les_glorieux Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 (edited) There has been a lot of optimism going around this board and others for the past few days regarding the Canadiens' chances of having a successful season this year. Despite what has essentially been a unanimous agreement by all respected hockey prognosticators that we will miss the playoffs for the third time in five seasons, hope always springs eternal in Montreal. I'll cheer on this edition of Les Glorieux just as much as the next fan, but before the season starts I'd like to offer my humble opinion of what I think will happen... ONE: The Kovalev-Grabovski-Kostitsyn experiment will fail. I think we all understand that small, speedy, playmaking rookies don't tend to mix with AK27 and another Russian who's barely a sophomore. TWO: Price will get sent down before Christmas. While playing well at times, he will be all over the place, as most 20-year-old rookie goaltenders with lots of pressure are (think Fleury). THREE: We will realize we have grossly overpaid for Hamrlik. Lots of penalty minutes and lack of speed will leave us wondering why we paid the same cash for someone older, slightly more defensively aware, and much less of a scoring threat than the most recent #44. FOUR: Brisebois will be booed to the pressbox by December. FIVE: In the event of the second line failing, Plekanec will be promoted to the second line, Grabovski will be sent down and Lapierre will be called up. SIX: Bouillon will get injured. Dandenault will be forgotten about. SEVEN: Kovalev will have another "subpar" season, which in reality is an average season. Koivu will not reach his highs of last season, but will get 60-65 points. EIGHT: Ryder (UFA year), Higgins (full season), Streit (bigger PP role), Markov (bigger role in all aspects) Plekanec (he's played out of his mind in the preseason), Kostitsyn, and Latendresse (both a year older) will eclipse their previous point totals. Huet will split time with Halak in the second half of the season after standing on his head until January. The former will not be an All-Star. NINE: We will finish 10th in the Eastern Conference. Again. :hlogo:GO HABS GO!:hlogo: Edited October 3, 2007 by les_glorieux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMPL Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Wow no positives for the upcoming season I agree with: 3, 4, 5, and 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Hey...who let Debbie Downer in the room? I agree with #2. I know you're putting your honest opinion but still, harsh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Remember, Huet is very streaky also. I wouldn't be surprised if all three goalies play alot. Totally agree about Kovalev, a leopard can't change his spots. Hamrlik will be fine. Bouillon and Dandy are irrelivant to everyone EXCEPT the Habs brass. How they have jobs is beyond me. Ryder will be moved. Unfortunately i agree about finishing around 10. The players have to prove me wrong before i'll start thinking of them as contenders. There roster is younger and better, so i think there is a chance to make the playoffs but i need to see it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InsaneHABSfan Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 ONE: The Kovalev-Grabovski-Kostitsyn experiment will fail. I think we all understand that small, speedy, playmaking rookies don't tend to mix with AK27 and another Russian who's barely a sophomore. Unfortunately I have to agree with most of what you have stated. A bit gloomy, however another step forward for this team to grow. The East is very competitive now, and the Habs basically changed one part for another which were sideways moves. I totally disagree with the above observation though as I believe Kovalev knows that he has to prove he is not the problem with new line mates. If he fails, then he has NOBODY but himself to blame for his horrid play. This team will be fun to watch if Carbo does not stick them into a total shutdown, cycle the puck uninteresting offense type play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 THREE: We will realize we have grossly overpaid for Hamrlik. Lots of penalty minutes and lack of speed will leave us wondering why we paid the same cash for someone older, slightly more defensively aware, and much less of a scoring threat than the most recent #44. ??? "slightly more defensively aware" yet "much less of a scoring threat"? There's a bigger gap between their defensive abilities then there is between their offensive abilities. All your points are negative just for the sake of being negative. I think if we won the Cup you'd go around saying it was a fluke and it was a goalie or the PP that carried the team on its back. Basically, you're predicting that everything that can go wrong will. Odds are that some of those 8 question marks will go wrong and that some will go right. But the chances of ALL of those things going wrong are so small that you have to be very pessimistic (beyond being realistic) to truly believe in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 w0w, thats pretty deep BTH, but I have to admit that I agree with you. Personally I highly disagree with Kovalev having another subpar year. Kovalev has 2 years left on his contract, and if he has any plans to continue playing in the NHL, then he'd better do something before his current contract is up. Nobody will give him another large contract, and I highly doubt Kovalev would be into recieving a "try out" with a team. Kovalev is just way to skilled and simply has too much pride. Here's my extremely optimistic prediction: I believe that the Habs have 4 players who have the potential to score 30+ goals this year. Sounds crazy, but I think it could actually happen. 1) Ryder - gets 30 regularily 2) Higgins - was on pace for 30+ last year before he got injured, if he can remain healthy he should be able to do it 3) Kovalev - like I said, he has to have 2 good years if he hope to land another big NHL contract, he cant afford another fluff year 4) Plekanec - why not? he had a great preseason, looks sharp, had a natural hat trick against Boston - not many players get hat tricks, let alone natural, so I'm thinking he's turned into more of a goal scorer than originally thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 We know what the veteran nucleus (and for the sake of argument include Ryder in that category) can 'do': drag us, agonizingly, to the vicinity of 8th place, with a couple of points on either side. Unless Koivu suddenly hits the wall and gets old (something that, at this stage, has to be reckoned a possibility) the 'core' should do about the same this season. So the key isn't Kovalev. It's how much value the young players can add to the Habs' default position of mediocrity. It says here that Higgins, Lats, Pleks, and Komisarek will mostly be better than last year. This includes both on-ice performance and the overall heft they carry in the dressing room and the general culture and attitude of the team. (No more of this hockey equivalent of a Beckett play, Waiting for Kovalev). We have better depth on D. We have better depth in goal. The team chemistry should also be better and Carbo has had another year to instil his system, and to learn to coach, for that matter. Therefore, I agree with Bob McKenzie and all three Gazette columnists, including Red Fisher, who is nobody's idea of an optimist: this team is better, as a whole, than last season's and can reasonably be expected to make the playoffs. (Of course, things can go horribly wrong. Of course, they can also go specatcularly right, e.g., the young guns could all take a massive leap forward at once. But it's just as overblown to pick the first scenario as the second). Fisher says 7th. I'm with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFT77 Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Here are some of my scoring predictions: Koivu- 20 Higgins- 30 Ryder- 30 Kovalev- 30 Kostitsyn- 20 Grabovski - 20(would be a surprise) Latendresse - 20 Plekanec - 30 Smolinski- 20 Begin- 5 Chipchura - 5 Kotsopolus - 5 Murray - 0 Lapierre - 5 Markov - 10 Hamrlik - 8 Streit - 8 Komisarek - 5 Boullion - 2 Brisebois - 5 Dandenault - 2 Gorges - 2 282 goals, maybe a little too high, but i can hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NILAN/KORDIC Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 1- This line WILL work. 2-Price will stay all year and play amazing hockey. 3- will have a "decent" year 4- Can you say "career year" 5-Pleks will move from line to line(filling voids) except the 4th line 6-FLAT OUT WRONG 7-See #4....career season....finally 8-Ryder will be moved at his peak value-Go Bob Go. 9- cut it in 1/2....we'll finish 5th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneSharpMarble Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 (edited) Prediction, Plekanec gets more points than Higgins. The initial post hit alot on the head but I see us making the playoffs this year and maybe a first round exit. Wow Kordic sounds like the entire team will have a career season and win the stanley cup and shoot rainbows out of their asses and fly through the sky dropping gumdrops and candy for all of the sick children of the world! Edited October 3, 2007 by OneSharpMarble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NILAN/KORDIC Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Smarties to be more precise. I just think that there are too many people bashing the Habs and I felt it was time to speak the ~truth~. I guess there is some hope in my words but seeing as my basement is a shrine to the Habs, I really........really............really hope that they play way above there heads for 3/4 of the season. Go Habs Go. Smells like CupFever has set in for me(heavy early) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 I much prefer the optimistic approach of nilan/kordic than the overly citical (the sky will fall) of les glorieux. This team up until xmas last year was doing supremely well. This team is better than last year. The kids will come into their own this year. We will end up in 5th or 6th place at the worst. we will make it ti the 3rd round in the playoffs. I must keep this post so I will know how close I came. :ghg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMPL Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Here are some of my scoring predictions: Koivu- 20 Higgins- 30 Ryder- 30 Kovalev- 30 Kostitsyn- 20 Grabovski - 20(would be a surprise) Latendresse - 20 Plekanec - 30 Smolinski- 20 Begin- 5 Chipchura - 5 Kotsopolus - 5 Murray - 0 Lapierre - 5 Markov - 10 Hamrlik - 8 Streit - 8 Komisarek - 5 Boullion - 2 Brisebois - 5 Dandenault - 2 Gorges - 2 282 goals, maybe a little too high, but i can hope! Nobody over 30. I agree with your prediction though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 I just think that there are too many people bashing the Habs ...... I really........really............really hope that they play way above there heads for 3/4 of the season. Go Habs Go. Smells like CupFever has set in for me(heavy early) Yep, I agree with habs bashing being bunk and uncalled for. It seems to me that the majority of people here have easily forgot how well the Habs played last year. I dont think the Habs have to play way above their heads for 3/4 of the year, I strongly beleive they just need to play for the entire year, and not just 3/4 of the season. After all, how bad of shape were the Habs last year just before the 6 week flu bug hiatus? Not sure sure why some dont think Kovalev having a good season is important. I guess they have never heard the old cliche of "your best players have to be your best players". Kovalev doesnt always produce as much as he should, but he is 1 of the Habs best players, not to mention his invaluable veteran experience. After all of the 3 Habs that will hit 1000 NHL games played this year, Kovalev is the only 1 to have ever won the Cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smon Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Most of the predictions will probably be true...I'm not too enthused about Hamrlik either. I still think the Canadiens can make the playoffs though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habitforming Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Boy are you guys gonna love the HW predictions that go up tomorrow. You guys are terrible, no faith and nothing to back up any "predictions" just doom and gloom. Sad really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cataclaw Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 I have faith in Kovy Grabs Big ####. I also think all this professional opinion that the Habs will not make the playoffs is great. Great because i get to see the looks on their faces when they do, come spring. These "pros" all underestimate players such as Plekanec, Higgins, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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