Canadiens haven't had a point per game player in 16 years

[BLNY]

Are they just really really bad at identifying skater talent but the opposite when it comes to goaltending?

Lots of hit or miss. Lots of not bad enough, frequently enough, to amass talent. There's nothing worse than being stuck in purgatory. They went through it from 98-02. They surprised during the shortened lockout season instead of having a second bad season and getting more top end talent.

Bergevin made some decent moves. Some bad ones. The biggest issue was player development. From hiring retread coaches to no analytics to no skills developers, it was a major, old school way of thinking, failure.

HuGo have been taking the right approach. Still no guarantees.

 

[Toby91ca]

Don't want to rain on any parades here, but Cutter Gauthier was P/PG last season (23/24) for the Ducks.

Kirby Dach, Logan Mailloux, and Lane Hutson were P/PG for the Canadiens last season as well.

Exactly, Montreal shouldn't get greedy and just enjoy those 5pts combined they got out of those 3 guys last year.

 

[Sky04]

That's just insanely sad.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Actually it's been 17 years.

 

[Zalos]

To be honest, I think there have been many other franchises in the past thirty years that have had a worse time than the Habs.

I became a fan many years after their last Cup win (2005), and since then I think we got many playoffs runs that were a ton of fun. Sure, it sucks not to have won a Cup since 1993, but I can't help thinking about my fellow hockey fans in Ontario, Buffalo, etc. I think they have had it worse than us, despite having had some PPG players.

Still, I get it. We haven't had an amazingly talented forward in ages. Even Kovalev was in the back half of his career and the love story with Montreal only lasted a few years.

The good news is that we now have four, maybe five, players in the organization that can be PPG. Suzuki, Caufield, Demidov, Hutson, and possibly Laine. This version of the team will undoubtedly be the one with the most 'pure talent' since the 90s. Maybe even the 70s.

 

[Stickpucker]

Lots of hit or miss. Lots of not bad enough, frequently enough, to amass talent. There's nothing worse than being stuck in purgatory. They went through it from 98-02. They surprised during the shortened lockout season instead of having a second bad season and getting more top end talent.

Bergevin made some decent moves. Some bad ones. The biggest issue was player development. From hiring retread coaches to no analytics to no skills developers, it was a major, old school way of thinking, failure.

HuGo have been taking the right approach. Still no guarantees.

I kind of get this but you'd think over 20 or 30 years they could accidentally find a guy later who can do that outside the top 10 in the draft.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

Lane Hutson wasn't even born!!!

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

We've won so many rounds with absolutely garbage teams throughout the 21st century , we gotta be some of the biggest overachievers in the league compared to our roster on paper. Goaltending certainly helps

And yet they made a Stanley Cup Final in that span. Leafs have had 5 in recent years and the farthest we made is the 2nd round. f***in clown franchise, led by locker room cancer Marner.

On the bright side, we’re favorites to win the cup this year.

Marner is actually the good guy here and leafs fans can't even realise it, AM34 is the loser , clamped by Danault clamped by Coyle , Clamped by Dubois and Dubinsky , like clockwork. Name a second line center and he's getting clamped by it

 

[AvatarAang]

Imagine they drafted Michkov

Kotkaniemi instead of Tkachuk
Slaf instead of Cooley
Reinbacher instead of Michkov

Why are people surprised that this team doesn’t have any talent when they keep drafting the wrong player?

 

[Jack Spider]

Are they just really really bad at identifying skater talent but the opposite when it comes to goaltending?

Missed on their 1st round picks during the 2010s.
They had an elite goalie and two number 1 D (Markov, Subban and Price). Those were still amazing offensive players to watch.
GM didn't know how to trade for top 6 players or through free agency. Sharp and Duchene were available at the same time. That would have made the team a serious contender because it filled the holes.

 

[BLNY]

I kind of get this but you'd think over 20 or 30 years they could accidentally find a guy later who can do that outside the top 10 in the draft.

If we go back to Serge Savard, his drafting record was good up to 88. Then he got stuck in the search for power forwards, off the glass and out defenders, etc. Wilkie had the tools to be really good, but was never more than a tweener. Koivu was their best forward pick of the 90s. Then you get into the Houle/Gauthier eras and their scouting departments were horrendous - famously mistaking Terry Ryan for Shane Doan in a hotel elevator before draft. Ryan, Jason Ward, a few US high school defenders that never amounted to anything ... I think they got stuck in drafting for supposed need instead of bpa.

 

[AvroArrow]

Kotkaniemi instead of Tkachuk
Slaf instead of Cooley
Reinbacher instead of Michkov

Why are people surprised that this team doesn’t have any talent when they keep drafting the wrong player?

On the bright side you have Demidov, Caufield and Hutson + Suzuki was acquired. But do you get Demidov if you draft Tkachuk ? Probably not.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

To everyone on HF who thinks that their team has had it tough, think about this:

No team besides the Canadiens or the Ducks have not had a point per game player who played almost a full season since the 2021-22 season.

The last time the Ducks had one was in 2017-18 (Getzlaf).

The last time the Habs have had one was Alexei Kovalev, in.. 2007-08.

Thank goodness we have Demidov now..

Edit:

More fun stats (thanks @Deaner)

The last 40 goal scorer for the team was Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94.

The last 100 point player was Mats Naslund in 1985-86.

Our last 50 goal scorer was 1990.

 

[PaulD]

To everyone on HF who thinks that their team has had it tough, think about this:

No team besides the Canadiens or the Ducks have not had a point per game player who played almost a full season since the 2021-22 season.

The last time the Ducks had one was in 2017-18 (Getzlaf).

The last time the Habs have had one was Alexei Kovalev, in.. 2007-08.

Thank goodness we have Demidov now..

Edit:

More fun stats (thanks @Deaner)

The last 40 goal scorer for the team was Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94.

The last 100 point player was Mats Naslund in 1985-86.

Brian Bellows also got 40 goals the year Vinny did.

Our last 50 goal scorer was 1990.

Stephan Richer !

 

[PaulD]

We miss Serge Savard!

 

[Incognito]

This just gives me even more appreciation for Carey Price.

 

[Machinehead]

That the last PPG player for Montreal was Alex Kovalev is a pretty good trivia question.

 

[danisonfire]

Thank goodness that Kovalev did it (barely, he had 84 pts) or else we would have had to go back to 1995-1996 for a PPG season.

Also so people understand how pathetic the team was in the late 90's-early 00', there was a stretch of 3 years where no player even hit 50 pts in a season (98-99, 99-00, 00-01).

The dark ages

 

[knuck]

The Canadiens have an NHL leading 24 Stanley Cup championships...

For the record, I like the Habs but I don't exactly feel sorry for their fans.

I'm 39 and can't remember the last cup. I "deserve" a cup just like any other teams' fan do

 

[Albatros]

Kotkaniemi instead of Tkachuk
Slaf instead of Cooley
Reinbacher instead of Michkov

Why are people surprised that this team doesn’t have any talent when they keep drafting the wrong player?

Other than case Kotkaniemi, the jury is still very much out. And injuries happen even if you always draft the best players available.

 

[Kennedys]

On the bright side you have Demidov, Caufield and Hutson + Suzuki was acquired. But do you get Demidov if you draft Tkachuk ? Probably not.

Good point

 

[Jigger77]

Thank goodness that Kovalev did it (barely, he had 84 pts) or else we would have had to go back to 1995-1996 for a PPG season.

Also so people understand how pathetic the team was in the late 90's-early 00', there was a stretch of 3 years where no player even hit 50 pts in a season (98-99, 99-00, 00-01).

I remember those years all too well. I was a young buck at Ottawa U at the time. I actually started cheering for the Sens for a while. The SENS bud! Yikes!

 

[wetcoast]

We forgot how to draft at some point, and played rigid defensive styles of play that stifled creativity.

It basically started when they passed over Denis Savard for Wickenheiser.

Getting lucky on Chelios, Roy and then later Price have masked a lot of futility.

 

[JIMVINNY]

I'm 39 and can't remember the last cup. I "deserve" a cup just like any other teams' fan do

I'm 42 and can just barely remember the cup final. My earliest hockey memory is Gretz tipping the puck into his own net and spoiling the shut out in game 1.

 

[Boyon90]

Dobes will be a ppg