{"id":62457,"date":"2019-11-28T08:30:03","date_gmt":"2019-11-28T13:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=62457"},"modified":"2020-12-21T15:00:04","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T20:00:04","slug":"nhl-rumours-montreal-canadiens-buffalo-sabres-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/11\/28\/nhl-rumours-montreal-canadiens-buffalo-sabres-2\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The entire Last Word on Hockey team wishes all our American readers a happy Thanksgiving as we delve into another Thursday&#8217;s worth of <a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/rumours\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NHL Rumours<\/a>. Every day, our site provides a recap and detailed analysis of trade and signing rumours from around the league. American Thanksgiving is often seen as a measuring point for teams, so with that in mind, they start to turn an eye to the future. Today, we&#8217;ll cover the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/canadiens\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montreal Canadiens<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/sabres\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buffalo Sabres<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n<h3>Montreal Canadiens<\/h3>\n<h4>Alexander Romanov<\/h4>\n<p><em>Rumour: Per Russian reporter Igor Eronko on Twitter, Habs general manager\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bergema01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marc Bergevin<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is beginning contract talks with prized prospect\u00a0<strong>Alexander Romanov<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bergema01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marc Bergevin<\/a> will arrive in Moscow to meet Romanov in 3 or 4 days <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Habs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Habs<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/H2oWxOXJeK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/H2oWxOXJeK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IgorEronko\/status\/1199779221163462657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 27, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>Canadiens fans are certainly becoming worried about their defence. Montreal has allowed 16 goals in their last three games and 14 in their past two, leaving goalies\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/priceca01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carey Price<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kinkake01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Keith Kinkaid<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>hung out to dry. While Montreal hasn&#8217;t had huge issues scoring, they&#8217;re developing some troublesome patterns defensively, especially at even strength.<\/p>\n<p>This is where Romanov comes in. First off, he&#8217;s a left-shot D, a position of weakness for Montreal at this point. Players like\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/metevi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Mete<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/chiarbe01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ben Chiarot<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kulakbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brett Kulak<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>are all capable but don&#8217;t jump off the page. Romanov is playing with CSKA Moscow of the KHL this year, and while he hasn&#8217;t impressed offensively (three points in 29 games), he&#8217;s held his own defensively against much older players with a +10 rating. In junior competitions, though, his offence has shown through. At last year&#8217;s World Junior Championships, Romanov put up eight points in seven games. While he&#8217;s not the biggest player, either (5&#8242; 11&#8243;, 183 lbs), he&#8217;s a solid two-way skater who&#8217;s game meshes very well with the NHL. If Bergevin can convince him to come to North America for next season or even the remainder of this one, it&#8217;ll be a huge plus for the Canadiens.<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=hallta02,hallta01&amp;search=Taylor+Hall&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taylor Hall<\/a><\/h4>\n<p><em>Rumour: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNHockey\/status\/1199866765913841664\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TSN&#8217;s Darren Dreger sees the Habs entering<\/a> the\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hallta02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taylor Hall<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>sweepstakes come trade deadline time.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201cSpecific to Montreal, here\u2019s the thing I\u2019m going to watch most closely until the trade deadline or until a trade happens &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=hallta02,hallta01&amp;search=Taylor+Hall&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taylor Hall<\/a>&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s quiet on the trade front, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DarrenDreger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@DarrenDreger<\/a> explains why Hall could be a good fit for the Habs: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dWxBJbE6pf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/dWxBJbE6pf<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TSNHockey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#TSNHockey<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vwEh85E1me\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/vwEh85E1me<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSNHockey\/status\/1199866765913841664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 28, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>What a boost this would be. It would be a huge boost for any team, but Montreal, unlike others mentioned in the running for Taylor, lacks a true offensive superstar. Defensively, you could easily make the argument for\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/w\/webersh01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shea Weber<\/a><\/strong>, but no-one has emerged as a star yet on offence.<\/p>\n<p>Montreal is a team that&#8217;s on the cusp of entering a contention stage once again, and they also have a boatload of talented prospects, including the aforementioned Romanov. They certainly have the capital to make New Jersey happy with their return, and Hall could thrive in a larger market where he&#8217;ll have a better chance to win sooner rather than later. Montreal has their star d-man and star goalie, this could be the acquisition that thrusts them towards their first Stanley Cup since 1993. He&#8217;d presumably get to play with either\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/danauph01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Phillip Danault<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/domima01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Domi<\/a><\/strong>, two centremen that would see boosts in their totals by feeding Hall the puck. This isn&#8217;t to discount the contributions that players like\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tatarto01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tomas Tatar<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/gallabr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brendan Gallagher<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>have made to the team this year, however, a true start like Hall would help Montreal become a contender once again.<\/p>\n<h3>Buffalo Sabres<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour: The Sabres are now floating\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/milleco02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colin Miller<\/a><\/strong>&#8216;s name on the market in their ever-long attempt to clear out space on the blueline and acquire forward talent, per <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Account4hockey\/status\/1199484298635751425?s=19&amp;fbclid=IwAR18-zfUmyYpHgivlSmA5cJLuXoe8k3X3vT-fk_dReN7tof1gtZYOPnAVe4\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Elliotte Friedman<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Elliotte Friedman on SN650 says Buffalo has floated <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/milleco02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colin Miller<\/a>&#8216;s name on the trade market a little bit in addition to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/scandma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marco Scandella<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 James (@Account4hockey) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Account4hockey\/status\/1199484298635751425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 27, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>Miller hasn&#8217;t seen things go his way at all in Buffalo. He broke out playing for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/knights\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> as a very capable two-way defender who could stand his own on the power play, as well. In two seasons with Vegas, he had 70 points in 147 games, almost a 0.50 points per game pace. In Buffalo, however, he&#8217;s managed to only notch four assists in 19 games played this season. As a matter of fact, he&#8217;s been a healthy scratch on occasion as well.<\/p>\n<p>While a team may be willing to take a gamble on Miller, it&#8217;s an uncomfortably expensive proposition. He&#8217;s making almost $4 million against the cap, and while that&#8217;s a reasonable number for the play he was putting up in Vegas, if Miller truly has regressed this year, that&#8217;s a stark overpayment. Considering that Buffalo is aiming to get a top-six winger out of this prospective trade, they&#8217;ll have to sweeten the pot in order to get their desired return.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"r7Trh7J7QbFTzaEBseJv1w\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1189612937\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'r7Trh7J7QbFTzaEBseJv1w',sig:'mHgAW_ZFwg27rijRmbC5eRYe5uCIfBk4DULQASc7nAw=',w:'594px',h:'423px',items:'1189612937',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The entire Last Word on Hockey team wishes all our American readers a happy Thanksgiving as we delve into another Thursday&#8217;s worth of NHL Rumours. Every day, our site provides a recap and detailed analysis of trade and signing rumours from around the league. American Thanksgiving is often seen as a measuring point for teams, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3006,"featured_media":62523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,7,4321],"tags":[3436,182,1568,37,152,38,5715,4150,194],"class_list":["post-62457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-sabres","category-canadiens","category-rumours","tag-alexander-romanov","tag-buffalo-sabres","tag-colin-miller","tag-hockey","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-rumors","tag-rumours","tag-taylor-hall"],"modified_by":"Colton Osmond, Dept Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3006"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}