Playoffs Positivity Thread .......... Re-Poll, option to change your vote is open as of Jan 7

Will the Habs make the playoffs?


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The Habs are about where they should be right now. They are no where near as bad as they had shown at the beginning of the season, but also not as good as they have been since the holidays. The soon to come break will do them loads of good. They've had a tough schedule of late and are running out of steam.
On pace for 87 pts is a very good upgrade from last year
 
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Mods should re-open the tank thread.

They lost Guhle for the season, that means 4 GA per game is back on the menu like it was for the first 15 games of the season.
 
I think Hughes gives the team until the 4 Nations to see if they can find a miraculous second wind without Heineman and Guhle. If not then it's time to start thinking about who gets moved this deadline and offseason. I think it's safe to say one of Matheson/Savard is gone to open a spot for Reinbacher or Mailloux potentially. I know Matheson would return significantly more and I've been all aboard the trade Matheson train for a while now, but with Guhle's health uncertainty it'd be nice to have Matheson around next season so we have a capable body to fill in on the left side if Guhle misses significant time again.
 
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I think Hughes gives the team until the 4 Nations to see if they can find a miraculous second wind without Heineman and Guhle. If not then it's time to start thinking about who gets moved this deadline and offseason. I think it's safe to say one of Matheson/Savard is gone to open a spot for Reinbacher or Mailloux potentially. I know Matheson would return significantly more and I've been all aboard the trade Matheson train for a while now, but with Guhle's health uncertainty it'd be nice to have Matheson around next season so we have a capable body to fill in on the left side if Guhle misses significant time again.
You honestly believe Reinbacher will be NHl ready next season after missing the 3/4 of the season? If Matheson get traded in the summer it will be for another RHD. If not Kent will trade him in the next trade deadline (2026). I can see Reinbacher playing with us in February-March 2026.
 
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You honestly believe Reinbacher will be NHl ready next season after missing the 3/4 of the season? If Matheson get traded in the summer it will be for another RHD. If not Kent will trade him in the next trade deadline (2026). I can see Reinbacher playing with us in February-March 2026.
I think it'll largely come down to what Reinbacher and Mailloux show next training camp. I think they'd like to have a chair open if either guy shows they're ready for an NHL spot next season.
 
I think it'll largely come down to what Reinbacher and Mailloux show next training camp. I think they'd like to have a chair open if either guy shows they're ready for an NHL spot next season.
That will be kent worse decision ever lol. If they trade Matheson (who play 25mins+) and Reinbacher/Mailloux is not ready for NHL. You leave the Habs with a big whole. Also Mailloux is only taking Savard position at the bottom. He is not a top 4 D with us.

If Reinbacher is ready for the NHL and is burning the AHL. You trade Matheson in November.
 
That will be kent worse decision ever lol. If they trade Matheson (who play 25mins+) and Reinbacher/Mailloux is not ready for NHL. You leave the Habs with a big whole. Also Mailloux is only taking Savard position at the bottom. He is not a top 4 D with us.

If Reinbacher is ready for the NHL and is burning the AHL. You trade Matheson in November.
Does it really matter how many minutes he plays if he doesn't do it well?
 
That will be kent worse decision ever lol. If they trade Matheson (who play 25mins+) and Reinbacher/Mailloux is not ready for NHL. You leave the Habs with a big whole. Also Mailloux is only taking Savard position at the bottom. He is not a top 4 D with us.

If Reinbacher is ready for the NHL and is burning the AHL. You trade Matheson in November.
That's why I said I'd probably look to trade Savard instead of Matheson.
 
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I can't see Hughes not selling at this point...
I don't think being buyers was ever in the cards -- the temporary success wasn't going to make Hughes change his plan.
I'd still focus on trying to lock-in Evans at a good contract, and try to see if I could free up space on older/worse contracts like Gallagher, Dvorak, Anderson, etc. I'd also try to trade Savard to a contender that needs a "solid" bottom pairing shut-down defenseman for the playoffs.
 
Playoffs are now even more of a long shot, but I think the team could stay competitive for a while. They just have to get to feb 11 and they can rest during 4 nations. Gallagher will be refreshed, Heineman should return, Anderson will get some rest time for whatever he's playing through. Hutson might need the break as well.

Coming out of the break I could see the Habs starting hot, but instead of it happening in October/November it's February hockey. I think this may be especially true if Laine is energized from the tournament and playing with the other Finns. There are a lot of games left, and as we saw so many other competing teams have also lost games recently. Don't get me wrong, the Guhle injury pretty much seals it for us, but to be in the mix and finishing high up in the WC race if we don't get in, this year is a pretty successful forward progression for this hockey team.

It all depends on when or if we sell off assets. If we do, then the habs may dip in the standings sooner and still get a high pick. If not, I could see us hanging around until the end. We have the goaltending to rack up OT/SO points.
 
On pace for 87 pts is a very good upgrade from last year

Agreed. However, one thing to note is TDL factor. Last year, Gorton/Hughes decided to trade Monahan for a 1st and that took the sails away from the Habs. I believe we were like 8th-10th last at the time we traded Monahan and it was well before the TLD.

If Gorton/Hughes stay put and make minor moves, this team will continue to battle. If we unload someone like Evans and Armia and maybe even Anderson, that will take the sails away from their team confidence again and it's probably not 87 pts.

5th last for last season had completely different context vs 5th last the year before. The year before, we were actually a bottom 5 team. Last season? I believe if we were better than that. How much better? Probably 5-10 range. Teams to play more youth when they are tanking
 
I can't see Hughes not selling at this point...

Depends on who and the other factor is how important a Laval run is. If we sell too much, we will be plucking talent away from the Laval run.

I can see us moving Savard and that might bring back a 2nd or 3rd. I think our youth can easily replace Savard now (Struble, Engstrom, Mailloux).

Armia? Not sure. I won't be shocked that we trade him. Teams will be knocking on the Armia door.

Evans? Doubt it but it's possible.

Dvorak? I think they like his faceoffs and don't think there will be very good offers. We might keep and let expire.
 
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