Official Tank Thread

[habamillions]

Huge game tomorrow. Sabres have lost 10 straight and only 1 point ahead of mtl.

 

[Habby4Life]

Two terrible teams might turn into a half decent game. Since this is the tank thread, I’m not interested in 2 useless points.

If there is a game the habs bet 30+ shots, this should be it.

 

[themilosh]

For a tanking team to become a contender, it probably needs to spend a season (or more) on the bubble in between.

Intermediate value theorem - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

I kind of like how NJ has done it.. Two years ago they made the playoffs, only to crash again last year picking Silayev. It was a blip, they added a hulking Dman (who is still a few years away) and this year they are cup contenders. They spent zero time in the no-mans land.

 

[DAChampion]

I kind of like how NJ has done it.. Two years ago they made the playoffs, only to crash again last year picking Silayev. It was a blip, they added a hulking Dman (who is still a few years away) and this year they are cup contenders. They spent zero time in the no-mans land.

How did they do it? Was their crash just a fluke?

 

[LaP]

How did they do it? Was their crush just a fluke?

They got a goalie and some depth vet dmen but honestly the goalie is the main difference along with the return of hamilton who was injured most of last year. Last year was just a young team learning to handle pressure. That all there was to it imo.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

They got a goalie and some depth vet dmen but honestly the goalie is the main difference along with the return of hamilton who was injured most of last year. Last year was just a young team learning to handle pressure. That all there was to it imo.

Hughes was hurt I believe.

 

[DAChampion]

They got a goalie and some depth vet dmen but honestly the goalie is the main difference along with the return of hamilton who was injured most of last year. Last year was just a young team learning to handle pressure. That all there was to it imo.

Hughes was hurt I believe.

Sounds like the Devils are not a model for the Habs.

 

[The Last Red]

I kind of like how NJ has done it.. Two years ago they made the playoffs, only to crash again last year picking Silayev. It was a blip, they added a hulking Dman (who is still a few years away) and this year they are cup contenders. They spent zero time in the no-mans land.

They drafted Jack Hughes. Helps.

 

[Miller Time]

How did they do it? Was their crash just a fluke?

2015 - 6oa
2016 - 12oa
2017 - 1oa
2018 - 17oa
2019 - 1oa
2020 - 7oa, 18oa, 20oa
2021 - 4oa & 29oa
2022 - 2oa
2023 - traded 1st for Timo Meier
2024 - 3oa
2025 - traded 1st for Markstrom

Since 2015
2 playoff appearances, 1 playoff round won.

Being bad for a long time certainly can fill a roster with young talent... but doesn't insulate a team from the inevitable ups and downs that goes with a younger roster.

 

[DAChampion]

2015 - 6oa
2016 - 12oa
2017 - 1oa
2018 - 17oa
2019 - 1oa
2020 - 7oa, 18oa, 20oa
2021 - 4oa & 29oa
2022 - 2oa
2023 - traded 1st for Timo Meier
2024 - 3oa
2025 - traded 1st for Markstrom

Since 2015
2 playoff appearances, 1 playoff round won.

Being bad for a long time certainly can fill a roster with young talent... but doesn't insulate a team from the inevitable ups and downs that goes with a younger roster.

Ok then I agree with @themilosh , the Devils might be a model for the Habs.

 

[Miller Time]

Ok then I agree with @themilosh , the Devils might be a model for the Habs.

That'd be a disappointment frankly.

Hopefully (& I'd bullishly say likely) we're much faster to becoming a regular playoff team and a contender

They are in year ten... We're midway through year 3.

 

[DAChampion]

That'd be a disappointment frankly.

Hopefully (& I'd bullishly say likely) we're much faster to becoming a regular playoff team and a contender

They are in year ten... We're midway through year 3.

Depends if you include Sergachev and Kotkaniemi.

 

[HabzSauce]

I don’t know, we will see. I’d be more than ok with signing Evans.

As I see it know, they have NS 1c, no 2c, maybe Beck as 3c, and I like Evans at 4. If Beck falters or gets hurt whatever, Evans can move up.

I’m high on evans. He works really hard, never takes a night off, and since he has come into the league he has progressed. He in my opinion is a great depth bottom 6 guy. Good on PK too.

I’m hoping they snag a legit C at the draft. I would love it if somehow they got Misa

Evans is the perfect vet. This team will need him, the kids we have hopes for in filling bottom 6 will still need many more years before being impact players

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Evans is the perfect vet. This team will need him, the kids we have hopes for in filling bottom 6 will still need many more years before being impact players

No they won't. 2 years at the most and a few will be ready.

 

[HabzSauce]

No they won't. 2 years at the most and a few will be ready.

That's far from a guarantee. If there's anything we should have learned this past year is not to count your eggs before they hatch.

Dach, Roy, newhook - a lot of Habs fans including myself thought they would take that next step this year. Dach and Roy especially were being looked at as core pieces moving forward. Well, they are all ass this year lol. Dach still has a chance to be something good but the other two are junk.

Florian, Tuch, Davidson, etc - looking good but who knows. Even if they hit, they will be rooks. Let's surround them with some vets too. Evans is just one guy. Still 5 other spots.

 

[RationalExpectations]

I'd be disappointed if we didn't at least get Misa at the 2025 draft, even if there are other excellent players beyond Misa, Martone, Hagens and Schaefer. I'd hope to get a Desnoyers with the CAL pick, even if it meant moving up a bit by adding a 2nd round pick at that point.

Winning a look at Misa with a lottery win (not dreaming the dream of 1st OA and Hagens), getting Desnoyers with the CAL pick and, somehow, landing another 1st round pick (trading Matheson at the deadline) that nets us Carbonneau to boot would be a dream draft:

C-line in four years: Misa - Suzuki - Desnoyers - Beck (wow potential!)
Scoring wingers for the top-6: Caufield, Laine, Demidov, Slafkovsky
Potential Mid-6 wingers: Hage, Carbonneau, Roy
Bottom-6 wingers: Davidson, Xhekaj

Demidov - Misa - Laine
Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsky
Roy/Hage - Desnoyers - Carbonneau
Davidson - Beck - F.Xjekaj/Roy

I really like the idea of a Quebec line of Roy - Desnoyers - Carbonneau as a two-way line with legitimate offensive upside beyond the top-6.

Even if we don't land Desnoyers, we should do our utmost to draft Carbonneau. With Misa as a gift, we would still have huge depth at C and could ice:

Demidov - Misa - Laine
Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsky
Roy - Hage - Carbonneau
Davidson - Beck - F.Xjekaj

Glorious post, showing that for some fans winning is not important at all anymore, the Fantasy of Potential wins in the future is more important.

First step : Don t care about what is on the ice, current prospect pool will be glorious and win a SC in a few years

Second step : The prospect pool is too bad, nothing we can do about it but let s start thinking about what the prospect pool would look like. Oh yeah those guys that the Habs may never draft will make a glorious team for the Habs…

 

[Miller Time]

Depends if you include Sergachev and Kotkaniemi.

Not really... That's apples to oranges.

 

[Lshap]

I kind of like how NJ has done it.. Two years ago they made the playoffs, only to crash again last year picking Silayev. It was a blip, they added a hulking Dman (who is still a few years away) and this year they are cup contenders. They spent zero time in the no-mans land.

New Jersey adding a monster D like Silayev is a great bonus for a team that learned how to win two years ago. Last year, NJ crashed because of injuries, goaltending, and the natural swings of development. It didn't matter, because their core already proved they had the talent to win. Silayev will join a roster of young players who've already taken the next step and are poised to jump to the next tier – playoffs/contender.

Montreal's core is younger than NJ's. We're still waiting for this roster to learn how to win, or at least win enough games to climb out of the bottom. Yes, continued failure gets us another top pick in 2025, but finishing at the bottom again means a few key players stagnated or regressed. Personally, I'd rather see Slafkovsky, Dach, Newhook take the next step, rather than watch them flounder and add a potential top player for the future.

Ideally we can get both. We grab another future star and our current young players figure things out a year later. However, it's a fragile balance between the benefits of tanking versus the benefits of learning to win, because each year a player stagnates lowers the odds of them reaching their ceiling.

 

[teamfirst]

That's far from a guarantee. If there's anything we should have learned this past year is not to count your eggs before they hatch.

Dach, Roy, newhook - a lot of Habs fans including myself thought they would take that next step this year. Dach and Roy especially were being looked at as core pieces moving forward. Well, they are all ass this year lol. Dach still has a chance to be something good but the other two are junk.

Florian, Tuch, Davidson, etc - looking good but who knows. Even if they hit, they will be rooks. Let's surround them with some vets too. Evans is just one guy. Still 5 other spots.

So true, you'd think that people would have learned that by now.

 

[teamfirst]

Glorious post, showing that for some fans winning is not important at all anymore, the Fantasy of Potential wins in the future is more important.

First step : Don t care about what is on the ice, current prospect pool will be glorious and win a SC in a few years

Second step : The prospect pool is too bad, nothing we can do about it but let s start thinking about what the prospect pool would look like. Oh yeah those guys that the Habs may never draft will make a glorious team for the Habs…

For some it"s.......never lives in the present when you can dream a better future.

 

[Sorinth]

I kind of like how NJ has done it.. Two years ago they made the playoffs, only to crash again last year picking Silayev. It was a blip, they added a hulking Dman (who is still a few years away) and this year they are cup contenders. They spent zero time in the no-mans land.

NJ also moved up from 3rd to 1st twice to get both Hischer and J. Hughes, and then from 5th to 2nd to get Nemec. Not sure that's a strategy you can actually copy.

 

[Rapala]

Two terrible teams might turn into a half decent game. Since this is the tank thread, I’m not interested in 2 useless points.

If there is a game the habs bet 30+ shots, this should be it.

I've actually been impressed at just how bad the two terrible teams games have been playing out this season.

 

[LaP]

NJ also moved up from 3rd to 1st twice to get both Hischer and J. Hughes, and then from 5th to 2nd to get Nemec. Not sure that's a strategy you can actually copy.

Well i guess you can but that would require some hitmen, lot of cash and corrupted NHL officials.

 

[themilosh]

Ok then I agree with @themilosh , the Devils might be a model for the Habs.

Th8s seems to be the course we are on. Once our draft picks start merging with our aging core, we will be making waves.
Until then, we "still" are dealing with insane vet contracts, of which *(said Vets) provide nothing of value. Think about that.. btw Andy, Army, Dvo, and Gally, close to $25MILLION. this is INSANITY.. and they offer nothing. Total MB school of business. Similar to Crystia Freeland - Finance Minister, with no formal Finance training.
What did people expect was going to happen?
This is why our country is in dire straits rn.

 

[Miller Time]

For some it"s.......never lives in the present when you can dream a better future.

Worse is the notion held by some that it's always either/or... Nuance and context are hard to grasp apparently, even though that's exactly what the best run organizations understand better than others