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Game #44 Habs vs Rangers 5:00 EST Sunday Jan 15 2023


DON

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2 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Montembault is playing great hockey and has been for a few games. I know he has tough games here and there but I really have to wonder if he isn’t our future #1.

A bit early to anoint him as a #1, but he's certainly making a good case for being a part of the Habs' future. At 26, he's just entering the prime years for a goalie, so if he can continue raising his game he could well be part of a contending Habs team.

 

But need to keep in mind that he his save percentage has been around .890 in the past (although the Florida years were fairly small samples) so it's not clear yet whether he can sustain this improvement.

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3 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

A bit early to anoint him as a #1, but he's certainly making a good case for being a part of the Habs' future. At 26, he's just entering the prime years for a goalie, so if he can continue raising his game he could well be part of a contending Habs team.

 

But need to keep in mind that he his save percentage has been around .890 in the past (although the Florida years were fairly small samples) so it's not clear yet whether he can sustain this improvement.

If he keeps it up, he could be worth something at the trade deadline ... IMO he is not part of the future past perhaps next season.

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13 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

If he keeps it up, he could be worth something at the trade deadline ... IMO he is not part of the future past perhaps next season.

We’ll need two goalies. At the moment we don’t have any sure-fire prospects. Primeau looking increasingly unlikely. And I very much doubt any of Dichow, Dobes or Vrbetic are NHL-ready in 2014, even assuming that they work out.

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22 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

We’ll need two goalies. At the moment we don’t have any sure-fire prospects. Primeau looking increasingly unlikely. And I very much doubt any of Dichow, Dobes or Vrbetic are NHL-ready in 2014, even assuming that they work out.

IMO - with or without Montembeault, a big part of the next year will be the search for the post rebuild #1 goalie

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15 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

IMO - with or without Montembeault, a big part of the next year will be the search for the post rebuild #1 goalie

It could well be. But we don’t even have a backup yet …

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7 hours ago, DON said:

2 of the 3 NHL games today are early and tomorrow are several early afternoon games...maybe just to avoid going up against my Cowboys vs Tom Brady tomorrow evening?

Go Giants! 

Mlk day is a holiday.

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11 hours ago, tomh009 said:

It could well be. But we don’t even have a backup yet …

 

I like Montembeault more than some and can see him as a legit NHL backup. The key assumption in saying this is that big guys take longer to develop, and he does seem to have shown improvement this year. (Interesting to note that his save % is significantly above the league average, and it’s not like he’s doing it with a hermetic D in front of him).

 

Looking at what we have now, yes, the rebuild will definitely need a #1 G and probably a #2 C (unless Dach takes a step forward at C). The future of our D will depend heavily on Guhle, since right now he is the only one you can look at and go “possible #1 D.”

 

TBH I’m not seeing the outline of an eventual contender as yet, but hey, this is the Habs-Rags thread  😉 

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2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

I like Montembeault more than some and can see him as a legit NHL backup. The key assumption in saying this is that big guys take longer to develop, and he does seem to have shown improvement this year. (Interesting to note that his save % is significantly above the league average, and it’s not like he’s doing it with a hermetic D in front of him).

 

Looking at what we have now, yes, the rebuild will definitely need a #1 G and probably a #2 C (unless Dach takes a step forward at C). The future of our D will depend heavily on Guhle, since right now he is the only one you can look at and go “possible #1 D.”

 

TBH I’m not seeing the outline of an eventual contender as yet, but hey, this is the Habs-Rags thread  😉 

I believe Montembeault is getting a bad rap for the team in front of him.  I don't think he will ever be the #1 guy, but just looking at his numbers and play this season shows there is something there.  He's sporting a 3.17 GAA with a 0.910 SV%.  That's a fairly high GAA for his SV%.  Similar goalies with a SV% close to him have nearly a 0.5 GAA less than he does, with some exceptions.  I'm not basing this solely on his stats, as I've been clear in the past that stats don't tell the story.  Most of his games he's been keeping Montreal into the mix until later in the game, even when they shouldn't be.  He's had more exceptional games than real awful ones, we just tend to remember the awful ones more.

 

As for the outline, the good news is Montreal has a lot of irons in the fire.  There's a few centers with potential in the system, Mesar, Beck, and Kidney to name 3, that have the biggest chance to develop into a #2 center if Dach doesn't fill that role.  Most of the top-10 prospects in this year's draft are centers, and it's looking as if Montreal will have 2 picks in there currently.  There are potentially good wingers in Roy, Richard, and Ylonen in the system.  The real weakness is defense and goalie prospects that aren't in the NHL, but most of the defense prospects are currently in the NHL, which isn't a bad thing.  With any luck we get some great development and are able to use some of those prospects that aren't needed to trade for a goalie that works out.

 

I really believe, for a rebuild, Montreal is in a good place right now.  Ultimately it's a dice roll on every prospect, but there's a lot here to roll on.

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1 hour ago, TurdBurglar said:

As for the outline, the good news is Montreal has a lot of irons in the fire.  There's a few centers with potential in the system, Mesar, Beck, and Kidney to name 3, that have the biggest chance to develop into a #2 center if Dach doesn't fill that role.  Most of the top-10 prospects in this year's draft are centers, and it's looking as if Montreal will have 2 picks in there currently.  There are potentially good wingers in Roy, Richard, and Ylonen in the system.  The real weakness is defense and goalie prospects that aren't in the NHL, but most of the defense prospects are currently in the NHL, which isn't a bad thing.  With any luck we get some great development and are able to use some of those prospects that aren't needed to trade for a goalie that works out.

 

I really believe, for a rebuild, Montreal is in a good place right now.  Ultimately it's a dice roll on every prospect, but there's a lot here to roll on.

And, on top of that, we have a solid set of draft picks for what is reputed to be one of the strongest draft classes in recent memory. (You did kind of mention it in talking about centres, but we have 11 picks already now, even before the trade deadline.)

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If I remember correctly how TBL built their team, it didn't become elite until they got Vasilevskiy/Hedman/McDonagh. The Bishop years were good, but not excellent.

 

I expect the Habs to become a good team but to fail short of a cup until they get elite G and elite top-pair D

 

If Hugh-Gort doesn't get the Habs to that level, I will be mad :angry2::flaming::devil:

 

I am lukewarm optimistic they will build the team to win a cup :pray: Let's hope for the best 🙏

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18 hours ago, huzer said:

That Caufield shot is worth the price of admission. Impressive.

Or as Vader would later say - most impressive!

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3 hours ago, TurdBurglar said:

I believe Montembeault is getting a bad rap for the team in front of him.  I don't think he will ever be the #1 guy, but just looking at his numbers and play this season shows there is something there.  He's sporting a 3.17 GAA with a 0.910 SV%. 

 

A .910 SV% is very respectable considering the rookie defensemen in front of him. 

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It earns him another season and he's in the conversation going forward.  

 

But there are a number of goalies who have one good season and then fail afterwards. 

 

I'm not trusting him as an answer til he puts together 2-3 good seasons.  In the meantime we should still explore other options. 

 

But sure give him more games than Allen in the second half and see what you have in him.  And if he can be part of a long term tandem.  

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  • tomh009 changed the title to Game #44 Habs vs Rangers 5:00 EST Sunday Jan 15 2023

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