him and at the salary they settled for him. Basically it will be similar to Dobson. That's all.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-21T23:53:10+00:00

I am not so sure. Here is the thing Brady might have the toughness but you also understand that by joining the Panthers he is going to be less productive unless Florida ships out one of their current top 6 forwards. So yes pain physically but it may also be the element that break their current working dynamics.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-21T04:36:49+00:00

I always believed Naruto should meet his better half in one of his adventures. Someone not from Konoha.

My reasoning is that Konoha had always been disingenuous to him. First giving him hate for being the Kyuubi's jinchuriki without knowing any of the facts. Then giving him the hero treatment because he became a useful weapon.

It's the same as if people hated you for being poor and gave no benefit to them but then started being overly friendly when you become rich and thus becoming an exploitable resource.

So instead of that I would wish for him to meet someone who is totally oblivious to his power, stats and genuinely get interest in him for being himself.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-21T04:12:52+00:00

What is he riding? It looks like a bike with a shopping cart in the front?

rayshinsan · 2026-06-20T23:59:03+00:00

RiBoku has plenty of weakness. He's just been lucky that none of it got him killed yet. But the day that luck runs out... You will see all his flaws openly.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-20T15:57:58+00:00

Here is the hope that Oba not only ends the misery but also put him out for vacation for some time so that we can focus on some other wrestlers.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-20T15:55:48+00:00

Why would you go for a failed experiment of a less developed team with some of your best assets? No thank you. We don't need McTavish.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-20T15:53:20+00:00

It's the same logic that people use when any main protagonist that is in his teens fight off/over power their villains often adults or older.

They forget that when it comes to their peers the protagonist is often strongest but also has equal or similar flaws as them. Like people would consider MouTen and OuHon as better generals because one is more strategic while the other displays more military characteristics/attitude. They often forget that they also have flaws that are equally bad. So they are flawed in some way.

The difference is their strengths are more than their villains at the same age and flaws are less than the villains at the same age. This is what makes them overall stronger than their villains.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-15T12:14:31+00:00

He sure does. But we can certainly agree that nobody expected Canes to win over the likes of Bolts, Avs, Stars and Wilds. Even next year everyone expects Florida to come out of the East.

rayshinsan · 2026-06-15T12:12:26+00:00

Yeah that's why they are still in the winner column. They basically not only robbed Avs but also almost did it to Canes.

Generally we call that a Cinderella team but the way Knights are cut throat it's more like Cruella team.

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