HF Habs: Out of Town Thread: Off-Season Edition

[JianYang]

Yeah Detroit is interesting. Granted that other than Larkin the cupboard was pretty bare when they started but they have drafted in the top 10 for 7 straight seasons yet their Roster is full of players acquired from other teams (mostly by free agency over the last 24 Months)

Up front Debrincat, copp, Chompher, perron, kostin, Sprong Fischer have all been acquired in last 2 yrs
On D its Chiarot,Ghost, Holl, walmen, maatta
and both Goalies Husso and reimer
7F,5D and 2 G are recent adds from other teams.

After 7 years drafting in Top 10 I would have expected more home grown talent on the team or pushing at the door.

Thats a pretty underwhelming list.

As much as fans are on board with rebuilding, I think it's underappreciated how much luck and execution is required to build a roster back up.

Tearing down, and obtaining picks and prospects is the easy part. But some teams get stuck in a perpetual building mode, and it seems Detroit is one of those cases.

 

[Adam Michaels]

 

[Mrb1p]

Thats a pretty underwhelming list.

As much as fans are on board with rebuilding, I think it's underappreciated how much luck and execution is required to build a roster back up.

Tearing down, and obtaining picks and prospects is the easy part. But some teams get stuck in a perpetual building mode, and it seems Detroit is one of those cases.

They finished in the bottom 5 once in that 7 years. You have to do more to get the top talent. You cant just sit on your hands and hope the cards fall through. They actually didnt tear it down enough.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I agree with you but I do think we have to consider where the teams were. I don’t follow Detroit but I think Yzerman came into a situation where Detroit wasn’t that far along. Bergy inherited a non-playoff team also but had a foundation. Like you said, he couldn‘t get us over the hump. As for the patience, well, that’s Montreal; not really much else to write about or talk on Tv/radio other than the Habs. Detroit has 3 other pro teams to talk about.

Bergevin inherited a playoff team that was #1 for injuries, including its MVP.

 

[DAChampion]

Bergevin inherited a playoff team that was #1 for injuries, including its MVP.

And a weak Atlantic division, possibly he biggest difference with Hughes.

And two compliance buyouts.

 

[JianYang]

They finished in the bottom 5 once in that 7 years. You have to do more to get the top talent. You cant just sit on your hands and hope the cards fall through. They actually didnt tear it down enough.

Since Datsyuk retired back in 2016, their highest rank was a measly 24th which just happened to be the latest season.

The red wings under yzerman continued to employ a coach who was universally thought of as a hindrance to winning games, they didn't mortgage future peices or cap tie themselves until very recently in the process. These are all key elements to look at when determining the mindset of organizations.

They've had a bad roster for a while, but the players still gotta go out there and you can't tell them to lose (which they still did a pretty good job of doing regardless).

They didn't implode Chicago style, but I think there were some off ice image issues that the hawks wanted to cleanse as well so it's not a typical situation. At the same time though, the wings still were not trying to get better on purpose, and their roster has generally been thin since Datsyuk and zetterberg were on the outs. I'd argue that they followed the "tanking model" well enough aside from not having the ability to choose exactly how bad their team would perform on the ice.

 

[Mrb1p]

Since Datsyuk retired back in 2016, their highest rank was a measly 24th which just happened to be the latest season.

The red wings under yzerman continued to employ a coach who was universally thought of as a hindrance to winning games, they didn't mortgage future peices or cap tie themselves until very recently in the process. These are all key elements to look at when determining the mindset of organizations.

They've had a bad roster for a while, but the players still gotta go out there and you can't tell them to lose (which they still did a pretty good job of doing regardless).

They didn't implode Chicago style, but I think there were some off ice image issues that the hawks wanted to cleanse as well so it's not a typical situation. At the same time though, the wings still were not trying to get better on purpose, and their roster has generally been thin since Datsyuk and zetterberg were on the outs. I'd argue that they followed the "tanking model" well enough aside from not having the ability to choose exactly how bad their team would perform on the ice.

Im not gonna blame them for keeping Zetterberg, being classy and allowing a player to end his career with you is a whole other debate and I also can't blame Y for 2019 as he wasnt there (But they should've moved their vets that year, or in 2018 even.)

They could've decided to move away Bertuzzi, Mantha, Suter, Bernier much quicker than they actually did. Instead they stuck them around, just like the Habs, held their shit coins and lost out on top talents in the NHL. Like the Habs, they did get lucky with 2019, at least.

 

[LaP]

Thats a pretty underwhelming list.

As much as fans are on board with rebuilding, I think it's underappreciated how much luck and execution is required to build a roster back up.

Tearing down, and obtaining picks and prospects is the easy part. But some teams get stuck in a perpetual building mode, and it seems Detroit is one of those cases.

Execution is needed whatever is your strategy. If you rebuild, try to sign UFAs, try to build thru trades. No matter the statergy you'll ahve to execute it perfectly to win a cup.

 

[LaP]

Bergevin inherited a playoff team that was #1 for injuries, including its MVP.

He also was gifted two free buyouts which let him solve the biggest issue the team had which was Gomez's contract. He had a solid base to work with nobody should question that. There was a lot of work to do but he already had a 23 yo star dman, a 25 yo generational goalie and a 23 yo top goal scorer (able to do it playing with AHL players).

 

[Adam Michaels]

 

[Saundies]

Good spot for Zadina to get a fresh start. Should get some time with the big club to show what he can do.

 

[Adam Michaels]

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

He also was gifted two free buyouts which let him solve the biggest issue the team had which was Gomez's contract. He had a solid base to work with nobody should question that. There was a lot of work to do but he already had a 23 yo start dman, a 25 yo generational goalie and a 23 yo top goal scorer (able to do it playing with AHL players).

And the General coming back from a two year absence.

 

[CDN24]

They finished in the bottom 5 once in that 7 years. You have to do more to get the top talent. You cant just sit on your hands and hope the cards fall through. They actually didnt tear it down enough.

They had some awful draft lottery luck with teams with lower lotter odds winning and pushing them down to a lower draft spot. . That happenned to them in 2018, 2019, 2020.

That said they have not drafted great other than Seider and Raymond

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

About freaking time

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Folks,

Leave the speculation on who might be involved out of any discussion on the Hockey Canada investigations.

 

[Archijerej]

We aren’t racing against ourselves, other teams are building and improving too — without tangible roster improvements there is a real risk of being stuck on the perpetual not good enough treadmill.

That's correct, but it took some time for those teams to get to the place they are now. I remember Buffalo, Detroit and Ottawa being bad for a long time.

At this moment in the NHL: We don’t have a 1C, we don’t have an elite productive forward (80pts+), we don’t have a 1D, a 1G… our other rebuilding rivals have them.

With the exception of the goalie position (we can hardly afford to sit and wait and hope that Dobes, Fowler or whoever panns out just when we need him) I'd say it's premature to say exactly what we have. Of the young players currently on the roster, Suzuki, Dach, Caulfield, RHP, Guhle, Barron, Harris and Kovacevic all had career years, or were on pace before their season got cut short by an injury. We've also had Hutson kicking ass, Engstrom establishing himself as one our most promising blueline prospects and we've added Reinbacher.

I'd say another year of evaluation might be in order.

Hughes has cap space and a buttload of prospects and an owner who claims he is willing to spend. The time to be proactive isn’t later it’s now.

He already said this cap space is on the table if anyone wishes to use it.

I agree that the rebuild has entered the second phase, that of adding quality to the current roster. Of the veterans left on the team, aside from Anderson (whom I'd really like them to trade this offseason), some are difficult to move (Armia, Hoffman) and it might be best to just allow their contracts to run out, some you want to keep (Matheson, Savard, Gallagher), or recuperate their value first (Dvorak). So, there are less obvious sales and we shall gradually see more prospects and picks involved in trades, once the management gets a better picture of what they have and what they need. Aside from that, the aggressiveness in improving the roster might also be tempered for the time being by a desire to acquire another high pick.

 

[MarkJ]

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

View attachment 727984

Must be Chicago, he'd be a good fit there since he has experience coaching a team that pretty much ran by Richardson and Corey Perry.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Must be Chicago, he'd be a good fit there since he has experience coaching a team that pretty much ran by Richardson and Corey Perry.

Alright, you win internet for the day

 

[Vachon23]

Happy for him !

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I still can't understand how he can mumble his way through interviews and get a job

 

[Adam Michaels]

Lavoie says that Vegas is looking for an Assistant Coach, so it's possible that's where he'll end up.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Lavoie says that Vegas is looking for an Assistant Coach, so it's possible that's where he'll end up.

Let's hope so. Then they won't be a factor when the Habs are ready to be a contender.