2025-2026 NHL Offseason

Meltdown99

^^^this

congrats Tampa.  Montreal doesn’t deserve a 4th game.  The same problems from the regular season appeared in the finals…it’s called being LAZY.

Let’s never do these lousy divisions again because the fans deserve better than this.

@mrussel1 congrats and enjoy the cup.

Montreal needs to part ways with Weber and Price…you can not pay guys who are well past their prime 8 and 10 million a year in a salary cap.

Toronto and Winnipeg and the North division teams really were not good and Vegas was extremely over rated.  Tampa is not.

I have seen some in the news in Montreal complaining about Tampa over the cap…I was one early on until I discovered that a vote was held a few years back and Montreal voted to keep the loophole and Tampa voted to get rid the loophole…so Montreal is kind of stupid…if you want the loophole, then use it…this year they could have left Weber, price and Gallagher on LTIR and brought in 3 quality players at the deadline…

I’m willing to bet the loophole will be voted out soon though…

mrussel1

Meltdown99 said:

^^^this

congrats Tampa.  Montreal doesn’t deserve a 4th game.  The same problems from the regular season appeared in the finals…it’s called being LAZY.

Let’s never do these lousy divisions again because the fans deserve better than this.

@mrussel1 congrats and enjoy the cup.

Montreal needs to part ways with Weber and Price…you can not pay guys who are well past their prime 8 and 10 million a year in a salary cap.

Toronto and Winnipeg and the North division teams really were not good and Vegas was extremely over rated.  Tampa is not.

I have seen some in the news in Montreal complaining about Tampa over the cap…I was one early on until I discovered that a vote was held a few years back and Montreal voted to keep the loophole and Tampa voted to get rid the loophole…so Montreal is kind of stupid…if you want the loophole, then use it…this year they could have left Weber, price and Gallagher on LTIR and brought in 3 quality players at the deadline…

I’m willing to bet the loophole will be voted out soon though…

The thing about the loophole is that it's meant to be legit.  I don't know all the details, but the league evaluated Kucherov and his medical information and determined that the recovery for the hip surgery was in line with expectations.  So the manipulation is that Tampa scheduled the surgery to coordinate well with a typical recovery, being ready right for the playoffs.  In a normal length season, I don't think this could have been done.  

Meltdown99

I don’t think I ever question wether Tampa did anything shady with Kutcherov…Montreal has 3 legit players that they could have put on LTIR and brought in quality players at the deadline and the assets to make those transactions.  Montreal choose not to.  This is on their GM…who I don’t really like…and kudos for Tampa exploiting  the loophole…maybe the Montreal owner will wake up a realize Bergeron is really bad at his job.  Well deserved Tampa…

Meltdown99

I will say this…I know Tampa was favoured to win the cup for a few years before they won it.  It’s now up to Montreal to strengthen the roster around Suzuki, Caufield, KK AND Romanov…and get better…those young guys have gained a world of experience…

mrussel1

Meltdown99 said:

I don’t think I ever question wether Tampa did anything shady with Kutcherov…Montreal has 3 legit players that they could have put on LTIR and brought in quality players at the deadline and the assets to make those transactions.  Montreal choose not to.  This is on their GM…who I don’t really like…and kudos for Tampa exploiting  the loophole…maybe the Montreal owner will wake up a realize Bergeron is really bad at his job.  Well deserved Tampa…

Ah okay. I've heard people complaining that he wasn't really injured, or he was ready 5 weeks before the playoffs started and the like.  None of that is true. Clever scheduling is the manipulation, if anything.  And yes to your point earlier, the loophole was known, evaluated and approved by the teams. 

I've read some Habs people really complaining that Romanov was in the lineup at all.  

And yeah, it obviously took the Lightning a few years to figure it out.  They shed some skill players and picked up grit with Maroon, Coleman and Goodrow.  These are the guys that made the difference in the locker room and against teams like the Islanders that would lean too hard on the skill lines.  Can't do that to the Lightning anymore.  

dankind

dankind said:

Sweep the Habs!

Meltdown99

mrussel1 said:

Meltdown99 said:

I don’t think I ever question wether Tampa did anything shady with Kutcherov…Montreal has 3 legit players that they could have put on LTIR and brought in quality players at the deadline and the assets to make those transactions.  Montreal choose not to.  This is on their GM…who I don’t really like…and kudos for Tampa exploiting  the loophole…maybe the Montreal owner will wake up a realize Bergeron is really bad at his job.  Well deserved Tampa…

Ah okay. I've heard people complaining that he wasn't really injured, or he was ready 5 weeks before the playoffs started and the like.  None of that is true. Clever scheduling is the manipulation, if anything.  And yes to your point earlier, the loophole was known, evaluated and approved by the teams. 

I've read some Habs people really complaining that Romanov was in the lineup at all.  

And yeah, it obviously took the Lightning a few years to figure it out.  They shed some skill players and picked up grit with Maroon, Coleman and Goodrow.  These are the guys that made the difference in the locker room and against teams like the Islanders that would lean too hard on the skill lines.  Can't do that to the Lightning anymore.  

Yes, I was one who wanted Romanov playing.  He’s a physical d man who could of helped.  I didn’t even know Kutcherov was out for the season.  I’m strictly a playoff hockey fan The NHL season is too long and their are to many teams, so I start paying attention come playoff time…I’m probably one of the few Canucks who prefer the NFL over the NHL…by a wide margin.

Yefa

FiveBelow said:

mrussel1 said:

And is there anywhere more white than Utah? Certainly not Tampa which is very diverse.  But I'm sure you know all about it since you saw a guy wearing a pink polo at the rink or something. 

The majority of New England.

Nope.  Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire are more white than Utah.

Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are less white than Utah.

Jason P

I just read that a team in the ECHL had 3x as many fans in attendance in their Finals game last Friday as the Habs could allow into their arena last Friday ... politics aside, that is a huge advantage that Montreal is missing.

Meltdown99

It would have been nice to see more people in the building…but Montreal is overmatched.  The only chance they had is if Price continued to come up big…

mrussel1

Meltdown99 said:

It would have been nice to see more people in the building…but Montreal is overmatched.  The only chance they had is if Price continued to come up big…

Price has to outplay Vas by a wide margin for the Habs to win.  The don’t have enough scoring to win without Price being dominant.  This series has been his worst it appears.

Meltdown99

mrussel1 said:

Meltdown99 said:

It would have been nice to see more people in the building…but Montreal is overmatched.  The only chance they had is if Price continued to come up big…

Price has to outplay Vas by a wide margin for the Habs to win.  The don’t have enough scoring to win without Price being dominant.  This series has been his worst it appears.

Agreed.  Yes it’s been his worst.  But the coaches decision to go with primary 4 defensemen for the playoffs was terrible…

I can’t help but think helps much farther ahead Montreal would be with Sergechev as opposed to Drouin … that was just 1 example of many bad moves by Bergeron…

The lack of scoring is frustrating…

Until the owner realizes Bergeron is not the man to get the job done…it could be a uphill climb.

but we’ll see…they have 11 picks and 5 in the top 48 this year…plus they should be able to create cap room to add another d man and another top 6 forward…and the AHL is well stocked and rated 5th best.  

So I will give Bergeron credit that he didn’t sell out the future for this run.  But he needs to build around Suzuki, Caufield, KK and the rest of the core…time will tell.

This off season will be interesting for both Montreal and Tampa…

The flat cap will not help…

BLACK35

Let's go Tampa, hope they finish off the Tabs tonight!

F Me In The Brain

I saw the mayor of Tampa wants them to lose g4 so they can win at home

Stupid lady.

mrussel1

F Me In The Brain said:

I saw the mayor of Tampa wants them to lose g4 so they can win at home

Stupid lady.

Good thing Cooper and the guys are professionals and defending champs.

Meltdown99

Does she even know what the Stanley Cup is?  Or what hockey is?  Hehehe

Meltdown99

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, 24, dies in fireworks-related accident

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31764017/columbus-blue-jackets-goalie-matiss-kivlenieks-24-dies-tragic-accident

RIP.

Fuck.  I wish as society we’d eventually ban fireworks…but you know freedum…

Meltdown99

Since 1980 Jagr has had a teammate or former teammate in the Stanley Cup Finals.  I never fact checked, but if true, that’s an amazing feat…by one of the best.

mrussel1

Meltdown99 said:

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, 24, dies in fireworks-related accident

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31764017/columbus-blue-jackets-goalie-matiss-kivlenieks-24-dies-tragic-accident

RIP.

Fuck.  I wish as society we’d eventually ban fireworks…but you know freedum…

I don't think that all fireworks should be but mortar style,  or big cherry bombs should be and are in most states. 

Meltdown99

mrussel1 said:

Meltdown99 said:

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, 24, dies in fireworks-related accident

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31764017/columbus-blue-jackets-goalie-matiss-kivlenieks-24-dies-tragic-accident

RIP.

Fuck.  I wish as society we’d eventually ban fireworks…but you know freedum…

I don't think that all fireworks should be but mortar style,  or big cherry bombs should be and are in most states. 

After autopsy was conducted it was determined he died from chest trauma after getting struck by a firework that was tilted the wrong way…just sad…RIP