If Demi is available, we gotta make sure we have his intentions locked up before we snag him. I'm hoping Bobrov will have that ready for us.
“The Lightning won with small players”
I don't know where I said it doesn't take patience to build a winner. I'm simply debating you on the fact that Tampa didn't have generational talent. They did.Yes. And the Lightning were a very strong cup winner. Deep everywhere, size and skill. Maybe we'll never be as good as they were, but we don't have to be in order to win a cup.
I used to argue in favour of teams like Pittsburgh, LA and Chicago. People would make fun of those teams but I'd say... wait and see. All of them went on to win multiple cups.
Have some patience.
Kucherov is a HOFer. Not generational. And you're comparing guys who've already had their prime or are in it to kids.
I'm not sure how you guys don't understand that it takes time to build a winner. Even if you have all the ingredients you have to give them time to mature. Look at Slaf from one year to the next... Nobody knew Kucherov was going to be a superstar. If they did, he wouldn't have been drafted 58th overall. Maybe Lane Hutson becomes a superstar, entirely possible. People had written off Slaf after his rookie year... remember that?
All we can do is draft high and trade for good young prospects. Some things will work out (Slaf last year) and some things will go wrong (Dach and CC injuries.) You keep going and re-evaluating as you go.
Some guys will pan out and some won't. But I think we're on a really good path. A ton of young talent and excess prospects to trade with. We've got a whack more picks in the next couple of drafts and I think we'll probably miss the playoffs again next year which means we'll have a decent enough pick then too.
Slaf, CC, Hutson, Roy, Guhle, RB, Beck, Mailloux... they should all be better three to five years from now. Great young players. Dach is a bit of a question mark but he can be replaced if we have to. We've got guys like Engstrom, Mesar, Struble, Harris and others to trade with as well... Suzuki's a good captain and we've got a good culture. This is by far the best young group we've had in at least 30 years - probably the best young group since the up and coming mid 80s teams.
As I've said many times here, I'd like to see us with more goalscoring ability. CC's shoulder is a concern. I'm hopeful he bounces back but we'll see. I continue to maintain the unpopular belief that Eiserman has the highest ceiling in this draft outside Cellebrini and would crush it for us. He needs development but won the scoring record with a bad overall game.Incredible. Anway, he's not going to be taken by us... so I really am good with any of Demidov, Lidstrom or Iginla. Demidov would be the most fun to watch. He oozes skill. Lidstrom provides a dimension that we've lacked since the 80s - a big team that's hard to play against. Him, Dach and Slaf would be amazing in the top six. And Iginla has some sniping ability that is a consolation to me for not getting Eiserman.
As I've said repeatedly, I'll be fine with whoever we take. After the 2022 draft, the scouting group has earned the benefit of the doubt. Still hoping we trade up and grab Eiserman later but that's a pipe dream.
The comment has consistently been to acquire talent -- to me that means drafting the most talented player no matter his size or position. I said the Lightning won with talented players. You wanna argue against that??
You needn't concern yourself with that.
And TBay won nothing for years w those small players until Brisebois came in and added size & grit to the lineup - Paul, Goodrow, Hagel, Schenn, Maroon etc
To connect your comment to the argument, would you therefore say the Habs should now, today, are at a point to prioritize size&grit over talent at the draft table?
Or, you could, you know, just draft a big talented player like we did in 2022. There’s a couple of them here.
Generational is a term that gets abused. He's not generational. He's a HOF talent and an outstanding player. He's not Crosby, McDavid or Ovechkin.
Cool. If you want to debate this further, put it in the Out of Town thread and I'll be happy to reply there. Let's not hijack the thread.
Paul and Hagel never won with Tampa. Goodrow won one. Schenn and Maroon were bottom of the lineup types, with Schenn in particular not even dressing in 50% of their games.
If Player A is considered to be a 4.5 star talent with a 4 star physical profile and Player B is considered to be a 4 star talent with a 4.5 star physical build, do you think in 2024 the Habs ought to prefer Player B?
As placeholders for the type of player they represent, I think the debate does boil down to this and both are exciting for sure. It's just as likely that one approach will be more fun + successful than the other. Who knows. But it's ultimately a matter a taste. Maybe they'll draft a D, who knows. I wouldn't be against it.
The only thing I want is for the Habs to evaluate talent better than you.
This hammers home the point that they can always add size to the bottom 6 to complement the talent in the top 6 (if the latter is undersized).
Gives you big advantage in playoffs. Skill and size combined you need. Anderson was good year we went to finals but has took many injuries. Career could be done. Leafs say he was giving their defensemen fits in their own end. He was affective year Colombus upset Tampa.
Yup talent above everything given where we are now. It'd be Demidov then Catton for me.
It's funny to see the cart be put before the horse so badly by some commentators. Tampa was very much a team that built a winner in a modern way: tanking, losing, re-tooling, trading, and tinkering.
Without breaking up the top line, they definitely need more offensive talent on Line 2.
