Official Tank Thread

[habamillions]

Just layed my eyes on our next game , An afternoon game in Florida.

I'm already licking my chops drooling at this free scheduled loss. Let's go boys!

On commence l'année en force!

Then the next day vs tampa where dobes likely starts so can schedule that as a loss

 

[SwiftyHab]

Dobes got a shutout his first game!!

Shut this thread down!!!

 

[domiwroze]

 

[HabsCowboysOwn]

Plan the parade, we’re top contenders starting next year. All we need is goalies good enough to partially hide our flaws, worked so well with Price.

Screw another top 6 center, screw another top pairing D. Anything can happen in the playoffs baby.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Plan the parade, we’re top contenders starting next year. All we need is goalies good enough to partially hide our flaws, worked so well with Price.

Screw another top 6 center, screw another top pairing D. Anything can happen in the playoffs baby.

i think we’re going to have a much better club than we did in the 2010s where we relied way too much on Price.

Our first line already kicks the crap out of what we had. With Demidov coming, our second line will be better than the first we used to have. The forwards are infinitely better.

Defense? I think we’ll be better there too. Houston’s a superstar in the making. Ghule and RB should be solid. We’ve got good depth on the left side and Mailloux coming on the right. Matheson is a trade asset.

Depth wise we’ve got Beck, Heineman, Roy, Evans… not bad.

Obviously we don’t have Carey Price. Montambeault is good but not great. But there is Fowler coming.

It’d be great to have a high pick again but if we can see improvements now? It’s not so bad. I’d actually prefer it.

 

[ottawa]

Plan the parade, we’re top contenders starting next year. All we need is goalies good enough to partially hide our flaws, worked so well with Price.

Screw another top 6 center, screw another top pairing D. Anything can happen in the playoffs baby.

I'm convinced some of you don't even want a cup, just want to draft top 5 forever.

 

[waitin425]

Let's put the tank talk on the shelf until at least the Vegas game. If we lose tomorrow and New Years Eve, it's hopeless. If we win both...we in da mix

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Let's put the tank talk on the shelf until at least the Vegas game. If we lose tomorrow and New Years Eve, it's hopeless. If we win both...we in da mix

Not long ago we were saying playoffs were out of the question. Now people are saying the tank thread should be closed...

We will be consistently inconsistent. We have a brutal schedule coming up. I have the feeling this thread will get hot again soon.

 

[Lshap]

Plan the parade, we’re top contenders starting next year. All we need is goalies good enough to partially hide our flaws, worked so well with Price.

Screw another top 6 center, screw another top pairing D. Anything can happen in the playoffs baby.

The point of a rebuild is to have your young core succeed. That's exactly what's started happening this past month. You don't acquire top prospects and hope they stagnate so you can draft another top prospect.

 

[domiwroze]

Plan the parade, we’re top contenders starting next year. All we need is goalies good enough to partially hide our flaws, worked so well with Price.

Screw another top 6 center, screw another top pairing D. Anything can happen in the playoffs baby.

That's the spirit!

Jokes aside, our club right now is already better than the Price era, makes you think. Give Suzuki and Caufield to prime Price and we might have won one. Desharnais was our 1st C for f*** sakes

As for the top 6, I do believe in Hage and Demidov tho, i'll die on that hill : They are both homeruns. They have '' it '' on the eye test. We could also shop for a big Dman name from the UFA market, we are starting to look like an attractive place to play since Hughes took over.

We can't be losers for ever. I'm all in for the tank if they are simply not good enough. But cheering for them to roll over and lose almost on purpose is crazy to me. Last thing we should want from our club is to let go of their competitivity or you'll get period #3 against Pittsburgh all over again, that shit can't happen, ever.

 

[Frankenheimer]

Rough going in here. A lot of moping and such. Don't worry boys, business will pick up soon.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

This definitely isn't the year to tank. Reminds me of 2012. If habs can get to at least point per game, I'll be pleased. Plus gotta factor in the Calgary pick. If that lands in the 13-15 range and Habs get 7-10, nobody should be mad

 

[DAChampion]

I appreciate the team not quitting. They could have just gone for another top pick instead they're going to try and improve.

 

[HabsCowboysOwn]

i think we’re going to have a much better club than we did in the 2010s where we relied way too much on Price.

Our first line already kicks the crap out of what we had. With Demidov coming, our second line will be better than the first we used to have. The forwards are infinitely better.

Defense? I think we’ll be better there too. Houston’s a superstar in the making. Ghule and RB should be solid. We’ve got good depth on the left side and Mailloux coming on the right. Matheson is a trade asset.

Depth wise we’ve got Beck, Heineman, Roy, Evans… not bad.

Obviously we don’t have Carey Price. Montambeault is good but not great. But there is Fowler coming.

It’d be great to have a high pick again but if we can see improvements now? It’s not so bad. I’d actually prefer it.

I'd feel a lot better if free agency was an option to fill up the holes we have left but unless things change drastically and players line up to come here all of the sudden it isn't. A 2nd line center could come in a trade I guess but a top pairing D is very unlikely. Hopefully what we have now is enough, I just don't see it. Not yet at least.

Maybe Hage can become that top 6 center for us, don't like putting all our eggs in one basket though. Defensively I really like Huston and Guhle, Reinbacher is a huge question mark at this point and I won't feel good about him until I see him play and perform.

I sincerely hope it all works out and we don't end up in that ''good enough to make the playoffs, not good enough to win anything'' zone again.

I'm convinced some of you don't even want a cup, just want to draft top 5 forever.

You don't know me so please don't act like you do. Last time I checked this is still the tank thread, it boggles my mind that some of you keep opening it expecting a positivy circle jerk where everyone shares your opinion and optimistic outlook on the team.

The point of a rebuild is to have your young core succeed. That's exactly what's started happening this past month. You don't acquire top prospects and hope they stagnate so you can draft another top prospect.

It's all good but like I said to LG, I just hope the pieces we have right now will be enough. Not convinced yet, the next few years will be telling. All I know is I couldn't bear another 25 years of no man's land, let's pray and hope for a miracle in the playoffs crap.

I'm a glass half empty until proven otherwise kinda guy when it comes to sports, been burned too many times before by basically all the teams I root for to be optimistic.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I'd feel a lot better if free agency was an option to fill up the holes we have left but unless things change drastically and players line up to come here all of the sudden it isn't. A 2nd line center could come in a trade I guess but a top pairing D is very unlikely. Hopefully what we have now is enough, I just don't see it. Not yet at least.

Maybe Hage can become that top 6 center for us, don't like putting all our eggs in one basket though. Defensively I really like Huston and Guhle, Reinbacher is a huge question mark at this point and I won't feel good about him until I see him play and perform.

The only thing with UFAs is they come at a premium price. If we stick with the drafted/developing players they'll be a lot more affordable in the long run. I'm sure they're considering that for the future.

 

[DAChampion]

Maybe Hage can become that top 6 center for us, don't like putting all our eggs in one basket though.

The eggs are Dach, Beck, Kappanen, Hage, and counting.

 

[HabsCowboysOwn]

That's the spirit!

Jokes aside, our club right now is already better than the Price era, makes you think. Give Suzuki and Caufield to prime Price and we might have won one. Desharnais was our 1st C for f*** sakes

As for the top 6, I do believe in Hage and Demidov tho, i'll die on that hill : They are both homeruns. They have '' it '' on the eye test. We could also shop for a big Dman name from the UFA market, we are starting to look like an attractive place to play since Hughes took over.

We can't be losers for ever. I'm all in for the tank if they are simply not good enough. But cheering for them to roll over and lose almost on purpose is crazy to me. Last thing we should want from our club is to let go of their competitivity or you'll get period #3 against Pittsburgh all over again, that shit can't happen, ever.

The Desharnais era lol, what a nightmare. Hope you're right about the UFAs, would make things way easier for us.

The eggs are Dach, Beck, Kappanen, Hage, and counting.

Beck and Kapanen are long shots as top 6 Cs imo, 3rd line sure. Dach I don't believe in him as a center anymore, we'll see. All I'm saying is I think Hage is our best shot, I see the others as complementary players for us, quality depth.

 

[Miller Time]

The eggs are Dach, Beck, Kappanen, Hage, and counting.

Demidov possibly as well...

 

[Fuonki]

The point of a rebuild is to have your young core succeed. That's exactly what's started happening this past month.

Not sure if I'd call Evans shooting at 27% "our young core succeeding". I'd be 100% off team tank if the recent good results came from the likes of Slafkovsky, Dach or Newhook playing at a newfound elite level, but that is just not the case. Aside from Hutson being a bright new spot, every U23 player on the team has either stagnated in their development or even regressed, and yet the team is clawing wins with good goaltending and bottom-6 players suddenly finding a new gear during a contract year. That's not a recipe for success, that's a recipe for disaster.

People overreact all the time when the pendulum swings in either direction, but the underlying numbers have stayed essentially the same during the whole season, and a bottom 5 finish is still the most likely course. Just got to hope that the goalies won't steal too many wins and that the likes of Evans or Armia either cool down or get traded for picks/prospects.

 

[ReHabs]

Not sure if I'd call Evans shooting at 27% "our young core succeeding". I'd be 100% off team tank if the recent good results came from the likes of Slafkovsky, Dach or Newhook playing at a newfound elite level, but that is just not the case. Aside from Hutson being a bright new spot, every U23 player on the team has either stagnated in their development or even regressed, and yet the team is clawing wins with good goaltending and bottom-6 players suddenly finding a new gear during a contract year. That's not a recipe for success, that's a recipe for disaster.

People overreact all the time when the pendulum swings in either direction, but the underlying numbers have stayed essentially the same during the whole season, and a bottom 5 finish is still the most likely course. Just got to hope that the goalies won't steal too many wins and that the likes of Evans or Armia either cool down or get traded for picks/prospects.

This is an interesting discussion. Despite being vociferously anti-tank, I tend to agree with all your arguments here. The stats don’t show a pretty picture and unless we go on a hot streak (winning like 6 games straight) it is unlikely that the Habs can secure a different outlook for the season.

We’ll see how the next month goes but the more Jake Evans scores the more I want to see him sold at the deadline.

That said — it would be awesome if we made the playoffs this year.

 

[HabzSauce]

Not sure if I'd call Evans shooting at 27% "our young core succeeding". I'd be 100% off team tank if the recent good results came from the likes of Slafkovsky, Dach or Newhook playing at a newfound elite level, but that is just not the case. Aside from Hutson being a bright new spot, every U23 player on the team has either stagnated in their development or even regressed, and yet the team is clawing wins with good goaltending and bottom-6 players suddenly finding a new gear during a contract year. That's not a recipe for success, that's a recipe for disaster.

People overreact all the time when the pendulum swings in either direction, but the underlying numbers have stayed essentially the same during the whole season, and a bottom 5 finish is still the most likely course. Just got to hope that the goalies won't steal too many wins and that the likes of Evans or Armia either cool down or get traded for picks/prospects.

Don't think I agree with this.

We look better with a more seasoned Hutson, Carrier, Laine & improved backup (wether it's Dobes or a vet via trade). Xhekaj has improved. Matheson is being managed better and team is starting to look more competitive on the ice.

Bottom 6 looks better this year led by Evans of course. I don't see them slowing down - contract year. Even if Evans scoring isn't sustainable he still brings so much more.

At this point in the season, id consider us "in the mix". And that's without Dach, slafkovsky & newhook doing much of anything. If even 1/3 take a big leap that makes a big difference for our team.

I also see us swinging back and forth but we are playing with more compete and structure now. .500 hockey wouldn't surprise me at all and God forbid these m'fers get me thinking playoffs because I could see that happening too

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

It took us more than 5 weeks to win a 2nd game against a +,500 team. People should hold off the parade.

 

[Lshap]

Not sure if I'd call Evans shooting at 27% "our young core succeeding". I'd be 100% off team tank if the recent good results came from the likes of Slafkovsky, Dach or Newhook playing at a newfound elite level, but that is just not the case. Aside from Hutson being a bright new spot, every U23 player on the team has either stagnated in their development or even regressed, and yet the team is clawing wins with good goaltending and bottom-6 players suddenly finding a new gear during a contract year. That's not a recipe for success, that's a recipe for disaster.

People overreact all the time when the pendulum swings in either direction, but the underlying numbers have stayed essentially the same during the whole season, and a bottom 5 finish is still the most likely course. Just got to hope that the goalies won't steal too many wins and that the likes of Evans or Armia either cool down or get traded for picks/prospects.

For December, the Habs have the 15th best record in the league (7-5-0 / .583 pt.%) and the 9th best GF/GP at 3.25. Our GA/GP, which was league-worst going into December, drastically improved this month to 3.00 GA/GP.

We haven't won because of Gallagher, Armia, Anderson, or a rental player. Nor has goaltending been lights-out. 5-on-5 SV% for December is .903, a meh 21st in the league.

We've won more games because our young players are slowly improving, which includes the bottom-6. Who cares if Evans is a depth player? Winning teams need depth. The issue isn't which line steps up, but whether they fit the timeline for our rebuild. Evans at 28 isn't old, Heineman and Xhekaj are young players who have started contributing more. Newhook looked good yesterday. Good teams can't just rely on their stars.

But yeah... we still need stars and a real top-6. That's where HuGo's big picks and big trades come in. I'm hoping Dach can build on yesterday and become our 2C. I'm waiting for Slafkovsky to get stronger and more confident. Then we've got Demidov and Hage. And if Laine stays healthy... potentially, we've got the makings of a great top-6 thanks to the last three years of new management.

I'm happy with the recent wins and want more of them. Not because I'm expecting to make the playoffs, but because it means our young roster is learning how to win.

 

[Lshap]

I'd feel a lot better if free agency was an option to fill up the holes we have left but unless things change drastically and players line up to come here all of the sudden it isn't. A 2nd line center could come in a trade I guess but a top pairing D is very unlikely. Hopefully what we have now is enough, I just don't see it. Not yet at least.

Maybe Hage can become that top 6 center for us, don't like putting all our eggs in one basket though. Defensively I really like Huston and Guhle, Reinbacher is a huge question mark at this point and I won't feel good about him until I see him play and perform.

I sincerely hope it all works out and we don't end up in that ''good enough to make the playoffs, not good enough to win anything'' zone again.

Fair points. We're experiencing the double-edged sword of tanking. We imagine getting a star player at the top of the draft, but then we get him and he looks miles away from the star he might possibly, maybe, potentially, one day become. Slafkovsky was our first big rebuild pick, and we're all going full OCD over his slow development.

I get it. After been burned so often for so long by bad drafting, we've earned our skepticism. I still have PTSD over our lost decade of useless draft picks.

Hutson is the first star players we've drafted since Subban. Demidov looks like the next one. The rest... I think we have to listen to our therapists and remain patient.

 

[Fuonki]

For December, the Habs have the 15th best record in the league (7-5-0 / .583 pt.%) and the 9th best GF/GP at 3.25. Our GA/GP, which was league-worst going into December, drastically improved this month to 3.00 GA/GP.

We haven't won because of Gallagher, Armia, Anderson, or a rental player. Nor has goaltending been lights-out. 5-on-5 SV% for December is .903, a meh 21st in the league...

Using raw goal numbers as your statistics is generally not a good choice, especially for such a low sample size where even a couple lucky bounces or empty net goals can sway the results significantly. If you look at expected goals for and against or even chances/high dancer chances for & against the Habs are a much worse team than you might think. We're dead last in the league at xGA/60 & High danger chances against, and bottom 3 in Corsi % and unblocked shots against. So essentially you could say that having the 21st best SV% in the league is a great result when you have what could be counted among the worst defences in the league.

Replacing Barron with Carrier has improved the underlying analytics somewhat, but at 5v5 this is still a bottom 5 team that just has two amazing finishers in Laine & Caufield and a bottom 6 forward group that is red hot in a way that is very unsustainable.