HF Habs: The official 2023-2024 tank thread

[Gustave]

There's a lot of ways for the offence to improve, Dach being healthy, Caufield getting his scoring touch back, Slafkovsky producing for a full season at his current level instead of half a season, a better PP probably being the main ones.

It's really the D that probably holds us back, I actually doubt Mailloux or Hutson make the team outside of injuries. But even so, it's a young group that doesn't have a ton of NHL experience so I would expect another year of ups and downs for them. But with more offensive support that might help them settle down and be more consistent.

It's also unlikely that Hughes does nothing this offseason so it's too early to say one way or another.

I’m sure Hugo will make a move, they are into buying low on young guys needing a change in scenery so it should be interesting. I guess they won’t want to make a huge commitment of assets towards said player, not knowing how the young D’s stack up just yet. So the “big” one could be two offseasons away still.

I have trouble on banking on Dach being a stable presence yet, so far he’s been injured a lot so I’ll hedge my bet on him. Roy will provide some much needed spark 5 on 5 and might get a shift or two on a PP so that’s a plus. Our first line is very productive, there could be a bump of 20/25 total goals there. Now is that “enough”? I’m not really sure. This is a big question mark but normal in our process.

I’m prepared for a bottom 10 again, but they could make it to bottom 12. In any case, we aren’t there yet.

 

[Sorinth]

I’m sure Hugo will make a move, they are into buying low on young guys needing a change in scenery so it should be interesting. I guess they won’t want to make a huge commitment of assets towards said player, not knowing how the young D’s stack up just yet. So the “big” one could be two offseasons away still.

I have trouble on banking on Dach being a stable presence yet, so far he’s been injured a lot so I’ll hedge my bet on him. Roy will provide some much needed spark 5 on 5 and might get a shift or two on a PP so that’s a plus. Our first line is very productive, there could be a bump of 20/25 total goals there. Now is that “enough”? I’m not really sure. This is a big question mark but normal in our process.

I’m prepared for a bottom 10 again, but they could make it to bottom 12. In any case, we aren’t there yet.

Well 20-25 more goals would push us to above 3 GF per game and into 16-19 range. So it could very easily bring us out of the bottom-10 even if we remain a one line team. Probably not enough for playoffs but then again there are some weak teams that squeak into the playoffs. It's not like Philly, NYI, Washington aren't also 1 line teams. So yeah we aren't there yet if there means being a contender, but bubble team isn't actually all that high of a threshold and we could easily end up in the mix with them.

 

[Seven7]

French media is pissing me off honestly. They keep saying they are done with the rebuild and want Montreal to be competitive asap. That's not how a rebuild work. Have fun spending eternity in mediocrity then.

 

[26Mats]

French media is pissing me off honestly. They keep saying they are done with the rebuild and want Montreal to be competitive asap. That's not how a rebuild work. Have fun spending eternity in mediocrity then.

As long as we get a good one in this year's draft, I'm ok if we start winning, which I think we will start doing next year if Dach and the main pieces stay healthy.

I think we have enough on D. And I think this is enough up front:

Cc Suzy Slaf
Newhook dach 2024 1st (Demidov/Lindstrom/Catron/Eiserman)
Roy Monahan (or comparable vet) Beck

Plus there is free agency and acquiring and re-signing rentals for futures.

 

[montreal]

As long as we get a good one in this year's draft, I'm ok if we start winning

To me it's not about stats or winning, it's about making the right choices, progressing and building this thing up which can take many years to pull off which is why you never want to end up in this position because it's so hard to get out of. But it's not about the fans or media, they can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first. Whatever any fan or media person wants either tank or no tank, winning or not, who cares at the end of the day since it doesn't matter one bit.

It's going to come down to either the Habs have started making the right choices or they haven't and that's where management will need to access the situation properly and react accordingly. I've said how impressed I am with how smart Hughes sounds so I think he will get it right but that's just based off nothing really, we just have to wait and see.

If the team starts playing better then it becomes why are they playing better? Cause in order for us to ever hope to become a contender, we are very likely going to need to find our Markov replacement, someone that can be a true legit top pairing D that can run the offense and not be a shit show in their own end. We need a Makar, Hughes, Fox type or if not then we need to have several D end up being at least as good or better then expected. So until you really see the blueline taking control the games and progressing well then it's likely not going to matter much if they win a few more or less games.

 

[26Mats]

To me it's not about stats or winning, it's about making the right choices, progressing and building this thing up which can take many years to pull off which is why you never want to end up in this position because it's so hard to get out of. But it's not about the fans or media, they can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first. Whatever any fan or media person wants either tank or no tank, winning or not, who cares at the end of the day since it doesn't matter one bit.

It's going to come down to either the Habs have started making the right choices or they haven't and that's where management will need to access the situation properly and react accordingly. I've said how impressed I am with how smart Hughes sounds so I think he will get it right but that's just based off nothing really, we just have to wait and see.

If the team starts playing better then it becomes why are they playing better? Cause in order for us to ever hope to become a contender, we are very likely going to need to find our Markov replacement, someone that can be a true legit top pairing D that can run the offense and not be a shit show in their own end. We need a Makar, Hughes, Fox type or if not then we need to have several D end up being at least as good or better then expected. So until you really see the blueline taking control the games and progressing well then it's likely not going to matter much if they win a few more or less games.

So would you take a dman if you thought such a dman is on the board when we're picking this year?

many think Dickinson, Parekh, Buium or Levshunov are that type of dman. Yakumchuk sounds risky in his own end.

 

[montreal]

So would you take a dman if you thought such a dman is on the board when we're picking this year?

many think Dickinson, Parekh, Buium or Levshunov are that type of dman. Yakumchuk sounds risky in his own end.

I think it's a huge mistake to not go BPA so for me in any draft I would pick whoever I felt was best. Of course you have to keep position in mind especially if it's a goalie as they just do not hold the kind of value that other positions do.

I haven't seen any WHL games so I don't know anything about Yakumchuk but depending on where we pick and who's on board, if we ended up taking any of Dickinson, Parekh, Buium or Levshunov I wouldn't complain although with Parekh and Buium I feel it's similar to Mickhov - Caufield last year where you have Hutson already and I don't know if you can win in the playoffs with one of them let alone two.

 

[Rapala]

People are in a for rude awakening. With the amount of 1 goal games Habs have been in and the amount of backups we've played, I would not be surprised to see a regression next year. Also goalies cannot realistically play much better than this year.

I had us pegged as a .500 team this season to somewhere in the bubble next season before contending for a playoff spot the following year.
I just don't see us with the depth of character we will need to win games in March and April even with Kirby Dach.
Games similar to what we were faced with last evening against Tampa Bay.

 

[Rapala]

Caufield last year where you have Hutson already and I don't know if you can win in the playoffs with one of them let alone two.

If we were to select Parehk or Buium in this draft Hutson then has to be shopped IMO. We are in no position to support any more shrimps.

 

[26Mats]

I think it's a huge mistake to not go BPA so for me in any draft I would pick whoever I felt was best. Of course you have to keep position in mind especially if it's a goalie as they just do not hold the kind of value that other positions do.

I haven't seen any WHL games so I don't know anything about Yakumchuk but depending on where we pick and who's on board, if we ended up taking any of Dickinson, Parekh, Buium or Levshunov I wouldn't complain although with Parekh and Buium I feel it's similar to Mickhov - Caufield last year where you have Hutson already and I don't know if you can win in the playoffs with one of them let alone two.

Parekh is listed as 6 feet tall, same as Markov who you referenced.

 

[montreal]

Parekh is listed as 6 feet tall, same as Markov who you referenced.

and to me fans vastly overate height over weight/lower body strength.

 

[le_sean]

Need the Wings to win so they take the last two games of the season seriously

 

[HuGo Sham]

Unless we land Celebrini, I expect whoever we draft to cook for a year in college or junior. I think we'll also trade for a young forward using some of our picks and young dmen.

 

[rahad]

French media is pissing me off honestly. They keep saying they are done with the rebuild and want Montreal to be competitive asap. That's not how a rebuild work. Have fun spending eternity in mediocrity then.

Is not just the french media only. Making the playoff= more money for the sport media. How much do you think the media did with the Habs stanley cup playoff?

 

[Sorinth]

To me it's not about stats or winning, it's about making the right choices, progressing and building this thing up which can take many years to pull off which is why you never want to end up in this position because it's so hard to get out of. But it's not about the fans or media, they can wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first. Whatever any fan or media person wants either tank or no tank, winning or not, who cares at the end of the day since it doesn't matter one bit.

It's going to come down to either the Habs have started making the right choices or they haven't and that's where management will need to access the situation properly and react accordingly. I've said how impressed I am with how smart Hughes sounds so I think he will get it right but that's just based off nothing really, we just have to wait and see.

If the team starts playing better then it becomes why are they playing better? Cause in order for us to ever hope to become a contender, we are very likely going to need to find our Markov replacement, someone that can be a true legit top pairing D that can run the offense and not be a shit show in their own end. We need a Makar, Hughes, Fox type or if not then we need to have several D end up being at least as good or better then expected. So until you really see the blueline taking control the games and progressing well then it's likely not going to matter much if they win a few more or less games.

Obviously a Makar/Hughes/Fox type is a huge boon but it's not really a need. You don't need that elite offensive #1 D to have a good D core, it makes things easier of course but you can build a defence in many different ways.

We don't need to see our D take control of games in order to be happy with the why of the team playing better. If we are playing better because our 3rd and 4th lines become good then sure it's not a reason to get excited because there's so much turnover in those positions that it lacks any long term outlook. But if it comes from Dach being healthy and putting up 70 points on the 2nd line, if it comes from Caufield re-finding his scoring touch, or Slafkovksy becoming an 80+ point player then those are all things that matter to us becoming a contender as much as the D coming together and taking control of games.

 

[Rapala]

Damn maybe the NHL should do an aggregate of the NHL/AHL standings before determining placements pre lottery.

 

[Rapala]

Obviously a Makar/Hughes/Fox type is a huge boon but it's not really a need. You don't need that elite offensive #1 D to have a good D core, it makes things easier of course but you can build a defence in many different ways.

We don't need to see our D take control of games in order to be happy with the why of the team playing better. If we are playing better because our 3rd and 4th lines become good then sure it's not a reason to get excited because there's so much turnover in those positions that it lacks any long term outlook. But if it comes from Dach being healthy and putting up 70 points on the 2nd line, if it comes from Caufield re-finding his scoring touch, or Slafkovksy becoming an 80+ point player then those are all things that matter to us becoming a contender as much as the D coming together and taking control of games.

True but we do not have the one player on the back end who can help propel Dach to 70 or Slaf to 80 or Suzuki to 90.
Matheson clearly isn't it Guhle while perhaps being more stable will never be accused of being an offensive dynamo.
I watch some of our best players position themselves and it's shocking how few times we are able to get them the puck in space.
We will never get the best out of our top forwards without an offensive genius taking Matheson's minutes on PP1.

 

[26Mats]

Need the Wings to win so they take the last two games of the season seriously

good thing the caps and flyers also lost tonight. But the Isles and Pens have been climbing.

Definitely need the Wings to turn their skid around soon.

And the thing is, of our last 5 games, 5 of them are against teams that are still in that playoff race: Wings, Flyers, and Isles. The other is against the Sens. Not the strongest of final 5 game schedules. Hopefully the Sens still have our number and the other teams are still in their playoff race.

 

[Sorinth]

True but we do not have the one player on the back end who can help propel Dach to 70 or Slaf to 80 or Suzuki to 90.
Matheson clearly isn't it Guhle while perhaps being more stable will never be accused of being an offensive dynamo.
I watch some of our best players position themselves and it's shocking how few times we are able to get them the puck in space.
We will never get the best out of our top forwards without an offensive genius taking Matheson's minutes on PP1.

Slaf has 26 points in his last 26 games and 13 in his last 12, we don't need an superstar PP QB to propel Slaf to 80 points. All the guys listed can hit those point totals without a Hughes/Makar/Fox stud on the backend. All we need is for them for them to continue to push themselves and develop.

 

[Rapala]

Slaf has 26 points in his last 26 games and 13 in his last 12, we don't need an superstar PP QB to propel Slaf to 80 points. All the guys listed can hit those point totals without a Hughes/Makar/Fox stud on the backend. All we need is for them for them to continue to push themselves and develop.

I doubt it. You tell me when we last had players with those kinds of numbers spread over two lines?

 

[Sorinth]

I doubt it.

Doubt what exactly that a 19 year old whose been pacing for 66 points since Dec 16th (46 games) won't continue to improve both his play and his production? I mean everyone's free to have their opinion but it seems crazy to me that you'd think Slaf has touched his limits, and if he hasn't touched his limits then ppg numbers are certainly within his reach even if he's stuck with the 10th most productive defenceman in the NHL as the teams PP QB.

 

[Kimota]

Logically we should get between #6-8

 

[HabsCowboysOwn]

Arizona/Vegas 4-4 late in the third, probably just jinxed them but whatever. Hold on for once you useless turds.

Edit: 5-4 Arizona, please hold on.

 

[Sookind]

Was 4-1 Vegas in the third, Arizona scored 3 goals in -2min, 5-4 Arizona now,so sick

 

[Rozz]

just got off stage and checked in on the scores.. Holy f***ing shit! ZONA YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARDS!!!!!

UP 2 AND 3 MINS TO GO!!! D9NT f*** THIS UP!! WOOOOOO!!!