Playoffs Positivity Thread

[morhilane]

About when Carrier trade was made

It's technically one game before the Carrier trade.

 

[Walrus26]

Yeah they aren't going to pull the rug out from under the players if they are in a fight for a playoff spot. They might for example sell Evans if he indicates he's going to FA but then they'll probably turn around and trade for a replacement. Potentially even one with some term that could be seen as an upgrade like say Trochek if the NYR really do blow everything up.

The current edition of Trochek isn't an upgrade on the current edition of Evans. If there's a re-up deal to be done with Evans that's at the high end of reasonable, I'd want HuGo to get it done.

Why do people think a team on the up, playing really soild 4-line hockey and looking to become a bubble team ASAP before building on that further, is going to be a TDL seller?

And on topic - we've just beaten all the recent cup winners in their rinks in a 3 games / 4 days stretch. 7 wins in the last 8 and a stonking goal difference over that time, looking like a proper hockey team. We stay healthy, I think we make it in.

 

[HabsCode]

The current edition of Trochek isn't an upgrade on the current edition of Evans. If there's a re-up deal to be done with Evans that's at the high end of reasonable, I'd want HuGo to get it done.

Why do people think a team on the up, playing really soild 4-line hockey and looking to become a bubble team ASAP before building on that further, is going to be a TDL seller?

Trading one of the vets if Habs are still in the mix at the TDL would be like a kick in the nuts to the player. Bad for overall chemistry.

Even Dvorak and Armia brings some poise and NHL experience that guys in Laval might not be able to handle yet.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

The current edition of Trochek isn't an upgrade on the current edition of Evans. If there's a re-up deal to be done with Evans that's at the high end of reasonable, I'd want HuGo to get it done.

Why do people think a team on the up, playing really soild 4-line hockey and looking to become a bubble team ASAP before building on that further, is going to be a TDL seller?

Delusions of never ending rebuilds and a wanting to play Pokémon with draft picks and catch them all. The rebuild is done, there's no room for anymore prospects after Demidov and Beck, plus Hage is on the way. It's a 12 man forward roster, some people think we have unlimited spots or something. The team is pretty much built, it's just a matter of time now.

 

[DAChampion]

Delusions of never ending rebuilds and a wanting to play Pokémon with draft picks and catch them all. The rebuild is done, there's no room for anymore prospects after Demidov and Beck, plus Hage is on the way. It's a 12 man forward roster, some people think we have unlimited spots or something. The team is pretty much built, it's just a matter of time now.

Prior to winning their Cups, the LA kings traded Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jack Johnson, Colton Teubert, a 1st, for Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, and Dustin Penner.

There might be more building to come ;-)

 

[Kennerback]

Delusions of never ending rebuilds and a wanting to play Pokémon with draft picks and catch them all. The rebuild is done, there's no room for anymore prospects after Demidov and Beck, plus Hage is on the way. It's a 12 man forward roster, some people think we have unlimited spots or something. The team is pretty much built, it's just a matter of time now.

I get that people thinking Michkov is the BPA. I get that some might have a preference for Cooley. But we’re building a team to make the playoff and win the Cup. We’ve had a stroke of good luck recently. You can call it fate or whatever else you want. But we magically landed Demidov, Laine, we can add Hutson that’s better than our wildest expectations. It’s unprecedented good luck looking at the past 50 years of Habs history. Things are really looking up.

To build a Cup winner you need several things not just BPAs. As much as I hardcore hated they passed on MIchkov and for very long I rued that day, we don’t need him. What he brings to the club is now covered by both Laine and Demidov. While I cursed HuGo for months for it and believe me I love Michkov, fate has changed things… Furthermore, you can’t move a big body like Slaf for the superfluous skills that Cooley brings and we already have covered in other players. 1 for 1 is science fiction, we would need to trade Cooley and flip two other smaller players for big players. We’re not a big team in recent Cup standards. Things need to make sense to win.

 

[Matthew McConaughay]

If they win the next 5 games, i say , yes.

 

[Sorinth]

The current edition of Trochek isn't an upgrade on the current edition of Evans. If there's a re-up deal to be done with Evans that's at the high end of reasonable, I'd want HuGo to get it done.

Why do people think a team on the up, playing really soild 4-line hockey and looking to become a bubble team ASAP before building on that further, is going to be a TDL seller?

And on topic - we've just beaten all the recent cup winners in their rinks in a 3 games / 4 days stretch. 7 wins in the last 8 and a stonking goal difference over that time, looking like a proper hockey team. We stay healthy, I think we make it in.

Possibly, but is the current edition of Evans going to last? Would it really be all that surprising if he had 5 points in the next 30 games?

Anyways it's not even a deal I really want to happen, it was an example of how we could be both buy and sell at the deadline.

 

[Milhouse40]

Delusions of never ending rebuilds and a wanting to play Pokémon with draft picks and catch them all. The rebuild is done, there's no room for anymore prospects after Demidov and Beck, plus Hage is on the way. It's a 12 man forward roster, some people think we have unlimited spots or something. The team is pretty much built, it's just a matter of time now.

Some love prospects more than the team on the ice.
Without doing anything KH already have too much draft pick this year and got even added pick for 2026 in the bank.

The rebuild is over even if the team is not completely built yet.

Considering I see Guhle, Hutson, Xhekaj, Carrier staying for the next couple of years,,,,,,don't even know what the Habs will do with all of the Struble, Mailloux, Engstrom, Reinbacher, Trudeau, Bogdan cause there's only 2 spots left and pretty sure at least one spot will be a veteran if not two like it's the case right now.

Time to focus on actually completing that team.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

Some love prospects more than the team on the ice.
Without doing anything KH already have too much draft pick this year and got even added pick for 2026 in the bank.

The rebuild is over even if the team is not completely built yet.

Considering I see Guhle, Hutson, Xhekaj, Carrier staying for the next couple of years,,,,,,don't even know what the Habs will do with all of the Struble, Mailloux, Engstrom, Reinbacher, Trudeau, Bogdan cause there's only 2 spots left and pretty sure at least one spot will be a veteran if not two like it's the case right now.

Time to focus on actually completing that team.

I'm glad you get it, many people are delusional and clueless about the overall state of the team. The rebuild is over.

 

[Deus ex machina]

Delusions of never ending rebuilds and a wanting to play Pokémon with draft picks and catch them all. The rebuild is done, there's no room for anymore prospects after Demidov and Beck, plus Hage is on the way. It's a 12 man forward roster, some people think we have unlimited spots or something. The team is pretty much built, it's just a matter of time now.

I have to agree. Build is practically over. Just have to let the team mature a bit.

The only big hole left i see is top 4 RD and they have to go get that player by trade.
Doesn't make sense to wait for one to maybe develop while the rest of the team is wasting time and getting older.
Reinbacher can bump Carrier to the 3rd pair when he's ready.

Left side of the D is set and all young.

Top 6 with Demidov coming soon are all 26 or under, unless Laine doesn't extend. Even then, that's one spot to fill and it can be done by trade, or one of their numerous prospects could be ready to take over. Maybe Hage.

Heineman and Newhook should be there for a while too.
Anderson and Gallagher are doing a good job on the 4th line for now and they have still 2 years left. I'm sure they'll have some of their prospects ready to replace them in 2 years.
That leaves Armia and Evans. If they leave, Beck can take one spot.

That just leaves maybe one spot to be filled on the bottom 6.

Drafting another high end prospect certainly won't hurt but it's not like they absolutely have to get one and then wait 2-3 years for that player to be ready to start being competitive.

It's not looking like they'll have another top 5 pick anyway, unless they win the lottery.

 

[ReHabs]

I'm glad you get it, many people are delusional and clueless about the overall state of the team. The rebuild is over.

Why are you calling anyone delusional and clueless?

This comment from you is less than a month old:

The tank is going perfectly, what's the problem? Those players have time to improve, there's no rush. MSL is the perfect tank commander right now, what's the issue? We can get a different coach in a few years. Wouldn't it be great to pick top 5 again next draft?

 

[No More Subban]

If they win the next 5 games, i say , yes.

Habs are 9-5 in December. Let's hope they're 9-5 again or even 8-6 this month.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

Why are you calling anyone delusional and clueless?

This comment from you is less than a month old:

If we're losing organically then I support that. If we we're shit and gonna get another high draft pick this year then I would be happy. But we're not shit, we're actually a good team. I go with the flow, I pivot. Look at where the team is at right now, we have the prospects we need. Can't ice a team full of rookies. The rebuild is over, that doesn't mean I won't support the tank if we're at the bottom. What I will never do is root against this team.

 

[HabzSauce]

I have to agree. Build is practically over. Just have to let the team mature a bit.

The only big hole left i see is top 4 RD and they have to go get that player by trade.
Doesn't make sense to wait for one to maybe develop while the rest of the team is wasting time and getting older.
Reinbacher can bump Carrier to the 3rd pair when he's ready.

Left side of the D is set and all young.

Top 6 with Demidov coming soon are all 26 or under, unless Laine doesn't extend. Even then, that's one spot to fill and it can be done by trade, or one of their numerous prospects could be ready to take over. Maybe Hage.

Heineman and Newhook should be there for a while too.
Anderson and Gallagher are doing a good job on the 4th line for now and they have still 2 years left. I'm sure they'll have some of their prospects ready to replace them in 2 years.
That leaves Armia and Evans. If they leave, Beck can take one spot.

That just leaves maybe one spot to be filled on the bottom 6.

Drafting another high end prospect certainly won't hurt but it's not like they absolutely have to get one and then wait 2-3 years for that player to be ready to start being competitive.

It's not looking like they'll have another top 5 pick anyway, unless they win the lottery.

Well said although Id say the bottom 6 could have three opening after next season. Evans, heineman and beck are only locks long term for me. Newhook for sure traded. Gally and Anderson can always be traded as well to make room if somebody is knocking on the door (Florian, Tuch, etc)

 

[Sorinth]

The rebuild isn't over, but assuming there's no collapse between now and the deadline then it's fair to say that asset accumulation shouldn't be the #1 priority anymore. It arguably had stopped being the #1 priority this summer, but certainly was before then.

What this means for a guy like Evans is that if his contract demands mean we won't be re-signing him then we still have to capitalize on his season and get some great assets for him, but if his contract demands are something we find reasonable then even if there's a 1st on the table then we should re-sign him.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

The rebuild isn't over, but assuming there's no collapse between now and the deadline then it's fair to say that asset accumulation shouldn't be the #1 priority anymore. It arguably had stopped being the #1 priority this summer, but certainly was before then.

What this means for a guy like Evans is that if his contract demands mean we won't be re-signing him then we still have to capitalize on his season and get some great assets for him, but if his contract demands are something we find reasonable then even if there's a 1st on the table then we should re-sign him.

How could we afford to lose him? We have to sign Evans. These players want to win, this isn't a bunch of content losers like in Columbus lol. Ask Laine.

 

[Redux91]

Here are the current ages of the Top6 lol

24 - 25 - 20
26 - 23 - 23

And 1 of those 23's is turning into a 19 next year lol (even tho Newhook playing well lately)
That's how you build a core

Bottom 6 shaping up now too

Also, I think it's so freaking Boss how Gorton probably had Molson come up to him on the 6 game losing streak like "uhh I thought we were trying to win this year?"
And be like "I'm on it, Kent?"
"I'm on it."
They tinker here and there, nothing crazy + their big acquisition making his debut

And the team looks re-born
Young and hungry
And only going to get better next couple years
It's fun (after 3 brutal but necessary years lol)

 

[Sorinth]

How could we afford to lose him? We have to sign Evans. These players want to win, this isn't a bunch of content losers like in Columbus lol. Ask Laine.

Because there's a price point where it just doesn't make sense to sign him.

 

[Deus ex machina]

Well said although Id say the bottom 6 could have three opening after next season. Evans, heineman and beck are only locks long term for me. Newhook for sure traded. Gally and Anderson can always be traded as well to make room if somebody is knocking on the door (Florian, Tuch, etc)

Doesn't look like Evans is a lock. I'd keep him if possible.

Newhook is a candidate to be traded. He's not the optimal bottom 6 forward but he can help on the top 6 in case of injuries, so they might keep him.

Gally has a full NMC and seems to like it in MTL. I don't think he can be traded. But he could be demoted to 13th forward if he slows down too much and a rookie is outplaying him.

Anderson has a NTC. He's doing a great job on the bottom 6 anyway. I'd keep him for the next 2 years.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

Because there's a price point where it just doesn't make sense to sign him.

Ok and how the heck do we replace him? Pay him his money because we can't afford to lose a player like him.

 

[Deus ex machina]

The rebuild isn't over, but assuming there's no collapse between now and the deadline then it's fair to say that asset accumulation shouldn't be the #1 priority anymore. It arguably had stopped being the #1 priority this summer, but certainly was before then.

What this means for a guy like Evans is that if his contract demands mean we won't be re-signing him then we still have to capitalize on his season and get some great assets for him, but if his contract demands are something we find reasonable then even if there's a 1st on the table then we should re-sign him.

And what would be the requirement to consider the rebuild over in your opinion?

 

[DAChampion]

And what would be the requirement to consider the rebuild over in your opinion?

I wouldn't call Evans an untouchable but I do think that it would be difficult to replace both Evans and Dvorak this year, as Hage and Kappanen are not ready.

They'd need to sign an old center to a 1-year contract, as a stopgap.

 

[Redux91]

Also it should be noted
Along with Laine+Carrier additions to help swing things around
Lane Hutson added to PP1 helped a LOT as well, I was not sure if we were even going to see this year.. props to Mike not making a stink about it

Once the PP started getting more confidence and goals, whole team started to feel better offensively

Getting scoring from the 2nd and 3rd lines is hard to beat in the NHL baby
Been real fun
I'd give anything to see these guys in even just 1 playoff series to get that early taste, really want them to experience it, and for 14 and 13 to get back to postseason where they thrived as 21 yr olds

 

[Ozmodiar]

The rebuild is over, that doesn't mean I won't support the tank if we're at the bottom. What I will never do is root against this team.

We’ll know if the rebuild is over at the TDL.

There might be one more round of selling to go. 4 pending UFA’s.

4 points from wildcard. 4 points a top 5 pick. This could go either way over the next couple months.