General 2025 Off-Season Discussion Thread

[Ozmodiar]

Slaf - Suze - CC
LAINE - 2C - Demidov
Newhook - Evans - Anderson
Heineman - Beck - Gally

Hutson - Reinbacher
Guhle - MATHESON
Xhekaj - Carrier

/ Kapanen, Dach, Struble

ALL CAPS - I think they’ll be replaced in a year, but he could get ahead of it this season.

Laine - replacement will have speed and scoring ability
Matheson - more rugged RD (pairings based on where replacement will slot in)

 

[DAChampion]

@Lafleurs Guy @montreal or any other moderator, could you rename this thread, and perhaps merge it with other relevant threads, as the General 2025 Off-Season Discussion Thread ?

 

[salbutera]

HuGo essentially need to replicate Bill Zito’s 2021 off-season:

- acquire 2 top6 players including a Centre (Reinhart + Bennett)

- acquire top-4 Dman (Forsling)

Zito’s acquisition cost for those 3-players? 1st round pick + 2nd round pick + Heineken

Good luck to HuGo…

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Reinbacher will be one of the 3 right D next season, assuming his knee is okay. And I can see Beck or Florian here as well. Time to move on from Mikey Math and Yo-Elle and Dvorak, and probably one of Dach or Newhook.

Yeah, I'm big on Reinbacher and think he'll make the team next season. He needs to stay healthy and continue upgrading his lower body strength.

 

[zzoo]

We lost. It's over. Boo-hoo. Now time to get back to work so the results will be different next season...

Personal work to be done...

X...work on your skating. Compared to Math and Hutson you're an oaf. So now use the next 4 months to get faster, to improve first step and edge work. If you don’t do that work, you will be left behind as the team gets better defenseman to pass you. When you're a number 6, it's basically a death sentence. A few boxing lessons won't hurt.

Hutson...you're not going to be elite with a muffin shot. Back in the Lemaire era, they practiced with steel pucks. 10 bucks and can be made in any machine shop. So work on you skating a bit and on your shot a LOT.

Demidov...210 lbs minimum, more like 220 and work on your skating and shot. They're good but not elite. You need the size and stregnth to be able to fight off defenseman who are going to hang on you to stop you.

Suzuki...nothing.

CC...skating. If you can improve that you can step up to elite class.

Slaf...you can't start the season 40 games in. Work on your conditioning and shot accuracy.

Anderson...lay cones on the ice amd practice puck control while full speed. Your a cruise missile without a payload.

Newhook...puck control. See Anderson

Heinaman...skating and shooting. EVERYBODY can use more of that. Plus another 10 pounds. You got the height, now add the strength.

Dach...Last chance. Get in shape.

Evans...10 pounds. See above.

Kapanen...skating and shooting.

Now team wise...we need more horses...

2 defenseman and 3 forwards.

We need to get tougher.

We need Rein and Mailloux to graduate and supply another level of offense compared to Savard and Scarrier. That alone can win us several more games.

We need LX and Davidson to supply another level of net front presence, truculance and an effective 3rd line.

And on top of everything...WE NEED A 2C. At least as good as Cozens...but without stripping any future players we need. Good luck on that.

Instead of scraping in with our fingernails, 20 point improvement brings us the the Promised Land. With the above done, we dust off teams like the Craps in 4 straight.

What's your opinion?

(It's probably the first hockey thread I put in HF in a couple of decades)

Where's Laine ? I want to see his to-do list the most.

 

[DAChampion]

Do the Matheson haters watch hockey, or do they just parrot what they hear?

MSL used him as a #1 D-man. They have no one to take his place. Matheson is staying at least for another season.

It's from watching Matheson play that one can see that his errors pop. But, as you say he's being used as a number 1 dman, for like 25 minutes a game. He's not in the right chair.

But can Matheson play second pairing LHD? Shouldn't that be Hutson's spot?

 

[The Last Red]

Pro-Matheson crowd: “We don’t have anyone better presently for the top 4.”

Anti-Matheson crowd: “Get someone better for the top 4.”

I prefer the latter argument.

 

[hvac412]

Dvorak had a good two month run . . . in the 4 seasons he’s been here, and just before he hit UFA. Hmm. Interesting timing on his part.

exactly, bu- bye

 

[DAChampion]

I wonder if the team will keep each of Evans, Dvorak, and Newhook. That's a lot of bottom six centers, in addition to prospects Beck, Kappanen, and Xhekaj. They might want to consolidate to get someone really good for the role.

 

[Soaker]

I'd like to see some beef and potatoes,more bark and bite. When the going gets tough, you need some and Nick and Cole and Slaf are not that type. Take away Anderson and Gallagher and that's pretty much it.

 

[badi]

Yeah, I'm big on Reinbacher and think he'll make the team next season. He needs to stay healthy and continue upgrading his lower body strength.

PLEASE be Newhook OUT

 

[Halakitlikethat]

If they are trading Matheson then they need 2 legit NHL d to replace him and Savards minutes . Expecting Reinbacher to step into a top 4 role is asking for trouble if they actually want to get better next season.

 

[Trabdy2]

Really felt like they were missing size and strength, and also a bit of skill.

Our players just seemed to get physically dominated off the puck too often, and couldn't return the favour.

I'm not really sure where Hughes starts this offseason, but getting a 2C must be the highest priority and we need players with more jam replacing guys not returning.

 

[teamfirst]

Didn't read all the post in here but to me it's obvious that we need some grit and size on the 3rd and 4th line, also try replacing Matheson by a solid nasty stay at home D.

Before i get called a Matheson hater.......that's not the case, i simply think Hutson-Ghule and possibly Reinbacher all have offensive upside so Mathy's offense is less needed now.

Oh, and go get Syd the Kid for the next 2 seasons

 

[BLONG7]

For the first time since they have been in montreal MSL, Gorton and Hughes will have pressure , if they miss the playoffs some or all of them will get fired

The expectations have changed..........and they should start to see and feel pressure.
3-4 new bodies for next year.

 

[HabzSauce]

I'm seeing so many Habs fan on here criticizing Matheson.....what am I missing? I thought he generally played really well in the playoffs. Not afraid to attack in the offensive zone either, which outside of Hutson is rare for our defenders.

I personally definitely want him back.

I don't mind him but I'd rather trade him this summer. Already too much LDs:

Guhle, Hutson, Xhekaj & Struble

Carrier, Reinbacher on the right, they can play top 4. Then add in two more bottom pairing RDs and we're in good shape for next season

 

[Steve Shutt]

My Top 10 Off-Season to Do List:

1) Extend Hutson for 2026-27 and beyond. Take care of this in the Summer. Hoping for 7.875 x 8 years (Suzuki numbers)

2) Extend Heineman. He's an RFA on July 1st.

3) Explore a team friendly deal for Dvorak. Depth at C is always nice. Can we get him at 2.85 x 2 (Evans numbers)? If he wants money and term we let him walk

4) Shop C.Primeau - Hopefully he has a nice run for Laval in the playoffs. He'll be a RFA so make him an offer to ensure we keep his rights and give us more time to shop him. We can't keep both Dobes and Primeau so better to get something if we can.

5) Extend Sean Farrell. He's an RFA on July 1st.

6) Continue to strengthen Staffing - Bring back Matt Turek (former amateur scout for Ontario, who left as GM of the Bulldogs). Continue to invest in Scouting, player development, analytics, etc

7) Explore UFA's without overpaying.

8) Cheer on Laval and assess our youth. Reinbacher, Bech, Roy, F.Xhekaj, Mailloux all look close and will battle for a spot next Fall. Will we have space for them

9) Shop P.Laine with 50% retention. 2025-26 is his last year of his contract. HUGO will need to decide if they want to extend him or move him by the TDL if his ask and fit aren't right. Best to start early to understand his value.

10) Don't rush. We're on the right path. We got a taste of playoff hockey and all want more but let's understand that we need to continue playing the long game and develop and prioritize our youth. We can reward them at the TDL by adding a vet or two.

Bonus: On July 1st we're be done paying for Jeff Petry and Jake Allen's retention. Will also be Carey Price's final contract year.

 

[Tuggy]

Biggest summer so far of Hughes tenure. Some very nice pieces in place.

Can he make the right additions for this team to take the next step?

 

[Sorinth]

Despite all the talk about how we need to add size/toughness I think that's the wrong conclusion to draw from the playoffs. Yes Washington won in part because of that size, but if we faced off against a smaller contender we also would've lost and it wouldn't have been because of size.

What hurt us the most in the playoffs was a lack of secondary scoring. Obviously addressing the 2C spot would go a long way, but it's also worth noting that in the regular season we got a lot less goals from D compared to the previous year, 27 vs 48. So that's something we might want to take a look at as well.

 

[HabzSauce]

Phenomenal year boys. Only up from here. We are about to enter in the wildest summer of our lives I cannot wait to see what we cook up on the trade market

 

[montreal]

 

[Kennerback]

Phenomenal year boys. Only up from here. We are about to enter in the wildest summer of our lives I cannot wait to see what we cook up on the trade market

We have at least one superstar in Suzuki, two potential mega superstars in Hutson and Demidov. We have three other legit top roster players in Guhle, Caufield, Slaf.

A wild card in Laine. Really don’t know what to expect.

So we need to build that solid playoff supporting cast.

 

[BozoTheClown]

Bring Dvorak on a 2 year max contract since I doubt we find a legit #2 center without overpaying, which I dont think this team is just ready yet. Trade Matheson and bring a guy like Ceci or Gabrikov.
Trade for Klapka or Rempe.

 

[HabzSauce]

We have at least one superstar in Suzuki, two potential mega superstars in Hutson and Demidov. We have three other legit top roster players in Guhle, Caufield, Slaf.

A wild card in Laine. Really don’t know what to expect.

So we need to build that solid playoff supporting cast.

Yup, we have all the pieces in the world to build a dynasty.

Laine I think is done here. He was playing broken all year long so won't judge too harshly. I'm sure he will look better after offseason and/or surgery. But how long will he last before he breaks again? Don't have a whole lot of faith there

Adding Reinbacher next year to replace Savard is gonna be a big boost on the back end. Then Hugo just needs to find 1-2 bottom pairing RDs and we are set on D.

Biggest question this summer is gonna be that 2C....I'm expecting a big trade which includes a mix of prospects, picks AND roster players (newhook, Matheson & Laine would be players I'd dangle).

I'm also curious what they do with Dvorak. I think Armia is done but can see them wanting to re-sign Dvo.

 

[Kennerback]

As far as I’m concerned we know what we have in Demidov, on the first day we can I would sign him for 10 years. The earlier we sign him, the better we get. Remember that ass clown Marner wants 13M+/xyears in the off-season.