xXx..CK..xXx

On paper, the Habs have three lines of players who have scored 20 goals in a season in this league. 1) When was the last time the Habs have had that amount of scoring depth? 2) How many teams in the league have that much offensive depth on their forward corps? I am not going to go out and sound crazy by saying we have one of the best forwars groups in the league, but I will happily say that our forward corps is severely underrated by those who say we have one of the worst. The Habs are viewed as a team that aren’t contenders and as a result both media as well as fans have extrapolated that data on to the forward corps, when indeed it has the potential to score. I did not even mention Dvorak at all today, and he scored a hat trick last night. We have a team that on any given night, a different player can be the GWG hero. People continue to bash Dadonov (who on paper scored 20 goals last year), as well as Hoffman, but it will not surprise me in the least, if either of those players pot 2 goals or a hat trick with us some time this season, and I say that with confidence. Our forward depth is strong.

A lot of mention about the rookies but the Habs are not a young team. We are right in the middle of the NHL in terms of average age. We don’t have any veteran superstars but we do have a veteran presence on this team, and even more-so when Matheson and Edmundson return. My only point is that I am going against the grain in saying there is no reason to believe the Habs are unique, and cannot be a team that “progresses as the year evolves” as well as other teams. (The rookie question is valid, but it’s not like Harris or Guhle are racking up 1000 points right now, and that will disappear. They are simply playing fundamentally strong basic hockey.) It seems as though in some fans’ eyes, the Habs can do no well but other teams can. “The Habs will regress but other teams will progress” ”The Habs won so maybe the other team took them lightly” ”If the starting goalie goes down, the Habs are doomed, but other teams would survive that scenario” There are plenty more examples… One can bring up tanking all they want, but the Habs are not tanking. My other point which got lost amidst my rant is that the Habs have a solid forward (veteran) corps. Suzuki Caufield Anderson Gallagher Hoffman Monahan Then we have outliers like Dadonov Dach Evans Drouin I know a third of the people I listed are hated by many fans (Drouin, Dadonov, Hoffman) however our forward depth is better than it has been in some time. Dadonov and Drouin have been terrible at times but their ceilings are quite high so these are better players to have on the squad than Charles Hudons. Anyway, I don’t have our team making the playoffs either necessarily, but the team is a lot better than most give it credit for, and that is perfectly fine with me.

I promise I said that before Juraj’s snipe. 🚨

We’re still alive in this one. Blues aren’t used to winning recently.

I think we all should feel similarly when it comes to…. 1) The great admiration for Carey we should have. 2) The ominous feeling when it comes to the realization that we may not have a goalie of his caliber again for decades. The thing is that I don’t think much of the fan base even feel the way I described. Many certainly took him for granted while we had him and even wanted him gone. For me personally, it will be tough to move on. On one hand, we’ve already had some exciting performance by goalies in the 21st century outside of Price. Whether it be Jeff Hackett flying in the air to make a save, Jose Theodore standing on his head to defeat the Bruins, or Jaroslav Halak transforming into a stop sign for a couple of NHL rounds. However the truth remains that none of them were actually the best goalie in the world at any given point, and we have lost that. Here is to hoping that we will have another elite goaltender on the squad in the near future. However on a personal level, as I watch the game quietly in my living room, I will consistently be reminiscing about having Price in net, and comparing many of our future goalies to what we once had.

This logic seems backwards. I am fairly confident he would produce more given a full season on the top line versus a lower line. I also wonder how the conversation would go between you and Monahan should you ever meet in person (which obviously likely would not happen). *Prime Minister walks down Av. des Canadiens-de-Montréal in a Koivu Jersey when Sean Monahan spots him* Monahan: Go Habs Go! Nice jersey! Prime Minister: Thank you. Koivu was a legend. Monahan: He sure was. I’m so happy to be back and healthy again, and playing for this organization is simply a blessing with all the history surrounding it. Hopefully we can build something here over the next couple of years. Prime Minister: Well… actually… I was hoping to get a first round pick for your services in order to help speed that process up. Monahan: *Blocked*

In addition, I have been on these boards for 17 years and have lived through many of the negative nancies who have posted and continue to post throughout the years. Exaggeration is part of the formula. In these past 29 years we have had more than one team that has has a somewhat legitimate chance of winning the cup. The Habs finished atop the Eastern Conference a few times, reached the conference finals a few times, and made the cup final as well. It is true that the negative nancies were correct every single one of those years, since we never won a cup. What is also true is that in any given year, they have about a 97% chance of being correct without even using a brain cell. While we did not win, this does not change the fact that realistically there have been a good 10 years of seasons where there was legitimate reason to have hope, and they simply get omitted from memory because everyone “knew” the Habs weren’t a “top tier” contender anyway. We were first overall in the regular season? “Not a playoff team”. We squeaked in at 8th spot? “We should have tanked.” If you are expecting a season where you have full confidence, we likely will still not win that specific year because you are a human and not a robot that can simply predict that “this is our year” based on your calculations. Due to reality that we are not in 1960 anymore and there are 32 teams, we will likely win the Stanley Cup during a year where the fanbase had hope, long before the season you had confidence.

It’s not meant to be insulting towards the majority of the fanbase. There are genuinely people who show no joy after any Habs win. That’s not normal. Whether you want to call them emotionless robots or armchair GMs, the description of these people will be unpleasant either way.

Even though I appreciate the Expos, I actually preferred last year’s dark blue version, which everyone hated. Either way, I’ll end up having both.

One thought I’ve had recently (actually yesterday) is whether or not the “robots” on Habsworld, and Habsland in general, actually have any endorphins in their brain which can be released upon the Habs doing well and winning a game. It’s a constant buzz kill and in fact not always accurate to proclaim that the Habs will lose, or should lose any given game. The way this ties in with your post, which I understand for the most part, is what is so wrong with a fanbase being happy about their team while they win games? In a way, I understand that we do not want to be a reincarnated version of the Leaf fanbase who call for a parade perennially in October. On the other majorly large hand, why should we listen to arm chair general managers who proclaim to know the future with the never ending 3 year future window? “The future will always be better”. It’s no secret that our team is not actually a legitimate contender but can it outperform expectation and could we be closer than we think? Absolutely. Now, I am not stating that because of the actual physical names we have in our lineup. I am simply stating this because similar to how you have seen fan expectations be overly high towards unproven prospects, I have seen the opposite time and time again. Fans claiming that we are “three years away”, when we never are… as well as “our team is pathetic and didn’t deserve to make the playoffs”, the same year we make a CUP FINAL run. What I will say is that youth aside, the Habs have a very strong forward corps. We scored 6 goals last night, and we have 3 or 4 more forwards who could have been the goal scorer yet did not score. I do believe that simply because of that, we are turning out to be fairly underrated. On the other hand, when it comes to the youth, I think things can be overblown as well and I agree with your point. Caufield, Suzuki, sure. Some of the other prospects have a long way to go before they actually prove themselves as being part of our future core on a contending team. Some expectations in that respect should be tempered.

Rooting for a win here and I believe we will pull it out. 4-2 Habs is my prediction but final score aside, a win’s a win.

I haven’t had time to think but it will be between Suzuki and Caufield. My last one was Weber with the “C”. I’d like a Caufield one the most, but Suzuki with the “C” is an equal playing field. I will report back once I decide… Right now I am leaning Caufield but it will be interesting to see what I actually decide.

It’s also true that our farm team is in Laval so I don’t think there is anything spoiled about getting comfortable enjoying the city. Even if he were to be demoted, he can still do so. I also believe the thing that he will enjoy the most in his new setting will be the home cooking, comfortable bed and a more natural home-like setting to live in. There‘s absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact judging by the quote, it would seem as though Xhekaj and Harris would be more worrisome in terms of “enjoying the city” too much. Considering they are young, downtown and sharing a place by themselves. Nothing to se here concerning Slaf. As PMAC stated, it’s actually likely beneficial for him to be billeted, regarding the concern of him becoming spoiled.

Seeing a lot of neutrals complimenting Gallagher for standing up for captain Suzuki at the end of the game.

Jake Allen out here trying to change my perception.

25 shots against after the first. Nummy nums. Allen showing shades of Carey’s 2015 year.

While this is not to say that the proper development of a player is not important, I don’t believe it to be a big factor in this context. Svechnikov, Dahlin and Tkachuk all jumped right into the league and have demonstrated that they can be influential players on their respective teams. Barett Hayton and Filip Zadina went down to the minors and have still yet to find any more production than KK. What did development do for them that KK didn’t receive? If you want to talk about their statistical output, then I think one could question whether or not KK was the best pick available at that time, rather than whether or not he would be a better player in the now had he been sent down for a year. Perhaps he should have been sent down simply because he wasn’t actually a 3rd overall pick, and most of the lower picks in that draft did spend some time in the minors. As was stated by Tom, every player is different. There is not necessarily a relation between the two players. Juraj is a 1st overall. The only relation I would see is if this draft was indeed so weak, or Juraj was the wrong pick. I do not know an extreme amount about Juraj but I think the play is the normal one. Give him a shot for the first few games of the season and see how he fits into the lineup. I actually trust that the organization will make the right decision, and I believe it will partially be based on his performance in these first nine games. I am perfectly fine with him staying up if he deserves it.

a) 35 - 36 - 8 - 3 = 81 points b) 5th Atlantic c) 23rd League d) 35 Goals

I notice the pattern that none of those goalies are Carey Price. Okay, not just him… but mediocre compared to even second tier starting goalies in the NHL. Defence this, defence that. Fine. Our goaltending is still _____ (nothing nice to say)

I think he was disagreeing with the point that we are tanking, therefore you two aren’t actually on the same page. I don’t have to beat the topic to death in that I don’t support tanking but I also don’t fully understand your final point. You are in the “camp that believes we are tanking”. According to who? Do you believe management is in the process of tanking? I already know the coaches and players are not in “tank mode”, and others have already thrown out arguments to show that management are not making moves to officially tank. I am unsure how early Hughes was aware of the Carey Price ordeal, but with a number 1 goalie, our team can actually battle out there. Although our defensive corps is putrid, the Edmundson injury was also unforeseen and I do believe a lack of solid goaltending will be our achilles heel until that changes. It simply seems to be, as others have stated that the Habs simply don’t have a top tier team, rather than outright tanking. Now if what the comment was supposed to mean, is that we should be tanking, then it is simply a matter of personal opinion, just as much as mine is (meaning I am not necessarily correct) but sometimes us armchair GMs just aren’t right and the team can either 1) surprise us and end up to be an entertaining and successful team or 2) underperform and play even worse than anticipated. I feel as though these tanking, rebuild, retool, we don’t have a chance, the team is 3 years away, etc. perspective can be SERIOUSLY damaging to any organization and could lead a team to remain in an eternal search for the cup because the mentality is that they are “never quite there”. Although my perspective will make certain people cringe at the thought, I personally much prefer both as a fan, as well as being part of an organization, a mentality whereby “anything is possible” or “that’s why they play the games”. Tanking and defeatest mentalities may sometimes be “smarter” or “more accurate” but I feel as though the mentality can be detrimental to overall performance and would also take away from any enjoyment of watching the game by “knowing” a team won’t win for another 4-5 years. The problem with this is that we once again do not actually know (how many people said our team would make the finals when they did in Weber’s final year). The final issue is that as a fan it would be incredibly draining to watch seasons with such a negative mindset. May as well just wait 4 years to watch a game then. Not only that, but once the team misses their chance in the said 4 years. Well, now it’s once again time for that slow rebuild again. It’s the right thing to do! /endrant

I am not a tanker but the words “the tank” followed by “is on” may or may not have crossed my mind once I saw the news.

Someone may make a thread about it but Edmundson out indefinitely… (Suzuki out for two weeks)

Posted above but Rinne’s number is already retired.

I don’t mean to come off a certain type of way to those who say no, but it’s an obvious “yes”. I will leave two pieces of evidence to rest my case. 1) https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/teams/montreal-canadiens-goalies-career-nhl-stats.html Feel free to sort by wins as well. And despite my previous post about Rinne… 2) https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/33364704/former-goalie-pekka-rinne-no-35-becomes-first-jersey-retired-nashville-predators?platform=amp In regards to 1, his simple longevity with the organization as well as number one in wins does it for me.

Tanking is never the logical thing to do pre-season. Of course we already have posters who are predicting our demise pre-season but even they cannot agree where the Habs will finish. We have the same bunch who are claiming the Habs will finish bottom 3 and the same people predicting a bottom 5-10 position; the same prediction they make on a yearly basis. There have already been many season where the Habs outperform these expectations. Heck even the season the Habs made the final there were those same comments as far as rounds 1 & 2. I dislike our defense and even more-so our goaltending, but I do not think that tanking is the logical thing to do. It never is, until at least the new year.