xXx..CK..xXx

A lot of people were talking about Thornton going back and potentially facing the Bruins in a final but not many people are talking about the fact that Backes is going back to face the old tram he captained in St. Louis. Should be an interesting feeling for him.

It's already 3 years ago that people were telling me Matt Duchene was over the hill when I was demanding we trade for him because of our (past) center woes. I never agreed, though I seemed to be on an island of my own, and still don't.

I've heard about his strong analytics. I see that he has great offensive numbers. When I watch him play, however, I don't like his lack of speed. Hte's going to be another Alzner. Okay, I've lost all credibility with that comparison, but I mean it in that he will get overpaid and won't live up to expectations. I also have a hunch his offensive stats were inflated on the Leafs. This is my own opinion based on what I've seen from him as well as my gut telling me it's so. I would much prefer Karlsson who can skate like the wind, regardless of him being a right handed shot. Admittedly when we compare someone like Mete and his 0 goals to what Gardiner would provide, it's a no brainer. I just see a defense pairing with Weber and Gardiner as its integral core getting ripped apart by speed come playoff time. Gardiner would improve our team but I don't see it placing us into the top tier category, (if that even exists right now). Rather, it might keep us stuck in the middle. In regards to your question, it's a good one. The pickings are slim and this is part of the reason I'm wary about signing Gardiner. He might be the best out of a small crop and that's not enough to convince me that it matches with some of the league's best at the position. Gardiner is a better age than Edler or Kronwall, but I'd personally prefer Edler over Gardiner. If it has to be free agency, he'd be my pick. Otherwise let's make a trade.

I really do not want Gardiner.

Annoying. I need Tuuka to get injured, and quick! I accidentally have Halak on my team when I had meant to pick Rask.

Godwin's law in the ''2019 NHL Playoffs'' thread = ✔

Was this season a disappointment? Encouraging? An overachievement? A sign of progress? What’s your 2019 year in review when it comes to dissecting the Habs season? Personally, I’m not the type of fan who ever thinks there’s been a successful season when the team misses the playoffs. With that being said, this is likely the first season where while I’m not satisfied, I can safely say that the team as a whole played quite well throughout most of the season. Near the end, it was Carey who was shining. However at the beginning of the year, we had a team who actually won games for our goalie. Something I cannot remember from years past. Some negatives included the power play, as well as the reality that we never seemed to be that team who could come back in the late stages of a game. Perhaps these two things are intertwined. We were a better counter attack team who played quickly off the rush, as opposed to a team who could flourish at a relative stand still while set up in the offensive zone with an extra man. The team got 96 points and I remember 100 points being a decent barrier. Call that a naive statement with points inflation and such but the point (no pun intended) still remains that 96 points is the most a team has ever achieved while missing the playoffs at the same time. In an irrational way, while a first round exit is still enough for teams to get butchered by their fan base, one has to feel sorry for this team who almost deserved to have a chance. There are tankers who enjoy 65 point seasons, but I prefer a year like this in terms of assessing the team in a positive way. Here are some random off the head thoughts about this season and you guys can feel free to list any of your own thoughts. 2019 season Best player: Max Domi Favorite addition: Tomas Tatar Biggest disappointment: Missing the playoffs Biggest surprise: Jesperi Kotkaniemi (wanted Zadina) Positives Entertaining stretches Carey Price’s finish Jesperi Kotkanieni Team Battled Hard Domi played well and was leading scorer Tatar replaced and surpassed offensive stats lost in trade Gallagher getting better Défense was better overall than anyone gives credit Poehling’s last game Negatives Power Kill Mete never scored Missed the playoffs Could not be counted on to reverse the outcomes of games late in contests Sub-par overtime play Lack of trade deadline movement (personal choice) Anti Niemi So was the season an overall disappointment or encouraging? While missing the playoffs was certainly disappointing, having watched every game, the team played well in general and so while I’m mad at them, I don’t hate them.

I don’t think one creates an open ended poll with the expectation that there is an actual answer and that those who do not choose it are incorrect in some way. Two major things changed from last year to this one. 1) We dealt away our captain and Shea Weber became our “leader”. I liked Pacioretty more than anyone on here. With that being said, the culture was changed and we now have a new leadership group. Shea Weber was also injured for half this year and moving forward we should hope to have him in the lineup on a more consistent basis. Regardless, the small sample size demonstrates a leader who gives it his all every shift. Something people complained about with a former captain. In this respect, Gallagher would be a fine future captain should anything ever happen to Shea. The future looks great in that respect. 2) Our prospect pool and junior development got infinitely better. After last season, we drafted a 3rd overall center who made the team in his first year, and rightly so. He definitely deserved the spot even more than someone like Mete did in his first year. Sylvain Lefebvre also got canned, a true thorn in the organization’s thigh. I am much more knowledgeable about veterans than prospects in general but we do have a more promising group of youngens coming in. Romanov, Kotkanieni, Poehling, Brook. Even Juulsen and Mete. I’m sure there’s more. But these are all actually impact players. Not Michael McCarron or even Daniel Carr (who I like). We also now have a better junior development group when it comes to the Laval Rocket. These two points are tied in with the fact that the Habs drastically improved their play this year, and that Carey Price played some of the best hockey he has played in recent years. Price still has years left in him within this “5 year window” and any team that makes it into the playoffs with Price automatically has an “outside shot” of winning. It’s true that most teams in the league should basically fall into the “outside chance of winning” category but the improvements made this year were for a real reason, and if our turnaround rests on a 96 point season that has us missing the playoffs, any improvement should have us looking fairly strong. Choosing that the Habs will evolve into a competitive team is the safe, as well as somewhat pessimistic choice, but the Habs should certainly have a contending team within these 5 years. How many years it lasts is another question as it is extremely difficult in the modern NHL. There is still an architect that needs to put us over the top, and our off seasons generally seem to be our weakness.

I think Dalhabs is on to something with his 42-30-6-4 prediction in back to back years. Former champ and now top 3. He should probably just do it every year.

No worries. As you said, no difference in the outcome. Congrats BCHabnut. Ironically, your prediction was the 3rd highest prediction on here, and the Habs still did not make the playoffs.

I'm also being a bit of a perfectionist here but it says in the rules on page 1 that shootout goals count towards the total. Section D So the Habs would have ended with 249 goals and not 246. Again, doesn't change the outcome...

I thought it was Price is right rules as well but if not, wouldn't the first tie breaker be that BCHabnut predicted 4th in the division? I thought the tiebreakers went in successive order. Same outcome anyway but just curious how it works.

Habs will win and miss the playoffs by 0 points. (My gut says 2 points)

I agree that some fans are fairly happy at how the season has transpired. I don't think Bergevin has successfully lowered our expectations though. The Habs have had a good season in and of itself. The thing is that I equate this year's trade deadline with exactly what you are describing. Most fans on here were accepting of the fact that Bergevin didn't mortgage the future. Tampa Bay exists, so why bother? I'm sure you were in that boat as well from what I remember and that's nothing personal, because the majority were, and still are in that same boat when it comes to this year's trade deadline. There's an argument to be made that standing relatively pat at the deadline outside of a few solid depth moves was the correct choice. My perspective is different though. Standing pat is where we allow ourselves to accept mediocrity. Saving 9 million dollars in any given season, let alone multiple is nothing short of guaranteeing that one's squad will not achieve the ultimate goal. I think those who were fine with nothing more at the deadline are those who accept mediocrity in many cases. I understand I'm in the minority and don't mean to sound offensive. On the other hand, I don't think we accept mediocrity by giving credit to a good year. If anyone should end up being content this year despite the Habs (potentially) missing the playoffs, it's because the Habs are actually a decent team this year. It's true that fans may be content being a bubble team rather than being a heavy contender simply because we were so terrible last year. I don't agree that fans are accepting mediocrity in general though: 1) We played well this year regardless of last year. 2) I'm pretty pissed we missed the playoffs. Those who aren't pissed are generally the same ones who wouldn't have expected anything more at this year's deadline. In their eyes Bergevin did the right thing by not overpaying at the deadline because we will be a better team in the long-term. If this is indeed true, then there is nothing wrong with what MB is doing in the present. His past will never change, but there would be no specific reason to bring it up now. Columbus is a team who no longer ''accepts'' mediocrity (this year). And yet they were chastized by many on here. Again, nothing personal, but by yourself included. Had Bergevin made those moves himself, the narrative that he is simply brainwashing us into accepting mediocrity wouldn't be present. One could argue that you're looking at things at a macro level whereas I keep emphasizing this year, but I don't get the dichotomy between fans being content with the way Bergevin was patient this year, as if to say it was the right thing to do, and then turning their head and stating that fans are simply happy with missing the playoffs by 0 points and that we aren't focused on building a champion. It doesn't seem a fitting time to mention it, at least. It's very arguable that the difference this year between Carolina, Montreal, and Columbus, is that two of the three teams went for it a little bit more at the deadline. That being said, the Habs have played relatively well as of late, anyway. My final statement, because I know where the conversation could lead, is that the Habs may not be a heavy duty contender, but they could do better in the playoffs than most people give them credit for. I don't agree that whenever we slip in, even at 8th seed, that we'll automatically get annilhated in a 7 game series. That would have included this year.

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