Is the Rebuild almost done? POLL

[LaP]

As a fan, I hold no special place in my heart for « favorite pets as prospects ». If Hage and Rein can be traded for what we hope they become but in the « now » version, by all means. Say, as discussion purposes, you can get Robert Thomas for Hage ++ and Rasmus for Rein ++, pull that trigger 10 times out of ten. So ya, go for it if you can.

As a principle i fully agree but Thomas would not be a target for me though. The guy is playing a truck load of minutes in Stl. He would not have anywhere near as much TOI here his TOI would drop by probably 15-25%. I feel like Suzuki is a better player and Thomas would bring pretty much the same skillset for more money on a 2nd line. Not a good fit imo. Also did not like Thomas in playopffs the last couple of seasons. If you can grab Dahlin obvoiusly you do it

 

[wedge]

It's not over yet but I don't think the draft is the answer. We have a couple nice players coming up in the next few years and if we keep our draft picks, the players will probably just replace the ones we have now in 4-6 years. That's too far away. Things would have been different if we had a top-5 picks and were looking to improve on a couple players. Dach is getting better and better, Hutson is showing he is a #1 even if people thing otherwise. Still, something's lacking in the top-6 and I wouldn't mind a physical third liner. Dvorak and Armia will probably leave and we need to replace them with cheaper/better options. Also, still unsure about our goaltender situation. Dobes has been fine so far but nobody is going to say he's our new Carey Price and I don't see us winning anything with Montembault who's fine but not a top-10 starter.

So, still a couple holes but we're getting there.

 

[yianik]

The Sens have nothing in the pipeline. Sens fans think their captain and best player Tkachuk might jump ship. How could they say their rebuild is finished? Has it even started?

They traded for Debrincat and Chychrun. At that point they were saying we are contenders and the rebuild is over, and hoping to God both those guys would come through on the ice, and also sign extensions. The Sens gave up the 7th OA in 2022, 39th OA in 2022 and a 3rd for Debrincat and the 12th OA in 2023 and 2 2nds for Chychrun.

 

[LaP]

For sure. It’s all about if he can be better. I think he can though I’m not 100% there. I think he’s been better as the season’s went on. He best part is we can afford him the patience right now while he gets some stability which he’s lacked for his entire career now. He’s got really good tools.

All 3 of them can be better and yet they’re still producing and we’re still winning. They could be vastly improved by next year as well.

Even with Evans as a C and Heineman, Demidov could likely do very well feasting on lesser competition

Don't think he can. Newhook had a very good game yesterday with lot of pristine chances. I think any of the other top 6 players would have scored 2-3 goals with a game like that. The guy can't score at the NHL level. He has 50 goals in 260 games which is a pace of 15 goals a full 82 games season. It's the same goal pace as Slaf and Slaf so far as not been good at scoring goals but Slaf can offer much more than that and his younger with more room to grow while it should be Newhook bread and butter at 24 years old. I'm almost 100% positive Newhook is a 3rd line player.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Don't think he can. Newhook had a very good game yesterday with lot of pristine chances. I think any of the other top 6 players would have scored 2-3 goals with a game like that. The guy can't score at the NHL level. He has 50 goals in 260 games which is a pace of 15 goals a full 82 games season. It's the same goal pace as Slaf and Slaf so far as not been good at scoring goals but Slaf can offer much more than that and his younger with more room to grow while it should be Newhook bread and butter at 24 years old. I'm almost 100% positive Newhook is a 3rd line player.

Which is where he is going to fit in as soon as next season.

 

[Kosseca]

Some issues to address:
1- 2nd line. yes 2C is a question mark, but I would contend that until Demidov secure his role on the RW, and Laine can elevate his game to be more impactful game after game, MTL has no 2nd line.
2- Size/Grit. Lots of smaller/soft players, will need to improve the bottom 6.
3- RD: Sure Carrier is a nice add, but there are Q marks for the other 2 spots.

So I enjoy the ride for what it is... a nice stretch, but still think that we shouldn't celebrate too early.

 

[Frankenheimer]

The rebuild is over in the sense we're now a young competitive team trending upward with enough capital to continue adding and improving. Our young guns have not even reached their potential, and we're not dependent on aging veterans. I would rather be us than any team currently in the mix.

The next objective is to make a plan for keeping us competitive for many years to come.

 

[Nevins]

Dach in my opinion is showing he is a #2 centre. He just needs to maintain this. I suspect he will. Ideally Hage supplants him and Dach becomes an elite #3 centre. Im really high on Hage.

Rein is a good pair for Hutson based on their play style. But Rein reaching top pair status is slightly more optimistic than Dach being a 2C. That is why I want to swing for a real 100 percent can't miss top 4 RD. Dobson or Andersson are my two targets.

Or ( Dreaming)Caleb Desnoyers + Radim Mrtka

Slaf- Suzuki- Caufield
Laine- Desnoyers- Demidov
Heineman- Dach- Hage
Beck- Evans- Kapanen
Xhekaj

Hutson- Mrtka
Guhle- Carrier
Xhekaj- Reinbacher
Struble- Mailloux

Dobes
Fowler
Monty

​

 

[Burke the Legend]

They have enough assets now between current roster and blue chip prospects. The cupboard is rebuilt, there's enough core talent and also cap space. The key parts of roster are beginning to enter prime years, and either are on decent contracts, still on rookie deals or will be arriving.

The Habs are in the mix now, the roster is healthy and clearly not basement dwellers anymore. It's time to start playing real hockey to see what what this group is made of when things get serious and tighten up. At the least a very serious playoff push in the second half, to give a better idea of where weaknesses are.

The question going forward now is cap efficiency and pro scouting to put them over the top and start making deep pushes. Big decisions need to be made on how to use our cap space with free agency signings or trading prospects who have been indentified as non-core surplus (Barron example).

Summer 2025 is going to be HUGE for Hughes and Gorton.

 

[Skip Bayless]

Like WTK said, we are entering the actual building phase.

Priorities :

1- #1 RD
2- Upgrade top 6 C (I believe in Dach, but we should always try to strengthen the position as much as possible no matter what)
3- Re-vamp the bottom 6 (mix of prospects and acquisitions)


Hughes doesn't just have the possibility of filling the needs, but to actually go after the players they really need to fit with the team identity, which is pretty exciting.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

2.5 pieces.

-We need a legitimate 2C (Dach the way he’s played the last month would work)
-We need another Top-4 caliber RHD, we may or may not have that in Reinbacher.
-We need one or both of Dobes/Fowler to give us good starter type numbers.

So technically, we may have the pieces, but I’m not one to count my chickens before they hatch. Except Demidov, that guy is the whole hatchery.

 

[Gillings]

Make no mistake, we are still rebuilding the next couple years; it just may not be through “high draft picks”.

UFAs gone this year with several key contracts expiring over the next few years. Once all of that is taken care of we should be knocking on the hockey gods door.

 

[Gustave]

As a principle i fully agree but Thomas would not be a target for me though. The guy is playing a truck load of minutes in Stl. He would not have anywhere near as much TOI here his TOI would drop by probably 15-25%. I feel like Suzuki is a better player and Thomas would bring pretty much the same skillset for more money on a 2nd line. Not a good fit imo. Also did not like Thomas in playopffs the last couple of seasons. If you can grab Dahlin obvoiusly you do it

Dahlin is LD though, it’s not that easy to plug and play LD’s on the right…

As for Thomas, I’d do it but my point was more a general one where if we can get a ready now 2C, do it. But I understand your concern.

 

[yianik]

The rebuild is over in the sense we're now a young competitive team trending upward with enough capital to continue adding and improving. Our young guns have not even reached their potential, and we're not dependent on aging veterans. I would rather be us than any team currently in the mix.

The next objective is to make a plan for keeping us competitive for many years to come.

Draft wisely and have picks to use. I would also make sure we have a good number of D. They seem to be good currency. See Carolina.

 

[Gustave]

Or ( Dreaming)Caleb Desnoyers + Radim Mrtka

Slaf- Suzuki- Caufield
Laine- Desnoyers- Demidov
Heineman- Dach- Hage
Beck- Evans- Kapanen
Xhekaj

Hutson- Mrtka
Guhle- Carrier
Xhekaj- Reinbacher
Struble- Mailloux

Dobes
Fowler
Monty

​

Not against the guys mentioned, but I have a question for you. When do you plan on being a legit contender? Mrtka might be 5 years away from the roster and 8 from a core piece. Desnoyers comes in sooner but still a good 4 years from actually making a difference.

 

[Favster]

IMO the Habs are at the point where they have good assets on ELCs that are coming in and will explore the UFA market to fill the holes in their lineup.

 

[Nevins]

Not against the guys mentioned, but I have a question for you. When do you plan on being a legit contender? Mrtka might be 5 years away from the roster and 8 from a core piece. Desnoyers comes in sooner but still a good 4 years from actually making a difference.

The goal is to reach the Stanley Cup so being contenders is on the agenda every year. But the more players are placed in the right chair, the better the chances.

 

[DAChampion]

The rebuild isn't over but the asset accumulation part is over.

Excellent description.

 

[Archijerej]

The first phase appears to be over, yes.

Now it's about roster construction.

 

[dinodebino]

Now it’ll start to hurt. Ready to get hurt, HFBoarders? Because the hurting starts now.

Hurting because some of your beloved prospects will be traded for immediate help. And we all know that you, HFBoarders HATE when prospects are given away in trades.

But the shift has started. And will accentuate this summer. I do believe we are missing two pieces. Another experienced RD. And another top 9 forward. And for that to happen, it will need to hurt. Oooooh yes. It will hurt.

Next year will be the year to measure the success of the rebuild. What we are seeing today is just a window, a glimpse of what is to come. And to think our Russian asset isn’t here yet…
Are y’all ready to suffer?

 

[Gustave]

Now it’ll start to hurt. Ready to get hurt, HFBoarders? Because the hurting starts now.

Hurting because some of your beloved prospects will be traded for immediate help. And we all know that you, HFBoarders HATE when prospects are given away in trades.

But the shift has started. And will accentuate this summer. I do believe we are missing two pieces. Another experienced RD. And another top 9 forward. And for that to happen, it will need to hurt. Oooooh yes. It will hurt.

Next year will be the year to measure the success of the rebuild. What we are seeing today is just a window, a glimpse of what is to come. And to think our Russian asset isn’t here yet…
Are y’all ready to suffer?

I’m ready for it. I won’t suffer, trust me. We’ve learned from keeping Poehling and KK instead of getting O’reilly or the sorts.

 

[LaP]

Hurting because some of your beloved prospects will be traded for immediate help. And we all know that you, HFBoarders HATE when prospects are given away in trades.

You have not been following this management for the last 2-3 years if you think so. If good prospects are being traded it will in a team building trade not for immediate help. If KH does a Ribeiro for Niiniiiimmaaaaaaaaaa or McDo for Celebration Gomez trade i'll be very very very surprised and also very disappointed.

 

[LaP]

I’m ready for it. I won’t suffer, trust me. We’ve learned from keeping Poehling and KK instead of getting O’reilly or the sorts.

ROR would not have been an immediate help trade though. He is 2 years younger than Subban and 3 years younger than Patch. For me the expression immediate help refer to trading for a player older than your core who will help immediately for a short period of time. The Carrier trade would probably fit the bill but we gave a guy who was not part of the plan anymore for him so meh. For me trading a top prospect for a top player in his prime is not trading for immediate help it's sinply making a trade to adress a need and fill a hole in your core.

 

[morhilane]

All I have to say is:
Team average age: 25.70 (2nd lowest in the league, highest 30.16) and likely to be younger next season depending who replace those leaving
Total NHL games played: 7 116 (2nd lowest in the league, highest 14 297)

Still lots of experience to be gained.

 

[waitin425]

Now it’ll start to hurt. Ready to get hurt, HFBoarders? Because the hurting starts now.

Hurting because some of your beloved prospects will be traded for immediate help. And we all know that you, HFBoarders HATE when prospects are given away in trades.

But the shift has started. And will accentuate this summer. I do believe we are missing two pieces. Another experienced RD. And another top 9 forward. And for that to happen, it will need to hurt. Oooooh yes. It will hurt.

Next year will be the year to measure the success of the rebuild. What we are seeing today is just a window, a glimpse of what is to come. And to think our Russian asset isn’t here yet…
Are y’all ready to suffer?

I can honestly say that apart from Demidov, there is no prospect we could trade that would hurt. I want to see what Hage or Reinbacher become....but if we traded them for obvious upgrades, well.......