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Habs vs Blues - 8:00 EST.


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8 hours ago, sbhatt said:

I was home at 9 last night...I could have watched what was left of the game...and chose not to.  It has been many years since I didn't even watch part of a game by choice.  *sigh*

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to watch an entire period without swearing, cursing MB, Molson, MT, or Julien before switching the channel.  

 

Last night, I chose to watch the Flash instead of the team masquerading as my Montreal Canadiens this season.  And I’m someone who growing up refused to weddings and other important family events because there was a habs game on.    

 

MB has managed to do what even the unholy trinity of Corey-Houle-Tremblay couldn’t manage - make me stop caring for and hoping that the habs will turn it around.

 

molson if he was any kind of leader would have fired our buffoon of a GM long time ago.  Molson is now the new Ballard.  

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9 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to watch an entire period without swearing, cursing MB, Molson, MT, or Julien before switching the channel.  

 

Last night, I chose to watch the Flash instead of the team masquerading as my Montreal Canadiens this season.  And I’m someone who growing up refused to weddings and other important family events because there was a habs game on.    

 

MB has managed to do what even the unholy trinity of Corey-Houle-Tremblay couldn’t manage - make me stop caring for and hoping that the habs will turn it around.

 

molson if he was any kind of leader would have fired our buffoon of a GM long time ago.  Molson is now the new Ballard.  

 

I'm with you, and I confess that I find it very hard to give a rip about the sorry-arsed bunch of sad-sacks bumbling their way through the rest of the season. The games that I do watch are watched out of some vague sense of duty rather than any joy or expectation of entertainment value. My main emotions watching them are low-level disgust and resignation. Very much what the more intelligent species of Leafs fan must have felt all those years.

 

Like they always say, ya gotta sell hope. There's no hope on the horizon right now. If Bergevin got fired, there'd be hope. If we had exciting rookies on the team, there'd be hope. If core pieces are dealt for exciting young talent, there'd be hope. If we win the draft lottery, hope. But until something like that happens, we are just watching a  broken shell of a hockey team filled with the same old faces of failure. I live in Vancouver, and as much as the Canucks suck, at least they have Brock Boeser to get behind. Right now, Habs fans have nothing.

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13 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to watch an entire period without swearing, cursing MB, Molson, MT, or Julien before switching the channel.  

 

Last night, I chose to watch the Flash instead of the team masquerading as my Montreal Canadiens this season.  And I’m someone who growing up refused to weddings and other important family events because there was a habs game on.    

 

MB has managed to do what even the unholy trinity of Corey-Houle-Tremblay couldn’t manage - make me stop caring for and hoping that the habs will turn it around.

 

molson if he was any kind of leader would have fired our buffoon of a GM long time ago.  Molson is now the new Ballard.  

It's not just this year that the team's entertainment value has plunged...Bergevin needs to step out of his time machine and realize the game has changed. 

 

The team has 4 lines of basically the exact same players.

 

 I dont even want to get started on the defense. It literally might be the worst of all time. 

 

 

 

Edited by Habopotamus
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12 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

I'm with you, and I confess that I find it very hard to give a rip about the sorry-arsed bunch of sad-sacks bumbling their way through the rest of the season. The games that I do watch are watched out of some vague sense of duty rather than any joy or expectation of entertainment value. My main emotions watching them are low-level disgust and resignation. Very much what the more intelligent species of Leafs fan must have felt all those years.

 

Like they always say, ya gotta sell hope. There's no hope on the horizon right now. If Bergevin got fired, there'd be hope. If we had exciting rookies on the team, there'd be hope. If core pieces are dealt for exciting young talent, there'd be hope. If we win the draft lottery, hope. But until something like that happens, we are just watching a  broken shell of a hockey team filled with the same old faces of failure. I live in Vancouver, and as much as the Canucks suck, at least they have Brock Boeser to get behind. Right now, Habs fans have nothing.

There is one thing we can get behind.  See all those empty seats at home games?  Yet it's still a sell out every game. That means Internet scalpers are losing their shirts.and that makes me happy. The mark up they put on tickets should be illegal. 

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3 hours ago, Habopotamus said:

It's not just this year that the team's entertainment value has plunged...Bergevin needs to step out of his time machine and realize the game has changed. 

 

The team has 4 lines of basically the exact same players.

 

 I dont even want to get started on the defense. It literally might be the worst of all time. 

 

 

 

 

There was a time (around 2014) when the Habs seemed to me to be a "roll three lines" team. Sure, there were no superstars at FW, but we could roll wave after wave of good, fast, smart hockey players at you. Now, we still roll three lines of more or less interchangeable players, but they just aren't good enough. Where the sameness of the FWs once seemed a strength is now seems a weakness.

 

As for the D, this seems like an excellent analysis: http://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/analyze-this-canadiens-gms-gamble-thrusts-benn-into-ill-suited-role

 

One indirect takeaway is that Alzner is simply not a top-4 defenceman. We have two guys who are legit top-4 d-men (Weber and Petry). The other guys may be serviceable if paired with either of those two, but simply cannot be other than second banana in a competent NHL pairing. So we're stuck with #5-6 guys thrust into top-4 roles. Ridiculous.

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4 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

 

 

As for the D, this seems like an excellent analysis: http://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/analyze-this-canadiens-gms-gamble-thrusts-benn-into-ill-suited-role

 

One indirect takeaway is that Alzner is simply not a top-4 defenceman. We have two guys who are legit top-4 d-men (Weber and Petry). The other guys may be serviceable if paired with either of those two, but simply cannot be other than second banana in a competent NHL pairing. So we're stuck with #5-6 guys thrust into top-4 roles. Ridiculous.

This is very true. They are desperate for arty least one top 4 defenseman and a #1 centre. 

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2 hours ago, BCHabnut said:

This is very true. They are desperate for arty least one top 4 defenseman and a #1 centre. 

 

You want to know what's really scary? We were saying last year - when we HAD Markov - that we needed another top-4 defenceman. Similarly, when we had Radulov, we still needed another impact FW (not to mention a C). Sometimes people speak as though the whole problem is that MB stupidly lost those two guys. In fact we needed to improve upon a foundation that included those two guys. The depths of organizational incompetence boggle the mind.

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I actually think that a true #1 centre is all they need at forward. Just extremely difficult to aquire. On defense they need at least one left handed top 4 defenseman and once of jerabek or Mete to take a step forward b in their developement. Everyone moves down or over into slots they can handle. I think those slots filled and price returning to form and Bob's your uncle. There are no complete teams in the cap era. But this one has too many holes. The top centre is going to be a tough hole to fill.  Fallin for dahlin would help, 

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1 hour ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:

 

Nashville says hi. Tampa Bay says hi.

Those are good examples. Fair enough. But even on those teams,  after foresberg and maybe fiala, the preds wingers are average at best. Tampa has one top 4 defenseman.  Hedman. Serg may be that later bit right now he is not.  Stralman is a #4. They are missing at least one top 4 defenseman. Preds stacked defense makes up for lack of wing depth. Tampa stacked forwards male up for lack of defensive depth.

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5 hours ago, BCHabnut said:

Those are good examples. Fair enough. But even on those teams,  after foresberg and maybe fiala, the preds wingers are average at best. Tampa has one top 4 defenseman.  Hedman. Serg may be that later bit right now he is not.  Stralman is a #4. They are missing at least one top 4 defenseman. Preds stacked defense makes up for lack of wing depth. Tampa stacked forwards male up for lack of defensive depth.

 

Arvidson on the predators as well, with Craig Smith founding out the top 6, being a 20 goal guy. Also Johansen, And Turris would both be our #1 center, with Bonino even getting a few looks at it. 

 

Agree with Tampa though. Although having a top 3 league wide d man (Hedman) certainly helps cover a lack of depth.

 

In general I find a ridiculous forward group helps Tampa offset a slightly lesser D group. 

 

Whereas as in Nashville a ridiculous D group offset a slightly lesser forward core. 

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9 hours ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:

 

Nashville says hi. Tampa Bay says hi.

 

Rinne is not a great goalie anymore.  Nashville could use better second line wings.

 

Tampa needs another top 4 defenceman.

 

The point stands.  Everyone has a weak link.

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Tampa missed the playoffs last year.

 

They also have a tendency to make their goalies look better than they are. I’m sure Vasilevskiy is great, but put him on another team and he’s not the best in the league, that’s for sure. I could say it’s somewhat similar to Bishop. 

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3 hours ago, Meller93 said:

 

Arvidson on the predators as well, with Craig Smith founding out the top 6, being a 20 goal guy. Also Johansen, And Turris would both be our #1 center, with Bonino even getting a few looks at it. 

 

Agree with Tampa though. Although having a top 3 league wide d man (Hedman) certainly helps cover a lack of depth.

 

In general I find a ridiculous forward group helps Tampa offset a slightly lesser D group. 

 

Whereas as in Nashville a ridiculous D group offset a slightly lesser forward core. 

I wasn't comparing the canadiens to the preds or Tampa, I was responding with evidence that even they aren't complete teams. By complete team I mean that every position is filled with a player who is not punching above his weight class. Nashville are very close,  but smith has had some low production years. They seem to be needing more rw depth. 

 

I agree that their overpowered defense and offense respectively makes up for other weaknesses. Actually it is sort of my point.  There aren't complete teams anymore.  In general. If Montreal could somehow wrangle a number centre and a top 4 left defenseman, this team could be right back on top, provided Price can return to form. Elite strength in net and a balanced team would go a long way. 

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5 minutes ago, Scott462 said:

It’s all good. John Tavares is going to become a Montreal Canadien and we are going to pick up Dahlin at the draft.

 

I’m not even kidding either.

A guy can dream :pray:

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5 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

Rinne is not a great goalie anymore.  Nashville could use better second line wings.

 

Tampa needs another top 4 defenceman.

 

The point stands.  Everyone has a weak link.

 

Rinne struggled in the season last year and brought it in the playoffs. Saros is also a great backup and looks like he could be a starter. Rinne is still a .928 goalie with five shutouts.

 

"Could use better" doesn't mean they are missing it. Arviddson, Forsberg, Fiala, and Wilson have combined for 61 goals. Jarnkrok has played some wing and he has 11 goals.

 

Could Nashville add a winger and look better? Sure. You could say that about every team in the league that they could add someone to get better. Doesn't mean they are incomplete. Just means they could add.

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I just think standards in the cap era have changed things... there is no 1976 Habs, or 1980s Islanders or Oilers. 

 

There is no team like the early 90s penguins or 1996 or 2002 red wings even. 

 

All teams have weaknesses now. 

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The question wasn't who can build an all star team. 

 

Holes means you are playing someone in a role they aren't suited for because you don't have a player of the proper calibre there. 

 

Since acquiring Turris, the Predators have no holes. They only have places where they could add more depth. 

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1 hour ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:

The question wasn't who can build an all star team. 

 

Holes means you are playing someone in a role they aren't suited for because you don't have a player of the proper calibre there. 

 

Since acquiring Turris, the Predators have no holes. They only have places where they could add more depth. 

13th in goals for, no cant be a powerhouse up front.

 

5g for Johansen, thought he was better than that?

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1 hour ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:

The question wasn't who can build an all star team. 

 

Holes means you are playing someone in a role they aren't suited for because you don't have a player of the proper calibre there. 

 

Since acquiring Turris, the Predators have no holes. They only have places where they could add more depth. 

 

Who are the preds right wingers? Is smith the first line right winger on any playoff team in the league? Who is their second line right winger? If you tell me a name of someone who played lw their entire career and moved to rw to fill a hole, then that to me is a team balance issue. There are players on that team that are able to punch above their weight class because their defense is so friggen good.

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30 minutes ago, BCHabnut said:

 

Who are the preds right wingers? Is smith the first line right winger on any playoff team in the league? Who is their second line right winger? If you tell me a name of someone who played lw their entire career and moved to rw to fill a hole, then that to me is a team balance issue. There are players on that team that are able to punch above their weight class because their defense is so friggen good.

 

Uh, you do know that Arvidsson is a right winger, right? He will probably have back to back 30 goal seasons in the position. Oh wait, I get it, you checked NHL.com and because their positions are all out of wack, you thought you had a great argument.

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Actually I gave you credit for finding two good examples. Tampa is not a complete team IMO. They have holes.  Nashville has borderline centres (yes they are better than montreals) and low wing depth, but you could argue they are a complete team this year. Since  smith is not having a 32 point year like last uear. so I bchabnut concede and take back all previous statements about complete teams in the cap world,  because one example in a 31 team league was provided to me. Therefore I am wrong and  it is in FACT very common to have complete teams in the cap era.

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