IMO poehling has to prove that he is a 2nd liner over dvorak

I strongly disagree having Hoffman and toffoli on pp together. Then have gally & Andy on the other pp together.

The last game, Dom had hoff, Suzuki on half walls, which left toff in front of the net. Every single shot he got out of the way. It’s not his game. He’s a shooter of the half wall. Gally & Andy love being in front of the net. I would switch one of those guys.

And you’re right Poehling’s proper chair is 2nd line and dvo 3rd, but not just yet. Poehling needs to keep growing. I’ve watched every single Laval game twice and he’s a lot better than most give him credit for. He’s real good on faceoffs, awareness, speed and his shot is much better than expected.

All I want is for the Habs is to play Peohling with good wingers and in PP role, etc.

If they aren't going to play this guy to be a #2 center, then trade him already and use him to acquire a dedicated #3 center they're actually looking for.

Im not saying hes 2nd line material as much as I'm saying he deserves to have good wingers, he wont be affective if he's playing with lehkonen/Armia or Pezzetta and Belzile, where as Dvorak can move to a line with Lehkonen and Armia and still play his 2nd line minutes while being just as effective in the Faceoffs.

For the PP I kinda went off memory from what it has been recently, we are lacking a 2nd PP IMO, Spliting up Toffoli/hoffman and Gally/Anderson would be the right thing to do, but it seems like this coaching staff doesn't like to do things the right way.

Poehling has played very well so far, which is why I don't understand how they can call him up and stick him inbetween two wingers that are worse then his wingers in laval. Now he'll be invisible and fans will be upset with him. its a never ending cycle of not properly handling prospects.

Would be nice if they could properly handle prospects

I agree.

Many years ago, I called up a player and put him on the 2nd line between two snipers. One played in the Q the next year and the other in the O. The player I called up ended the game with 4 assists and we won 6 to 2. The father at the next practice thanked me because the previous head coach called him up and played him a few shifts on the 4th line. The previous coach was 6 and 33 and I was 11 and 4 to finish off the year.

Putting a player in the right chair is extremely important and you are right, Poehling will be between Pezzetta and Belzile. He should be with more offensive players. I hope they keep Pezzetta in MTL on 4th line. They need a little sandpaper and he costs $1.5 less than Lehkonen.

What would your forward and D pairs be if everyone was available?

I love your question but before I answer, because I know people have comments and mock. Is your question for the next game, next season? The reason I say that, is I like certain players and do not like others.

If you were making the lines for tonights game, so Drouin/Edmundson and them are not available

for tonight's game, without Dru or Eddy.

73-14-17
58-25-40
62-28-11
55-71-60

Toff and Suze had excellent chemistry and once Caufield arrived, people shifted towards those two. I also like Andy on that line for speed, banging and crashing.
Poehling is not ready just yet for 2nd line Centre but he is definitely not a 4th line player. Dvo, is an excellent 3rd line Centre and that is where I would like him, but for now he is or has been playing 2nd C. I see Hoff more as a 3rd line LW only because of his defensive lackings, however he is good enough to be a 2nd line LW. Lehkonen, is good PK but doesn't bring any offence, so he is kind of like Danault in a sense that you are overpaying at $5.5 Danault and same at $2.3 for Lehky that does not bring you any offense at all. I would move him for next year. I've been saying for a year Pezzetta needs to be in the line up. Even though the NHL has "changed" you still need 1 to 2 guys that can hit hard and drop the gloves on occasion. I like Evans a lot and know him personally, he has the abilities to be a 3rd line C but he does not bring it consistently. Belzile, I am not big on. I would audition a player similar to Baddock. In fact I would give him an audition to see if he can keep up speed wise. I watch every Laval game and when he is on the ice, opponents play honest and his teammates play a little bigger.

on Defence:

8-26
77-58
27-20

This is a major problem, because the team was built for Price in net. He is a 3rd D back there and when he is not in net, you have the wrong type of D and now they have to run around more. MTL has several very good D coming but they are not here and will need some time. No matter what happens I would trade Chiarot at TDL because he can get you a possible 1st and definite 2nd round pick. Kulak plays great for 3 to 6 games and then he disappears. For all his fast skating and puck moving he does not gather many points. People are in love with Romanov but he has so much to learn and I am convinced he had an agreement to only play in MTL and not in Laval if he came over. Yes he hits hard and yes he played really well the last game, but his gap needs work, his lane selection needs work. Savard, he has 4 kids at home, he has lost the fight, he is slowly becoming a good dad, which happens to a lot of players. It happened to me once I had kids, I was not as intense coaching because life was more important. So I see him as a 6 dman and if a good trade came up I would move him. Petry, is trying too much and he needs to chill and relax. He also does not have the leadership Weber has. He would be better in the 4 hole but now he is in he 2 hole. For that he really benefits from Edmundson and he misses his partner. Wideman is there by default. For now him or Niku has to be there because they need more mobile dmen, especially without Price.

A lot of people are mocking Logan Mailloux. I spoke with him and he is going to be a very nasty dman to play against. What he did as a 17 year old was an isolated incident more on immaturity than on character. He actually comes from a very good family. Then Add Guhle and those two should be a formidable punch for a decade. Then Norlinder, Harris, Struble, Fairbrother, Xhekaj that is nasty and big and you have some good pieces.

Patience is required which is in short supply with Montreal fans. Sorry this is long but I scout for a living and write reports on players all the time.

Lastly, this would be my line up for tonights game but it would not be my line up, as I would move and trade some players.

I agree with the forwards for the most part and see the reasoning on how you have them, With Defense I'm surprised at where Romanov is, I think he'd benefit from a stronger and more stay at home kind of partner, I do agree he'd greatly benefit with some time in the minors so he could be playing top line minutes along with PP time where his mistakes can be worked on more with smaller risk then having him just be a healthy scratch in the press box.

If your the GM starting today what kind of moves would you look to make? Which players would you move and what would you try to acquire back?

1st move: meet with each player to find out if Dom is the right coach.
2nd: get inside Carey's head to find out if this is behind him and if he is ready to give the team 3 to 5 more good years. Because the answer to that will dictate the defense in front of him.
3rd: Find out if Poehling will eventually be able to handle 2nd line Centre. If yes, great, if not need to move a fairly decent player to go find a 2nd line C. I like Dvorak but I like him more as 3rd line Centre.
4th: getting the answer to Poehling will also give answers to Dvo and Evans.
5: within 12 months I would move the following players, Lehkonen, Armia, Kulak, Chiarot.
6: how is Paul Byron's hip and will he have the same speed ?
7: I would give auditions to Baddock to find out if the NHL game is too fast for him. I really like Ylonen, but he needs to get a touch stronger, he has amazing speed but he is easy to squeeze off the puck along the walls.
8: I am NOT sold on Primeau and McNiven. Both offer flashes but also inconsistencies. If Price is able to finish off his contract, then this become a mute point, as you will need to draft his replacement in 2023.
9: The left side D is looking really good. I would work on Right side.

If you look at Colorado, the have Makar and Bowen and they are set for a decade with those two. Montreal has not had a passing Dman since Markov. I see glimpses in Norlinders game, but he needs more time.

Once I have gone through this list, then I will know who is going and who I would be looking for to get back.

Sorry for the late reply

But I like everything you've put here, it all makes sense and with the right management I think it could be done fairly easily or atleast quickly. Biggest thing for me is it seems like DD is not the coach this team needs.