Player Discussion Most disappointing Hughes Acquisition (All Michkov talk here)

[Egresch]

People saying Slaf must be really crazy. Kid broke several club records last year and still looks like the best player of his draft class.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Reinbacher over Michkov is the only move I haven't liked WITHOUT HINDSIGHT when it was done,

I did not mind the Newhook and Dach gambles or even the Lekhonen return at the time but its not looking great , good thing the jury isin't out on anybody yet

 

[Bombshell11]

Newhook is the worst trade, 2 first round picks (essentially) for a guy we had no need of and who's biggest asset is to be Hughes boy.

Dach was an investement at a real top6 potential.

Slaf, its not the pick my issue, its the developement path they choose for him. It was bad based on his IQ.

Reinbacker was the dumbest pick, even if he was a good RD, why pick him at 5? Trade down and get him later. Why pass on so much offensive talent?

Not grabbing Michkov was for sure the most questionable decision rhey've made and this is not hindsight, we all knew

 

[yianik]

I guess an issue for me is that I dont know what Hughes knew and that has relevance for me.

When Bergevin traded Sergachev for Drouin I saw us as being in very bad shape on the D and we traded our best D prospect by far for a winger. All I needed to know to say lousy trade.

Hughes comes in and we are depleted at D and C in terms of prospects and thats about having both quality and quantity of darts. Aside from a " never trade with Sakic" view, I didnt have an issue with the Barron trade and Dach move. Remember, 2 years ago in his first season Dach played a lot better than in his time with the Hawks and that is a reason we had pretty high expectations for him last year. You know, not everything works out, and while we need results a good part of the time, the biggest consideration is if the move made sense at the time. I liked Romanov but it was reasonable to trade him for a potential top 6C. I think Dach would be a different and better player if not for the injury last year.

My real question is on Michkov. We were not the only team to pass on him, I know , but why did we pass on him ? I dont know if we will ever know. But, I also know we passed on Wright and while time will tell, a few years after, it that appears to have been a real good move not taking Wright. Why we didnt I dont know, just like with Michkov. And we took a big RHD over Michkov. With everything else Hughes has done and from what I understand of the guy, he gets the benefit of the doubt.

 

[teamfirst]

Yeah, I don't see how Lek would've done anything for us here. He was able to elevate his game with better players and that's great but he wasn't doing that here and we were rebuilding.

People want to see more from Baron which is understandable but that guy's still so young. Plus we got Hage out of this... Even if Baron doesn't turn into anything, we didn't give up much and we got Hage. Is there anyone who wouldn't do this trade again?

That's why i think the Newhook trade was a bad one cuz we could have use those 2 draft picks to get something like Hage

 

[ReHabs]

People saying Slaf must be really crazy. Kid broke several club records last year and still looks like the best player of his draft class.

One of these players is Slafkovsky and the other was NOT recently given a talking-to by his GM for his lackluster efforts and play.

 

[Kosseca]

Yeah, I don't see how Lek would've done anything for us here. He was able to elevate his game with better players and that's great but he wasn't doing that here and we were rebuilding.

People want to see more from Baron which is understandable but that guy's still so young. Plus we got Hage out of this... Even if Baron doesn't turn into anything, we didn't give up much and we got Hage. Is there anyone who wouldn't do this trade again?

The problem is not to have traded Lehk, it is the return for the player. I disagree very much on Barron's potential to improve. I dont see the defense IQ, execution speed to have any success in a role.

Now, saying we got Hage because of that deal is a stretch. We traded away the 2nd round pick, but the deal could have been done for other assets or another pick.

You can define desapointment in many way, I chose to look at it in term of delta between what we gave and what we got and this to me the worst

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

That's why i think the Newhook trade was a bad one cuz we could have use those 2 draft picks to get something like Hage

Newhook may wind up not working out. I think he'll be a good depth scorer which is what we were looking for but we'll see. We didn't give up much to get him.

Dach's a different story. Based on what we knew I was a little worried about the wrist injury. But that's turned out not to be a problem. That SHOULD have worked out. If it doesn't though, it's expensive. Nezar will play with Bedard and I think we all knew that he'd pan out. Plus Romanov... expensive acquisition.

 

[Kennerback]

I’m underwhelmed by Dach, Newhook.
I still love the Slaf pick but he needs to shoot so much more and hustle. Cooley’s not my cup of tea.
I think Barron is the one that I want gone. I’ve seen enough. Beating a dead horse thinking he’s McDonagh or Beauchemin.

I was the most aggressive pro-Michkov promoter on draft day. I believed they fell on their head if they drafted anyone else. I still do if they really believed he wasn’t BPA.
But in a cap NHL, with Demidov and Laine, this is not catastrophic at all. Like Laine, Michkov is a head case. We’ll need to sign all these players. Can we sign Demidov, Laine, Michkov and have room for a balanced team? I’m very skeptical.

 

[teamfirst]

Newhook may wind up not working out. I think he'll be a good depth scorer which is what we were looking for but we'll see. We didn't give up much to get him.

Dach's a different story. Based on what we knew I was a little worried about the wrist injury. But that's turned out not to be a problem. That SHOULD have worked out. If it doesn't though, it's expensive. Nezar will play with Bedard and I think we all knew that he'd pan out. Plus Romanov... expensive acquisition.

Bolded is where i completly disagree with you, if the 2nd we acquired from Colorado in the lekhy trade gave us the chance to pick Hage imagine what a late 1st and early second could have gave us.

 

[David Suzuki]

Concluding on Hugo's resume at this stage is like concluding that your kid is a disappointment on their 2nd birthday.

yeah you gotta wait until they start playing hockey to call them a disappointment

 

[Frankenheimer]

The only move that made me question management was selecting Reinbacher over Mitchkov. I think they've handled every other deal or move relatively well and within an acceptable margin of error. But there's still a lot of time to see the evolution of that pick. I mean, nobody in their right mind would have picked Victor Hedman ahead of John Tavares, but Hedman turned out to be the more valuable player in the long run.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The problem is not to have traded Lehk, it is the return for the player. I disagree very much on Barron's potential to improve. I dont see the defense IQ, execution speed to have any success in a role.

With Baron... I don't know. I don't think anyone does. And he may even get dealt away as part of something else.

I mean, when you make a trade like this you're going to want prospects, picks or a combination of both in return. They chose to go with a big, speedy, skilled right shot blueliner. There were question marks but the potential was there. I have no problem with my GM making that kind of move. But you could very well be right that it won't work out.

Now, saying we got Hage because of that deal is a stretch. We traded away the 2nd round pick, but the deal could have been done for other assets or another pick.

You can define desapointment in many way, I chose to look at it in term of delta between what we gave and what we got and this to me the worst

We leveraged that asset to move up. That's just a fact. Could we have used something else? Maybe... but I don't think a 3rd rounder would've worked. At a minimum it helped get us Hage.

Anyways, it's fine. This isn't one I would undo but you're free to disagree.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Bolded is where i completly disagree with you, if the 2nd we acquired from Colorado in the lekhy trade gave us the chance to pick Hage imagine what a late 1st and early second could have gave us.

That pick was combined with a first. So yes, we could've used it as currency to get something else... but that's what we did in getting Newhook. If you're saying we shoud've leveraged it for something else, that's fine. But I'm not sure what you think two 2nds will get you.

We wanted a young secondary scorer. We paid a fair price for him. I doubt we'll miss what we gave up but you never know. We got Hutson 62nd overall so...

 

[rahad]

Because they saw higher upside/value in Newhook than whoever would've been drafted with the two picks in the 30s.. the odds of getting a very good player in the 30s are very low and you are lucky to even get a regular NHL player around then. Newhook is still only 23 and has 21 goals and 40 points in 82 games here, I won't be surprised if he has a better career than anyone drafted in the 30s where we would've picked if we didn't make the trade.

He has in decline. A late first round pick should have been enough. Why take chance in another small forward when we already have Caufield, RHP, Gally.... I would have preferred Kent to go after Dylan Holloway. It barely costed a third round for the Blues. A late first and a early second would have been good enough to trade for Dylan.

 

[sampollock]

seems the way all posts are that Michkov will break KH as a GM here

 

[Ozmodiar]

Concluding on Hugo's resume at this stage is like concluding that your kid is a disappointment on their 2nd birthday.

Considering the avg life expectancy of an NHL GM is 5.5 years, it’s more like - your 40 yr old kid is a disappointment because they still live in the basement and wet the bed.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

People saying Slaf must be really crazy. Kid broke several club records last year and still looks like the best player of his draft class.

Lol what records? The slowest (in terms of in-season games) to get to 20 goals in a season (340th out of 340 times a habs player scored 20 goals or more)?

 

[Whitesnake]

I was so hyped about Dach last year. Coming into the season I thought he was going to crush it. He absolutely smashed it in preseason. Seemed to really be clicking with Slaf. I was so excited. And then... boom. Injury.

The player we've seen this year? I just don't know who this guy is.

My issue would not be about timing. It,s about effort. It,s about insisting to win battles. It,s about all of this that shouldn't be an issue with being hurt. UNLESS....he's now afraid. Afraid of being hurt. Which just reduce by 3/4 his effort levels 'cause he doesn't want to be put in a position to be hurt....which you have to hope will take 1 year to fix...and then he'll be back to what he should be next year.

But him and Slaf are right now just in watch mode. Scary.

 

[JianYang]

Considering the avg life expectancy of an NHL GM is 5.5 years, it’s more like - your 40 yr old kid is a disappointment because they still live in the basement and wet the bed.

To put that average into context:

Not everybody comes into the job at the same stage of the compeitive cycle. Hugo started at a time where 3 pillars were lost over one summer for nothing so they were pretty close to ground zero.

The leash ought to be alot shorter on someone who steps into a job where ownership is expecting immediate results versus someone who is working under the madate to rebuild the program.

 

[Whitesnake]

People saying Slaf must be really crazy. Kid broke several club records last year and still looks like the best player of his draft class.

Best player of his draft class, the 2022 draft class, is just as relevant as panicking because Poehling scores 3 goals or because Hutson looked bad in 1 or 2 shifts. Cooley as a better PPG ratio. D-men like Mateychuck and Mintyukov will most likely look better when all is said and done. But let's be honest....2022 will most likely be seen as one of the weakest draft in history. Being better or top 5 or top 10 won't be the scouts fault, they have to work with what's given to them....but in the grand scheme of forming a championship winning team....it won't be as defining as most drafts are.

I still will be behind Slaf and think he's a fine player. He worries me a little...but still believe in him and think he will be serviceable. But he has to f***ing play like he f***ing means it and like he can destroy everybdoy. Way too shy right now. The cockiness in his talking attitude as to be transformed into cockiness in the ice.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Best player of his draft class, the 2022 draft class, is just as relevant as panicking because Poehling scores 3 goals or because Hutson looked bad in 1 or 2 shifts. Cooley as a better PPG ratio. D-men like Mateychuck and Mintyukov will most likely look better when all is said and done. But let's be honest....2022 will most likely be seen as one of the weakest draft in history. Being better or top 5 or top 10 won't be the scouts fault, they have to work with what's given to them....but in the grand scheme of forming a championship winning team....it won't be as defining as most drafts are.

I still will be behind Slaf and think he's a fine player. He worries me a little...but still believe in him and think he will be serviceable. But he has to f***ing play like he f***ing means it and like he can destroy everybdoy. Way too shy right now. The cockiness in his talking attitude as to be transformed into cockiness in the ice.

I've changed my mind on this... I think Hutson will be the best player in that draft. He's just ridiculously good.

 

[themilosh]

Newhook may wind up not working out. I think he'll be a good depth scorer which is what we were looking for but we'll see. We didn't give up much to get him.

Dach's a different story. Based on what we knew I was a little worried about the wrist injury. But that's turned out not to be a problem. That SHOULD have worked out. If it doesn't though, it's expensive. Nezar will play with Bedard and I think we all knew that he'd pan out. Plus Romanov... expensive acquisition.

I actially feel Newhook is like Lekhonen.. i serviceable 3rd liner who can slot into top 6 in case of injury

 

[Theodore450]

Dach admitted his injury was his fault because he thought he was closer to the boards so he tried jumping out of the hit only to explode his knee, he hurt himself really


Chantal bragged to the media about her influence in nixxing a trade that would have made the public upset

Is that true? The Chantal part?

Newhook is the worst trade, 2 first round picks (essentially) for a guy we had no need of and who's biggest asset is to be Hughes boy.

Dach was an investement at a real top6 potential.

Slaf, its not the pick my issue, its the developement path they choose for him. It was bad based on his IQ.

Reinbacker was the dumbest pick, even if he was a good RD, why pick him at 5? Trade down and get him later. Why pass on so much offensive talent?

Not grabbing Michkov was for sure the most questionable decision rhey've made and this is not hindsight, we all knew

The worst part about the Newhook trade. Is everyone screaming how we needed cap space.
That’s the reason Lehky had to go.
The reason poeils had to be sacrificed

All that to waste assets on a guy that won’t be here when where good

 

[Habs13]

Michkov.