HF Habs: 2023 Roster, Schedule & Standings Thread

[the valiant effort]

The Habs are in a 12-way tie for 14th in the NHL: rebuild no more

 

[slybel]

What you guys think its plan B time...

 

[Vachon23]

Dach - Suzuki - Caufield
Slafkovsky - Monahan - Anderson
?????? - Dvorak - Gallagher
Pitlick - Evans - Armia

Guhle - Savard
Matheson - Xhekaj
Edmunson - Harris

Allen
Montembeault

I think the cat is out of the bag, we’re a good team, we might be buyers at the deadline or sooner, we might make the playoffs, and if we do, as the saying goes, “anything is possible”

Marc is that you ?

 

[Tetragrammaton]

Marc is that you ?

What you guys think its plan B time...

We’re clearly too good to Tank, I think it’s over. We’re gonna be middle of the pack and at that point we might as well embrace the playoff race.

 

[schwang26]

This isn't good. Not at all. I love seeing the Habs win, don't get me wrong, but they clearly lack some high end talent that they need to be contenders (at least one D, a goalie, and at least 1 forward). I fear this is a case of not drafting high in the right year.
I really don't want to see this team go forward without eventually being considered contenders. We just had over 10 years of "just make the playoffs" and "anything can happen".
For the non tankers, let's see where we are in 2-3 years, when they're complaining about wasting Caulfield's and Suzukis prime years.

 

[Habs Halifax]

They finally threw Tkachuk on the first line with Barkov last game and that line was very good. Barkov and Tkachuk seem to finally be getting used to each other. They demoted Reinhart to line 2 finally. Also Montour is playing very well on D, and Ekblad is back in 2 weeks. They might be righting the ship. Hate That as a Habs fan but love it because I have Knight and Barkov in my pool.

No doubt Barkov and Tkachuk will produce but the areas I'm looking at is their PP and Team D (goals against/game) and how that would compare to the previous 2 seasons lets say. I say they slip in those areas.

So yeah, it's not going to be 1st over all in the standings but what will it be? Wild card team or 3rd place in the Atlantic or bottom 10-16 range (out of the playoffs). Doubt they slip to bottom 10. Possible but low %.

Ideally, they finish bottom 11 or bottom 12... gives us a lottery chance at 1st or 2nd. Small chance but it's larger than 0%

Barkov is missing Huberdeau too.

Barkov will be fine. One of the best centers in the game. PP points might slip though. Huberdeau was a great puck distributor for them. Not really Tkachuk's strength.

 

[First Line]

View attachment 601279


We’re clearly too good to Tank, I think it’s over. We’re gonna be middle of the pack and at that point we might as well embrace the playoff race.

Its all fun and games until the expectations start.
So many teams are not performing as expected to start the year but it should balance out in the end, I still have faith.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

This isn't good. Not at all. I love seeing the Habs win, don't get me wrong, but they clearly lack some high end talent that they need to be contenders (at least one D, a goalie, and at least 1 forward). I fear this is a case of not drafting high in the right year.
I really don't want to see this team go forward without eventually being considered contenders. We just had over 10 years of "just make the playoffs" and "anything can happen".
For the non tankers, let's see where we are in 2-3 years, when they're complaining about wasting Caulfield's and Suzukis prime years.

People need their instant gratification

 

[xX SEYF Xx]

 

[Treb]

Can you all wait before panicking? We started of way hotter that year with Condon.

 

[WeThreeKings]

In short.. Allen and Montembeault won't continue to play in net as they have and the offense won't continue to score at the pace they have in some of the games bloating their GF.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

Its all fun and games until the expectations start.
So many teams are not performing as expected to start the year but it should balance out in the end, I still have faith.

We’re not getting a top 5 pick so who cares, we can find a gem later in the 1st. We’re not getting a franchise player so let’s calm down. We’re better than we thought we were.

 

[Captain Mountain]

We’re not getting a top 5 pick so who cares, we can find a gem later in the 1st. We’re not getting a franchise player so let’s calm down. We’re better than we thought we were.

I'm not sure how you could draw that conclusion unless you think that Montreal has top-5 goaltending in the NHL.

 

[EveryDay]

I hope Edmundston is back this week.

Ghule-Savard
Harris-Edmunston
Xhekaj-Kovacevic

 

[Habs Halifax]

We’re not getting a top 5 pick so who cares, we can find a gem later in the 1st. We’re not getting a franchise player so let’s calm down. We’re better than we thought we were.

I said it all summer. Way too many people caught tank fever. A lot went wrong last year and it snow balled. We are not build like the Coyotes but somehow, some fans think we are going to compete for last spot again.

Reaching the playoffs has the same probability as finishing bottom 5 IMO. We likely finish in the middle of these two areas.

I'm not sure how you could draw that conclusion unless you think that Montreal has top-5 goaltending in the NHL.

Why do you need top 5 goaltending in order to not finish in the bottom 5?

 

[Habs Halifax]

This isn't good. Not at all. I love seeing the Habs win, don't get me wrong, but they clearly lack some high end talent that they need to be contenders (at least one D, a goalie, and at least 1 forward). I fear this is a case of not drafting high in the right year.
I really don't want to see this team go forward without eventually being considered contenders. We just had over 10 years of "just make the playoffs" and "anything can happen".
For the non tankers, let's see where we are in 2-3 years, when they're complaining about wasting Caulfield's and Suzukis prime years.

You do know that this is likely a rollercoaster ride of up/down movement during our rebuild right? There is nothing stopping us from having a 8th or 12th pick this year and a bottom 5 pick next year. Lets not pretend that once we move up, it stays that way. At the end of the day, we have to draft well.

How many top 5 picks are in the Canes core? Bruins? Rangers? Would you count the top 5 picks for the Rangers? Lafreniere & Kakko?

How we build a contender is not just about tanking. We have to stop it with the tank fever. The real management comes with good draft and development and making good trades/UFA signings. High draft power is where it's at. Not just top 5 picks.

 

[Gravity]

You do know that this is likely a rollercoaster ride of up/down movement during our rebuild right? There is nothing stopping us from having a 8th or 12th pick this year and a bottom 5 pick next year.

Lets not pretend that once we move up, it stays that way.

The problem is we'd rather have the high pick this year and move up next year. We don't have an elite offensive piece. This is the year to get it.

 

[Paddy17]

When is Heineman expected to be back from his injury? He's the only young guy currently not on the roster that I would make room for immediately.
A) He looked NHL-ready
B) He'll learn more here than in Europe at this stage of his development
C) He'll need to go back to Europe if he doesn't make the team (unless there is a pending agreement to be made)

For guys like Ylonen and RHP, we can afford to wait 'til after trade deadline or next year.
Moving or benching one of Dadonov or Drouin is easier than both (salary-cap).

Heineman could give us a good offensive line with Monahan and Slaf.

 

[Habs Halifax]

The problem is we'd rather have the high pick this year and move up next year. We don't have an elite offensive piece. This is the year to get it.

I'm a believer of Karma and positive energy. Another top 5 pick would be great but not at the cost of the development of our current NHL youth busting their ass off for us now.

Totally understand what you and others are saying. But trying to tank on purpose in October is premature. My mind is at more and more high draft power so we have more darts to throw at the board. Hughes is clearly focusing on this too and that process started even with the last few years of Bergevin/Timmins.

I just hope we don't become big time UFA spenders this summer. We will have lots of expiring contracts so I hope that kids are promoted and they have a little setback year next season cause there are less vets around. Personally, I see a up/down rebuild for a few years yet.

 

[schwang26]

You do know that this is likely a rollercoaster ride of up/down movement during our rebuild right? There is nothing stopping us from having a 8th or 12th pick this year and a bottom 5 pick next year.

Lets not pretend that once we move up, it stays that way.

Of course. But wouldn't you prefer getting a top 3 pick in a draft where the players are considered future stars? Even generational? We get Slafkovsky, miss out on Bedard or Fantilli, then maybe draft another Slafkovsky in 2024? Im not crapping on Slafkovsky mind you, but its like i said, i dont want them picking high in the wrong year. As for next year, there are no guarantees, but you'd think that they're on an upward trend at this point. I would hope as time goes on, it's less and less likely they draft top 5.

 

[1909]

I hope Edmundston is back this week.

Ghule-Savard
Harris-Edmunston
Xhekaj-Kovacevic

It should-could be this... or MSL will be afraid to take Wideman out of the line up and sacrifice a youngster.

Of course. But wouldn't you prefer getting a top 3 pick in a draft where the players are considered future stars? Even generational? We get Slafkovsky, miss out on Bedard or Fantilli, then maybe draft another Slafkovsky in 2024? Im not crapping on Slafkovsky mind you, but its like i said, i dont want them picking high in the wrong year. As for next year, there are no guarantees, but you'd think that they're on an upward trend at this point. I would hope as time goes on, it's less and less likely they draft top 5.

The team won't lose on purpose. Coaches don't think that way. Players, too. It just happened that Habs are out of sync with Destiny.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Of course. But wouldn't you prefer getting a top 3 pick in a draft where the players are considered future stars? Even generational? We get Slafkovsky, miss out on Bedard or Fantilli, then maybe draft another Slafkovsky in 2024? Im not crapping on Slafkovsky mind you, but its like i said, i dont want them picking high in the wrong year. As for next year, there are no guarantees, but you'd think that they're on an upward trend at this point. I would hope as time goes on, it's less and less likely they draft top 5.

You know what I prefer but what we prefer means nothing. You don't tank on purpose with a roster like this in October.

Yzerman is one of the best GM's in the game and he's not tanking on purpose cause he lacks more stars like us. Yzerman got lucky with what he started with in Tampa but he knows very well that he can draft another Point and Kucherov in the 2nd round+ or later 1st round.

The key is scouting and having more darts to throw at the board. Trying to tank to a top 5 or top 3 pick sends a very bad message to the youth we have on the team now.

Lets see where we are in Dec/Jan before we really catch tank fever.

 

[1909]

When is Heineman expected to be back from his injury? He's the only young guy currently not on the roster that I would make room for immediately.
A) He looked NHL-ready
B) He'll learn more here than in Europe at this stage of his development
C) He'll need to go back to Europe if he doesn't make the team (unless there is a pending agreement to be made)

For guys like Ylonen and RHP, we can afford to wait 'til after trade deadline or next year.
Moving or benching one of Dadonov or Drouin is easier than both (salary-cap).

Heineman could give us a good offensive line with Monahan and Slaf.

Heineman is an unproven player. When he is back from his injury, he is going to go to Laval for rehab.... or directly to his Swedish league club.

 

[WeThreeKings]

When is Heineman expected to be back from his injury? He's the only young guy currently not on the roster that I would make room for immediately.
A) He looked NHL-ready
B) He'll learn more here than in Europe at this stage of his development
C) He'll need to go back to Europe if he doesn't make the team (unless there is a pending agreement to be made)

For guys like Ylonen and RHP, we can afford to wait 'til after trade deadline or next year.
Moving or benching one of Dadonov or Drouin is easier than both (salary-cap).

Heineman could give us a good offensive line with Monahan and Slaf.

He's already back in Sweden.

 

[habsfan891]

You do know that this is likely a rollercoaster ride of up/down movement during our rebuild right? There is nothing stopping us from having a 8th or 12th pick this year and a bottom 5 pick next year. Lets not pretend that once we move up, it stays that way. At the end of the day, we have to draft well.

How many top 5 picks are in the Canes core? Bruins? Rangers? Would you count the top 5 picks for the Rangers? Lafreniere & Kakko?

How we build a contender is not just about tanking. We have to stop it with the tank fever. The real management comes with good draft and development and making good trades/UFA signings. High draft power is where it's at. Not just top 5 picks.

Not that up and downs don't happen but isn't a successful rebuild by definition continuous improvement so we shouldn't really be dropping down in that scenario.