HF Habs: The official 2023-2024 tank thread

[KevSkillz4]

His contract with his KHL team end in 2025. He could be in the NHL during the season of 2025-2026.

Ok, so Habs scouts will be more agree to draft him than Michkov. I think his two-way ability is fit more for Habs also.

 

[26Mats]

Really rooting for the Flames. I want them to stay close to a playoff spot or even better make the playoffs.

I don't want them going into a full rebuild. I want them to just miss the playoffs next year so their pick is between 11 and 16, and that way we don't have to rely on Florida mussing the playoffs (highly unlikely imo) to get a lottery pick.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

Well, I am not thick (obstinate maybe) and do understand what you are trying to get across to me, but the acquiring of players or getting rid of players, as well as developing players and coaches are the tasks of trying to build a better team. Putting these tasks under different sub headings is just a descriptive way of performing those tasks. Anyway, enough of this, we've beaten it to death.

However, all in good humour, and in your choice ... are the Habs retooling, or rebuilding (as versus tanking), or tanking in their present scenario.

PS; I was surprised Bergevin took Mailloux. I would have bet Molson had a fit over that.

I already said the Habs are doing neither a retool or rebuild. I already outlined the rare situation they are in from doing a retool, firing their GM then building half a core not already there. Again tanking is in a different category from rebuilding/retooling. An analogy would be getting nutrients from food. You need a job in order to buy food. You need food to obtain nourishment. In this scenario, nourishment would be team success. Food would be the action of rebuilding/retooling/restructuring, etc, and the job would be tanking. The job like tanking gives you the opportunity to buy food. But you can either buy healthy food or you can buy unhealthy food. The nourishment is dependent on what kind of food you buy.

 

[RealityBytes]

I already said the Habs are doing neither a retool or rebuild. I already outlined the rare situation they are in from doing a retool, firing their GM then building half a core not already there. Again tanking is in a different category from rebuilding/retooling. An analogy would be getting nutrients from food. You need a job in order to buy food. You need food to obtain nourishment. In this scenario, nourishment would be team success. Food would be the action of rebuilding/retooling/restructuring, etc, and the job would be tanking. The job like tanking gives you the opportunity to buy food. But you can either buy healthy food or you can buy unhealthy food. The nourishment is dependent on what kind of food you buy.

I don't really care for the analogy, but OK, they are tanking if you say. Which means they are trying to get worse to get better. That however, in my opinion is not such a particularly successful way of building a team unless you are absolutely void of assets. Especially with the draft odds the way they are. Right now, the Habs are slated for sixth from bottom, which means their odds of getting a pick better than sixth is like 15.4%. Their odds of getting a worse pick than sixth is like 50.5%. Though they do have the Calgary pick.

However, if that is how they are going to build their team, that is their choice.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

I don't really care for the analogy, but OK, they are tanking if you say. Which means they are trying to get worse to get better. That however, in my opinion is not such a particularly successful way of building a team unless you are absolutely void of assets. Especially with the draft odds the way they are. Right now, the Habs are slated for sixth from bottom, which means their odds of getting a pick better than sixth is like 15.4%. Their odds of getting a worse pick than sixth is like 50.5%.

However, if that is how they are going to build their team, that is their choice.

I disagree with your assessment of the situation. Are they worse now than when they initially came in? Besides the last month, are they worse than last year pre February? I actually think they are improving. Not just the Habs, but Laval too, which is a huge part of their development. Not all last place teams are built the same like not all 5th/6th place teams are built the same

 

[Runner77]

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

I don't really care for the analogy, but OK, they are tanking if you say. Which means they are trying to get worse to get better. That however, in my opinion is not such a particularly successful way of building a team unless you are absolutely void of assets. Especially with the draft odds the way they are. Right now, the Habs are slated for sixth from bottom, which means their odds of getting a pick better than sixth is like 15.4%. Their odds of getting a worse pick than sixth is like 50.5%.

However, if that is how they are going to build their team, that is their choice.

Chicago did not have any horrible contracts to worry about. The big contracts they had were movable to other teams or LTIR. They also had player s to build with like DeBrincat and Dach but chose to trade them. HuGo started with some good players, chose to keep them, but was stuck with a multitude of overpaid plugs. Somehow he has managed to move a lot of them but it still the equivalent of a complete rebuild.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

3rd last is the lowest we could finish. San Jose and Chicago are too far down

 

[RealityBytes]

I disagree with your assessment of the situation. Are they worse now than when they initially came in? Besides the last month, are they worse than last year pre February? I actually think they are improving. Not just the Habs, but Laval too, which is a huge part of their development. Not all last place teams are built the same like not all 5th/6th place teams are built the same

Well, I think the Monahan trade was a great trade, and we'll see what happens with the load of picks the Habs do have. One problem is that drafting does not seem to be Montreal's strong point. Getting lots of middle average players doesn't help much, only 18 can dress.

I don't think the Habs are much better than last year, maybe a bit, but even so, all teams are building and trying to get better and most have. If the Habs only improve a bit while other teams are also improving as well or better than the Habs, the Habs really aren't gaining anything. Working hard but relatively getting nowhere.

As for Laval, they are 2nd from bottom in their division and 12th in their conference. They aren't doing that well in comparison to the other AHL teams. I don't see that much glory there either.

In my opinion, what the Habs have to do is build better by spending a ton of money to get rid of their mistakes, build better by drafting better, and developing their drafted players better, else they will just grind along. Then again, that's just my opinion but I have no say in the matter.

Anyway, that's my whole point, the Habs have to build better, regardless whether building by retooling, rebuilding, or tanking.

 

[HuGo boss]

Ok, so Habs scouts will be more agree to draft him than Michkov. I think his two-way ability is fit more for Habs also.

I don't have any 1st hand knowledge but I have a feeling michkov didn't want to play for us and Hugo don't want to expose that because they are trying to built a culture of players WANTING to play in mtl

 

[RealityBytes]

Chicago did not have any horrible contracts to worry about. The big contracts they had were movable to other teams or LTIR. They also had player s to build with like DeBrincat and Dach but chose to trade them. HuGo started with some good players, chose to keep them, but was stuck with a multitude of overpaid plugs. Somehow he has managed to move a lot of them but it still the equivalent of a complete rebuild.

That was one of the three points I had brought up in my original post ... a team needs a ton of money that can be used to cover mistakes, good and better drafting than others, good coaching and development staff. They just can't plug along.

 

[McGees]

If we don’t finish low enough for Demidov/Lindstrom… I’m totally good with Iggy jr.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

Well, I think the Monahan trade was a great trade, and we'll see what happens with the load of picks the Habs do have. One problem is that drafting does not seem to be Montreal's strong point. Getting lots of middle average players doesn't help much, only 18 can dress.

I don't think the Habs are much better than last year, maybe a bit, but even so, all teams are building and trying to get better and most have. If the Habs only improve a bit while other teams are also improving as well or better than the Habs, the Habs really aren't gaining anything. Working hard but relatively getting nowhere.

As for Laval, they are 2nd from bottom in their division and 12th in their conference. They aren't doing that well in comparison to the other AHL teams. I don't see that much glory there either.

In my opinion, what the Habs have to do is build better by spending a ton of money to get rid of their mistakes, build better by drafting better, and developing their drafted players better, else they will just grind along. Then again, that's just my opinion but I have no say in the matter.

Anyway, that's my whole point, the Habs have to build better, regardless whether building by retooling, rebuilding, or tanking.

My point with Laval was it is developing players better namely Roy and mailloux which makes me conclude Laval is doing better as it is a means to an end which is development. The drafting is an interesting perspective. I think Habs did great in the 2022 draft but underwhelming in the 2023 draft so we'll see. I do agree that eventually they'll have to give up stuff to get rid of bad contracts. As for the development, I think they're doing pretty well with their most important players. The Habs struggles are mostly due to all of their expendable players being utter garbage

 

[Habano]

well folks we're officially in 27th place. Bottom 5 is not out of the question as long as those bankrupt scrubs called the Yotes can win a few games

 

[FrankMTL]

It's crazy, the Wild were at about the same amount of points as us not that long ago. We blinked, and now they're 10 points up.

Awesome that the Sens passed us too.

 

[SwiftyHab]

I think it’s time to send down Roy and maybe Struble so laval can make the playoffs and Make a couple of waiver pickups so the Habs sink

 

[26Mats]

Crazy how Arizona was just recently above .500.

What happened to them?

(And crazy how the Wild were below .500. The Wild have a lot of great pieces, like the Sens actually).

We somehow need to get the Jackets and Coyotes going, whether through trading them players to help them, or Voodoo, or some other way...

 

[Retired]

… it's knowing when to push for it and stop enjoying being in perpetual mediocrity.

This core would be set: Mack, Suzuki, Dach, Caufield, Slafkovsky, Guhle.
Also developing players like Xhekaj, Newhook, Roy, Struble
Add new blood like Mailloux, Reinbacher, Hutson, Beck

The table is set.

Set for what exactly, that’s still about the worse team in the league + more inexperienced, mid level rookies.

 

[BLONG7]

Set for what exactly, that’s still about the worse team in the league + more inexperienced, mid level rookies.

Rebuilds, are hard to stomach for sure.....and we all know it's even harder to be patient.
If memory serves me correct, the Leafs, missed the playoffs for 7 out of 8 years, and it netted them Matthews, Marner, Reilly, and Nylander.............Taveres was a walk on for free.
They are losers in the playoffs, as we know, but there drafting after too many lost seasons netted them a very nice haul that they now can some nights, look dominating.

Would we consider having a somewhat familiar path? We are not likely to be that bad as they were, and Hughes has some draft capital to change the direction a little quicker this summer...........

Buckle up guys....

 

[Retired]

Rebuilds, are hard to stomach for sure.....and we all know it's even harder to be patient.
If memory serves me correct, the Leafs, missed the playoffs for 7 out of 8 years, and it netted them Matthews, Marner, Reilly, and Nylander.............Taveres was a walk on for free.
They are losers in the playoffs, as we know, but there drafting after too many lost seasons netted them a very nice haul that they now can some nights, look dominating.

Would we consider having a somewhat familiar path? We are not likely to be that bad as they were, and Hughes has some draft capital to change the direction a little quicker this summer...........

Buckle up guys....

Habs have not been any better than the Leaf teams you mention. Record breaking bad since Price started missing games. And sorry as heck to watch win or lose.

They also do not have a single player or prospect close to the talent of the guys you listed. Tanking did not work. It’s a fraction of the solution. I don’t believe in the future of the team if that’s the only plan they have.

Every talented player in mtl gets thrown under the bus by our excel sheet warriors and a made up future where some imaginary, low probability plan came together. Get good players through trades and drafts, but keep the very few you have. I only see more jersey fillers in the farm.

 

[The Real Timo]

I see that senators finally ahead of Habs with some games in hand and Zona should leapfrog us soon too... unless Habs go on some kind of a stupid winning streak. I don't see anyone else passing Habs. So... 5th seems like a possibility. Maybe it will even be a forward.

 

[vokiel]

Yotes have problems with the sweet leaf, doubtful they pass us before the end.

 

[HabsForHire]

Retool?? Rebuild?? Same thing. Just trying to get better. Any difference is just splitting hairs with semantics.

no it's not MB did nothing bit bandaid patchwork. that's not rebuilding

 

[yianik]

And this is a reason to have some vet presence around. The vets should be able to put up with the losses better than the young guys, to put it in perspective, and to talk about how there will be a better day.

 

[Habano]

I just noticed we're playing the bankrupt team on Tuesday. Jacques Alain has to be in goal and I think our first line needs some rest. MSL, listen to me. Their backs are very sore from carrying this team the whole season, give them the night off!