The state of the Habs Rebuild - The Next step

[Tabarouette]

You know that episode of the simpsons where they're picking baseball players and Bart picks Nelson and then Milhouse picks Jose Canseco?

Every couple of years every team not named the Canadiens are like, hey we found this dude smoking behind a burger king and gave him a stick, he'll be PPG within a year for the rest of his career

meanwhile we're out here like "I know i've been saying this every year for 35 years but trust me, these next guys in the pipeline, those guys are FOR REAL for real they're not like the previous batch" and "these things take time D+7 is too early to tell"

Seasonal depression is actually just having to watch this god damn team when Fall starts bro


thank god for Lane Hutson

 

[ReHabs]

Create the ''2025 tank thread'' and they will start losing in OT. Our goalies will play in god mode. Our bottom 6 players will play at 150%.

Belzile and Pezz and Monty costing us Bedard was rly infuriating

No tank thread please.

 

[Notabaguette]

We have a lot of pieces to be a contender. We have a goal scorer, big fwd, great dynamic d, top notch goalie, depth, defense...but we need to develop them. And bring in great ufas and veterans...

On paper it looks bright, but a lot of the eggs are on Fowler and Demidov

Personally I hope we get another stud draft pick and invest in ufa like Marner

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

We have a lot of pieces to be a contender. We have a goal scorer, big fwd, great dynamic d, top notch goalie, depth, defense...but we need to develop them. And bring in great ufas and veterans...

On paper it looks bright, but a lot of the eggs are on Fowler and Demidov

Personally I hope we get another stud draft pick and invest in ufa like Marner

key words it looks great on paper sadly . Right now everything is a god damn mess.

 

[MD thaivuN]

Belzile and Pezz and Monty costing us Bedard was rly infuriating

No tank thread please.

Oi, Pezz doesn't deserve to be charged with RHP's crimes. The man couldn't ruin any tank even if he wanted to

 

[ReHabs]

Oi, Pezz doesn't deserve to be charged with RHP's crimes. The man couldn't ruin any tank even if he wanted to

Ah you’re right I’m thinking of RHP probably

 

[RationalExpectations]

What worries me from the discussion is that many people are now more focused on the rebuild rather than winning. Watching prospect score points (in juniors, Europe AHL or NHL) has become more important than actually winning. Imagining what could be is becoming more important than what is.

I am all for development but looking at Slaf as an example I don t see a 1OA from 2 years ago. He is supposed to have an impact like M. Tkachuk. Well in his D+3 season Tkachuk was playing with Gaudreau Monahan who were in their D+8, D+6 like Suzuki and CC today. He scored 77 points and was a true impact player. Not blaming him or saying he is a bust, merely that young players develop better in a winning group than in a losing one. A team being very bad makes it hard to identify where the real problems come from, see BUF who thought O Reilly then Eichel were the issue, how did it work for them?

Suzuki is a PPG center, many compare him to Bergeron. He is closer in age to R. Andersson than to Slaf or Demidov. at this stage of their careers this team should be way better than what it is today.

 

[Picaroon]

I hope HuGo aren't too proud to sell at the deadline as the rumours have suggested they don't want to. It's the last chance to cash in on Matheson, Savard, Dvo, Armia, Evans and maybe even look at moving some multi year contracts like Newhook. Use the off season to try and shop Anderson and maybe use Roy and/or another promising yet redundant young players to upgrade the D. The team needs to be purged big time.

Looking at next year's lineup gives me quite a bit of optimism. The top 6 will be in great shape with Demidov and Laine. They really just need to rebuild the bottom 6 to be mean AF and defensively responsible. Heineman, Kapanen and Tuch are a great start with Gallagher as a veteran but we need more grit and experience there. Olivier, Tanev, Gourde, Jeannot and Greenway as UFA's are interesting

On D, they need a Vet RD which is a tough task. Going after Ekblad could help. Not sure what he'd ask for or if Florida is trying to sign him.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

We have a lot of pieces to be a contender. We have a goal scorer, big fwd, great dynamic d, top notch goalie, depth, defense...but we need to develop them. And bring in great ufas and veterans...

On paper it looks bright, but a lot of the eggs are on Fowler and Demidov

Personally I hope we get another stud draft pick and invest in ufa like Marner

And Hage and Rainmaker, and whoever we draft this year. The rebuild drafts started 26 months ago, so it's kinda normal that what we're banking on for the future hasn't hatched.

Only two players are on the team from the rebuild drafts. Slaf and Lane. Sure, you can say we added Newhook and Dach, but those were gambles to accelerate the rebuild, doesn't mean the rebuild was actually accelerated.

 

[GrandmaCookie]

What worries me from the discussion is that many people are now more focused on the rebuild rather than winning. Watching prospect score points (in juniors, Europe AHL or NHL) has become more important than actually winning. Imagining what could be is becoming more important than what is.

I am all for development but looking at Slaf as an example I don t see a 1OA from 2 years ago. He is supposed to have an impact like M. Tkachuk. Well in his D+3 season Tkachuk was playing with Gaudreau Monahan who were in their D+8, D+6 like Suzuki and CC today. He scored 77 points and was a true impact player. Not blaming him or saying he is a bust, merely that young players develop better in a winning group than in a losing one. A team being very bad makes it hard to identify where the real problems come from, see BUF who thought O Reilly then Eichel were the issue, how did it work for them?

Suzuki is a PPG center, many compare him to Bergeron. He is closer in age to R. Andersson than to Slaf or Demidov. at this stage of their careers this team should be way better than what it is today.

Weird take.

Slafkovsky currently has a 73 points pace, and the only reason he isn't playing on the first, is because the coach are trying to even out the line. There is a reason he is still put on the first PP wave; coach still consider him a top line forward for us.

 

[Player 61]

I saw 2 Cups 86 and 93. Sometimes when I see the team playing lateley , I get Patience! But Would be nice to see team grow. yearly. R.

I saw 2 Cups 86 and 93. Sometimes when I see the team playing lateley , I get Patience! But Would be nice to see team grow. yearly. R. 2 Mods please erase!! Tank threads.

 

[The Last Red]

We have a lot of pieces to be a contender. We have a goal scorer, big fwd, great dynamic d, top notch goalie, depth, defense...but we need to develop them. And bring in great ufas and veterans...

On paper it looks bright, but a lot of the eggs are on Fowler and Demidov

Personally I hope we get another stud draft pick and invest in ufa like Marner

We still lack depth . . . almost everywhere in the lineup. This will take a couple of more years to fix unless a Panarin and Fix appear the Bell Centre’s entrance demanding to play here. Highly unlikely.

 

[RationalExpectations]

Weird take.

Slafkovsky currently has a 73 points pace, and the only reason he isn't playing on the first, is because the coach are trying to even out the line. There is a reason he is still put on the first PP wave; coach still consider him a top line forward for us.

That s my whole point, sorry if that was not clear. We are imaging what the future could be based on points for MTL prospects in every league (incl NHL where I took Slaf as an example) but I fail to see the development in terms of impact. My fear is that this develops into an Eichel situation where you end up players with true potential impact who don t manage to make your team win.

I want the Habs to win and Boston won with Bergeron scoring 60 points, Buffalo did not with Eichel scoring 80 points. I don t care about points, I want this team to win. And I don t think what they are doing now is a proper environment for young players to develop a winning culture. Just my opinion though.

 

[The Last Red]

That s my whole point, sorry if that was not clear. We are imaging what the future could be based on points for MTL prospects in every league (incl NHL where I took Slaf as an example) but I fail to see the development in terms of impact. My fear is that this develops into an Eichel situation where you end up players with true potential impact who don t manage to make your team win.

I want the Habs to win and Boston won with Bergeron scoring 60 points, Buffalo did not with Eichel scoring 80 points. I don t care about points, I want this team to win. And I don t think what they are doing now is a proper environment for young players to develop a winning culture. Just my opinion though.

They just don’t have enough depth. The bottom 6 is terrible, the D is not good enough, the goaltending is meh . . . The rebuild needs more time. The “winning culture” thing is an organic process. Won’t happen just by wanting it. Need the horses first.

 

[RationalExpectations]

They just don’t have enough depth. The bottom 6 is terrible, the D is not good enough, the goaltending is meh . . . The rebuild needs more time. The “winning culture” thing is an organic process. Won’t happen just by wanting it. Need the horses first.

Exactly my point, it s not going to happen overnight so let s cultivate it as early as possible.

 

[The Last Red]

Exactly my point, it s not going to happen overnight so let s cultivate it as early as possible.

I don’t believe you can “”cultivate it” without having the players who can win. You have to start winning first.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Open the tank thread

 

[RationalExpectations]

I don’t believe you can “”cultivate it” without having the players who can win. You have to start winning first.

Suzuki CC Slaf Guhle Dach are all supposed to be part of the core. Anderson Evans Gallagher Newhook are typical guys you d find on a bottom 6 in a winning team. Matheson Savard are 2nd and 3rd pairing vets. That s at least 10 players out of 18. winning culture means never giving up, establishing a system where everybody buys in. They fall short in both categories right now.

 

[HabzSauce]

Sky isn't falling I think long term we still have a good chance at success, but what to do with the state of the team today, is definitely Hugo's biggest hurdle so far in their tenure.

I'm sure they weren't expecting the Laine injury, and I'm sure they weren't expecting us to be this bad either. This looks like another bottom 5 season if they don't clean things up.

On one hand it's good because another high pick which we desperately need. We need talent more than anything. However I'm worried how our current roster will continue to develop in mean time.

Idk what Hugo is gonna do here. Make some trades, bring in some assistants, fire MSL (very unlikely this year even if they stay this bad)....idk they gotta do something. They MUST be plotting something

 

[GrandmaCookie]

Open the tank thread

After every loss is the time for a soldier to sacrifice himself and attempt to open one. We should take turn. If 10 soldiers want to participate, and we get an attempt every 2-3 days, that is only one attempt per soldier per month. What is a possible couple days of hfboards vacancy in the grand scheme of things.

Option B is a habs tanking 2024-2025 discord.

 

[the]

[

After every loss is the time for a soldier to sacrifice himself and attempt to open one. We should take turn. If 10 soldiers want to participate, and we get an attempt every 2-3 days, that is only one attempt per soldier per month. What is a possible couple days of hfboards vacancy in the grand scheme of things.

Option B is a habs tanking 2024-2025 discord.

I’ve done 3 solo suicide missions already the past 7 days. Too many people sleeping here doing nothing. It’s time to get our thread. If I get captured I'm hoping there’s going to be an insurrection to get me out of my jail cell.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

After every loss is the time for a soldier to sacrifice himself and attempt to open one. We should take turn. If 10 soldiers want to participate, and we get an attempt every 2-3 days, that is only one attempt per soldier per month. What is a possible couple days of hfboards vacancy in the grand scheme of things.

Option B is a habs tanking 2024-2025 discord.

makes you wonder what's the value of a single dead tanker in the grand scheme of things

 

[Tabarouette]

tankers must unionize, it's the only way to force our rights to pick someone good

 

[StreetHawk]

On one hand it's good because another high pick which we desperately need. We need talent more than anything. However I'm worried how our current roster will continue to develop in mean time.

Idk what Hugo is gonna do here. Make some trades, bring in some assistants, fire MSL (very unlikely this year even if they stay this bad)....idk they gotta do something. They MUST be plotting something

The younger players like X, Barron, Struble, Hutson, Kapanen, etc. are playing, but are they getting better or going to be getting better in this environment?
That's the potential tradeoff of a terrible bottom 3 season. Yes, you may get a higher draft pick, but if 2-3 of those kids that you were hoping to be a part of your roster, don't develop as hoped, are you going to bring them back with more kids on the roster, or move them out and give a new batch of kids a shot?

 

[BozoTheClown]

This team needs a Nick or Nick Foligno, Pat Maroon, Adam Lowry, Brenden Dillon, Jacob Middleton, Dylan Mcilwrath, Joel Edmundson, Eric Gudbransson, Jamie Oleksiak, Radko Gudas, Matthieu Olivier type player dressed every games on top of having Xhekaj.

Trade Matheson to a cup contender now and get top value. Give more responsibility to Baron and Hutson offensively.