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In the meantime, feel free to join our Discord ServerAwesome! And you know what, Gio (showing why he is captain) is the type of guy to lift Chara off of him and fight for the puck. Always amazes me how much effort he gives. I know people don't like to throw the Koivu card around (FTR I'm "that generation" too and he's my all time fav.), but when you look at positives, Gio's work ethic and playing like he's 6'2 is one. Excited to see him healthy again.
This site is full of drama queens...as soon as a comment in read on a messageboard it turns into fact.(...Subban wants Doughty money!!! Let's trade him!!!).
As soon as a player is quoted being pissed at the lock out or the CBA it's a big deal and needs it's own thread(...Cole wants to retire!!!).
Some rogue reporter quotes "anonymous sources" saying one of our top prospects is getting "abused"."...OMG I can't believe Lefevre and Brisebois are yelling at LeBlanc...fire them alll!!!).
Like...wow...just wow!
This site is full of drama queens...as soon as a comment in read on a messageboard it turns into fact.(...Subban wants Doughty money!!! Let's trade him!!!).
As soon as a player is quoted being pissed at the lock out or the CBA it's a big deal and needs it's own thread(...Cole wants to retire!!!).
Some rogue reporter quotes "anonymous sources" saying one of our top prospects is getting "abused"."...OMG I can't believe Lefevre and Brisebois are yelling at LeBlanc...fire them alll!!!).
Like...wow...just wow!
It can ALL be made up and fake, but it's out there. And when it's out there, people talk about it. And when people talk about it, the media starts to blow it out of proportion. And that creates off ice problems and starts rumours and BAM, before you know it, Cammalleri is traded for Bourque.
I think it is a much better time than we have seen for years.
- Bourque, Kaberle, Pacioretty and Eller all look to be in great shape/health.
- Gaineys mark is almost gone from the team.
- Manangment will treat the team like a business and not an "old boys" club.
- Lots of picks for the future.
- NO ONE is bigger than the team.
I for one am optimistic.
I've never seen you be optimistic about the habs ever before. This is promising.
Perhaps I'm being overly pessimistic, but I can't shake the feeling that things are off to a terrible start this year.
Cole is unhappy, allegedly considering retirement...I worry about him mailing in the season.
One of our top prospects in Leblanc is apparently being bullied and tormented to the point of having a fractured psyche in Hamilton.
One of the main pieces of our core hasn't signed yet and there are all kinds of rumours of him being disliked by the team (which I don't fully buy, but I don't like to hear about it).
Gomez being sent home...Yes most fans are happy about it, but Gomez was very well liked in the room and had a lot of friends. I'm sure most realize that it's business but I'm betting they aren't thrilled with how it went down.
Honestly, things look to be headed south. For the best I guess, I mean at this point I prefer if they tank and get a Seth Jones or a Drouin/McKinnon, but the "fan" in me hates to see the team lose.
In some ways I feel we are seeing the beginning of the end of this current "era" of the Habs. The era of Gionta-Gomez-Plekanec-Markov... The new era will soon begin centred around Price, Pacioretty, Subban and (hopefully) Galchenyuk.
Regardless of how you feel about individual players, it makes me sad to see the cracks beginning to form in the foundation of this team. It will all be for the best, I'm sure, but I hate seeing it anyways.
And honestly...It'll probably get pretty ugly over the next 2 years.
Not sure I agree with this right here. The only thing the habs need to really improve is their winger depth (I'm saying this with respect to having a stable team again in the short term, there is still a lot of work to be done), whether it is through the draft, via trade or UFA. I like and am comfortable with the depth on defense in the prospect pool (Tinordi, Ellis, Beaulieu Pateryn...though Patty is more of a long shot than the former 3). Our current D has okay d-men but they don't mesh well as a unit because they're all the same.
I'm also comfortable with the centre depth with Desharnais, Plekanec, Eller and especially if Galchenyuk develops the way we expect.
This year our team is crap on paper and will probably be crap. There's a lot of work to do, but I don't think the next two years will be hell. Like I said, the winger depth is abysmal. We have Pacioretty, that's it. The rest are older declining vets: Gionta, Cole, Bourque. Maybe a Kristo surprises us next year? Even so, a lot of work is needed on the wings.
t
Andy I do not get you...
seems like you love nothing more to argue relentlessly that previous management was not "that" bad..."
and yet here you flat out state that "this year our team is crap on paper and will probably be crap"?
would a good (or even average) management team put together a crap team? (while benefiting from solid drafting, and years of cap ceiling spending?)
Of course, they sold their offensive depth and never fixed the problem on defense. If the D-core was better (hey for all we know, Diaz and Emelin progress well, Markov stays healthy and it works) I wouldn't be surprised to see the current team squeak into the playoffs. I think the forward group can be (if arranged properly with Cole and Pacioretty spread out) good enough to make this a 7th-8th-9th place team as it isn't any worse than the forward group we have in 09-10 with Eastern Conference birth.MB hasn't added much to the team this year, but aside from Gomez (and Darche), he hasn't gotten rid of anything he inherited.
Gainey/Gauthier built this "crap on paper" team... and they did so despite having some of the best resources available to them compared to their peers ($$, draft/scouting team strength, organizational/legacy appeal).
Perhaps I'm being overly pessimistic, but I can't shake the feeling that things are off to a terrible start this year.
Cole is unhappy, allegedly considering retirement...I worry about him mailing in the season.
One of our top prospects in Leblanc is apparently being bullied and tormented to the point of having a fractured psyche in Hamilton.
One of the main pieces of our core hasn't signed yet and there are all kinds of rumours of him being disliked by the team (which I don't fully buy, but I don't like to hear about it).
Gomez being sent home...Yes most fans are happy about it, but Gomez was very well liked in the room and had a lot of friends. I'm sure most realize that it's business but I'm betting they aren't thrilled with how it went down.
Honestly, things look to be headed south. For the best I guess, I mean at this point I prefer if they tank and get a Seth Jones or a Drouin/McKinnon, but the "fan" in me hates to see the team lose.
In some ways I feel we are seeing the beginning of the end of this current "era" of the Habs. The era of Gionta-Gomez-Plekanec-Markov... The new era will soon begin centred around Price, Pacioretty, Subban and (hopefully) Galchenyuk.
Regardless of how you feel about individual players, it makes me sad to see the cracks beginning to form in the foundation of this team. It will all be for the best, I'm sure, but I hate seeing it anyways.
And honestly...It'll probably get pretty ugly over the next 2 years.
I get labeled as a lover only because I didn't speak in hyperbole's when old management was here. To say that team is currently crap is not say that it was crap every single year from 2003-2012. 07-08-08-09 had good teams on paper (only one of those years were successful). 09-10 the habs got lucky and I thought that 10-11 the team was trending upwards (they were actually a very good team despite losing Markov and Gorges) until the Pacioretty injury. Management in 11-12 took the right move in bringing Cole, but made a wrong move in not getting a Hamrlik type (when Hamrlik was at the top his game here) replacement on D and banking everything on Markov being healthy, which I explained a thousand times before that season started. We finished last and the team gutted its depth on the wings by dumping Andrei and Cammalleri. And of course, the defense was never fixed from the start. I never said the management was exceptional, I just said they weren't nearly as bad as what they have been portrayed as by Habs fans. Apparently this last statement means I think the management is awesome.
They made some good moves and some bad ones. Gainey and Gauthier's plans failed in the end and now they are gone and it happens.
The forward depth at the start of last season was good. It was finally refreshing to see the team have 3 potential scoring lines (and well balanced ones at that) after the team had signed Cole, but Gauthier gambled everything on Markov being healthy and lost spectacularly. Also selling depth when you are not in a playoff position generally will make your team weaker. The defense of the current team isn't built very well (a problem which I admitted several times before the last season started, but I guess since I'm a "Gauthier-Gainey lover/apologizer" etc etc everyone overlooked how many times I said that the defense needed work BEFORE 11-12 season started). Losing Gill, who isn't the best d-man in the world, but does make the D a lot better, at least if he would be at his level just the year prior to last season, doesn't make the current D-core look any better.
TOf course, they sold their offensive depth and never fixed the problem on defense. If the D-core was better (hey for all we know, Diaz and Emelin progress well, Markov stays healthy and it works) I wouldn't be surprised to see the current team squeak into the playoffs. I think the forward group can be (if arranged properly with Cole and Pacioretty spread out) good enough to make this a 7th-8th-9th place team as it isn't any worse than the forward group we have in 09-10 with Eastern Conference birth.
TAnyway, s**t happens. They had a plan it didn't work out and we move on. The are in a transition period, but the core is there and it's not as though there isn't anything to work with. The only place that needs significant work is winger depth. Defense could use some work, but I'd rather they just stand pat on the front and wait for Beaulieu, Tinordi and Ellis to develop. I think the centre depth is good for once. Of course there is always room for improvement, even the best teams, but I would be more than comfortable with Desharnais-Plekanec-Eller and Galchenyuk as my centre depth, especially if Galchenyuk develops into what we expect him to, let's hope.
Awesome! And you know what, Gio (showing why he is captain) is the type of guy to lift Chara off of him and fight for the puck. Always amazes me how much effort he gives. I know people don't like to throw the Koivu card around (FTR I'm "that generation" too and he's my all time fav.), but when you look at positives, Gio's work ethic and playing like he's 6'2 is one. Excited to see him healthy again.