Could we win the the North East Division ?

[bigbird19]

Considering the Sabres are minus Briere and Drury....

The Sens haven't improved significally.

The Blue team could sign God, and still smell like my dog's rear end,

And the Bruins will always be the Bruins......

What would it take for the CH to win the North East Division ?

Remember, if you win a division, you finish at worst 3rd in the Conference.

Teams like NYR, Phily, Washington Pittsburgh have me worried that a top 8 Conference finish may not be good enough.

What would it take for Les bleu blanc rouge to score a playoff spot by winning the division ?

[sbhatt]

It would take a slew of catastrophic injuries ravaging the line-ups in Ottawa and Buffalo for much of the season.

[JMMR]

For the Habs to win the divison I think it would take upwards of 48 wins many against divisional opponents.

[Fanpuck33]

Hmm, what would it take? I say a miracle.

[SAKS-AVENUE]

I see your point but we need some guys to stand up for the entire season. Ottawa? they are pretty good dude ....compared to us.

[TheBigRedC]

It's most certainly easier now then it was last year, but still a very hard task. Buffalo is still a decent team, and Ottawa has underwent little change.

[bigbird19]

For the Habs to win the divison I think it would take upwards of 48 wins many against divisional opponents.

We play 32 games against divisional rivals. 32 out of 82. Focus on those games.

Over the last 2 years, we have played at least .500 against almost all of them. Hammer those 4 teams, and you go up, and they go down.

[bigbird19]

I see your point but we need some guys to stand up for the entire season. Ottawa? they are pretty good dude ....compared to us.

I pulled for Ottawa last year in their run for Stanley, but I think they blew their load. Emery has issues, and their # 1 line overachieved.

Bufallo wont see 100 pts. next year, guaranteed.

The Blue team is the one to fear next year.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I'm not panicking over Washington. Philly may need another year to gel - remember Boston last season? Now the Bruins, i expect to be better.

But in answer to the question at hand: this team is not going to win its Conference or its Division. Period.

[Wamsley01]

I see your point but we need some guys to stand up for the entire season. Ottawa? they are pretty good dude ....compared to us.

I pulled for Ottawa last year in their run for Stanley, but I think they blew their load. Emery has issues, and their # 1 line overachieved.

Bufallo wont see 100 pts. next year, guaranteed.

The Blue team is the one to fear next year.

The Blue Team???? The one with Antropov/Poniloravsky/Wellwood/Kilger/Blake/Tucker/Kubina/White/Raycroft/Toskala and Sundin.

Yeah, I am shaking in my boots.

I love how you can dissect the Stanley Cup Finalists with a core of Heatley/Spezza/Alfreddson/Fisher/Redden/Volchenkov but state the Leafs as a contender.

You must be watching to much Sportsnet and Nick Kypreos and Gord Stellick.

What issues does Emery have? Unless his issue is stopping the puck he has proved more than Toskala and Raycroft's 9 career playoff wins.

Give me a break. I am more worried about the Bruins than the Leafs.

Edited July 7, 2007 by Wamsley01

[TheAussiePosse]

Give Buffalo Souray and a full season from Connolly and they'll hit 100 points. Miller's still a good goalie who's getting better, their D-corps is still intact, and most of their team works as a team, which means cogs are interchangeable. Sure, Briere and Drury will be missed, but others can and will step into the void.

Toronto's first line will be worrying. Tucker-Sundin-Blake will not be easy to shut down. Toskala will surprise many of you, especially if CuJo is backing him up. And don't forget, JFJ is a trade-maniac. He's not BG, but the more trades you swing, the more chances you have to get them right.

Ottawa still has the best first line in hockey (although Philadelphia and Colorado will fight that title, especially if the former get Selanne), and they have the best defense in the North East. Also, y'all gotta remember that was Emery's first season as a number one. When they learn not to overplay him, he'll be solid, even in the playoffs. They are still the team to beat.

Boston is Boston, but they have another half-decent to fight it out with Thomas and Toivonen - if they go goalie-rotation, they'll steal a lot of games. Watch Bochenski and Kobasew break through to where they were predicted to be three years ago, same with Wideman, and Chara and their three top Cs (Savard, Bergeron and Kessel) keep them above .500

So yeah, we're slightly faster, slightly less physical, and most importantly, a year wiser. Less flu and a smarter Carbo diet (ho ho ho) will mean we do better against our division rivals.

[The-Habby2919]

Boston has Fernandez... so no fighting needed between Thomas and Toivonen.

:hlogo:

[TheAussiePosse]

Boston has Fernandez... so no fighting needed between Thomas and Toivonen.

:hlogo:

That's what I meant by "half-decent". However, Fernandez is notorious for struggling with more than a 40 game schedule, due to nagging health problems and inconsistency.

Thomas and Toivonen will fight it out for back-up, and the loser will be traded.

[kaos]

Well anything is possible, but its highly unlikely.

Ottawa will bring back basically the same team, and Montreal really couldn't play with them last year.

Buffalo still has a very strong club, with better goaltending and defense than Montreal.

Toronto will be stronger with Toskala but won't make much difference and they'll be fighting with Montreal and Boston for 3rd in the East.

Had Montreal gone out and aquired a true #1 or #1a centre and more help on the blueline, I might say yes. BUt as of right now. I'd say its highly unlikely. Battling for third and the 8th playoff seed seems most likely

[Dalhabs]

All depends on how many breakout years from young players we will have this season, I can see us end up all the way between dead last to top 4.

[BTH]

We could have a chance of being second, depending on how badly this offseason has hurt Buffalo, but Ottawa locks like a lock for first.

[Habitforming]

Man there's alot of naysayers stepping up to the plate with their justifed predictions.

The Habs got better already with key moves and they are not done yet.

How quickly we forget this team was between 1st and 4th in the conference before all the issues took place. To read all the post here you'd think we struggled an entire season to stay in the top 8.

Bad luck at a bad time.

Period.

[InsaneHABSfan]

Habs made sideways moves so far and I question Huet. Montreal will be in a dog fight with Boston and Leafs for 8th playoff spot. Leafs will be a one line team and easy to shut down on some nights. Boston has a pretty good goalie now and Chara, so they will win on many important division games.

Habs best improvement will be that they are not saddled with that huge ridiculous sickness bug that infected them to a point they should have just mailed in the points and stayed in bed. That devistated them last year and cost them at least 6 points. My wildcard for Habs improvement will be who from the BullDogs really wants to play in the big league and stick. My wildcard is Price to make an impact and make the team. I will never question this guy.

My armchair prediction is that the Habs will be in 7th, Boston 8th and Leafs 9th overall in the east. I would like to see this as fact but know this is hockey and well anything goes, like CRAP officiating and injuries.

Go Habs!

Edited July 7, 2007 by InsaneAVSfan

[Gman]

I see your point but we need some guys to stand up for the entire season. Ottawa? they are pretty good dude ....compared to us.

I pulled for Ottawa last year in their run for Stanley, but I think they blew their load. Emery has issues, and their # 1 line overachieved.

Bufallo wont see 100 pts. next year, guaranteed.

The Blue team is the one to fear next year.

The Blue Team???? The one with Antropov/Poniloravsky/Wellwood/Kilger/Blake/Tucker/Kubina/White/Raycroft/Toskala and Sundin.

Yeah, I am shaking in my boots.

I love how you can dissect the Stanley Cup Finalists with a core of Heatley/Spezza/Alfreddson/Fisher/Redden/Volchenkov but state the Leafs as a contender.

You must be watching to much Sportsnet and Nick Kypreos and Gord Stellick.

What issues does Emery have? Unless his issue is stopping the puck he has proved more than Toskala and Raycroft's 9 career playoff wins.

Give me a break. I am more worried about the Bruins than the Leafs.

Lets not forget that the Leafs finished ahead of the Habs last year, somehow this always seems to get overlooked.

They are a better team, in the short term, no question about it. They added a 40 goal scorer in Blake to play alongside Sundin (who the last time he had that kind of talent, ala Mogilny, scored quite a few points). Brandon Bell is a diamond in the rough, but if nothing else will add more NHL quality depth. And Vesa Toskala is going to be a very good goalie, which should improve their PK and goals against, making a weak defence look better.

Most of all though, I fear the coaching of Paul Maurice when I look at the Leafs. The Leafs were one point out of the playoffs with a rather anemic looking roster, and its due the hard work ethic this guy instills in his players. Another year with this team, plus some much needed help in talent, and there is no doubt the Leafs are better team.

Now, all that being said, this is only in the short term. Their best players are in their low to mid thirties with some heavy contracts. No doubt their play will deteriorate in the future. On top of that, their cupboards are barren. They have not drafted well and this will kill them in the future (barring any huge rise in the cap and Leafs siging gallore), which is the exact opposite of the Habs. At least we'll have that to look forward to.

[InsaneHABSfan]

Every Leaf fan and Leaf network will remind HABS that they finished ahead of the HABS.

Montreal without a starting goalie for a significant time and decimated by a serious bug is why crap Leafs finished 1 point ahead. I know Peca was off of the leafs for much of the year and it destroyed their penalty killing, but Raycrap did have some good games and kept them in the hunt. They at least had a starting goalie all year.

What bugs me in the overblown T-DOT media is how they keep talking about their plan. Realistically they have none as in the last two years Montreal has had 10 draft picks in the first three rounds and Toronto 2. Leafs top draft picks that are forced into the lineup are not first line players but mostly fill-ins. Recently acquired Blake had only ONE 40 goal season. Leaf media is sprouting this guy as a savour and well, he will crash and burn under the hoopla that is the center of the universe. $4 million for a one-time 41 goal scorer is way overpaying.

[CoRvInA]

I see your point but we need some guys to stand up for the entire season. Ottawa? they are pretty good dude ....compared to us.

I pulled for Ottawa last year in their run for Stanley, but I think they blew their load. Emery has issues, and their # 1 line overachieved.

Bufallo wont see 100 pts. next year, guaranteed.

The Blue team is the one to fear next year.

The Blue Team???? The one with Antropov/Poniloravsky/Wellwood/Kilger/Blake/Tucker/Kubina/White/Raycroft/Toskala and Sundin.

Yeah, I am shaking in my boots.

I love how you can dissect the Stanley Cup Finalists with a core of Heatley/Spezza/Alfreddson/Fisher/Redden/Volchenkov but state the Leafs as a contender.

You must be watching to much Sportsnet and Nick Kypreos and Gord Stellick.

What issues does Emery have? Unless his issue is stopping the puck he has proved more than Toskala and Raycroft's 9 career playoff wins.

Give me a break. I am more worried about the Bruins than the Leafs.

Lets not forget that the Leafs finished ahead of the Habs last year, somehow this always seems to get overlooked.

They are a better team, in the short term, no question about it. They added a 40 goal scorer in Blake to play alongside Sundin (who the last time he had that kind of talent, ala Mogilny, scored quite a few points). Brandon Bell is a diamond in the rough, but if nothing else will add more NHL quality depth. And Vesa Toskala is going to be a very good goalie, which should improve their PK and goals against, making a weak defence look better.

Most of all though, I fear the coaching of Paul Maurice when I look at the Leafs. The Leafs were one point out of the playoffs with a rather anemic looking roster, and its due the hard work ethic this guy instills in his players. Another year with this team, plus some much needed help in talent, and there is no doubt the Leafs are better team.

Now, all that being said, this is only in the short term. Their best players are in their low to mid thirties with some heavy contracts. No doubt their play will deteriorate in the future. On top of that, their cupboards are barren. They have not drafted well and this will kill them in the future (barring any huge rise in the cap and Leafs siging gallore), which is the exact opposite of the Habs. At least we'll have that to look forward to.

Come by me again??????

[Sir_Boagalott]

Man there's alot of naysayers stepping up to the plate with their justifed predictions.

The Habs got better already with key moves and they are not done yet.

How quickly we forget this team was between 1st and 4th in the conference before all the issues took place. To read all the post here you'd think we struggled an entire season to stay in the top 8.

Bad luck at a bad time.

Period.

No kiding Eh!

Most people seem to have quickly forgetten that the Habs actually had more wins than 2 teams that actually made the playoffs last year. :?-

The Habs failed to make the playoffs last year for 3 reasons:

1) Norfolk Virus - crazy flu, almost impossible to get rid of, even after areas infected are decontaminated.

2) Bad officiating - prime ex. Ryder getting several hooking penalties for lifting a players stick and taking the puck off the guy he just checked, not hooked. (Habs lost at least 2 games late in the season from this)

3) Bettmans cluelessness of the concept of Sports - a win is a win, a loss is a loss, there are no longer any ties, figure it out!! For the love of God, stop giving points to teams for "loosing"

Most of the Habs games between Buff and Ott were pretty close. Neither team looked like they were out of the Habs league anyways.

I highly doubt Boston will make the playoffs next year, and I doubt the Makebe Lieves will either. Chara is over rated, sure he is huge, but its not the clutch & grab NHL anymore so his size isnt as much of a factor as it once was. I truly believe Bos doubled fux0rd themselves regarding Chara for A) by signing him for that much $, B) making a UFA who knew nobody on the team the Captain. Imagine if Bob had have signed Smyth this year, and then promoted him to Captain, would you really think that would have a positive effect on the team?

The Makebe Lieves 1st line has improved, but not so sure aboot any goal tending improvement. Toskala was closer at being the Finns goalie in international hockey 10 years ago then he is right now. At the moment, half of Fin would need to die before Toskala got the nod for them. After all, if Toskala was a great as some people think, wtf would SJ trade him?

[BTH]

Oh, I know that the Habs could have done much better than they did last year and that they have a good enough team to make the playoffs - but there's a big difference between 6th in the East and 1st in the North East. Ottawa is a powerhouse - we simply aren't as good just yet, flu bug or not.

[Chips]

There's no doubt about it! we will win it all this season. All the way to the finals! Undefeated season.

Ok, lets all wake up and smell a touch of reality. Oh no wait that smell is the blue shirts, smelling like horses bums.

There are too many variables at play for next season, will Gainey pull a last min., trade to change the current chemistry? How many rookies will move up from Hamilton?

Is this formula of watered down average players; who much is expected of going to pull off a miracle.

Hamilton did it! We can too!

I'm convinced that our current team and Bob's goal for this team is to find a balance. If we are hit by one or two injuries , I feel we have the depth to keep trucking. That spells victory for me. Now look at our competition; do they have depth to fill in and keep a winning streak going? If so they will be the ones we need to worry about.

GO HABS GO! ALL the way to the CUP Baby!

GO HABS GO! By the way I'd love to see PRICE given a chance to be called up this season, he will not DISAPPOINT!

GO HABS GO!

Edited July 7, 2007 by Chips

[InsaneHABSfan]

Oh, I know that the Habs could have done much better than they did last year and that they have a good enough team to make the playoffs - but there's a big difference between 6th in the East and 1st in the North East. Ottawa is a powerhouse - we simply aren't as good just yet, flu bug or not.

Another good post BTH!

Habs are going to have a challenge to make the playoffs as that is the type of team it is right now. Nothing embarrasing about that as the plan according to Gainey is to build within through the Goalie out. With the drafting and signing of so much "D? this year, Habs have enough prospects defending their end, now it is time to take chances and draft crafty scoring threats and signing good players. WHEN, Montreal starts winning their money will look just as good as anyone elses. I saw this same song and dance in Toronto Raptor land where they were referred to as the Craptors. Now free agents are calling the Raptors to see if they can fit on the team. Toronto is NOT the center of Basketball and because they now are winning, well the agents are calling.

ALL Montreal has to do is put together 60 minute games, stop taking stupid penalties, eat healthy and try as hard as they can and the Wins will take care of themselves.

Edited July 7, 2007 by InsaneAVSfan