Habs Fan in Edmonton

Yes, it was discussed here before. I think by winning the division that their #1 pick will be somewhere in the 25-28 range, later if they make the conference final.

If you think he is special then maybe you do. Mateychuk won't be 18 until July. By the time he is likely NHL ready he is probably 21-22, if your blueline is getting a little crowded at that time then you can always make a trade.

For sure, it's a draft to try and target those 2 or 3 really good players you want and use those extra 2nd and 3rd rounders to move up. They have enough quantity.

Thanks, this is definitely a draft where I see the Habs using their extra picks to move up as they need to focus on quality not quantity.

NOOOOO!!! LOL

Another guy who is really interesting and might be available late in the 1st is Jagger Firkus. A small guy but he can really play and shoot the puck. Reminds me of Caulfield.

From what I have read he is an offensive force and might go in the teen's somewhere. He is also a mid July birthday so one of the younger guys in the draft. The Habs have a lot of draft currency to move up. Do you think it would take their own #2 pick (35 overall) to be thrown in or would the Oilers #2 (55 overall) be enough to move from say 25 to 15? Likely their own #2 pick.

I haven't had it yet, I think, must be my daily regimen of a beer a day keeping it away.

Maybe a Coyote win tonight will brighten your spirits. That's a lot to ask though. It seems like everyone is getting it now. Hang in there.

I just hope they make the right choice. It's a big year for them and they have a lot of picks in the first 3 rounds. It must be fun to be a scout for the Habs this year knowing that your work is going to be really important unlike the Leafs who have a total of 3 picks.

For sure, they should get a really good one in the top 5, I am really smitten with Slafkovsky but we will leave it to the pro scouts.

It's looking more and more like the Habs will finish bottom 3 which means the farthest they can drop down is to the #5 spot, or more optimistically move to #1. The Habs are starting to run out of games to catch Philly/New Jersey and 5 of their last 8 games are against really good teams plus they lose in any tie breaker since their ROW will be the lowest. It was nice to see Jersey get a few points. Now maybe Seattle and Arizona can win some games they are not expected to.

I didn't. Please don't give him ideas.

Yup. They just didn't generate enough offense tonight.

Have you ever seen worse defensive zone coverage?. This is a head scratcher.

Columbus has been cold, only 2 wins in it's last 10 games. I expect a Habs win, big nights for Caulfield and Suzuki.

That's true, they do have a skilled defence. Nobody is going to dispute the Blues are better than the Habs. The only way to get there is to develop your own young defenseman as nobody is giving them away. The Habs have assembled a pretty good group of defence prospects (Guhle, Harris, Barron, Mailloux etc), I am excited to see where this group will be in 3 years.

Sure, elite players are great to have but you can still be a cup contender for a number of years without truly elite players. Look at the St Blues in 2019, won a cup and are still contenders. In 2019, their leading scorers were Ryan O'Reilly at 77 points and Tarasenko at 68 points. Do you think Suzuki and Caulfield are not capable of this type of production? They are still a cup contender in 2022 because they have a lot of really good players and are well coached. Sure getting a Mathews or McDavid would be great but neither one of them have won a cup yet, not even a sniff.

Thanks. I think the decision to get rid of Allen depends on 1) Price's health and 2) the return you can get for Allen. I have been impressed with Allen this year, a great pro, seems like a great presence in the locker room and valuable guy to be a mentor for the younger guys. If Price is not 100% then there is no way you get rid of Allen. If Price is healthy then you have to consider Allen will be a free agent at the end of next year, see what the return is and make a decision from there.

I just get tired of this "tank" debate because the word "tank" is used ad nauseam. Here is the definition from Wikipedia. "Tanking in sports refers to the practice of intentionally fielding non-competitive teams to take advantage of league rules that benefit losing teams." I agree with this definition. Did the Habs tank this year? NO They had a ton of injuries, some blame coaching etc. which resulted in a bad team and bad performance. Should the Habs "tank" next year. NO They should continue with a rebuild, trade veterans and get rid of bad contracts when they can while taking into account that their real window of opportunity to be a serious contender is likely in 3-5 years. Now taking this approach may lead to being a bottom quartile team next year but it may not. I don't consider what HuGo has done as tanking, they are simply taking a longer term view and rebuilding which is badly needed in my opinion. Tanking would be deciding to rest Caulfield the last week of the year because he has a hang nail. Maybe an extreme example.

I don't think anyone wants a bubble team. We want a team that can be a serious contender for a number of years. You are not getting what I am saying so I will move on.

Yes they are taking a longer term approach, that is no secret. You think tanking and rebuilding are the same thing. I don't think they are.

In my mind there is a difference between "rebuilding" and "tanking". Tanking suggests you are making moves with the sole intent of losing. Rebuilding to me is taking the approach that you are not going to be good enough to win in the next couple years so lets move out some veteran assets and get some younger blood/draft who will hopefully mature and develop together and make us a contender.

Because I speak on the phone with them a lot and that's what they tell me. Seriously, I am just stating my opinion like everyone else on this board. I might be right, I might be wrong.

I don't think HuGo is looking specifically to "tank" next year. I think they are just taking a longer term approach. It's hard to predict one year to the next where your team will be given all the unpredictable events (ie. injuries) that can happen. Who would have thought the Habs would be fighting for the 1st draft pick this year? I think it's safe to say they won't be a serious cup contender next year but if they have healthy goaltending (I don't expect Price to be traded, tough contract to move) and some of the kids develop a little quicker than expected, the Habs could be farther from the bottom than a lot of people expect.