HF Habs: The official 2023-2024 tank thread

[26Mats]

It's over, guys. We're going to finish 6th.

We're now 4 pts up on Arizona, as they just lost they're 14th consecutive game. They're not catching us again.

Columbus is now 7 pts back.

Everyone else is now too far ahead for us to catch. Buffalo at #8 is 5 pts up. Seattle #9 is 6 pts ahead.

There's only Ottawa left. They are 2 pts back with 3 games in hand.

Tomorrow, Ottawa hosts Arizona. Sens should win. We'll fall to #6, and that's where we'll likely finish.

it's likely 6, but things can chanege.

Thats what worries me more then anything is the teams ahead winning the lottery. There are 6 players i like.

which 6?

 

[Riggins]

I'm perfectly fine with the #6 spot. After all, Celebrini was born in the 6th month of 2006. So we all know what that means.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I'm perfectly fine with #6. After all, Celebrini was born in the 6th month of 2006. So we all know what that means.

That Chicago will get him for burying further molestations?

 

[habamillions]

it's likely 6, but things can chanege.


which 6?

Celebini,lindstrom,demidov,eisermqn,levshunov and silayev.
Catton im growing on though.

 

[McGees]

Eiserman has lost his spot at the top. Final rankings will have him later. We once again will finish just passed the top tier it looks like.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Eiserman has lost his spot at the top. Final rankings will have him later. We once again will finish just passed the top tier it looks like.

It'd take an unprecedented run on defenseman to save us now.

They are gonna have to get it right between Catton, Eiserman, Iginla and Helenius.

 

[The Great Weal]

Eiserman has lost his spot at the top. Final rankings will have him later. We once again will finish just passed the top tier it looks like.

There are 22 games left, that’s over a quarter of the season. Also most rankings made it clear that after Celebrini it’s pretty much a mystery.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

That Chicago will get him for burying further molestations?

Just as it as a given that Florida would play like shit today it is pretty much guaranteed that Hawks will get Celebrini

 

[Ezpz]

I did say we'd take a dman a few months ago if we weren't in the top 5. I'm also worried about Lindstrom's upside now that McKenna is clearly the future first overall and exploded in the second half. We're going to have to gamble on a midget if we want elite talent. For such a D heavy draft though, there's a lot of lists with 14-15 forwards in the top 20.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Just as it as a given that Florida would play like shit today it is pretty much guaranteed that Hawks will get Celebrini

No team’s guaranteed to get him. But Chicago’s gonna finish last.

 

[Seb]

"most difficult remaining schedule"

 

[KevSkillz4]

I'm really happy with a bottom 6 finish and a top 8 looking like a lock at this moment.

For Habs, I'm hype for these guy:

1 - Celebrini.
2 - Demidov.
3 - Lindstrom.
4 - Dickinson.
5 - Levshunov.
6 - Catton.
7 - Buium.
8 - Parekh.

I think we are going to be very very happy with one of them, Buium is my favorite, Dickinson or Levshunov are safe pick's and look oustanding aswell. Parekh looks like a perfect partner to Guhle.

At forward, Catton should be the target at this range, to me, that would be the better pick between Eiserman, Iginla and Helenius.

He can easily be compared to Logan Cooley, everyone should be hype if Habs select him.

If Habs take another forward than him, I put my money on Tij Iginla. The fit with Habs is really there.

 

[HabsCowboysOwn]

I know I'm going to catch flak for this cause he's a fan favorite here for some reason but Montembeault pisses me off to no end, I just don't like him and never will.

I'll always see him as a dime a dozen plug who decided to play the best hockey of his life at the worst possible time, he can take all the dumb loser points he's helped amass these past two years and shove 'em right up his ass. Rant over.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

No team’s guaranteed to get him. But Chicago’s gonna finish last.

As I have said before all the teams in the bottom 7 or 8 the NHL doesn't care about or actively dislikes, except Chicago. What does last give a team - 25% chance?

 

[McGees]

There are 22 games left, that’s over a quarter of the season. Also most rankings made it clear that after Celebrini it’s pretty much a mystery.

As we've chatted before, I think the final rankings and actual draft will have Lindstrom and Demidov in top 5.
Yes lots of games left, but I just have a hard time seeing them suck more than CBJ, Sens, Yotes, Buffalo meaning a 6-8 finish most likely.

 

[Runner77]

Eiserman has lost his spot at the top. Final rankings will have him later. We once again will finish just passed the top tier it looks like.

Where does your top tier end and who does it include?

 

[The Great Weal]

As we've chatted before, I think the final rankings and actual draft will have Lindstrom and Demidov in top 5.
Yes lots of games left, but I just have a hard time seeing them suck more than CBJ, Sens, Yotes, Buffalo meaning a 6-8 finish most likely.

The Sens are ahead of us based on point percentage and Buffalo is a good bit ahead. I mean if you want to be pessimistic and think that we will draft very late and that the top 3 will be Celebrini/Lindstrom/Demidov you absolutely can, but it's not realistic since nothing has been shown to indicate this.

 

[McGees]

Where does your top tier end and who does it include?

I was hoping to tank our way into the 2nd tier who I think are gone by 5.

I see tiers for forwards with
1. Celebrini
2. Lindstrom/Demidov
3. Catton/Iggy/Helenius/Eiserman

But who knows, maybe teams will really go for all the D first - we are all just speculating and that's my opinion.

 

[Runner77]

I know I'm going to catch flak for this cause he's a fan favorite here for some reason but Montembeault pisses me off to no end, I just don't like him and never will.

I'll always see him as a dime a dozen plug who decided to play the best hockey of his life at the worst possible time, he can take all the dumb loser points he's helped amass these past two years and shove 'em right up his ass. Rant over.

MSL is also choosing to play him against weaker teams and giving him consecutive starts so Monty is not fully involved.

I can’t wait find out how good Monty will be when we begin playing games that actually mean something.

 

[McGees]

The Sens are ahead of us based on point percentage and Buffalo is a good bit ahead. I mean if you want to be pessimistic and think that we will draft very late and that the top 3 will be Celebrini/Lindstrom/Demidov you absolutely can, but it's not realistic since nothing has been shown to indicate this.

Well, most of the season we've been above those teams up until our 5 game skid so it's absolutely not out of the realm to still jockey with each other still.
I would never put $ on these Sens or Sabres to win games lol - and even if we out-tank em, that still leaves us 6th and my hope was 5th.

 

[The Great Weal]

Well, most of the season we've been above those teams up until our 5 game skid so it's absolutely not out of the realm to still jockey with each other still.
I would never put $ on these Sens or Sabres to win games lol - and even if we out-tank em, that still leaves us 6th and my hope was 5th.

But why are you taking into account most of the season? We no longer have a guy like Monahan which is a massive factor. We have the most difficult stretch to finish the season and we aren't having every game going to OT/SO at an abnormal pace like the start of the year. These aren't things that you can ignore. The Sens added Pinto who has been lights out and they have been better under their new coach. If you do take into account most of the season, why did you suddenly stop taking into account that the Yotes were better than us for most of the season? They deserved to beat us when we played them and they are still only 2 wins away from overtaking us again. Sabres and Sens are already ahead of us. 5th is very much still realistic but it's still not good enough since for you as you believe the forwards are going higher based on your ranking.

 

[Runner77]

I was hoping to tank our way into the 2nd tier who I think are gone by 5.

I see tiers for forwards with
1. Celebrini
2. Lindstrom/Demidov
3. Catton/Iggy/Helenius/Eiserman

But who knows, maybe teams will really go for all the D first - we are all just speculating and that's my opinion.

From your list, expressed as positions:
1. Center
2. Center/ LW-RW
3. Center/ Center-LW/ Center-RW / LW

Our greatest position of need is Center but obviously, with such an early pick you gotta go with the clear BPA where there is one.

That would be Celebrini and Lindstrom. You forego the center position objective if you're picking 3rd and Demidov falls to you.

Failing that, the other clear cut Center is Catton. Don't know how well Iginla and Helenius qualify at center. Evidently, there are other attributes to look at to separate the talent in tier 3, so it may well happen that we don't walk away with a Center.

 

[McGees]

But why are you taking into account most of the season? We no longer have a guy like Monahan which is a massive factor. We have the most difficult stretch to finish the season and we aren't having every game going to OT/SO at an abnormal pace like the start of the year. These aren't things that you can ignore. The Sens added Pinto who has been lights out and they have been better under their new coach. If you do take into account most of the season, why did you suddenly stop taking into account that the Yotes were better than us for most of the season? They deserved to beat us when we played them and they are still only 2 wins away from overtaking us again. Sabres and Sens are already ahead of us. 5th is very much still realistic but it's still not good enough since for you as you believe the forwards are going higher based on your ranking.

The Sens are about to unload Tarasenko and perhaps Chychrun.
Yotes are dead man walking - don't know if they are being relocated, playing for 5000 college fans or any of their futures, you can tell that they have checked out.
Yes - hopefully Sabres have finally turned the corner.

Is what it is, I just really wanted a top forward since I think this is last year of hardcore tank, we should be a middle team next year.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

Gonna say it until the draft, one of Demidov, Lindstrom, Eiserman or Iginla will be our pick.

The draft is shaping up very nicely for us. We will get a goal scoring winger that will slot in nicely on our 2nd line that will be centered by Kirby. Don't see players like Catton or Helenius being a fit for us personally.

 

[The Great Weal]

The Sens are about to unload Tarasenko and perhaps Chychrun.
Yotes are dead man walking - don't know if they are being relocated, playing for 5000 college fans or any of their futures, you can tell that they have checked out.
Yes - hopefully Sabres have finally turned the corner.

Is what it is, I just really wanted a top forward since I think this is last year of hardcore tank, we should be a middle team next year.

Losing Monahan is a significantly better blow than the Sens losing Tarasenko who's getting 3rd line ice time for them. Perhaps we trade Savard like how the Sens potentially trade Chychrun.
For the past 2 years, I've heard that the Yotes were guaranteed to finish below us and it hasn't happened both times. Can it happen this time? Sure, but at this time last year, the Yotes had 5 points less than us and we still finished below them.
Regardless of whether or not the Sabres have turned the corner, they've been better than us for the past 2 seasons and so far this season.