Speculation: Habs finish 28th and bottom 5 in 24-25 season

[BehindTheTimes]

Yup, It's going to be transition years. Difficult to know if that takes 2 or 3+ years. Sens and Sabres have been in those transition years but have stalled a bit. I think the Habs are deeper than them

If you remember correctly, we’ve been in transition for over a decade. Marc Bergevin claimed we were in transition from the day he was hired.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

Gallagher's play was actually pretty good at the start of the year. He hit a wall and can't be counted on for anything but bottom six play. But he was much better until around December.

He finished the year strong with Armia and Newhook. Had the makings of a great third line

 

[DAChampion]

If HuGo stands pat I see this team finishing in the bottom 10.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

If you remember correctly, we’ve been in transition for over a decade. Marc Bergevin claimed we were in transition from the day he was hired.

He also said we were going to build through the draft.

 

[Wayfarer13]

Overall I tend to agree with your post but I would advise being careful with the whole he played well during the last 10-20 games which means he's back/figured it out. Like sure it's possible but odds are they remain inconsistent and it was just luck/coincidence.

I think one of the biggest challenges facing Hughes is that inexperience on D you mention. I think I've seen it mentioned that the rule of them is a D needs 200 NHL games before you get a good idea on what you have, and although most of the current crop of young NHLers should hit or get near that # if they play 82 games this year, we've got 3 big name prospects that are on the verge of forcing their way onto the team meaning that we've got several more years of having an inexperienced D ahead of us. How Hughes manages that while we push for the playoffs and contender status is not going to be ea

The trend for the team is upwards and has been for several seasons now, and I do expect them to surprise the more pessimistic fans/media narratives. There for sure a lot of positives to look forward too, I was just pointing out that Caufield isn't automatically fully healthy and back to being a 40-50 goal scorer because he finished the season with 8 goals in 10 games, or that Gallagher will be a good 3rd line winger for us because he was a ppg for the final 10 games, or that Armia has figured things out and will be consistent because he had good stretch of games.

I think the biggest improvements we will see is special teams. As MSL transitions from a near total focus on development to actually caring about winning games I think he'll be less tolerant towards bad/lazy penalties and he'll spend more time during practice on special teams.

We spent the 4th most time in the league on the PK, being more disciplined not only means less time on the PK meaning less GAs, it likely also means an improved PK since guys will be more rested in game plus the aformentioned practice time. In terms of PP, similar story line, and one thing I'm going to be following is whether Dach and Slaf can start to really draw penalties, with their combination of size, speed, and cycling I can really start to see them drawing lots of penalties due to their combination of size, speed, and cycling.

Nothing is guaranteed including what McDavid is projected to do. There is a spectrum of what this team may do. I lean toward the positive end but the world will not end if they don't make the playoffs but to see expect progress. The games need to be played.

 

[Habs Halifax]

If you remember correctly, we’ve been in transition for over a decade. Marc Bergevin claimed we were in transition from the day he was hired.

Yes but his rebuild was flawed with holes. Didn't rebuild through the draft like he said on day one.

 

[Lshap]

The trend for the team is upwards and has been for several seasons now, and I do expect them to surprise the more pessimistic fans/media narratives. There for sure a lot of positives to look forward too, I was just pointing out that Caufield isn't automatically fully healthy and back to being a 40-50 goal scorer because he finished the season with 8 goals in 10 games, or that Gallagher will be a good 3rd line winger for us because he was a ppg for the final 10 games, or that Armia has figured things out and will be consistent because he had good stretch of games.

I think the biggest improvements we will see is special teams. As MSL transitions from a near total focus on development to actually caring about winning games I think he'll be less tolerant towards bad/lazy penalties and he'll spend more time during practice on special teams.

We spent the 4th most time in the league on the PK, being more disciplined not only means less time on the PK meaning less GAs, it likely also means an improved PK since guys will be more rested in game plus the aformentioned practice time. In terms of PP, similar story line, and one thing I'm going to be following is whether Dach and Slaf can start to really draw penalties, with their combination of size, speed, and cycling I can really start to see them drawing lots of penalties due to their combination of size, speed, and cycling.

Well said. As much as I sometimes default to pessimism, I know that teams leap from bad to better without advanced notice. Dallas was a bunch of no-name kids plus Benn and Seguin. They were bad to mid for years, nobody saw them coming. They didn't load up on vets and UFAs (they just got Duchene last season). They drafted well, they allowed their kids to develop, and around four/five years ago became a legit contender.

Same with Carolina – their best players are homegrown; it took awhile until they made an impact.

We won't get advanced notice when Montreal's highly-ranked core will take that step from bottom to playoffs. It'll happen, we just won't expect it. I'm not expecting playoffs this season, but I wouldn't be surprised to see flashes of potential and see the team in the mix for a few months.

 

[Lshap]

Yes but his rebuild was flawed with holes. Didn't rebuild through the draft like he said on day one.

Bergevin didn't acquire a single 1st-round pick, nor did he trade one. There was no commitment to win-later or win-now.

 

[SOLR]

Bergevin didn't acquire a single 1st-round pick, nor did he trade one. There was no commitment to win-later or win-now.

There were no commitment to win haha

 

[Lshap]

There were no commitment to win haha

There was an attempt to win. Not the same thing.

 

[Prettyisland]

This team is a developmental year and a top 6 forward away from yearly playoff mix. That being said this league has been unpredictable and would not be surprised for the Habs to be in a wild card mix

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I keep going back to 2013. We added Gallagher, Eller and Galchenyuk. Subban suddenly hit his prime. Markov returned…

Suddenly a team nobody expected to be good became a pretty solid club.

Young talent can pop at any time. I think we’re still too young to expect it to happen this season but it might. We could well be fighting for a wildcard by the end of the year.

 

[Essenege]

I think they have a winning record up to the holidays. Nick will be hungry as hell, he’s clearly tired of losing, and the team will follow. I think Marty will play the guys on merit (including guys like Anderson), I really expect the messaging to change towards a winning mentality.

 

[Benstheman]

This team is a developmental year and a top 6 forward away from yearly playoff mix. That being said this league has been unpredictable and would not be surprised for the Habs to be in a wild card mix

If everything goes right, maybe.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

If no changes are made from now to the start of the season, ya 100% I see another top 10 pick for sure. I must admit I'm a little disappointed this off season compared to the past 2, not in terms of the draft but I was sure he would have been a little more aggressive like the past 2 off seasons and perhaps challenge for a WC spot. With this roster, no chance!

 

[Benstheman]

I keep going back to 2013. We added Gallagher, Eller and Galchenyuk. Subban suddenly hit his prime. Markov returned…

Suddenly a team nobody expected to be good became a pretty solid club.

Young talent can pop at any time. I think we’re still too young to expect it to happen this season but it might. We could well be fighting for a wildcard by the end of the year.

Yeah the ''problem'' is the D. While we lack depth up front, our core forwards are ahead in terms of development. We will be really competitive when Reinbacher and Hutson (and you can add Mailloux to a lesser extent) will be approaching their primes, in 2-3 years. That's why i always advocate trading for a legit top 4 RHD right now, so we can start competing while easing Reinbacher's and Mailloux's debut in the big league.

Switching Matheson for a solid two way top 4 D would be ideal for me.

 

[SOLR]

There was an attempt to win. Not the same thing.

We are saying the same thing, it was sarcasm.

I keep going back to 2013. We added Gallagher, Eller and Galchenyuk. Subban suddenly hit his prime. Markov returned…

Suddenly a team nobody expected to be good became a pretty solid club.

Young talent can pop at any time. I think we’re still too young to expect it to happen this season but it might. We could well be fighting for a wildcard by the end of the year.

We are in "dud prospect detection mode", it's make or break for Caufield and Dach imo. They better take a step or it's time to think about moving on, they won't bring us "there" if they can't take a step at 23.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

We are in "dud prospect detection mode", it's make or break for Caufield and Dach imo. They better take a step or it's time to think about moving on, they won't bring us "there" if they can't take a step at 23.

Dach is definitely make or break in terms of health. If he can't have a healthy season, I think we go out and get another center. We just can't throw away another season like we did last year with him out. And that would be a freaking shame because he's got tools enough to be at least one of the best second line centers in the league.

Caufield is a completely different story. Even as is he was a 28 goal guy. That's at least good enough to be a decent first/excellent 2nd liner. We're not cutting bait with him no matter what. Moreover, he had a fantastic season outside of the goals. Shots and where he shot from were the kind of stats you'd expect in a 50 goal year. According to the docs it's a 3 year timeframe to return to normal. So... figure he'll probably be good for 35 goals this year. Hopefully he gets more but his shooting percentage from the slot was so bad last year, he's got to prove he can show improvement before I raise that ceiling. And it's tragic because he was looking like a blue chip annual 40-50 goal guy before that injury. Some of us disregarded the injury last year and figured he'd kill it. That was a big mistake and it showed up in the results. So now we have to revise.

We'll see how he does. I'm hoping for exactly the same season as last year but with better shooting results.

 

[SOLR]

Dach is definitely make or break in terms of health. If he can't have a healthy season, I think we go out and get another center. We just can't throw away another season like we did last year with him out. And that would be a freaking shame because he's got tools enough to be at least one of the best second line centers in the league.

Caufield is a completely different story. Even as is he was a 28 goal guy. That's at least good enough to be a decent first/excellent 2nd liner. We're not cutting bait with him no matter what. Moreover, he had a fantastic season outside of the goals. Shots and where he shot from were the kind of stats you'd expect in a 50 goal year. According to the docs it's a 3 year timeframe to return to normal. So... figure he'll probably be good for 35 goals this year. Hopefully he gets more but his shooting percentage from the slot was so bad last year, he's got to prove he can show improvement before I raise that ceiling. And it's tragic because he was looking like a blue chip annual 40-50 goal guy before that injury. Some of us disregarded the injury last year and figured he'd kill it. That was a big mistake and it showed up in the results. So now we have to revise.

We'll see how he does. I'm hoping for exactly the same season as last year but with better shooting results.

I think Caufield is make or break to be considered to be a core piece or someone like Necas that will be traded opportunistically. If he's not scoring 40, then it would be more valuable to upgrade the physical presence of his position for the same production. Inside looking to progress enough to stay in.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I think Caufield is make or break to be considered to be a core piece or someone like Necas that will be traded opportunistically. If he's not scoring 40, then it would be more valuable to upgrade the physical presence of his position for the same production. Inside looking to progress enough to stay in.

They will at least give him the next two years to see how he recovers from surgery. They'd be insane not to. If the doctors are correct and he goes back to 100 percent then he'll fill the net. You don't cut bait with that kind of talent.

 

[SOLR]

They will at least give him the next two years to see how he recovers from surgery. They'd be insane not to. If the doctors are correct and he goes back to 100 percent then he'll fill the net. You don't cut bait with that kind of talent.

On the same page, but what I am talking about is about categories. If he's categorized like Necas he will get more a 2nd line role rapidly once Demidov arrives. If he gets to 35-40 goals instead Demidov will have to earn it a lot more.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

On the same page, but what I am talking about is about categories. If he's categorized like Necas he will get more a 2nd line role rapidly once Demidov arrives. If he gets to 35-40 goals instead Demidov will have to earn it a lot more.

Hughes has said he wants a team that doesn't really have a 'first line'... he wants them to be evenly balanced to the point where you don't know which one is the first.

I've always liked the idea of Dach with CC. Natural passer and shooter together. Makes a lot of sense and Dach's a big two way guy as well. Won't surprise me at all if we see that this year. Maybe Newhook plays the first with Slaf and Nick and Roy is on with Dach. I don't think that would be a bad idea either.

CC was as close as you can get to a blue chip goal scoring prospect before his injury. We're all hoping he can get that shot back. If he doesn't, then I still think he can produce first line numbers (28 goals is boarderline first line production anyway) and maybe get to 40. Still tragic as I saw him as a perpetual Rocket contender but maybe that never comes to pass. We have to take a conservative view with him given what happened last year. So if the docs are right, we'll probably see an improvement this year. Expect 35-ish goals.

 

[SOLR]

Hughes has said he wants a team that doesn't really have a 'first line'... he wants them to be evenly balanced to the point where you don't know which one is the first.

I've always liked the idea of Dach with CC. Natural passer and shooter together. Makes a lot of sense and Dach's a big two way guy as well. Won't surprise me at all if we see that this year. Maybe Newhook plays the first with Slaf and Nick and Roy is on with Dach. I don't think that would be a bad idea either.

CC was as close as you can get to a blue chip goal scoring prospect before his injury. We're all hoping he can get that shot back. If he doesn't, then I still think he can produce first line numbers (28 goals is boarderline first line production anyway) and maybe get to 40. Still tragic as I saw him as a perpetual Rocket contender but maybe that never comes to pass. We have to take a conservative view with him given what happened last year. So if the docs are right, we'll probably see an improvement this year. Expect 35-ish goals.

If I'm him, I'd be freaking pissed with myself if I let a young gun take my spot rapidly.

 

[Goal Caufield50]

If HuGo stands pat I see this team finishing in the bottom 10.

bottom 5

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

If I'm him, I'd be freaking pissed with myself if I let a young gun take my spot rapidly.

I think we’ll see different combos over the next few years. Slaf loved playing with Dach so we might see that. Demidov will change things up too.

Having Dach/CC on one line and Slaf/Nick on the other is pretty good. I don’t like Newhook and CC together so he’s logically go with Suzuki but we’ll see. I’d like to see the top two be interchangeable at some point.