The state of the Habs Rebuild - The Next step

[Andrei79]

Don’t think any rebuilding team has hit on every top pick but I could be wrong. My main issue will be if Hughes does nothing this offseason. That can’t fly with some of the bad contracts coming out. Anderson might have made himself tradeable again at 50% retention and he can’t miss the boat on it this time.

Yes yes, I agree. Boring. Now get your ass back to the other thread where I'm showing you why you're wrong when I should be sleeping because it's midnight

 

[Artaud]

If Demidov can play center it solves a lot of problems.

I think our biggest need is a solid RD who can come in and eat some minutes while the younger players develop.

I would love to see Demidov at C, but it's a big if, and it might not be year 1 as it would be a lot to handle on top of crossing the pond.

A stopgap established 2C like Monahan (if the right opportunity arises...) could be really beneficial to give young forwards like Hage, Beck and Demidov the time they need to get their foot in the door. Unless Dach turns it around convincingly, I don't think the team can head into next season with their current center depth. They need to add a body.

 

[rahad]

Desnoyers at 5 seems underwhelming. I get that you can do nothing about it, but I'd still be upset. Frankly, anything after 4 seems kind of meh to me.

Yeah. i really want a player from the top 4 of this draft. But f***ing Nashville and Buffalo are pushing us out of a top 4 picks!

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Yeah. i really want a player from the top 4 of this draft. But f***ing Nashville and Buffalo are pushing us out of a top 4 picks!

It's just temporary

 

[rahad]

It's just temporary

People keep saying that. At the end of day, Nashville is still in the bottom. Buffalo is going to the bottom very fast....

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

People keep saying that. At the end of day, Nashville is still in the bottom. Buffalo is going to the bottom very fast....

It's not about them, but rather the relative ease of our schedule in the last month compared to what's coming up in the next 6 weeks. We'll easily hang with them, if not fall behind, as both Nashville and Buffalo can be much better than they have been, on top of our schedule being a total matchup nightmare.

 

[Sorinth]

It's not about them, but rather the relative ease of our schedule in the last month compared to what's coming up in the next 6 weeks. We'll easily hang with them, if not fall behind, as both Nashville and Buffalo can be much better than they have been, on top of our schedule being a total matchup nightmare.

It very much does depend on them, because teams like Nashville and Chicago are pacing for 61.5 points, for us to get below that we would need to go .333 for the rest of the year which is a worse record then we had in 21-22 when we finished last. Tough schedule or not we aren't falling back to those levels of suckiness.

EDIT: Also Buffalo is supposed to have an even tougher schedule then us.

 

[Rapala]

It very much does depend on them, because teams like Nashville and Chicago are pacing for 61.5 points, for us to get below that we would need to go .333 for the rest of the year which is a worse record then we had in 21-22 when we finished last. Tough schedule or not we aren't falling back to those levels of suckiness.

EDIT: Also Buffalo is supposed to have an even tougher schedule then us.

We aren't starting to look at the purported toughness of schedule again already?
I thought we put the myth to bed last season.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

I think I've actually gone tank crazy this year, need that top-6 pick and need Calgary pick to be top-15. If we don't mess up the draft I think we're set after this year. Keep all the picks in the top-2 rounds and develop the guys slowly and roll them into the NHL after 2-3 years.

I want us to be competitive the last 2 years of Demidov's ELC

 

[morhilane]

It very much does depend on them, because teams like Nashville and Chicago are pacing for 61.5 points, for us to get below that we would need to go .333 for the rest of the year which is a worse record then we had in 21-22 when we finished last. Tough schedule or not we aren't falling back to those levels of suckiness.

EDIT: Also Buffalo is supposed to have an even tougher schedule then us.

Barely, but they are in total free fall so doesn't really matter.

Detroit on the other hand, hardest strength of schedule in the league and only 1 more win than the Habs right now.

 

[Kennerback]

Absolute next step in the immediate short term is a backup goalie.

 

[JadedRandom]

Absolute next step in the immediate short term is a backup goalie.

Agreed.

I could see us either outright waiving Primeau after having acquired a stop-gap solution, or including him in the package to get said backup.

Connor Hughes is doing amazing in the AHL and could realistically be called-up to see how he does, but then we'd de-stabilize Laval's goaltending which has been pretty good so far in this season.

After we get a backup for, say, a 3rd/4th round pick, I'd like us to then pivot and try to get some more cheap depth on defense for when we eventually trade Savard/Matheson.

Oh, and I'd appreciate it if we could somehow finesse a guy like Cozens out of Buffalo. But they likely won't trade him to a divisional rival unless we offer an overpayment, which would be a mistake.

 

[HuGort]

Imagine you are Hugues and Gorton what are you next 5 moves ?

Can you dress me a list of the next things we need to do to make the Habs contender in the long run?

Im very curious!

Fix the defense, it's too young. Too many left shot.

Get a top 6 center. Who's good on faceoffs. Increased Puck possession would greatly improve our team given goal scorers we have.

 

[ReHabs]

I think I've actually gone tank crazy this year, need that top-6 pick and need Calgary pick to be top-15. If we don't mess up the draft I think we're set after this year. Keep all the picks in the top-2 rounds and develop the guys slowly and roll them into the NHL after 2-3 years.

I want us to be competitive the last 2 years of Demidov's ELC

You do realize this is Kent Hughes you're talking about, right?

 

[HuGort]

We draft 6th now, if we beat Wings tonight could jump to 9th. Passing Wings, Isles and Colombus. With Seattle and Flyers only a point ahead of us, Rangers 2 pts.

Looking more like Mrtka around 10-12th to me. Like to get Carter Bear with Flames pick.

 

[austin316]

Habs will not be in a position to draft any elite talent this year. We will not be bottom 5.

 

[Lshap]

Dach and Slafkovsky should be job #1 for the staff. Both were acquired as key parts of the rebuild. Getting them back on track would be huge. Both are playing scared and nowhere close to where they were previously. Addressing that issue is exactly what development & coaching is about. Successful rebuilds work with players to get the most out of them. Failed rebuilds let struggling players flounder and move onto the next pick.

Dach is showing signs of life. Slafkovsky needs to engage without dishing off the puck when another player gets close. If these two players get back to where they were, this would be a different team.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Habs will not be in a position to draft any elite talent this year. We will not be bottom 5.

They won't be in position to draft the obvious top tier guys. They need to find the elite talent that isn't as apparent.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

Dach and Slafkovsky should be job #1 for the staff. Both were acquired as key parts of the rebuild. Getting them back on track would be huge. Both are playing scared and nowhere close to where they were previously. Addressing that issue is exactly what development & coaching is about. Successful rebuilds work with players to get the most out of them. Failed rebuilds let struggling players flounder and move onto the next pick.

Dach is showing signs of life. Slafkovsky needs to engage without dishing off the puck when another player gets close. If these two players get back to where they were, this would be a different team.

It's coming, only a matter of time and patience, which MSL has, there's no rush. And I don't believe Slaf had a "talking to", I think that was a motivational talk if anything.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Dach and Slafkovsky should be job #1 for the staff. Both were acquired as key parts of the rebuild. Getting them back on track would be huge. Both are playing scared and nowhere close to where they were previously. Addressing that issue is exactly what development & coaching is about. Successful rebuilds work with players to get the most out of them. Failed rebuilds let struggling players flounder and move onto the next pick.

Dach is showing signs of life. Slafkovsky needs to engage without dishing off the puck when another player gets close. If these two players get back to where they were, this would be a different team.

We may look back on this season as a blessing. So much adversity to overcome.

We knew we needed a vet on the right side and now we finally have one. That’s a big plus.

 

[Archijerej]

There are some big decisions that have to be made in the near future:

1. What to do with Matheson, given his age, contract status and Hudson's ability to drive offense at the NHL level. How to strengthen the blueline if Matheson is dealt (a 1st pair RD).

2. Assuming Dach fails (and this is the assumption a GM has to make going into next offseason if Dach can't regain his form), we have one good NHL centerman signed for next season. If we want to avoid another wrecked campaign and make a step forward, the position will require some major restructuring.

3. The goalie situation.

4. How to integrate the upcoming young forwards, whilst maintaining the effectiveness of our penalty kill and bottom lines. There is a risk here of repeating the shitshow on defense we've seen this year.

Hughes and Gorton are about to earn their keep. Or not...

 

[Hins77]

Its clear the moment HuGo decided to bring true NHler like Laine, Carrier... We are going to separate from the bottom 5. I think it's okay. I mean, slaf, demidov, reinbacher. We can build something around this

 

[skidcells]

Its clear the moment HuGo decided to bring true NHler like Laine, Carrier... We are going to separate from the bottom 5. I think it's okay. I mean, slaf, demidov, reinbacher. We can build something around this

I wouldn’t outright dismiss us getting a top 5 pick. The tough part of the schedule starts after Christmas.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

There are some big decisions that have to be made in the near future:

1. What to do with Matheson, given his age, contract status and Hudson's ability to drive offense at the NHL level. How to strengthen the blueline if Matheson is dealt (a 1st pair RD).

2. Assuming Dach fails (and this is the assumption a GM has to make going into next offseason if Dach can't regain his form), we have one good NHL centerman signed for next season. If we want to avoid another wrecked campaign and make a step forward, the position will require some major restructuring.

3. The goalie situation.

4. How to integrate the upcoming young forwards, whilst maintaining the effectiveness of our penalty kill and bottom lines. There is a risk here of repeating the shitshow on defense we've seen this year.

Hughes and Gorton are about to earn their keep. Or not...

1. Trade him asap, bring in another Carrier for hutson, bigger and can be even more defensive minded. Shouldn't be hard to get, we have many picks we could trade.

2. Too early to tell. Give Dach the rest of the season, if he shows promise then we stay put. If he doesn't improve, we should re-sign Evans and just play him at 2C, he can handle it until Beck shows what he can do.

3. Next year we go Montembault/Dobes, Primeau is an afterthought, desont matter where he goes he has no value.

4. Our young incoming forwards are very responsible defensively, Demidov, Hage, Beck, all good on this front.

 

[Archijerej]

1. Trade him asap, bring in another Carrier for hutson, bigger and can be even more defensive minded. Shouldn't be hard to get, we have many picks we could trade.

2. Too early to tell. Give Dach the rest of the season, if he shows promise then we stay put. If he doesn't improve, we should re-sign Evans and just play him at 2C, he can handle it until Beck shows what he can do.

3. Next year we go Montembault/Dobes, Primeau is an afterthought, desont matter where he goes he has no value.

4. Our young incoming forwards are very responsible defensively, Demidov, Hage, Beck, all good on this front.

This sounds a lot like hope and prayers.