Who's having a comeback season: Drouin, Armia, Hoffman, Gallagher, Byron

[schwang26]

Drouin. Still young, talented, and can skate. With Dach and Marty in the mix, I think he'll do well if healthy.
I still don't get the people who think Gallagher will rebound. He's not suddenly going to regain foot speed or suddenly become more talented. He got by on heart, hard work and luck. His body has finally said "enough". He isnt making a comeback. He's a banged up little guy who skates like he's in mud and can't shoot, who probably will see his icetime diminished. How's he ahead of Drouin?

 

[MarioLeMoose]

Drouin. Still young, talented, and can skate. With Dach and Marty in the mix, I think he'll do well if healthy.
I still don't get the people who think Gallagher will rebound. He's not suddenly going to regain foot speed or suddenly become more talented. He got by on heart, hard work and luck. His body has finally said "enough". He isnt making a comeback. He's a banged up little guy who skates like he's in mud and can't shoot, who probably will see his icetime diminished. How's he ahead of Drouin?

You answered your own question why Gallagher could be viewed as being ahead of Drouin. At least he has that going for him.

 

[Wats]

Toast, maybe Gallagher.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I doubt Drouin because of that wrist of his. He's simply not a threat to pot one in anymore. I'll go with Armia or Hoffman. I think Gallagher might be toast. And Byron doesn't sound very confident in his body.

 

[David Suzuki]

to the extent they matter or are indicative of anything but gallaghers advanced metrics were fine last year so i’d say him easily

 

[jaffy27]

everyone except Byron who is hurt and it's just not in the cards anymore for him....love the player but his career is over when it comes to being an offensive threat

Drouin is pulseless.....that's self explanatory

I doubt Drouin because of that wrist of his. He's simply not a threat to pot one in anymore. I'll go with Armia or Hoffman. I think Gallagher might be toast. And Byron doesn't sound very confident in his body.

it's not the wrist man.....it's the heart and the hockey brains.....he has neither

 

[First Line]

Those guys are what they are at this point, it’s just going to be more of the same.
You are basically asking who is going to be less injured next season.

 

[KevSkillz4]

If Drouin play with Dach and Anderson, with MSL... he is going to have pretty good year. I still think that he can have a David Perron type of career, he is pretty talented and with the right players with him and the right coach... Drouin can succeed. He have the passing ability to put 40a+ in a season. Let's see for his scoring ability.

 

[Habs10Habs]

Gally:

 

[Team_Spirit]

Surprised Hoffman was the 3rd best scorer last year it's gonna be hard to top that.

Jojo's can make a comeback if they have never been there in the 1st place.

Byron is hurt Pitlick took his job

Gally can kiss his PP time goodbye if Slaf makes the team.

Gonna vote Price.

 

[bobholly39]

1. Gallagher. He's too good to just suck all of a sudden. I've never been a huge fan of his per se, but there's no question he works super hard, and he should be able to channel this into better results. Last year is a writeoff, very long off-season, hoping he comes back fully healthy and in shape and can bounce back. I suspect he does well.

2. Drouin. Him it's more 50/50 but I'm very eager to see him playing under MSL. Even at his age he still has untapped potential, even scoring 70 points is below his ability. So - I think it's possible he could have a good year, yes. We'll see.

The rest, nope. Maybe Byron, but a comeback for Byron is still a low threshold.

 

[Miller Time]

Gallagher & Hoffman (if he is still here) will have big bounce back years imo. Skill, pride, lots of rest and a coaching staff that will implement far better team & individual program are all factors that point to both guys getting back to at least career average productivity, if not better. In both cases that means +.2ppg from last year.

Armia.... He can't possibly be as bad as he was last year, can he? Also probably gets back to career average (+.2ppg).

Byron I think is toast... If he does come back, I'd bet he finds himself injured again before he has a chance to work through the rust.

Drouin.... Well, after 3 straight years of hoping he would finally "turn the corner", it's crazy to think he will now. But, who knows, maybe MSL figures out how to get through to him & the $ incentive of earning another big contract are enough to light a fire under his butt, if only for 1 season. On that, I'll pick him to make the biggest bounce back, finishing the year with near career best production or pace

 

[Monsieur Miz]

Drouin looked super happy when he met the media so probably him.

 

[Scriptor]

Byron isn't. He's likely starting the year on LTIR.

Drouin's production is generally fine. He's a 50-ish pt player when he plays. Career average is 14g, 34a for 48 pts. He just can't stay healthy. I expect more of the same this year. He'll hit 22-24 pts by mid-season then blow a shoulder out or something and we'll LTIR him rest of year. Wouldn't be surprised at all if he retires once his contract is done.

Armia I expect a better overall year from. Think he gets 10-14g, 20-30pts and becomes a plus player again. Last year was only the 2nd time in his career he was a negative.

Don't see improvement from Hoffman at all. He's probably getting 15g, 35 pts again, and be terrible defensively again.

Gallagher had such a terrible year last year that he will definitely make some gains. He missed 26 games and played majority of year injured. He talked about how much he needed rest and healing this summer after season. He's a training freak, so I expect him to come back healthy and fit. He won't get to 30 goals again, but 20 is still a possibility. Something like 22g, 20a for 42 pts.

So,

Gallagher: 22g (big improvement)
Hoffman: 15g (no improvement)
Armia: 13g (improves to career average)
Drouin: 6g (no improvement - eventual LTIR)
Byron: 5g (no improvement- plays less than half the season)

Total: 61 goals.

Overall, Armia and Gallagher will push this group's production to be better.

Unless he's really injured, there is zero chance that Drouin retires when his contract is up, IMO. He likes the game too much and is a self-professed hockey nerd, like Marty St-Louis.

Those two will really get along, IMO, long enough to raise Drouin's value and trade him at the trade deadline.

Gallagher guaranteed he will have a comeback season at the exit interviews, claiming he knows things that are going on that we don't, whatever that means.

If he doesn't have a comeback season, he's just full of shit.

 

[peate]

Gally is able to come back and have a good year, Drouin already has excuses for sucking, Byron, we know what he's got and it ain't much. Armia and Hoffman I couldn't care less about.

 

[Weltschmerz]

With at least Caufield Anderson and dadanov ther are only 3 more spots in the top 9.
Wonder who will get the opportunity, seems Armias icetime went down after MSL took over and only went up a bit after the deadline. If he gets less than 14 minutes per game again it's hard to see him produce like in his better seasons.

 

[HabsQC]

All of them and we win the cup

 

[expy]

Kind of hope all of those options aren't on the roster by year's end.

 

[Milhouse40]

Gallagher shooting % was simply out of the ordinary bad, almost impossible actually.
He might have a rebound year, but I'm not sure he's going to get the opportunity.

Drouin is UFA at the end of the year, TDL trade bait.....have to show him off a little so he'll get some chances and good linesmates, he'll get the better chances to put up numbers IMO.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

...I hope every damn one of them have Career year's and we lose 7-5 every game...so they are all moveable at the Deadline (except Gally, of course, cuz no one is taking that contract on)...that said, back in Reality:

Byron: We'll be lucky to get half a season of Bottom 6/PK duty from him before he's back on IR...not expecting much except to thank him for his time with the Habs and wish him well in the Future after the season ends...

Armia: Will continue to be frustratingly mediocre on our 3rd/4th line for most of the Season, with the exception of that one game every dozen or so when he actually shows up and looks like a One-Man Wrecking Crew...if he hits 30 points, I'll be more than pleasantly surprised...

Gallagher: Personally, I think he'll start the Season in the Bottom 6 with Armia & Evans/Dach, work his tail off as per usual, and end up on IR for at least 25 games this year, if not many more...I luv the guy, but his body just can't keep taking the shyte & abuse his playing style brings on him and he isn't a "skill guy", so changing his stripes now isn't an option...I hope I'm wrong...

Hoffman: Will get Top 6 time, will get a ton of PP time, and will continue to be terrible while scoring 17 goals or so...just hope they keep showcasing the useless PoS to the point where someone who needs a PP sniper comes calling at the Deadline...best case scenario...

Drouin: Not gonna bother to rehash my feelings on him as a player...he'll be who he is...he'll probably play Top 6 and rack up 40-ish points...and baring an absolute catastrophe, he'll be someone else's problem next season...or "retire" to write poetry at a local coffee shop...

 

[Habs13]

Makes me laugh reading stuff "Drouin already came back". What!? Came back to what? He has sucked his entire career! Talk about low standards.

 

[Canadienna]

It's hard for forwards to rack up points when the D can't get the puck out or generate rushes. Its the same with Suzuki and Caufield.

I could see Gallagher having a moderately better year with some time to recover. All Drouin needs to do is play more games to "bounce back".

The D just looks so bad on paper that unless they exceed expectations I don't see any of those guys getting back to their prime.

 

[Scriptor]

Gally is able to come back and have a good year, Drouin already has excuses for sucking, Byron, we know what he's got and it ain't much. Armia and Hoffman I couldn't care less about.

It's nice to be cheeky and all about certain players we don't like, but the key is to get better once we can move on from them and having these players actually mount comebacks can only help us move them to other teams for potentially good assets in return (futures).

Saying we can't care less about them puts the players ahead of the team, even of it is in a negative way.

I would love Drouin to return to a 50-point form in a healthy season, reassuring other GMs that he can lend a helping hand in terms of complementary scoring during a playoff run. While Drouin's playoff sample may not be HUGE, his 6 goal, 15 assists, for 21 points in 33 games are a more than respectable .63PPG pace when it really counts.

Drouin doesn't disappear in playoffs (actually ups his game) and that can be attractive come trade deadline if he proves to be healthy and to be a positive contributor to a team's success.

Drouin won't be a go-to guy to lead the offense, but he can be a strong complimentary player and, if all goes well, while he might not bring a 1st round pick back (maybe, but not likely), he could bring two 2nd rounders or a 2nd rounder and a 3rd rounder back in a trade, even if they are later round picks

Byron is physically done, unfortunately, IMO and will not fetch anything back. He might well be done after this season. Good run for him, though and thanks for all the fish, Lord Byron.

Whether Hoffman or Armia bounce back this season is less important, IMO, as their value only increases as they near the end of their contracts.

MSL will need to concentrate on upping Hoffman's value in 2023-2024, the last year of his contract, to get. the most in return for the veteran, one-dimensional winger at the trade deadline. Armia still has three years left on his contract and will, at worst, be a playoff addition to a roster at the trade deadline in the last year of his contract, if only as a depth forward strong in puck possession.

We must hope for comeback seasons from our forwards, if only to reap better returns by moving them. They are not part of the future, but they can leverage back pieces that will be part of the future. For that, they are still important to the Habs.

 

[schwang26]

You answered your own question why Gallagher could be viewed as being ahead of Drouin. At least he has that going for him.

Which hasn't done squat for him in 2 years. I think contracts should come into the argument. I think the clear winner is Drouin. He should do well because it's a contract year. If they trade him, he might fetch a decent return. If they resign him after him having a good season, that works too. If he doesn't do well, he walks.
Honestly, contracts should be the real question. Who has the potential to live up to their contracts? It ain't Gallagher. I know it sounds like I'm hating on Gallagher, but I don't see him rebounding. His time is done and his contract is ridiculous. I mean, did you see him skate last season? Just pathetic.

 

[Scriptor]

How does MSL approach this development year? That's the key to these players having a comeback year.

IMO, the best lineup to maximize these possibilities, although a bit risky for Dach's development, is the following:

You bring stability to the Suzuki-Caufield tandem with Anderson as the skilled beef that also brings breakaway speed to this line and can carry the puck into the O-zone, making it more likely for a trailing Suzuki and Caufield to set up in soft ice areas for scoring opportunities once Anderson misses his shot on goal after cutting to the net.

You need to give Gallagher ice time for a chance to see the RW bounce back and last year, with Dvorak, showed decent chemistry, despite the down year. A player like Drouin would bring speed and playmaking on the left wing for the Dvorak - Gallagher tandem. While this line wouldn't be nearly as effective as a Tatar-Danault-Gallagher line was in the past, it should still get 2nd line minutes, if only on even par with the 3rd line that would play in a more offensive capacity than normally expected from 3rd lines presented as checking lines.

This line wouldn't be served with the greatest defensive awareness on the left wing, but Dvorak and Gallagher are both veterans and would be better equipped to deal with Drouin as a defensive liability. That risk would be worth taking considering the offensive upside that Drouin would bring to the line.

For Dach's development -- and Slafkovsky's development -- I would unite that duo with Dadonov on the right wing. It would provide Dadonov, on his off side, more opportunities to exploit his shot. The perennial 20-goal scorer would give the pass-first pivot a consistent target while bringing a relatively sound defensive awareness to play alongside the young Center. Dach would not need to handle all the defensive assignments/responsibilities alone, even if he can play a 200-foot game and is quick enough to back check effectively.

Slafkovsky, on that line, will bring puck retrieval/puck possession skills into play, bring the puck to the net and help conflate opposing Ds, opening up Dadonov for one-timers. Dach's pass-first approach to pivoting a line will surely benefit from a natural sniper in Dadonov and a power forward in Slafkovsky that can also be creative offensively.

Hoffman could be used in Dadonov's spot, but it would put unnecessary pressure on Dach's game, defensively due to Hoffman's one-dimensional, offensive play. I would give Hoffman some PP time on the 2nd wave with Dach, instead, to compensate for relegating him to the fourth line.

Hoffman - Evans - Armia. 'Nough said. MSL can try to prop up Hoffman's blue some more in two years.

That's how you maximize the chances of seeing most (forget Byron) of the players listed succeed in mounting a comeback season, IMO.

Anderson - Suzuki - Caufield
Drouin - Dvorak - Gallagher
Slafkovsky - Dach - Dadonov
Hoffman - Evans - Armia