Confirmed with Link: Canadiens Will Pick 5th (Hughes Presser in OP) NO POLITICS

[Habricot]

Oh, I'm 100% with you. I just hope management doesn't try to galaxy brain this. I just got to hope though if they skip on Michkov or Smith that it's because their scouts have truly identified something we're not seeing or aware of.

Yes but the members of this board would need to realize that its a new direction with new way of analyzing prospects and have some trust on why they did that.... impossible

 

[BenchBrawl]

One month left before we know if we get future superstar Matvei Michkov.

 

[ReHabs]

Yes but the members of this board would need to realize that its a new direction with new way of analyzing prospects and have some trust on why they did that.... impossible

Have they given us any reason to trust their judgement?

I appreciate optimism, hope, and even blind faith but let’s not confuse that with earned trust.

Tampa fans trust Cooper and Brise Bois, and for good reason. We don’t have such a strong foundation between us as fans and HuGo as management. They haven’t developed anyone yet.

 

[Svart]

Tampa fans trust Cooper and Brise Bois, and for good reason. We don’t have such a strong foundation between us as fans and HuGo as management. They haven’t developed anyone yet.

What would have been your reaction if Hughes had pulled off something like this?

 

[ReHabs]

View attachment 713148
What would have been your reaction if Hughes had pulled off something like this?

In the greater context of W after W, of strength to strength, of an ongoing dynasty… I would’ve trusted their decision.

It didn’t work, so what? Move on.

 

[waffledave]

View attachment 713148
What would have been your reaction if Hughes had pulled off something like this?

Jeannot is a very useful player. If they keep him long term it isn't necessarily a bad move. He's still young but also old enough to be part of the current core.

 

[BLONG7]

Have they given us any reason to trust their judgement?

I appreciate optimism, hope, and even blind faith but let’s not confuse that with earned trust.

Tampa fans trust Cooper and Brise Bois, and for good reason. We don’t have such a strong foundation between us as fans and HuGo as management. They haven’t developed anyone yet.

True, they have not developed anyone yet, but surely we can see they are leaps and bounds smarter, and utilizing a PLAN to make the habs a relevant franchise again.
We spent years giving Bergevin rope, surely we can give these guys 3-4 seasons to execute their ideas and plans.

 

[ReHabs]

True, they have not developed anyone yet, but surely we can see they are leaps and bounds smarter, and utilizing a PLAN to make the habs a relevant franchise again.
We spent years giving Bergevin rope, surely we can give these guys 3-4 seasons to execute their ideas and plans.

Sure, nobody is calling for HuGo’s head. And hopefully nobody calls for it any time soon.

I think they approached this season with their eyes open — not to impose a losing culture but also aware of the bigger picture — which is as much as you can expect imo.

I think they made mistakes or things didn’t work out for the club how they wished but they’re ultimately not damning or part of a pattern. Slafkovsky was mishandled, Allen shouldn’t have been retained or extended, and they should’ve been more proactive about selling and more protective of their assets (Monahan especially).

But really, not that bad and not worth calling for their heads. They’re clearly building toward something. Let’s see how it goes.

 

[BLONG7]

Sure, nobody is calling for HuGo’s head. And hopefully nobody calls for it any time soon.

I think they approached this season with their eyes open — not to impose a losing culture but also aware of the bigger picture — which is as much as you can expect imo.

I think they made mistakes or things didn’t work out for the club how they wished but they’re ultimately not damming or part of a pattern. Slafkovsky was mishandled, Allen shouldn’t have been retained or extended, and they should’ve been more proactive about selling and more protective of their assets (Monahan especially).

But really, not that bad and not worth calling for their heads. They’re clearly building toward something. Let’s see how it goes.

You have hit the nail on the head.
Slaf should have been sent to the AHL after 15-20 games, although it was a nothing season.
Allen extended with a raise of 1M had me scratching my head for months..............zero sense on that one....
I still feel we are in such better hands, that the moving the team upward is a given.....
We all feel there is a stay tuned kind of plan for fans, this off season is another huge one.

 

[NORiculous]

You have hit the nail on the head.
Slaf should have been sent to the AHL after 15-20 games, although it was a nothing season.
Allen extended with a raise of 1M had me scratching my head for months..............zero sense on that one....
I still feel we are in such better hands, that the moving the team upward is a given.....
We all feel there is a stay tuned kind of plan for fans, this off season is another huge one.

Last season, next season and the one after that are fundamental years for the rebuild.

These 3 years can’t be messed up and need a little luck too.

The message we should be sending management:

 

[Omar]

You are under the wishful thinking that he will 100% be there in 3 years? 3 years is a very long time in which many things can happen that are completely out of their control.

Just 2 years ago, we would not even be talking about this kind of situation, right now it's a major factor and no one can predict what it will be in 3 years.

If we could bring him right away in NA, it would be a totally different story......

Name the last Russian player who wasn’t able to make the jump to the NHL. I’ll wait.

 

[Milhouse40]

Name the last Russian player who wasn’t able to make the jump to the NHL. I’ll wait.

The world has changed.....they had McDonald in Russia 16 months ago, they don't anymore.
They had access to Twitter 16 months ago......they don't anymore.
Our scouts had access to go see their players live 16 moonths ago.......they don't anymore.

Things changed

Have they given us any reason to trust their judgement?

I appreciate optimism, hope, and even blind faith but let’s not confuse that with earned trust.

Tampa fans trust Cooper and Brise Bois, and for good reason. We don’t have such a strong foundation between us as fans and HuGo as management. They haven’t developed anyone yet.

Well although true.....it's going pretty well with Dach, Caufield, Guhle, Xhekaj, Harris and Barron just to name a few.....which is more than what we've seen in the last decade combine.

 

[OnTheRun]

Name the last Russian player who wasn’t able to make the jump to the NHL. I’ll wait.

The question "Name the last country freed from tyranny by truckers?" would have been impossible to answer 3 years ago.

 

[VVV]

View attachment 713148
What would have been your reaction if Hughes had pulled off something like this?

Context

Tampa won 2 consecutive cups. Even if Brisebois screwed up on one trade all the positive moves he made far outweight that bad one imho

Now if the GM was a guy making questionable and bad moves time after time then he would deserve some flak for making yet another one. That's what i mean by context

 

[26Mats]

Good to see Fantilli have a good game.

Imo our best chance of getting one of Michkov or Carlsson is if Columbus takes Smith over Carlsson at 3. For that to happen though, Fantilli has to go 2nd. because if Carlsson goes 2nd, Fantilli's definitely going 3rd, leaving Smith and Michkov for San Jose, who will probably take Michkov. But if Fantilli goes 2nd and Smith goes 3rd, Michkov and Carlsson are left at 4, and we can take whoever San Jose doesn't.

 

[Kennerback]

if there was any doubt Anaheim wasn’t taking Fantili, it’s now gone.

 

[Kennerback]

The world has changed.....they had McDonald in Russia 16 months ago, they don't anymore.
They had access to Twitter 16 months ago......they don't anymore.
Our scouts had access to go see their players live 16 moonths ago.......they don't anymore.

Things changed



Well although true.....it's going pretty well with Dach, Caufield, Guhle, Xhekaj, Harris and Barron just to name a few.....which is more than what we've seen in the last decade combine.

Look there’s a lot of back and forth between Russia and the West about the sanctions. But I think just consuming the MSM, there’s not an accurate picture of the situation. Sanction Russia in 1989 when the world’s manufacturing base was in the West was damageable. Sanction Russia in 2023 when all goods are made in China and it’s another story.

It’s quite comical actually. All big shopping centres in Russia are still full to the brim. Chinese firms are replacing the Western stores and selling the exact same thing, usually at the exact same place with a similar logo just with a Chinese name instead of a western name. Best Buy becomes Bestest Buyer written in Chinese. I assume they sell a knockoff but it could be same product sold in the West tagged with a Chinese name. Instead of Twitter it’s Telegram and Westerners are even opening up accounts.

Also, China and Russia together were producing together 4x as many engineers/year than the US at the time of the sanctions.

As far as I can see, it’s business as usual and Michkov will come sooner than we think to the team that drafts him.

 

[ReHabs]

Well although true.....it's going pretty well with Dach, Caufield, Guhle, Xhekaj, Harris and Barron just to name a few.....which is more than what we've seen in the last decade combine.

Bergevin acquired Xhekaj and drafted Caufield and Guhle. HuGo acquired Dach for Romanov (Bergevin), and Barron for Lehkonen (Bergevin).

Not to credit Bergevin but to illustrate that it isn’t so clear cut. Bergevin inherited better players and assets than he left for HuGo to inherit but all the same HuGo are working with what they received and it shouldn’t be taken for granted that they received some worthwhile assets like Caufield.

The question now is if HuGo can make something more, bigger, better come from this.

We need impact players, we need point producers, we need stars, we need electrifying players.

I don’t feel like we shouldn’t blindly trust HuGo until they deliver something good. MSL not withstanding, that guy… as a coach and a figure associated with the Habs simply rules. But I want more.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I could consider taking Leonard ahead of Smith. You want the cream of the crop of that team. I’m a lot higher on Smith, but if all the scouts are telling me Leonard’s the guy. Ok. Leonard it is.

If Smith is gone, Ill take the greatest Russian prospect in almost 20 years over the 2nd best player on his team/line.

I’m surprised after all these years you still have faith in scouts. Their work is shoddy at best.

 

[Kennerback]

I’m surprised after all these years you still have faith in scouts. Their work is shoddy at best.

Playing the role of fake Habs GM, I can have a rough idea who I like, but I trust my amateur scouting team more than I do my opinion alone.

Yes I see Smith having the higher upside, but teams have blown it in the past picking the wrong player on a same line. If they tell me that the only reason Smith is putting up so many points is because of Leonard, Ill follow my handpicked scouts.

 

[Kennerback]

Question for Shane Wright believers only (i.e he’ll be a solid C in the top-6 one day). No haters please. How do you compare his upside vs Will Smith?

 

[Kimota]

Look there’s a lot of back and forth between Russia and the West about the sanctions. But I think just consuming the MSM, there’s not an accurate picture of the situation. Sanction Russia in 1989 when the world’s manufacturing base was in the West was damageable. Sanction Russia in 2023 when all goods are made in China and it’s another story.

It’s quite comical actually. All big shopping centres in Russia are still full to the brim. Chinese firms are replacing the Western stores and selling the exact same thing, usually at the exact same place with a similar logo just with a Chinese name instead of a western name. Best Buy becomes Bestest Buyer written in Chinese. I assume they sell a knockoff but it could be same product sold in the West tagged with a Chinese name. Instead of Twitter it’s Telegram and Westerners are even opening up accounts.

Also, China and Russia together were producing together 4x as many engineers/year than the US at the time of the sanctions.

As far as I can see, it’s business as usual and Michkov will come sooner than we think to the team that drafts him.

Also as far as I know the Ruble seem to be still strong.

 

[Retired]

Bergevin acquired Xhekaj and drafted Caufield and Guhle. HuGo acquired Dach for Romanov (Bergevin), and Barron for Lehkonen (Bergevin).

Not to credit Bergevin but to illustrate that it isn’t so clear cut. Bergevin inherited better players and assets than he left for HuGo to inherit but all the same HuGo are working with what they received and it shouldn’t be taken for granted that they received some worthwhile assets like Caufield.

The question now is if HuGo can make something more, bigger, better come from this.

We need impact players, we need point producers, we need stars, we need electrifying players.

I don’t feel like we shouldn’t blindly trust HuGo until they deliver something good. MSL not withstanding, that guy… as a coach and a figure associated with the Habs simply rules. But I want more.

Causality only moves forward in time; how can you be so down before they even start? They inherited the worst team with the worst budget up to (beyond!) the cap, no interesting prospects… Un-tradable vets signed till forever…

Just the general vibe around the team not being all about who speaks french or makes the least mistakes or disrespekts with low-fives or all the silliness is already awesome. Vets are leaving feeling respected it seems (players talk), habs reputation is on the up, their prospect pool, budget are doing so much better… The D look like future studs, some guy from Winnipeg wants to join, they will add a top 6 player this very draft… Heck one or 2 scoring wingers and I might even watch beyond December this year.

 

[ReHabs]

I might even watch beyond December this year.

That’s what we all want brother

 

[JianYang]

I'm no expert on the players but I'll just chime in on what the process ought to be.

If the Habs think michkov is a tier above everyone else left, you take the risk and draft him.

If habs think the other players are more or less on his level, then you pass on michkov.