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Habs sign Mike Hoffman


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9 hours ago, IN THE HEARTS OF MEN said:

Memo: Alfredoh2009

99.9% caufield will be lined up next Suzuki to start the season... 

 

The only question is will it be Toffoli or Anderson on the other side of them.

 

If who your lined up with at C determine who's the #1RW then yes I guess its Caufield

wouldn't Suzuki be better served with Toffoli and Hoffman as his wingers?

Caufield will be a successful 25-30 goal forward for years, but is he going to be that strong on his first full season?

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8 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

wouldn't Suzuki be better served with Toffoli and Hoffman as his wingers?

Caufield will be a successful 25-30 goal forward for years, but is he going to be that strong on his first full season?

Habs now have three archetypal snipers on the wing ... Hoffman, Toffoli and Caufield ... then a power forward (JA), an elite mucker (BG) and a skilled enigma (JD) ... Suzuki and Caufield showed some chemistry in the playoffs, so I expect they start together ... rest is likely mix&match for the time being.

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32 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

Habs now have three archetypal snipers on the wing ... Hoffman, Toffoli and Caufield ... then a power forward (JA), an elite mucker (BG) and a skilled enigma (JD) ... Suzuki and Caufield showed some chemistry in the playoffs, so I expect they start together ... rest is likely mix&match for the time being.

Some chemistry? We put them together and went on a run to the Stanley Cup finals that got halted by a stacked (over the CAP) defending champion TB. And with that said,  game 1 could of went either way and game 2 we dominated and lost but for some bad luck! We lost game 5 1-0...

 

 

53 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

wouldn't Suzuki be better served with Toffoli and Hoffman as his wingers?

Caufield will be a successful 25-30 goal forward for years, but is he going to be that strong on his first full season?

Caufield and Suzuki will be lined up next to each other almost guaranteed.

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10 minutes ago, IN THE HEARTS OF MEN said:

Caufield and Suzuki will be lined up next to each other almost guaranteed.

I'll take that bet. You are on. Over/under half the games next season? I say that if they play together it will be for less than half the games

 

Looser posts that they were wrong and lost this bet

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15 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

I'll take that bet. You are on. Over/under half the games next season? I say that if they play together it will be for less than half the games

 

Looser posts that they were wrong and lost this bet

 

I would be very surprised if Suzuki and Caulfield don't start the season together given the chemistry they demonstrated. They seem like a perfect fit but coaches always  like to shake things up when a team is in a slump. 

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11 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

I would be very surprised if Suzuki and Caulfield don't start the season together given the chemistry they demonstrated. They seem like a perfect fit but coaches always  like to shake things up when a team is in a slump. 

so, are you up for a friendly bet?

 

Sorry, thought you were ITHoM

Edited by alfredoh2009
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13 hours ago, tomh009 said:

Maybe Eller could have done better, too? 😲

 

I think it really depends on our development philosophy, do we want to help him by giving him the environment that can help him step up his game, or do we just want to throw him in the deep end to see whether he'll sink or swim?

 

Either way, I don't know what his ultimate level will be. Maybe he will be something like Eller, or maybe something more like Kopitar. Or something in between. Personally, I would like enable young players to develop their potential, and unfortunately we basically skipped the Laval option with Kotkaniemi.

 

I agree that KK should have been sent to the AHL to develop properly in the first place.

 

I also support putting guys in a position to succeed at the NHL level - up to a point. If, for the sake of argument, KK is put with quality wingers, and fails to do much with them while the team is struggling to win, then the coach absolutely should not sit around for game after game hoping they develop ‘chemistry.’ And it’s not fair to his linemates either to saddle them with a boat anchor. KK has been given plenty of chances and will get plenty more, but ultimately he has to deliver. And if he doesn’t, then he will be at fault, not DD. 

 

No player should be given a blank cheque to always play with the same linemates, to always play with elite linemates, etc. Au contraire; a player has to show that he deserves to be in those spots, and has to be effective when he gets the opportunity.

 

KK’s issue right now is that he plays well for limited stretches. That’s why people are pulling for him. But then he craps out and flounders. And that’s where people want to blame the coaches. Nope; it’s on him not to flail around like a boy among men, and ultimately only he will have to find the answer when it comes to turning himself into an effective, reliable NHLer.

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16 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

No player should be given a blank cheque to always play with the same linemates, to always play with elite linemates, etc. Au contraire; a player has to show that he deserves to be in those spots, and has to be effective when he gets the opportunity.

Definitely not suggesting "always" or permanent linemates. But I would like to see what Kotkaniemi can do having the same linemates for 15-20 games.

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Just now, tomh009 said:

Definitely not suggesting "always" or permanent linemates. But I would like to see what Kotkaniemi can do having the same linemates for 15-20 games.

 

No way - not if the line struggles. 

 

This is the NHL. You can’t crap away points because you’re busy babysitting Kotkaniemi.

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Drouin-Suzuki-Caufield

Toffoli-Kotkianiemi-Gallagher

Hoffman-Evans-Anderson

Lehkonen-Pacquette-Armia

 

I started with the premise that Kotkianiemi will need to step up into Danault's role as centering the top two-way line. That pretty much automatically puts Gallagher in his wing since that's been his role for year. Drouin and Hoffman are not ideal fits for that line, so I think that means it is where Toffoli slots in.

 

I think you absolutely keep Suzuki and Caufield together. That leaves Drouin or Hoffman for their wing. If we're going on the assumption that Drouin will be in the best head space he's been in for years, then I say give him a shot at setting up the kids.

 

That means Hoffman slots in with Evans and Anderson and the 4th line speaks for itself. Let Poehling play big minutes in Laval unless he has a big camp and takes the job. Bring back Perry back in the same role.

 

I generally rip coaches for tinkering with lines too much, so I was a bit of a hypocrite during the playoffs when I was proposing new lines after every loss. With the importance of each playoff game, I am definitely more apt to want to tinker. But during the season, I hope Ducharme shows similar patience and gives whatever lines he uses some time to develop together.

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46 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

No way - not if the line struggles. 

 

This is the NHL. You can’t crap away points because you’re busy babysitting Kotkaniemi.

If we consider player development babysitting and can't give him a chance to develop some chemistry with his linemates we should just give him away. And focus on trading for older players rather than drafting young ones.

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12 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

If we consider player development babysitting and can't give him a chance to develop some chemistry with his linemates we should just give him away. And focus on trading for older players rather than drafting young ones.

 

Depending how the team is doing, I would give him maybe 5 games to “find chemistry.”  The fact is, lines are always fluid in today’s NHL; coaches don’t just sit on a struggling combo for 15-20 games, nor should they, precisely because you need Ws. I for one am not willing to sacrifice Ws to the sacred cause of mollycoddling KK. He needs to be a man like everybody else out there.

 

KK needs, therefore, to play well on a fundamental level: attend to his matchup, play hard on the puck, win his share of battles, active stick, be alert in the offensive zone, bring some physicality, win a reasonable % of draws, not fall down every three seconds, etc., etc.. Blaming his linemates because he’s not doing those things is just excuse-making. 

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7 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

If we consider player development babysitting and can't give him a chance to develop some chemistry with his linemates we should just give him away. And focus on trading for older players rather than drafting young ones.

This is a prime example of why it is said that the NHL is not a developmental league ... young players must obviously be developed ... but if a team expects to be in the playoffs then development opportunities compete with the need to win ... the Habs roster is built to make the playoffs ... there can only be so much patience with KK if he is not performing AND the team is not winning ... it is not ideal, but it is reality ... if KK is not producing and the habs don't acquire a legit 2C then there is an issue with keeping six top 6 quality wingers.

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The way I view this signing is that Hoffman is the Toffoli of this UFA season.  Last year, Toffoli could have got more money and with more years.  Hoffman likely could have as well, but they both chose to be Habs and accepted slightly less.  Hopefully, Hoffman will be this seasons Toffoli too.  i.e. Toffoli was on pace to have career high in points last year, and I bet Hoffman will too. Hoffman's career high is 70 pts, w 36g and I thinking he'll get 71-75 pts/yr during this contract.    He could be excellent competition and push Caufield to see which of them can get 40 goals. 

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2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

Depending how the team is doing, I would give him maybe 5 games to “find chemistry.”  The fact is, lines are always fluid in today’s NHL; coaches don’t just sit on a struggling combo for 15-20 games, nor should they, precisely because you need Ws. I for one am not willing to sacrifice Ws to the sacred cause of mollycoddling KK. He needs to be a man like everybody else out there.

 

KK needs, therefore, to play well on a fundamental level: attend to his matchup, play hard on the puck, win his share of battles, active stick, be alert in the offensive zone, bring some physicality, win a reasonable % of draws, not fall down every three seconds, etc., etc.. Blaming his linemates because he’s not doing those things is just excuse-making. 

Indo think you need to find the one player that he plays consistently with and has chemistry with, the other guy will be shifting when line or team is in a funk. I like the Suzuki-Caufield pair, just need to find who that is for KK. I don’t think it’s Anderson - was but working at all in the playoffs.

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Dom L the athletic, not fond of Hoffman signing. Dont know if stat he refers to is important, but assume 'negative' whatever isnt good.

 

..."his inability to handle even-strength minutes will be an issue. He’s had a negative expected goals impact in five straight seasons, with last year’s being the ugliest."

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20 hours ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

The way I view this signing is that Hoffman is the Toffoli of this UFA season.  Last year, Toffoli could have got more money and with more years.  Hoffman likely could have as well, but they both chose to be Habs and accepted slightly less.  Hopefully, Hoffman will be this seasons Toffoli too.  i.e. Toffoli was on pace to have career high in points last year, and I bet Hoffman will too. Hoffman's career high is 70 pts, w 36g and I thinking he'll get 71-75 pts/yr during this contract.    He could be excellent competition and push Caufield to see which of them can get 40 goals. 

 

:hyper: Caufield 40 goals on his first full season ?! :scared:

 

:1banana::1banana::1banana: Let's get the Stanley party started :1banana::1banana::1banana:

 

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1 hour ago, DON said:

Dom L the athletic, not fond of Hoffman signing. Dont know if stat he refers to is important, but assume 'negative' whatever isnt good.

 

..."his inability to handle even-strength minutes will be an issue. He’s had a negative expected goals impact in five straight seasons, with last year’s being the ugliest."

 

Well, he’ll be an upgrade on last season’s Tatar no matter what, LOL.

 

I suspect he was brought in to help the PP more than anything else. That said, he has to be good enough 5-on-5 that our risk-averse coaches are comfortable giving him minutes. Otherwise he becomes the FW equivalent of Gustaffson.

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13 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

:hyper: Caufield 40 goals on his first full season ?! :scared:

 

:1banana::1banana::1banana: Let's get the Stanley party started :1banana::1banana::1banana:

 

Thank god you aren't raising expectations and putting pressure on the kids ... but with all those hat tricks he "had" after joining the Habs it should be a breeze

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Just now, alfredoh2009 said:

 

:hyper: Caufield 40 goals on his first full season ?! :scared:

 

:1banana::1banana::1banana: Let's get the Stanley party started :1banana::1banana::1banana:

 

 

Well, Caufield played something like 10 regular season games and had 4 goals, so he was on pace for 32g/82 games.  ex:  10 games x 8 = 80, so 4g x 8 = 32g.  Therefore, I honestly dont think its a big stretch that he could potentially get 40.   If anyone watched Caufield play, then maybe you have noticed that he is elite AF.  Caufield will probably eventually be a 50+g guy and upwards of 60, with a career high of over 65+. 

 

Another neat thing regarding Caufield is that he's still technically a rookie, because he's only played 10 regular season games.  He has a great chance at being the 1st Habs in a long time to get rookie of the year. 

 

Also, if Toffoli keeps up his pace from last season he would be in the race for what Habs player could get 40, because I'm pretty sure he was on pace for 50+. 

 

Furthermore, Gally should be mentioned too, not that he'll get 40 but he could get 2-3 more g's than usual and hit 35.  The Habs could have four 35g+ guys this year. 

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2 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

 

Well, Caufield played something like 10 regular season games and had 4 goals, so he was on pace for 32g/82 games.  ex:  10 games x 8 = 80, so 4g x 8 = 32g.  Therefore, I honestly dont think its a big stretch that he could potentially get 40.   If anyone watched Caufield play, then maybe you have noticed that he is elite AF.  Caufield will probably eventually be a 50+g guy and upwards of 60, with a career high of over 65+. 

 

Another neat thing regarding Caufield is that he's still technically a rookie, because he's only played 10 regular season games.  He has a great chance at being the 1st Habs in a long time to get rookie of the year. 

 

Also, if Toffoli keeps up his pace from last season he would be in the race for what Habs player could get 40, because I'm pretty sure he was on pace for 50+. 

 

Furthermore, Gally should be mentioned too, not that he'll get 40 but he could get 2-3 more g's than usual and hit 35.  The Habs could have four 35g+ guys this year. 

 

I want what you are drinking, man! You are surprisingly up on this team and optimistic beyond everyone on this forum.

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2 hours ago, DON said:

Dom L the athletic, not fond of Hoffman signing. Dont know if stat he refers to is important, but assume 'negative' whatever isnt good.

 

..."his inability to handle even-strength minutes will be an issue. He’s had a negative expected goals impact in five straight seasons, with last year’s being the ugliest."

 

It's definitely a fair point; for someone who has as many goals/points as he does, he really isn't particularly good at 5-on-5 in terms of generating offence.  He's a power play specialist, just one that's a forward that needs to take a regular shift.  They will probably need to manage his minutes accordingly; he's someone that's going to be sat late in a lot of third periods with a close lead with someone like Byron or Lehkonen moving up. 

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2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Yeah, with Caufield scoring 40, Poehling firmly establishing himself as a 3rd-line C, and Romanov emerging as an elite defender and PP QB, we should be in good shape 😄

 

Also don't forget Drouin as "comeback player of the year".  Things are looking great indeed!!

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