My greater theory about Kent Hughes & 'CULTURE'

[gravitas]

Yeah, leave culture to artists and petri dishes. Seems like their concern is to build a team filled with agreeable types that are nice to each other and ok with losing instead of players eager to win above all else. They're rebuilding like an HR department would. While Flyers fans drool over Michkov highlights people here drool over inconsequential shit like locker room "culture." It's sad.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Yeah, leave culture to artists and petri dishes. Seems like their concern is to build a team filled with agreeable types that are nice to each other and ok with losing instead of players eager to win above all else. They're rebuilding like an HR department would. While Flyers fans drool over Michkov highlights people here drool over inconsequential shit like locker room "culture." It's sad.

I was listening to to Tom Fitzgerald's interview during the draft coverage, and when you compare what he had to say to what Bobrov and Lapointe and Hughes talk about, the difference was night and day.

Here we talk about culture and the little things, and character, and ''tie breakers'' and the list goes on. Tom Fitzgerald said ''who has the most upside?'' End of story.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

What part of the following is unclear to you: vegas had 4 forwards who scored 10 or more goals, who accounted for more than 50% of their goals scored. Three of them were over PPG in the playoffs, and the team scored way more goals than any other team in the playoffs.

The lesson from this is that we shouldn't have high scoring forwards, somehow?

Who scored them tho? A dude who's never cracked 65 pts, a dude who had a domi season with 75 pts once and gets around 65 pts a year, a PPG player nothing more nothing less, a dude who has 1 fluke season and regressed to his normal 50-60 pts seasons, Chandler Stephenson (nothing else to say)? Are these your kings?

 

[NotProkofievian]

Who scored them tho? A dude who's never cracked 65 pts, a dude who had a domi season with 75 pts once and gets around 65 pts a year, a PPG player nothing more nothing less, a dude who has 1 fluke season and regressed to his normal 50-60 pts seasons, Chandler Stephenson (nothing else to say)? Are these your kings?

Yes. Because they put the biscuit in the basket. No word on whether they're men of high culture or not, though.

 

[MonkeyBusiness]

Yes. Because they put the biscuit in the basket. No word on whether they're men of high culture or not, though.

Vegas went after Eichel, who was a pariah in Buffalo (not because of a lack talent, obviously). I'm sure when they did so they decided he was just what was needed for the locker room and "culture" of the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Habs management and scouting dep keep contradicting themselves. At first they said: We're going to draft the BPA. Then they decided that "culture" was the most important aspect and drafted with that in mind.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

Yes. Because they put the biscuit in the basket. No word on whether they're men of high culture or not, though.

My point is you don't need superstars to put the biscuit in the basket. You do need a great defence and a hot goalie though. Toronto is the case study of why superstars are overrated come playoffs if you don't have the defence or goaltending to back it up

 

[NotProkofievian]

My point is you don't need superstars to put the biscuit in the basket. You do need a great defence and a hot goalie though. Toronto is the case study of why superstars are overrated come playoffs if you don't have the defence or goaltending to back it up

Toronto will be the case study until they aren't anymore, at which point you will move on to the next star laden team who are still figuring things out.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

Toronto will be the case study until they aren't anymore, at which point you will move on to the next star laden team who are still figuring things out.

Listen I'm a Torontonian born and raised. I've followed the leafs as much as the Habs since I was a little kid. I've seen the leafs play live as much if not more than the Habs. The leafs are cursed. Nothing will make it better. The next time they win a cup, Auston Matthews will be retired from the nhl

 

[NotProkofievian]

Listen I'm a Torontonian born and raised. I've followed the leafs as much as the Habs since I was a little kid. I've seen the leafs play live as much if not more than the Habs. The leafs are cursed. Nothing will make it better. The next time they win a cup, Auston Matthews will be retired from the nhl

I'm curious, if you had the first overall pick, would you have taken Bedard, or do players like him just not win cups?

 

[Naslundforever]

Great, another Kent Hughes thread. As if there haven't been enough...

Character and a healthy locker room culture are both great, but you know what else is great? A potential superstar like Michkov considering how starved this franchise is for scoring.

The fact is that no one knows if Michkov's "red flags" are overblown or not. The board went the safe route and drafted for need, as simple as that. Looks like the habs got a great prospect in Reinbacher, but if Michkov turns into a ppg+ player then it's inexcusable.

I’ve already excused them and was bored hearing about the future Flyer in 3 years picked at 7 the instant Price fumbled « David… ». Speak for yourselves folks!

Now I’m just annoyed at the whining and can’t wait for y’all to just forget he ever existed.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

Hughes two biggest clients as an agent were Letang and Bergeron, two guys who are all about "culture" and have won cups. Having been close to them and seeing their success, it is probably why he values culture.. he then brought in MSL who was a great leader similar to Letang and Bergeron.

He took over a disaster of a team with tons of terrible contracts and no identity 18 months ago, so this isn't something that was going to change overnight.

It is similar to Bergevin's "character" obsession, however the biggest difference is Hughes wants guys with talent and culture (Suzuki, Matheson, Slaf, Reinbacher etc.) compared to Bergevin just focusing on the character part (Bouillon, Prust, Weise etc).

I agree that we also need to inject some pure talent in the future as well, however the way I see it is HuGo want to first lay the foundation first with the team culture.

 

[Barriwhite]

if you have confidence in your culture than you should be able to take risks on players who you think won’t fit into it inherently, otherwise what’s the point of culture?

Amen

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

I'm curious, if you had the first overall pick, would you have taken Bedard, or do players like him just not win cups?

That's a ridiculous question. I never once talked about certain players not being able to help win you cups. But if I honestly had the first overall pick, I'd trade it to the devil's if they're willing to give me both Hughes brothers, Nemec, and their next 10 first round picks. That was obviously hyperbolic but it was to prove a point that team building is much more important than just drafting individuals and hoping they win because they're ultra talented forwards with nothing else around them. The great thing about party Kane draft was Chicago had most of the future pieces they needed to win a cup already in their organization

 

[Tripledeke333]

I agree with you. Plus, HuGo exercise a lot of care to ensure harmony from a salary standpoint, with the recent Leafs tribulations serving as a cautionary tale.

This is actually one reason I like fading Mitchkov (I wanted Mitch though). If Mitch ends up like Panarin and demands a Panarin salary, he is less valuable. However, top Dmen are typically worth their cap hit, especially in the playoffs.

 

[The Real Timo]

This might be a stretch - and it could be the biggest cope I have ever typed in my entire life because we just passed on a potentially generational goal scorer to reach for a defenseman - BUT - hear me out.

With Bergevin, it was all about the CHaracter. With Hughes - it's CULTURE.

Inspired by wherein which Bobrov uses a specific word quite a few times - CULTURE.

Dach, Newhook, Slafkovsky, Beck and now seemingly Reinbacher (henceforth referred to as Dr/The Doctor) - all of these guys were acquired by Hughes - and they all have something in common. They're all charismatic, well spoken, mature players. They all seem like good kids - good teammates.

When you consider some of the other guys from Hughes past on our team - Farrell and Harris. It's the same thing. It's what Cole oozes in every interview. Guhle, despite being soft spoken - the same. It seems to be a recurring theme. I don't think Newhook was picked up at that price just because of his on-ice capabilities.

To really highlight where this comes from - after watching interviews with Reinbacher, there is a humbleness and eagerness to join the team. I think this pick is not just about addressing a serious need (RD) but about continuing to develop around a general philosophy; an almost Ted Lasso-ian focus on team building. I think Slaf fell into this same mold; just so much character and an eagerness to improve and be a good teammate.

Wright and Michkov will both be excellent players - hyper-competitive, skilled players who will excel in their own rights - but I think that the belief here might be that one well-oiled core is much more important than a single superstar cog.

Now - who knows if this will work out in the end - it will be interesting to see. Maybe this will all work in the end, and our doomsaying will be for nothing as we excitedly watch our team lift a cup.

Or, our team will be a perpetual bottom feeder and Michkov will become a perpetual threat to win the Rocket.

For what it's worth - agree with it or not - there is a plan here. Bergevin never really seemed to have a plan, so I will take a plan I disagree with over random over-corrections.

Basically... Habs will never win again.

 

[NotProkofievian]

That's a ridiculous question. I never once talked about certain players not being able to help win you cups. But if I honestly had the first overall pick, I'd trade it to the devil's if they're willing to give me both Hughes brothers, Nemec, and their next 10 first round picks. That was obviously hyperbolic but it was to prove a point that team building is much more important than just drafting individuals and hoping they win because they're ultra talented forwards with nothing else around them. The great thing about party Kane draft was Chicago had most of the future pieces they needed to win a cup already in their organization

It's just such obvious cope. Everyone would take Matthews, McDavid, Draisaitl, Pastrnak et al on their team if given their choice, and would move anything to get them. The reason we talk about culture instead of stars isn't because stars aren't important to win cups, they obviously are. It's because we can't get them.

 

[Habs Halifax]

What part of the following is unclear to you: vegas had 4 forwards who scored 10 or more goals, who accounted for more than 50% of their goals scored. Three of them were over PPG in the playoffs, and the team scored way more goals than any other team in the playoffs.

The lesson from this is that we shouldn't have high scoring forwards, somehow?

Interesting comparisons... Knights scored 88 goals this past playoffs and Habs scored 51 on our lucky run a few seasons ago. Tampa scored 75 that year.

Knights allowed 57 goals and Habs allowed 54.

 

[The Real Timo]

Strongly agree and disagree at the same time. You need a strong veterans presence that can command the locker room for that to happen. That veteran core is suzuki, Caufield, Guhle, etc. Unfortunately, they're a bunch of kids in their early 20s right now. So young players are less likely to follow lock and step compared to an aged vet who's been around the world. The "culture" that HuGo and the rest of management is spreading of is something their trying to create not something that materializes in 1.5 years of them being there.

Corey Perry was good for the culture and presumably wanted to come back... but Qtip passed on him too. Maybe there are different cultures.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Interesting comparisons... Knights scored 88 goals this past playoffs and Habs scored 51 on our lucky run a few seasons ago. Tampa scored 75 that year.

Knights allowed 57 goals and Habs allowed 54.

Every single time that we've gone on a run, we've had excellent team defence and goaltending, and every single time we've been stopped because we don't have the firepower to go toe to toe with a good team.

Hf habs conclusion? We don't need more firepower.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

It's just such obvious cope. Everyone would take Matthews, McDavid, Draisaitl, Pastrnak et al on their team if given their choice, and would move anything to get them. The reason we talk about culture instead of stars isn't because stars aren't important to win cups, they obviously are. It's because we can't get them.

I'm interested in Habs building an actual team. I've never seen it. I've seen Habs have a Hart trophy winner. Carey Price was generational. We got to see that. What did that bring us as fans. A whole lot of disappointment. I saw a few comments on this board a few months ago and I suspect a lot of Habs fans agree with it. The poster said they'd rather see a super exciting Habs team that doesn't win vs a more boring team that wins. Habs are looking to build a better version of the 2010s preds essentially. I wanted michkov, it's not cope, in a redraft I'd still take him at 5. But Im not arrogant enough to believe there is only one right way to building a successful team

 

[NotProkofievian]

I'm interested in Habs building an actual team. I've never seen it. I've seen Habs have a Hart trophy winner. Carey Price was generational. We got to see that. What did that bring us as fans. A whole lot of disappointment. I saw a few comments on this board a few months ago and I suspect a lot of Habs fans agree with it. The poster said they'd rather see a super exciting Habs team that doesn't win vs a more boring team that wins. Habs are looking to build a better version of the 2010s preds essentially. I wanted michkov, it's not cope, in a redraft I'd still take him at 5. But Im not arrogant enough to believe there is only one right way to building a successful team

A team that didn't win because they didn't have enough offensive firepower, yaaayyyy.

 

[Habs]

Just excuses for a failed draft, call it whatever you want. You don't rebuild around the 'safe pick' , you get offense, not looking to draft by position. We didn't draft another Seider, or Weber, I just don't see it at all. He was a 10th -20th pick, that we did a Kotkaniemi with because our scouts and GM 'know better' than all us pleebs who just watch the game.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Every single time that we've gone on a run, we've had excellent team defence and goaltending, and every single time we've been stopped because we don't have the firepower to go toe to toe with a good team.

Hf habs conclusion? We don't need more firepower.

Oh we do need more firepower. I wanted Michkov but I understand. Will he burn us? Very possible.
I got my eyes on how good Dach, Slaf, Roy, Beck will be and what we do in the next 3+ years. Those still will be rebuild/transition years.

I wonder about our ability to move out guys like Dvorak, Hoffman, Eddy, Armia and play younger guys. If we can accomplish this, we might be looking at another pick around 5

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

A team that didn't win because they didn't have enough offensive firepower, yaaayyyy.

That's why I said better version. That forward core was booty but made a finals just because of the D core and G essentially. That's how important those two positions are to playoff hockey. Same with Habs 2021. They had a top 4 D and a superstar goalie and made a finals. Now I do agree with your general point, you do need clutch forwards with skill to finish the job. I just think they're the least important ingredient.

 

[Maitz]

My theory is that HuGo wants to copy the Bruins culture, heavy on D and a good top 9 while not necessarily have a superstar « pre Pastrnak era » and guys that wants to win and not only think about themselves