Do Habs get the respect they deserve in making the 2021-2022 playoffs ?

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

18 hours ago, DON said:

 

He looks like a rock star for stretches but comes back to earth as most good but not great players do.

But, he was on a 62.6pt pace last year and anything close to that would be awesome.

 

 

 

 

I love Petry. He is a tremendous D-man who has, mysteriously, aged like fine wine. However, you are correct - he does have regressions here and there which tend to knock him out of any Norris discussion. Plus, because it took him so long to round into his current, elite form, he does not have the pedigree that Norris voters like; they still tend to think of him as the guy he was 6 years ago.

 

I’m sure he has more left in the tank, but I’m not expecting a 60-point pace this time round. As ageless as he seems, some decline should start creeping into his game pretty soon.

 

In any case, it is a structural flaw to have only one credible puck-moving D-man, no matter how good he is.

[tomh009]

3 hours ago, DON said:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2948393-6-nhl-teams-most-likely-to-disappoint-in-2021-22

Five of the six potential disappointments they chose are in the east.

[GHT120]

4 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

Five of the six potential disappointments they chose are in the east.

The other four teams have had .627 or better winning percentages over the last two seasons (combined) ... Habs are at .512 ... any "disappointment" by them is entirely based on the 10-week Cup Finals playoff run ... that team was "built-for-the-playoffs" and has lost their TOI leader up front (Danault) and 2nd in TOI on defence (Chiarot had 0:02 more per game than Weber) from those playoffs, causing significant changes to the lines/pairings going into this season ... any expectations high enough to lead to serious disappointment are not IMO built on the sturdiest of foundations.

[DON]

On 9/14/2021 at 1:53 PM, alfredoh2009 said:

he was in the mix last year, before he wen to a slump at the end of the season.

NHL.com ranking (so grain of salt); but, gotta agree are alot of better looking d ahead of him more likely to win a norris this year.

 

MacKenzie Weegar, FLA
24. Thomas Chabot, OTT (INJ.)
25. Jeff Petry, MTL (INJ.)
26. Ryan Ellis, PHI
27. Jared Spurgeon, MIN

 

Caufield 15th ranked RWer

Tyfolli 19th LW

Hoffman 44th LW

Suzuki 26th C

Tyfolli 57th, Caufield 58th in their overall forward ranking

[Sir_Boagalott]

On 9/14/2021 at 11:06 AM, hockeyrealist said:

No reason a healthy Habs team cannot split or win season series here.

 

TB is still a juggernaut. Any W’s here will be a bonus for most part.

 

FLA is the biggest question mark for me.  I don’t like their winger depth, but they’ve been steadily improving year after year and will be physically intimidating and tough to play against.   I do believe a split of season series is possible.

 

If the Habs do as well as I’ve described against divisional heavyweights/contenders, They have a chance….

 

So I see the biggest cause for concern is how poorly the Habs usually seem to play against the bottom of the division.

They’ll have to have a killer instinct going up against Sabres, Sens and Wings. Any loss of points to these teams is unacceptable.  No disrespect to those teams as it will not be easy.

No nights off, Habs are not good enough to take any team lightly, but good enough to compete with the best.

 Is this a team that can play that way for 100+ games? 
I believe so, I think there is good leadership and attitude with this group so staying healthy is paramount.

 

For me, I think they should easily be a Wildcard playoff team.  However, exactly as you mentioned, if the Habs win their regular season series against the Leafs, Bruins and Bolts, they might be able to pull 1 of those 3 teams down into the wildcard spots which could lift the Habs up into the top 3 of their division.  Those 3 teams are likely better than the Habs, but if those teams have any injuries the Habs might surprise everybody and end up being a top 6 team in their conference.  That will only happen if they manage to win their series against 1 or all of those 3 teams.  Those 3 series will be vital and every 1 of those games should be viewed as playoff games. 

 

 

[DON]

Eric Duhatschek the athletic; doesnt seem sold on Habs chances.

It sounds as if you want predictions for all four divisions. OK, let’s go with this.

Atlantic
1. Florida Panthers
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Boston Bruins
5. Ottawa Senators
6. Montreal Canadiens
7. Detroit Red Wings
8. Buffalo Sabres

 But, Pronman has this fellow as top Calder kid.

1. Cole Caufield, RW, 20 (Montreal Canadiens — 15th overall, 2019)

I debated each of the first three names on this list for pole position but I always seemed to come back to Caufield. He played 30 NHL games last season, which would normally preclude him from rookie status, but because 20 of those games came in the playoffs, he remains eligible. We saw in those games, when he started to play regularly and shoot the puck a little more, that he was one of the Canadiens’ best forwards. He’s bound to end up with a good linemate on his opposite wing, where the Habs now have strong depth with Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Drouin and Tyler Toffoli. And while they’re decidedly thinner down the middle, he’s likely going to get to play with one of Nick Suzuki (who he has already shown real chemistry with) or the newly acquired Christian Dvorak as his center, on top of the power play usage he’s guaranteed to get. His puck luck will probably determine where he lands in the Calder race, but if he can shoot at the 13.3 percent rate he did a year ago and generate the 3.0 shots per game he did, that’s a 33-goal clip across 82 games without accounting for any uptick in the 13:58 per night he averaged or any progression in terms of his level of play. Even if he’s closer to 10 percent on the year, he’s still probably going to have 25-plus goals. That’ll put in him range.

 

 

[DON]

https://thehockeywriters.com/montreal-canadiens-contracts-best-2021-22-toffoli/?src=rss