The state of the Habs Rebuild - The Next step

What note you give to Kent Hughes' Rebuild? ?

  • A

    Votes: 205 54.8%
  • B

    Votes: 133 35.6%
  • C

    Votes: 32 8.6%
  • D

    Votes: 3 0.8%
  • E

    Votes: 1 0.3%
  • F

    Votes: 3 0.8%

  • Total voters
    374

HabsMD97

Registered User
Jun 30, 2014
1,230
1,217
king's landing
don't see why it's a mistake, this was a bottom 5 team last year, they are a few years away from being good unless a few young players really take off like Slaf has.
It's a mistake bc he's currently the best defensive D on a cup contender, he was our second best defensive d when he was here. We're currently the worst defensive team in the league. He's also young enough to have been a long term solution on the right side for us. Other than Reinbacher we don't have any other potential top4 D on the right side.
 

Habby4Life

First pick overall goes to the Montreal Canadiens
Nov 12, 2008
4,324
4,060
We've cut our GAs every year of the rebuild so far so I very much doubt you would settle for anything less then good defensively.
I will settle for not getting out shot by 10 shots a game, getting schooled every night or watching them chase in their own end for minutes at a time but if that’s the hockey you enjoy, you do you.

ok, you got me, they look just fine in their own end, lol. MSL fans 🤷

In the MIX, baby!!!
 
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Kimota

ROY DU NORD!!!
Nov 4, 2005
39,907
15,019
Les Plaines D'Abraham
Trading Kovacevic was such an obvious mistake, the team looks a 10x better with him in the lineup

Hughes and Marty refuse to take physicality into consideration and it has already come to bite them in the ass this season. Kovacevic sure wasn't Scott Stevens but he was a stong body out there.

Bring in Roy as President and Hartley as coach. Infuse some testosterone in this organization. Bring back Joel to be next in line. Maybe give us a new owner as well. Privileged silver spoon Molson who only think about image does not help us either.

Alright I'm gonna calm down, now. :laugh:
 
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montreal

Go Habs Go
Mar 21, 2002
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It's a mistake bc he's currently the best defensive D on a cup contender, he was our second best defensive d when he was here. We're currently the worst defensive team in the league. He's also young enough to have been a long term solution on the right side for us. Other than Reinbacher we don't have any other potential top4 D on the right side.

Him being here won't change the future the club, they were in a spot where everyone knew they were going to have to start trading blueliners to make room for the youth. That's what rebuilding teams do, he can go help a cup contender instead of us drafting say a few spots down the list because he helped our poor team defense some.

No matter what they have at RD and who can play there, he wasn't going to be a part of the future here.
 

Habs

Who needs Michkov when you've got Bustbacher
Feb 28, 2002
22,366
16,867
It's a legit concern. He's spent his whole life being good at avoiding big hits but if somebody connects, it could be devastating. I wanted him to spend some time in Laval to shelter him because he's so small... but honestly, he's just too good not to be in the NHL. It's a really weird situation because he looks way too light to be in the league right now but he's also dominating out there.

Dominating in one direction anyways ;)
 

HabsMD97

Registered User
Jun 30, 2014
1,230
1,217
king's landing
Him being here won't change the future the club, they were in a spot where everyone knew they were going to have to start trading blueliners to make room for the youth. That's what rebuilding teams do, he can go help a cup contender instead of us drafting say a few spots down the list because he helped our poor team defense some.

No matter what they have at RD and who can play there, he wasn't going to be a part of the future here.
Kovacevic is literally only 2 years older than Suzuki. He could have been part of this core. When they contend they're gonna need to go get a player like him anyway so why not just keep him. I don't believe xhekaj and barron have higher upside. Mailloux is a completely different player and I don't see him becoming a top 4 D either. Struble i don't even think is an NHL caliber player.
 
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Habby4Life

First pick overall goes to the Montreal Canadiens
Nov 12, 2008
4,324
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Kovacevic is literally only 2 years older than Suzuki. He could have been part of this core. When they contend they're gonna need to go get a player like him anyway so why not just keep him. I don't believe xhekaj and barron have higher upside. Mailloux is a completely different player and I don't see him becoming a top 4 D either. Struble i don't even think is an NHL caliber player.
their D prospects aren’t nearly as good as many on here believe. Guhle is a 3/4, so to is Lane, DR who knows, and the rest are 5/6/7. Of the rest Wifi is only keeper.
 
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Runner77

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Sponsor
Jun 24, 2012
84,902
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A slight disagreement for me is that Guhle will be a top pairing guy if he can stay healthy.
When I had last brought up on this forum that Guhle has durability concerns, I was told that he was only out for 12 games last season and that the large number of games missed in 2022-23 were not necessarily conclusive.

Then came Hughes’ negotiation for an extension which unlike others he awarded to key players, was only for 6 years in Guhle’s case and not 8. Was Hughes hedging his bets on future durability?
 

Tyson

Registered User
Mar 1, 2007
48,848
70,702
Texas
When I had last brought up on this forum that Guhle has durability concerns, I was told that he was only out for 12 games last season and that the large number of games missed in 2022-23 were not necessarily conclusive.

Then came Hughes’ negotiation for an extension which unlike others he awarded to key players, was only for 6 years in Guhle’s case and not 8. Was Hughes hedging his bets on future durability?
👍

Team also started to cover him a lot more, it's not like there is anyone else to cover on the team outside of the first line anyhow.
Exactly
 

Boris Le Tigre

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jan 9, 2007
6,103
626
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Evidently it was too early to have moved a couple of the d with the upside of the young guys still unclear. The depth was great insurance.

It’s hard to judge it until Laine comes back as the lack of consistent secondary scoring is also a problem.

We have less depth this year and can’t sustain any success with injuries starting to pile up.
 

montreal

Go Habs Go
Mar 21, 2002
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Kovacevic is literally only 2 years older than Suzuki. He could have been part of this core. When they contend they're gonna need to go get a player like him anyway so why not just keep him. I don't believe xhekaj and barron have higher upside. Mailloux is a completely different player and I don't see him becoming a top 4 D either. Struble i don't even think is an NHL caliber player.

I said last season that most of the blueline would not be here if/when we are contenders again. I have said this board has been overrating Xhekaj and Barron, who have shown some good and bad in the AHL so we'll see what happens but this is what a rebuild is. Struble I think he is an NHL D but they rushed all these kids without letting them cook in the AHL first.

The Habs were highly unlikely to ever end up with Guhle, Hutson, Reinbacher, Mailloux, Engstrom, Xhekaj, Struble, Barron. No teams has their entire blueline made up of their own draft picks. What you have to do is collect as many of these assets that you can, hope they progress and then at times you will need to trade some for more experienced and better help in the hope of a quantity vs quality trade
 
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Kennerback

Registered User
Jun 2, 2021
4,109
5,694
I’m getting fed up about the tank and would prefer just taking a step forward. We don’t have a competitive 2 and 3rd line and a solid second pair. And goaltending who knows? I’ll take the flashy top pick for sure but this team doesn’t have those key middle pieces that are a team’s backbone. I really get Oilers, Hawks and other teams fans that get tanking fatigue.
 
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Nevins

Registered User
Jul 12, 2014
2,609
2,108
It hurts to see Michkov play and perform. The Habs haven't had a truly elite forward for so long....
 

Nevins

Registered User
Jul 12, 2014
2,609
2,108
We'll never know if acquiring Dach and Newhook was worth it but one thing is for sure for me, they are not centermen.
 

Rapala

Registered User
Mar 29, 2013
42,079
39,037
Montreal
There are a ton of problems with this team but I liked what Max Lapierre was saying on The Sick Podcast.
He said your third and fourth lines are supposed to be filled with "specialists" players who can do any number of things very well.
Kill penalties win face offs heavy fore check cycle the puck punish and tire out Dmen provide net front and block shots to close out games 6v5.
This of course includes the bruisers that can lay down some law when necessary.
He said what we currently have is just a third and fourth line.
It is my opinion that we would be a better team today if we had addressed some of this before ever going after Laine.
Pretty much what I was asking for heading into the off season like exactly...
 
Last edited:
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Nevins

Registered User
Jul 12, 2014
2,609
2,108
The Habs need elite centers and forwards, but also big and tall forwards and defenders. The Rangers model is eloquent at this level:Adam Edstrom c 6'7''Will Cuylle lw 6'3''Matt Rempe rw 6'8''K'Andre Miller ld 6'5''Branden Schneider rd 6'3''Victor Mancini rd 6'4''prospectJaroslav Chmelan rw 6'5''Kalle Vaisanen lw 6'5''Dylan Reobroeck c 6'7''etc...
 

morhilane

Registered User
Feb 28, 2021
8,503
11,080
There are a ton of problems with this team but I liked what Max Lapierre was saying on The Sick Podcast.
He said your third and fourth lines are supposed to be filled with "specialists" players who can do any number of things very well.
Kill penalties win face offs heavy fore check cycle the puck punish and tire out Dmen provide net front and block shots to close out games 6v5.
This of course includes the bruisers that can lay down some law when necessary.
He said what we currently have is just a third and fourth line.
It is my opinion that we would be a better team today if we had addressed some of this before ever going after Laine.
Pretty much what I was asking for heading into the off season like exactly...
You were not the only one. I didn't like the bottom 6 either. But Heineman is fine, hits a lot, got some skills and jam, should be able to PK.

It's going to look better once Tuch/Flojack are ready for the NHL.
 

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