HF Habs: The official 2023-2024 tank thread

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And just like that, we got an L that should have been a point. Don't expect a win this coming week (only 2 games).

OpponentsExpected ResultActual Result
NSH; CAR; TORW; L; LW; L; L
CBJ; BOS; CGYW; L; OTLW; OTL; L
EDM; VANL; L
SEA; COL; PHI; CAROTL; L; OTL; L
FLA; TB; TORL; OTL; L
NYR; PHI; NYI; OTTL; OTL; OTL; W
DET; DETW; L
Expected PointsActual Points
5 pts5 pts
 
It takes a D about 4 years of pro hockey to develop his game. Generally speaking.

Guhle has been playing over 20 minutes a game from the beginning and he is paired with a guy who I wouldn't call a defensive stalwart in Matheson. Guhle has looked pretty good and this is only his 2nd year. Ideally we would have a PK , Markov kind of pairing but that's not in the cards, so it will be more about 2 guys complimenting each other. Guhle being on the defensive side.

As to Xheraj , I said possibly a 4 ( with upside ) and I don't see that as being fantasy. Again, onlyv2nd year for him.

As for Hutson , Mailloux and Reinbacher I said we will see. Can Hutson be a Ribiero on D ? A smallish guy who has slow straight away speed but is able to carve around guys and still produce? Can Mailloux bring more than a shot offensively ? Don't know. Is Reinbacher an all around Desjardins kind of guy ? Don't know, hope so because he was 5OA.

So big questions for sure. If nobody can fill spots 1 and/or 3 from our pool over the next few years then that's a significant problem and will stall our rebuild unless we can pull off a pretty significant trade without gutting us at our top 6C.
Guehle needs to fill out and that will come with time. Hutson, RB, Engstrom and Mailloux aren’t even here yet. The D looks really good going forward.
 
And just like that, we got an L that should have been a point. Don't expect a win this coming week (only 2 games).

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD]Opponents[/TD]
[TD]Expected Result[/TD]
[TD]Actual Result[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]NSH; CAR; TOR[/TD]
[TD]W; L; L[/TD]
[TD]W; L; L[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]CBJ; BOS; CGY[/TD]
[TD]W; L; OTL[/TD]
[TD]W; OTL; L[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]EDM; VAN[/TD]
[TD]L; L[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]SEA; COL; PHI; CAR[/TD]
[TD]OTL; L; OTL; L[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]FLA; TB; TOR[/TD]
[TD]L; OTL; L[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]NYR; PHI; NYI; OTT[/TD]
[TD]L; OTL; OTL; W[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]DET; DET[/TD]
[TD]W; L[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]Expected Points[/TD]
[TD]Actual Points[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]5 pts[/TD]
[TD]5 pts[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
It’ll be curious to see how many clubs start resting players down the stretch. I’m sure we’ll face some backups too.
 
If we cant draft Cs Cellibrini or Lindstrom, id aim for RHDs Levshunov or Parekh
Celebrini is obviously the guy if we win the lottery. After that... man, so many good choices. Eiserman is my guy but I completely understand that he isn't for everyone given the criticisms he's faced.

I think I'll be happy no matter what. Lidstrom, Eiserman, Iginla, Catton... theyr'e all great adds.
 
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So looking at the standings and games left I'm sensing the best we can do is picking third overall and hope to win the lottery.

How in the hell is Chicago possibly getting an other 1OA? 🤮
 
It’ll be curious to see how many clubs start resting players down the stretch. I’m sure we’ll face some backups too.
Resting players is not a thing before the last 5 games Luckily most of our last 5 games will be against teams out of the playoffs so they wont rest players. We'll face lot of number 2 that's for sure.
 
If we cant draft Cs Cellibrini or Lindstrom, id aim for RHDs Levshunov or Parekh
There's no way i'd skip on Catton for a D.

Celebrini is obviously the guy if we win the lottery. After that... man, so many good choices. Eiserman is my guy but I completely understand that he isn't for everyone given the criticisms he's faced.

I think I'll be happy no matter what. Lidstrom, Eiserman, Iginla, Catton... theyr'e all great addss.
Agreed. It's also a D heavy draft and many rebuilding teams will be looking to add a D. One of those guys will be available for us even if we draft 7th. Very possible one is available at even 9th. Obviously the higher we draft the better cause we will be able to choose the one we draft.
 
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We’re not one of the worst defensive cores in the league, simply the youngest.
the forwards have a fair share of the responsibility for the problems in the defensive zone especially with no depth at C its rough out there its not like the guys are getting walked left and right we just suffer team breakdowns from getting hemmed in so much which is as much on the fwds as the d. The fact evans is our second C right now can't be stressed enough , Newhook is good but he's not a center , thank god him armia and roy are working well in the ozone because they are lost in their own end as well , not to mention Anderson and gally who are net negatives defensively every minute they are out there
 
Today's games

Carolina @ Ottawa
Winnipeg @ Columbus

Both games at 6pm ET, need a major upset from either Ottawa or Columbus
 
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Get the stars and build around them. Cover their weakness. Don't let 3 cups going to Boston, Stl and Vegas in the last 20 years obscure your vision. Teams winning cups are more often then not driven by stars and built effectively around them.
Getting stars, there’s the rub.

Best way to get a potential one is with an early pick and that’s if you make the right selection. We’re not a destination market for UFAs so we have to prevail at the draft table.
 
Newhook is a 50 pt player at worst. Statistics tell nothing. He was never given a chance with Colorado and played with plugs most of his time with Montreal. In College he was every bit as good as his linemate Boldy.

You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves in to. The poster you're responding to only posts in bad faith, why bother trying to argue them out of it?

Of course Newhook isn't a 30 point player, it's not worth arguing about. He's on a 45 point pace in a season he had an injury that is notoriously hard to come back from while playing a position he's isn't suited for.
 
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Alex Pietrangelo is a defensive defenseman. Same with Shea Weber. Same with Ryan Suter. They just accumulate PP points to boost their totals. I'd gladly "waste" a top 5 pick on any of those players


But Habs are not elite D heavy. Guhle, Hutson and maybe mailloux. Everyone and their mother knew they would tank again this year. Let's say they somehow draft demidov/lindstrom. I'd rather Reinbacher and demidov/Lindstrom over michkov and one of the D this year which nonone can conclude is better than the rest
They would not have tanked if Dach and Newhook played the whole season. Once they went down for most of the season it was a given. No way to create a playoff contender without giving up most of the assets needed for the rebuild.
 
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They would not have tanked if Dach and Newhook played the whole season. Once they went down for most of the season it was a given. No way to create a playoff contender without giving up most of the assets needed for the rebuild.
I was also not banking on Monty playing as well. He probably stole 10 pts for the Habs so far. And I was not expecting to maybe get the 4th best odds. Maybe like 7/8th
 
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They would not have tanked if Dach and Newhook played the whole season. Once they went down for most of the season it was a given. No way to create a playoff contender without giving up most of the assets needed for the rebuild.
Just reminded us of how thin our quality center depth is. Plus, can we afford to trust Dach to stay healthy over a full season?
 
That's a bad hypothetical. Here's a better one. If you removed both weber and Suzuki off that team, inserting which player would make a bigger impact, Pietrangelo or panarin
Neither the team would not have been good enough. Like i said get the stars. They are hard to get and you can't be picky. Then build around them. In 2021 we already had the stars in Price and Weber. They were old but it was a last hooray for them.

Obviously if you remove Weber and Suzuki Pietrangelo is a better fit. But you still would not win since you are back to square one and still need to add offense (even more so since you removed Suzuki). But if you have to build from scratch both Pientrangelo and Kaprizov are good answers. What Kaprisov has been able to do in Minnesota is impressive that lineup is bottom 5 without him.
 
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Just reminded us of how thin our quality center depth is. Plus, can we afford to trust Dach to stay healthy over a full season?
The Million Dollar question. Dach is a C, no doubt. And his skill and ability have started to show since coming to Montreal. No question guy is a 2C, at least.

But he has just 2 years left on his contract with us after multiple years of injury. He has to stay healthy because how do we even sign the guy if he doesn't ? What we need is for him to pound out 2 good years where we can say great, we will open up the wallet on a 6-8 year deal. Can't do that today and it can't keep going this way or else at best we offer a show me short term deal and we don't know if 2C is filled. That's tough on a rebuilding plan.
 
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Neither the team would not have been good enough. Like i said get the stars. They are hard to get and you can't be picky. Then build around them. In 2021 we already had the stars in Price and Weber. They were old but it was a last hooray for them.

Obviously if you remove Weber and Suzuki Pietrangelo is a better fit. But you still would not win since you are back to square one and still need to add offense (even more so since you removed Suzuki). But if you have to build from scratch both Pientrangelo and Kaprizov are good answers. What Kaprisov has been able to do in Minnesota is impressive that lineup is bottom 5 without him.
Not only a better fit but more effective where it counts. If you're a tanking team building your team up, getting a RD shutdown big minutes D is much more valuable than a top line w who probably only plays one way
 
Not only a better fit but more effective where it counts. If you're a tanking team building your team up, getting a RD shutdown big minutes D is much more valuable than a top line w who probably only plays one way

If I could like this I would but the mainboard mods aren't Habs fans lol.

A minute eating #1 RD is worth twice as much as an offense only winger especially one who has questionable character concerns.

This will easily play out the same as the Slaf story.
 
Not only a better fit but more effective where it counts. If you're a tanking team building your team up, getting a RD shutdown big minutes D is much more valuable than a top line w who probably only plays one way
Yes but it doesn't work that way. I mean you get what you can. They drafted Reinbacher not because he was a RHD with the potential to be a 40-50 points defensive dman they they drafted him because they though he was the BPA. They did not like Michkov he was not their man.

I don't think drafting Rainbacher was part of a plan or something he was just their man. History have proven that you can win with anything. Vancouver almost won with Bure and that suspension in the scf was BS. Caps won with Ovy. CH won with Roy. NJ/Anaheim won with Stevens/Pronger and Niedermayer.

Grab the legend and then build the team around him. If you pass on a Bure because you want to draft a defensive stud then you're doing it wrong in my book. They just did not believe that Michkov or the other guys were that kind of offensive players and they believed in Reinbacher.

People who believe they'll go with a D this year because that's how you do it and that's what they did last year could be surprised. If they believe in Catton, if he is their man they'll go with him.

If I could like this I would but the mainboard mods aren't Habs fans lol.

A minute eating #1 RD is worth twice as much as an offense only winger especially one who has questionable character concerns.

This will easily play out the same as the Slaf story.
If you pass on Bure or Kucherov or any player of this kind to draft a minute eating RHD then imo you're doing it wrong. They just did not believe in Michkov. People act like if MIchkov would already be a 50 goals and 90 points winger. There's a long way to go to get there. History will tell who's right and who's wrong. Personally i don't pretend to know i'll give Reinbacher a chance to prove what he can do.
 
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Not only a better fit but more effective where it counts. If you're a tanking team building your team up, getting a RD shutdown big minutes D is much more valuable than a top line w who probably only plays one way
But aren’t those shutdown D that play big minutes, typically available later? If they are playing a shutdown role, what does it matter if they’re RD or LD?

Where was Shea Weber selected?

Teams using a pick on a D early in the draft will typically look for a player that provides a modicum of offence, which may explain why the shutdown Ds tend to fall.

Scoring is the most difficult skill and the least abundant. If all things are equal between two draftees, I’d opt for the high level forward goal producer over the high level shutdown D. The latter or a reasonable facsimile, can be found with a later pick. Not an elite goal scorer.
 
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