by Marc Lescoutre , Vodcast Producer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

OTTAWA, ON – I’m very pleased to tackle my very first All Habs Mailbag this week, following my pal and Habs Banter co-host Corey Desormeaux’s mediocre effort last week. I promise to you all that I will do my best to fill his shoes.

https://twitter.com/lescooter/status/708827667248844801

Corey and I both love tackling issue surrounding the Habs and hockey in general, and we might even dabble into some general interest questions every once in a while. Do you have a question or a topic you would like us to discuss? Okay, here’s what you can do.

Let us know:

1. who you are
2. where you’re from
3. if you wish, send us a photo of you in your favourite Habs gear
4. who’s your favorite player, present or past
5. and of course, your question

You can contact us via Twitter, our Facebook page or email at info (at) allhabs (dot) net

We’ll feature you, and your question, in the All Habs Mailbag!

~~~

Noah (Moose Jaw, SK.)

After review, Bill Daly says ‘good trade!’ Does the NHL just want the whole Jarred Tinordi-John Scott situation to go away?

The Tinordi-Scott trade made waves leading up to the NHL All Star game but the backlash seemed to die down over the last few weeks. That was, until it was announced that Jarred Tinordi had been suspended for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program.

Jarred Tinordi (@ArizonaCoyotes) suspended for 20 games. pic.twitter.com/fXue03BIJJ

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 9, 2016

As expected, Habs fans and media took the news in a calm and reasoned way immediately freaked out and many believed that something was offside. Despite initially claiming they would have no further comment, the NHL released a statement claiming there was no foul play on the part of the Canadiens.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly on Jarred Tinordi suspension. #Coyotes #Canadiens pic.twitter.com/liC2gzZBTE

— Sarah McLellan (@sarah__mclellan) March 10, 2016

While I do believe this to be true, I have no doubt that the last thing the league wanted was to have to deal with this whole issue again. Despite the league’s early blundering and their initial approach to the John Scott All Star situation, the NHL managed to save face with how the All Star weekend unfolded, in spite of its best efforts. To add a Habs flavor to my answer, if any GM in the league has even the slightest belief that for some reason GM Marc Bergevin was tipped off ahead of time, it would have the potential to damage his credibility and possibly hinder future trade negotiations.

Jerome (Pointe-Claire, QC.)

I bet my friend that Michel Therrien is no longer the Habs coach on April 11th. Do you agree?

Nothing would give me more pleasure than agreeing with you, Jerome. While the Habs started the season with a record-breaking 9-game win streak but followed that up with a collapse of epic proportions. I’ve actually been in favour of letting Michel Therrien go since last summer. In fact if I’m being honest, I wanted him gone earlier, but it’s hard to justify firing a coaching following a run to the conference finals.

Having said that, the more I think about it, the more I fear that Therrien will get a free pass and a chance to right the ship next season. In addition to Carey Price’s injury, which let’s face it, was devastating, the Habs have been riddled with injuries all year long throughout the lineup. All in all, the Canadiens have the 6^th highest man games lost to injury in the league with 254.

In their game against Minnesota on Saturday, the Canadiens lined up with only four forwards, two defencemen, and one goaltender from their opening day lineup. Of course not all of those changes were due to injury (Weise, Fleishman and Smith-Pelley were traded, and Alex Semin is hanging out in Russia these days), but it’s safe to say luck hasn’t been on the side of the Canadiens this year. That bad luck is exactly what might lead Bergevin to giving his pal another shot in the 2016-17 season.

Offseason plans for the Habs was a bit of a recurring theme when it came to questions this week.

@lescooter @AllHabs do you believe the Canadians can do the right changes in the off season to really make a push for next year ?!?

— piero (@peterwonka) March 14, 2016

Well Peter, if my worst fears are realized as mentioned above, and Bergevin does choose to stick with Therrien following the season, I hope Geoff Molson does the right thing and relieves both Michel Therrien and Marc Bergen of their duties in the offseason.

@lescooter @AllHabs If the NHL Draft was today… Who should the #Habs have their eyes on?

— Matt Smith (@Snakebite350) March 14, 2016

Great question Matt. Let me start by saying I’m a big fan of drafting the best player available, as opposed to potentially reaching for a player that might not have as much talent or potential but fits a role a team views as a need. I think that the Habs may have been guilty of reaching in the past (I’m just speculating, but does Louis Leblanc ring any bells?), but I also believe that Trevor Timmons and company have done a good job selecting over the last couple of years.

Let’s say the Habs draft based on their  current place in the standings which would put them at 9^th overall. There are several solid options around there that could fit various needs and roles.

Two guys I’d like to see but likely won’t drop far enough are Matthew Tkachuk (London, OHL) and Alexander Nylander (Mississauga, OHL). Both bring different styles to the table; Tkachuk plays a similar game as his dad and United States Hockey Hall of Fame member Keith Tkachuck, and Nylander plays a faster, finesse game. Both managed to put up over a point per game in the 2015 World Junior Championships and are in the midst of solid seasons in the OHL.

Two other players that could be more likely available when the Habs pick are Pierre-Luc Dubois (Cape Breton, QMJHL) and Julien Gauthier (Val d’Or, QMJHL). Dubois has 40 goals this season in the Q and is known for his hockey sense and consistent effort level while Gauthier is a power forward who tends to make high percentage plays. Both players possess big frames and a ton of talent.

I’d like to see one of the big names drop a few spots into the Habs lap, but in the end, as long as they select who they truly believe is the best player available on their draft board, and not worry about which position the prospect plays, I think Bergevin and Timmons will be able to get a very good prospect in the first round of this year’s draft.

Jennifer (Ottawa, ON.)

I know he’s from my hometown but Victor Bartley is terrible. Why is he still in the lineup?

Ah, Victor Bartley. Some people (and by some people I mean Marc Bergevin) would call him the “piece de resistance” of the aforementioned Tinordi trade.

I could be lazy and simply tell you that Bartley is in the lineup due to injuries, and to a certain extent that’s true, especially with PK Subban’s recent neck injury keeping him sidelined for the foreseeable future. Sadly, it’s not that simple.

Bartley’s usage, in my opinion, fits the unfortunate pattern of Michel Therrien over-using assets with limited value (see also: David Desharnais) and under-using assets that could use this time to get used to the speed of the NHL game such as Morgan Ellis. I don’t see Bartley remaining on the Habs beyond this year, so his continued usage simply boggles my mind.

Here are some other questions I responded to this week:

https://twitter.com/thebaldbiker/status/709156980288573440

I know right?

https://twitter.com/roconngolf/status/709511015474585601

I know I would. Heck I’d have seconds.

My fellow Habs Banter co-host, long-time friend, and next week’s Mailbag host Corey Desormeaux even got into the fun with a couple of tough questions for me.

Would you eat 15 spiders to save me if I were in trouble? https://t.co/mxHamohxgv

— Corey Desormeaux (@xCoreyDx) March 14, 2016

Absolutely not. I’m sure you’ll understand.

Don’t forget to shoot your questions Corey’s way and he’ll answer the best ones in next week’s edition of Mailbag.