Are we heading in the right direction? 2025 Version

[WeThreeKings]

In 2021 rank 63 Kidney 5'11, rank 64 Kapanen 5'11. Kapanen is in the future plans of Habs somewhere, unless they trade him in a package.
2022 rank 26 Mesar 5'10, rank 33 Beck 5,11, rank 75 Rohrer. Beck is in the future plans of Habs somewhere, unless they trade him in a package.

They also traded valuable picks to acquire Newhook, needless to say he's small, soft and not helping the team to win anything. He was a second line player and now we think of a 3rd line player. A soft and small 3rd line player who can't score. And when they acquire big and heavy players, sometimes they are so soft and/or are injury prone like Dach and Laine.

You think Kapanen, Newhook, Dach, Beck, Evans and Laine will help Habs to be competitive in playoffs?

Kidney and Kapanen were not drafted by this regime. Kapanen is 6'1" and was the 1C for a team that just won the SHL.

Beck is 6'0", Memorial Cup MVP, plays a heavy game, defensively reliable. Rohrer is a bit undersized but he plays with the bite and edge of Marchand.

Newhook won a Stanley Cup with Colorado.

Dach had 6 pts in 9 games in his only playoff appearance at like 19 years old.

Evans played a big role in our cup final appearance in the covid year.

So yes, everyone of them except Laine can play a role in being competitive in the playoffs.

 

[Captain Mountain]

In 2021 rank 63 Kidney 5'11, rank 64 Kapanen 5'11. Kapanen is in the future plans of Habs somewhere, unless they trade him in a package.
2022 rank 26 Mesar 5'10, rank 33 Beck 5,11, rank 75 Rohrer. Beck is in the future plans of Habs somewhere, unless they trade him in a package.

They also traded valuable picks to acquire Newhook, needless to say he's small, soft and not helping the team to win anything. He was a second line player and now we think of a 3rd line player. A soft and small 3rd line player who can't score. And when they acquire big and heavy players, sometimes they are so soft and/or are injury prone like Dach and Laine.

You think Kapanen, Newhook, Dach, Beck, Evans and Laine will help Habs to be competitive in playoffs?

2021 was a different management team. Kapanen is 6'1. Kidney is 6'0. The team reached for Mailloux in part because of his size.

And if we're talking about Wilson, his team is currently being thoroughly outplayed by a team that's smaller than the Habs.

Laine is also massive, so is your issue size, physicality or going into hard areas of the ice? Or are you just complaining.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Kidney and Kapanen were not drafted by this regime. Kapanen is 6'1" and was the 1C for a team that just won the SHL.

Beck is 6'0", Memorial Cup MVP, plays a heavy game, defensively reliable. Rohrer is a bit undersized but he plays with the bite and edge of Marchand.

Newhook won a Stanley Cup with Colorado.

Dach had 6 pts in 9 games in his only playoff appearance at like 19 years old.

Evans played a big role in our cup final appearance in the covid year.

So yes, everyone of them except Laine can play a role in being competitive in the playoffs.

You write like a fan. In reality the nhl in playoffs time, these players you mention are not gonna make the Habs win anything. And no, Evans didn't played a big role in the SC run in the covid years. There was at least 15 other players who played a big role before him.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

2021 was a different management team. Kapanen is 6'1. Kidney is 6'0. The team reached for Mailloux in part because of his size.

And if we're talking about Wilson, his team is currently being thoroughly outplayed by a team that's smaller than the Habs.

Laine is also massive, so is your issue size, physicality or going into hard areas of the ice? Or are you just complaining.

Wilson's team are gonna get eliminated yes. Wilson's team eliminated Habs easy in 5 games. That tells you how far Habs are before they go far in PO. And I doubt the team who will eliminate the Caps will win the next SC. So Habs are way way far from winning the SC.

As for Laine, I wrote Habs get big players who plays soft, so their size doesn't count. They don't get the kind of players who succeed in PO.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Wilson's team are gonna get eliminated yes. Wilson's team eliminated Habs easy in 5 games. That tells you how far Habs are before they go far in PO. And I doubt the team who will eliminate the Caps will win the next SC. So Habs are way way far from winning the SC.

Everyone knows that, Montreal's in the middle of a rebuild.

But they didn't lose to Washington because of size, they lost because they aren't deep enough and lack high end talent. And the reason that's the case is they are mid rebuild.

 

[WeThreeKings]

You write like a fan. In reality the nhl in playoffs time, these players you mention are not gonna make the Habs win anything. And no, Evans didn't played a big role in the SC run in the covid years. There was at least 15 other players who played a big role before him.

Actually, you write like someone who is sensationalizing one playoff series and using it as a springboard to complain about something.

The fact that you targeted a guy who won a cup, another guy who played a role in us getting to the cup final, another guy who was memorial cup MVP and has shown all of the qualities you look for in bottom 6 players in the playoffs, and then a 3rd round pick playing in the Swiss league who plays harder and more nastier than the 6'3 Dylan Strome in the Capitals series.. just shows you are throwing names out there based on sizes (outdated sizes, too) and saying they can't contribute in the playoffs.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Everyone knows that, Montreal's in the middle of a rebuild.

But they didn't lose to Washington because of size, they lost because they aren't deep enough and lack high end talent. And the reason that's the case is they are mid rebuild.

They are in mid rebuilt and they have Newhook, Kapanen and Beck in their plans. They also have big and soft players like Laine and Armia. And a big and strong D like Struble who doesn't hit hard enough. They didn't dressed Xhekaj the 2 first games. I thing Arber doesn't figure in the future plans of the Habs. That's the direction they are taking, that's the dna of the team : small and soft.

 

[Captain Mountain]

They are in mid rebuilt and they have Newhook, Kapanen and Beck in their plans. They also have big and soft players like Laine and Armia. And a big and strong D like Struble who doesn't hit hard enough. They didn't dressed Xhekaj the 2 first games. I thing Arber doesn't figure in the future plans of the Habs. That's the direction they are taking, that's the dna of the team : small and soft.

Armia is a UFA and Laine will be a UFA in a year. Beck isn't undersized and he definitely isn't soft. Arber is 24, there isn't a reason to think he's not in Montreal's plans any more than Newhook or Kapanen that isn't irrationally reactionary.

Feels like you've drawn a conclusion and are trying to justify it tbh.

 

[WeThreeKings]

They are in mid rebuilt and they have Newhook, Kapanen and Beck in their plans. They also have big and soft players like Laine and Armia. And a big and strong D like Struble who doesn't hit hard enough. They didn't dressed Xhekaj the 2 first games. I thing Arber doesn't figure in the future plans of the Habs. That's the direction they are taking, that's the dna of the team : small and soft.

You keep using Beck as an example of someone who is soft. It screams someone who has never watched Owen Beck.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

You keep using Beck as an example of someone who is soft. It screams someone who has never watched Owen Beck.

Agree I could include Beck as a future stud. I saw he plays a solid game and he skate fast enough. But the rest of the team, there is a ratio of 40/60% of small and big players. The ratio of small players is still too high. Go back in time, I was the first to mention Slaf on this board and the first one too for Reinbacher. Go back and read the threads. I have a good intuition for what the Habs will draft. Habs needs more than ever to gain in size and hardness. Not just the draft. Any trade, any occasion.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Agree I could include Beck as a future stud. I saw he plays a solid game and he skate fast enough. But the rest of the team, there is a ratio of 40/60% of small and big players. The ratio of small players is still too high. Go back in time, I was the first to mention Slaf on this board and the first one too for Reinbacher. Go back and read the threads. I have a good intuition for what the Habs will draft. Habs needs more than ever to gain in size and hardness. Not just the draft. Any trade, any occasion.

But you are arguing they aren't coveting those things?

 

[Soaker]

Habs still draft. developp and waste energy with small players who will never be able to handle big and mean players like Wilson and co. They didn't realised the game is different in Playoffs. Or they just realised it, like if they haven't watched PO hockey previous years, lol. Yes they drafted some big players but that's not enough or they are not big bad mean players. I predict Habs will still be among the smallest and softest teams in the next 10 years.

Small soft talented players are fine if the roster surrounding them supports it but Montreal doesn't have enough size, nastiness, get in your face type players. It would be great if Montreal had some talented players with those attributes but I don't envision Slafskovsky getting to that level that is coveted. He's large but Byron was as effective hitting as he is currently. Players are like leopards, they don't change their spots, what you see in a player in the minors, they usually end up as later on. I read here somewhere that if Gallagher was in Slafskovsky body, that that would be a real beast. The only intimidating players with nastiness on Montreal is Anderson, that many, many fans begged to part with, stupidly, and Arber, and he's still a work in progress.

 

[Sorinth]

We didn't lose to Washington because of size, we lost because in 5 games we scored 3+ goals once. If you aren't scoring 3 goals you don't have good odds of winning.

And the reason we could score more was because we didn't have 2nd line, again nothing to do with size.