2022/2023 End of season discussion and polls

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Poll questions have been asked before but let’s see what people think now that the season is done. 
 

Key date’s upcoming are the draft lottery on May 8 and then then the actual draft on June 28, 29. 
 

I’m curious what everybody thinks about the season? Strengths, weaknesses and your thoughts on ways to approach them. 
 

I miss that exciting team that we started the season with! The anticipation of watching Slafkovsky play. I was surprised by Slafkovsky’s acceleration, he is very fast and the glimpses of high skill and heavy shot. Temper that with the heavy hits the kid took. He clearly has much to learn and he hasn’t grown into his body yet judged by how clumsy he is. 
 

It’s still wild that Caufield leads the team in scoring despite not playing since the middle of January. 
 

I really liked watching the kids too but I’m not sure any one of them will ever be top 6. RHP could be top 6 if continues to score at a 35 goal pace but let’s see if he can maintain that shot percentage. 
 

Lines to start the season:

 

Caufield - Suzuki - Anderson 

Slafkovski - Dach - Hoffman 

Armia - Dvorak - Gallagher 

Pitlick - Evans - Pezzetta 

 

Matheson - Barron

Guhle - Savard 

Harris - Kovacevic 

Xhekaj - Wideman

Edmundson

 

Montembault 

Allen

Primeau

 

I am not convinced that we start the season with this defence. 
 

I also wonder if Primeau starts in Montreal. 
 

Let’s collectively hope that we win the draft lottery 🎉

[hab29RETIRED]

34 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Poll questions have been asked before but let’s see what people think now that the season is done. 
 

Key date’s upcoming are the draft lottery on May 8 and then then the actual draft on June 28, 29. 
 

I’m curious what everybody thinks about the season? Strengths, weaknesses and your thoughts on ways to approach them. 
 

I miss that exciting team that we started the season with! The anticipation of watching Slafkovsky play. I was surprised by Slafkovsky’s acceleration, he is very fast and the glimpses of high skill and heavy shot. Temper that with the heavy hits the kid took. He clearly has much to learn and he hasn’t grown into his body yet judged by how clumsy he is. 
 

It’s still wild that Caufield leads the team in scoring despite not playing since the middle of January. 
 

I really liked watching the kids too but I’m not sure any one of them will ever be top 6. RHP could be top 6 if continues to score at a 35 goal pace but let’s see if he can maintain that shot percentage. 
 

Lines to start the season:

 

Caufield - Suzuki - Anderson 

Slafkovski - Dach - RHP

Armia - Dvorak - Gallagher 

Pitlick - Evans - Pezzetta 

 

Matheson - Barron

Guhle - Savard 

Harris - Kovacevic 

Xhekaj - Wideman 

 

Montembault 

Allen

Primeau

 

I am not convinced that we start the season with this defence. 
 

I also wonder if Primeau starts in Montreal. 
 

Let’s collectively hope that we win the draft lottery 🎉

I hope that’s not who we start with.

 

we need a true #1 RHD - preferably a younger guy ready to break out. I’d say he best trading chips as part of a package to get a guy who can develop into that role are Anderson, Matheson, and Dvorak.

 

You you if don’t have Hoffman on your list. I don’t want him either, but unless we buy him out, we are stuck with him until the trade deadline. I also don’t want Armia and Gallagher, but we are also most likely stuck with them.

 

I do wonder if we get creative there is any chance of creating more cap manoeuvrability. The Canucks are desperately are in need of a centre. Have a lot of bad contracts as well, so at first glance they probably are not a good match as a trading partner. Myers is making $6m. Is a dog, and has been a dog most of his time there. They have another dog in Ekman-Larsson. Maybe they take a chance on trying to revitalize Gallagher by bringing him home if we traded Dvorak (to address their centre gap), and Gallagher for Myers (who only has one year left).  Probably not a risk they want to take given the number of years Gallagher has left, but they have made much dumber moves🤔

 

that leaves Anderson and Edmundson, or Mathesson to try and get the unicorn young right hand D.
 

as far as Slafkovsky, I think unless he has a camp that shows he is clearly one of the best players at camp, we should start him at Laval.

 

I think k with the number of guys we have coming out of College and Junior (Roy, Mailloux, Farrell, kidney, Mesar- mit aure if can still play in Laval anymore), I think we should try boasting the coaching staff in Laval to better develop our young guys and maybe get them to learn how to win in the AHL, than go through another year of losing in Montreal.

 

2024-25 should be the year we should be all in for the playoffs - winning the lottery would go along ways to that goal. But than I suppose that’s not much different than saying if I win the lottery I can  retire sooner😁

 

 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

8 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said:

I hope that’s not who we start with.

 

we need a true #1 RHD - preferably a younger guy ready to break out. I’d say he best trading chips as part of a package to get a guy who can develop into that role are Anderson, Matheson, and Dvorak.

 

You you if don’t have Hoffman on your list. I don’t want him either, but unless we buy him out, we are stuck with him until the trade deadline. I also don’t want Armia and Gallagher, but we are also most likely stuck with them.

 

I do wonder if we get creative there is any chance of creating more cap manoeuvrability. The Canucks are desperately are in need of a centre. Have a lot of bad contracts as well, so at first glance they probably are not a good match as a trading partner. Myers is making $6m. Is a dog, and has been a dog most of his time there. They have another dog in Ekman-Larsson. Maybe they take a chance on trying to revitalize Gallagher by bringing him home if we traded Dvorak (to address their centre gap), and Gallagher for Myers (who only has one year left).  Probably not a risk they want to take given the number of years Gallagher has left, but they have made much dumber moves🤔

 

that leaves Anderson and Edmundson, or Mathesson to try and get the unicorn young right hand D.
 

as far as Slafkovsky, I think unless he has a camp that shows he is clearly one of the best players at camp, we should start him at Laval.

 

I think k with the number of guys we have coming out of College and Junior (Roy, Mailloux, Farrell, kidney, Mesar- mit aure if can still play in Laval anymore), I think we should try boasting the coaching staff in Laval to better develop our young guys and maybe get them to learn how to win in the AHL, than go through another year of losing in Montreal.

 

2024-25 should be the year we should be all in for the playoffs - winning the lottery would go along ways to that goal. But than I suppose that’s not much different than saying if I win the lottery I can  retire sooner😁

 

 

I forgot about Hoffman and Edmundson and I edited my post. Hoffman I did indeed want to forget about but he will certainly be here next season. 
 

Something has to give on defence for sure. I hope Edmundson at the very least is traded but I’m in the camp that believes we should trade Matheson for a Proper RD. 
 

Hughes also said that he is looking for a Dach type deal with Florida’s pick. I’m really impressed with Dach so I hope he does it again. Perhaps that pick is part of a Dubois deal. 

[GHT120]

4 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Poll questions have been asked before but let’s see what people think now that the season is done. 
 

Key date’s upcoming are the draft lottery on May 8 and then then the actual draft on June 28, 29. 
 

I’m curious what everybody thinks about the season? Strengths, weaknesses and your thoughts on ways to approach them. 
 

I miss that exciting team that we started the season with! The anticipation of watching Slafkovsky play. I was surprised by Slafkovsky’s acceleration, he is very fast and the glimpses of high skill and heavy shot. Temper that with the heavy hits the kid took. He clearly has much to learn and he hasn’t grown into his body yet judged by how clumsy he is. 
 

It’s still wild that Caufield leads the team in scoring despite not playing since the middle of January. 
 

I really liked watching the kids too but I’m not sure any one of them will ever be top 6. RHP could be top 6 if continues to score at a 35 goal pace but let’s see if he can maintain that shot percentage. 
 

Lines to start the season:

 

Caufield - Suzuki - Anderson 

Slafkovski - Dach - Hoffman 

Armia - Dvorak - Gallagher 

Pitlick - Evans - Pezzetta 

 

Matheson - Barron

Guhle - Savard 

Harris - Kovacevic 

Xhekaj - Wideman

Edmundson

 

Montembault 

Allen

Primeau

 

I am not convinced that we start the season with this defence. 
 

I also wonder if Primeau starts in Montreal. 
 

Let’s collectively hope that we win the draft lottery 🎉

(1) Where does RHP fit?   Seems like at very least he would be ahead of Pitlick.

 

(2) I've had enough of Hoffman, so I would hope they can deal him ... either (a) retaining $1-1.5M to make him more appealing (but I would prefer to keep retention slots open for asset-acquisition-type deals) ... or ... (b) taking back another player, with an expiring contract, with which the other team is unhappy ... for example, there seems to have been a lot of "talk" about Washington being unhappy with Anthony Mantha ... Hoffman had a slightly more productive season on a less productive team ... and, at very least Caps would save some cap space ... the Habs need to spend $20M-ish to be able to take full advantage of Price's LTIR ... big chunk goes to Caufield but that leaves at least $10M-ish, so the extra $1.2M isn't terrible and they can just walk-away if he doesn't earn an extension/new contract.

 

(3) Edmundson needs to move out IMO ... like Hoffman, maybe take back another contract that fits better somewhere other than LD

 

(4) It would be nice to see Armia and/or Dvorak move out but with two years left on their contracts it is likely hard to move them

 

(5) If they are going to make a substantial trade of any sort, Anderson will likely move ... which I don't see as a necessity but would be OK with

[dlbalr]

Regarding the Drouin question, I think the Habs' online store is giving a clue.  They have a 25% off site-wide promo right now but most of Drouin's merchandise (aside from jerseys) is marked down to $5, often 80+% off.  Even Kotkaniemi's merchandise is more expensive than that.  If you want to read into that, there's an indication that he won't be back.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

46 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

Regarding the Drouin question, I think the Habs' online store is giving a clue.  They have a 25% off site-wide promo right now but most of Drouin's merchandise (aside from jerseys) is marked down to $5, often 80+% off.  Even Kotkaniemi's merchandise is more expensive than that.  If you want to read into that, there's an indication that he won't be back.

Ding Dong the witch is dead. Good luck elsewhere Monsignor Drouin. 

 

 

1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

(1) Where does RHP fit?   Seems like at very least he would be ahead of Pitlick.

 

(2) I've had enough of Hoffman, so I would hope they can deal him ... either (a) retaining $1-1.5M to make him more appealing (but I would prefer to keep retention slots open for asset-acquisition-type deals) ... or ... (b) taking back another player, with an expiring contract, with which the other team is unhappy ... for example, there seems to have been a lot of "talk" about Washington being unhappy with Anthony Mantha ... Hoffman had a slightly more productive season on a less productive team ... and, at very least Caps would save some cap space ... the Habs need to spend $20M-ish to be able to take full advantage of Price's LTIR ... big chunk goes to Caufield but that leaves at least $10M-ish, so the extra $1.2M isn't terrible and they can just walk-away if he doesn't earn an extension/new contract.

 

(3) Edmundson needs to move out IMO ... like Hoffman, maybe take back another contract that fits better somewhere other than LD

 

(4) It would be nice to see Armia and/or Dvorak move out but with two years left on their contracts it is likely hard to move them

 

(5) If they are going to make a substantial trade of any sort, Anderson will likely move ... which I don't see as a necessity but would be OK with

RHP deserves a spot for sure and what about Ylonen?

 

That roster is frankly depressing and I really would like to do a bit of a clean up. Maybe Hughes does pay to get rid of Hoffman and I think most fans would support that move. 
 

I look at our defenders and I think we need to move two of them. Edmundson and probably Savard but we shouldn’t be expecting a big return. I mean who else can we move? Wideman will play 7th D and we sure don’t want to trade any young guys. 
 

I could see an Anderson trade including a crap contract like Armia as part of it. 
 

May 8 might clarify the path forward a bit. 

[GHT120]

23 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

what about Ylonen?

 

I don't see what some others do in JY ... it would be good for the Habs if I was wrong ... only time will tell ... but I don't see enough consistent offence to be a Top 9 forward on a legit playoff contender (or better) or the edge to be an effective 4th line player ... if they clear out several veterans, he might be a 3rd line placeholder for a season, but just don't have expectations beyond that.

 

 

 

 

 

[GHT120]

24 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

I could see an Anderson trade including a crap contract like Armia as part of it. 

 

IMO that would mean there is little to no chance of a meaningful return.

[GHT120]

29 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

May 8 might clarify the path forward a bit. 

 

Yes ... yes it will ... countdown

[Habsfan89]

I've been saying this all year that this is the most excited I've been about our youth and development since the days when Price, Gallagher, Pacioretty, Subban were all young and up and coming prospects.

 

This team will be fun to watch in the next 3-4 years.

 

Now if we don't get the 1st overall pick and lose out on Bedard then PLD is plan B. Any trade for PLD I think will include Dvorak .

 

Drouin won't be back unless he takes a huge pay cut which i don't see him doing. I can see him taking less money to play with his buddy Nat in Colorado.

 

I hope we can trade  Armia , Gallagher and Allen. Maybe Hoffman will be a buy out.

 

I really hope we keep Anderson I think he's part of this new core group of players. So team could look like this next year 

 

Caufield  - Suzuki  - Dach

Slaf  - PLD - Anderson 

Gurianov - Evans  - Gallagher 

Armia  - Pitlick  -  Pezzetta

 

Matheson - Savard 

Edmundson - Guhle

Harris  - Xhekaj 

Ex Barron, Kovacevic

 

Montembeault

?

 

This could pretty much be our starting lineup.

 

 

[Sir_Boagalott]

Although they were 5th last they were 4-5 games ahead of the teams below them that were almost in a 4 way tie for dead last.  They were 12 games back of making the playoffs.  Without all the injuries the Habs might have been able to win close to 7-8 more games and been in the same group as Buff and Ottawa.  They likely would have been ahead of the Wings anyway. 

 

Pros:

-         Good to really good in front of their own net – most times they’re 1^st to loose pucks which prevents rebound and high danger shots from the slot

-         Good to really good in O-zone without the puck, often times their speed and hustle allows them to recover the puck and keep the puck in the oppositions end for prolonged time.

-         Really good at moving the puck back down ice if nothing is going on up ice vs making bad passes and no play up ice (this is when they adhere to this concept – they won most games they did this but lost bad when they didn’t do it all)

-         Vastly improved in:

o    driving the play on the rush

o    puck moving dmen (I don’t believe anyone here mentioned pmd all season)

 

Cons:

-         Injuries

-         Special teams still suck

-         Their dmen and young and make rookie mistakes – which should fix itself with experience

-         Goaltending – Allan isn’t a starter, shouldn’t have been extended.

 

 

Projected Lines:

Caufield - Suzuki – Dach

Slafkovski - Monahan – Guarianov

Pitlick – Evans - Anderson

Armia – Condotta - Pezzetta

 

My preferred 3^rd line would be Evans – Beck – Roy  but those other guys are under contract so were probably stuck with them for another year. 

Why Monahan?  In the CBA there is a rule that when a player is in their last yr before UFA and they miss 100+ days they are eligible for a 1 yr extension with a performance based contract.  The Habs could give him $2 mil + up to $2.5 mil in bonuses.  In that scenario, why let the dream die of getting another 1^st rnd pick for him?  The Habs can get a do-over on that.   

------------

<< RHP

Gallagher

>> Hoffman

>> Dvorak

< = add; > = remove/dump

================

Matheson - Barron

Guhle - Savard

Harris - Kovacevic

Xhekaj –

 

<< Mailloux in but no idea where, but he could be 1^st call up when someone gets injured.

-----

Wideman - AHL

Edmundson - trade

 

=============

Monty

Askarov

 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

9 hours ago, GHT120 said:

I don't see what some others do in JY ... it would be good for the Habs if I was wrong ... only time will tell ... but I don't see enough consistent offence to be a Top 9 forward on a legit playoff contender (or better) or the edge to be an effective 4th line player ... if they clear out several veterans, he might be a 3rd line placeholder for a season, but just don't have expectations beyond that.

 

 

 

 

 

I agree with you about Ylonen and frankly about all of the young guys that we watched with the Habs this year. 
 

I see bottom 6 players  Maybe Roy, Kidney, Mesar, Beck will turn out to be top line players but we seem to have a lack of top end talent. 

 

 

6 hours ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

Although they were 5th last they were 4-5 games ahead of the teams below them that were almost in a 4 way tie for dead last.  They were 12 games back of making the playoffs.  Without all the injuries the Habs might have been able to win close to 7-8 more games and been in the same group as Buff and Ottawa.  They likely would have been ahead of the Wings anyway. 

 

 

 

 

Pros:

 

 

-         Good to really good in front of their own net – most times they’re 1^st to loose pucks which prevents rebound and high danger shots from the slot

 

 

-         Good to really good in O-zone without the puck, often times their speed and hustle allows them to recover the puck and keep the puck in the oppositions end for prolonged time.

 

 

-         Really good at moving the puck back down ice if nothing is going on up ice vs making bad passes and no play up ice (this is when they adhere to this concept – they won most games they did this but lost bad when they didn’t do it all)

 

 

-         Vastly improved in:

 

 

o    driving the play on the rush

 

 

o    puck moving dmen (I don’t believe anyone here mentioned pmd all season)

 

 

 

 

Cons:

 

 

-         Injuries

 

 

-         Special teams still suck

 

 

-         Their dmen and young and make rookie mistakes – which should fix itself with experience

 

 

-         Goaltending – Allan isn’t a starter, shouldn’t have been extended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Projected Lines:

 

 

Caufield - Suzuki – Dach

 

 

Slafkovski - Monahan – Guarianov

 

 

Pitlick – Evans - Anderson

 

 

Armia – Condotta - Pezzetta

 

 

 

 

 

My preferred 3^rd line would be Evans – Beck – Roy  but those other guys are under contract so were probably stuck with them for another year. 

 

 

Why Monahan?  In the CBA there is a rule that when a player is in their last yr before UFA and they miss 100+ days they are eligible for a 1 yr extension with a performance based contract.  The Habs could give him $2 mil + up to $2.5 mil in bonuses.  In that scenario, why let the dream die of getting another 1^st rnd pick for him?  The Habs can get a do-over on that.   

 

 

------------

 

 

<< RHP

 

 

Gallagher

 

 

>> Hoffman

 

 

>> Dvorak

 

 

< = add; > = remove/dump

 

 

================

 

 

Matheson - Barron

 

 

Guhle - Savard

 

 

Harris - Kovacevic

 

 

Xhekaj –

 

 

 

 

 

<< Mailloux in but no idea where, but he could be 1^st call up when someone gets injured.

 

 

-----

 

 

Wideman - AHL

 

 

Edmundson - trade

 

 

 

 

=============

 

 

Monty

 

 

Askarov

 

 

 

 

 

One of the highlights for sure has been how well our defence played and even excelled at times. All despite starting the year with all rookies and the players were playing on their offsides and had different partners all of the time. 
 

Monahan is an interesting bonus I think. If we can get him for a low value contract then I would be tempted BUT I suspect some team is going to offer more than we will. 
 

Gallagher is going to be a problem to get rid of I’m afraid. I expect him to be around for the duration of his contract.  He may spend a portion of that contract on LTIR. 
 

I love how close the polls are! Well except for the Drouin question because that one is obvious. 

[DON]

Hope Drouin, Monahan, Hoffman, Gurianov, Wideman have played their last game in a Hab jersey.

Seemed dumb usage of hurt/injured/freshly healed players by St Louis all year.

Guhle/Slafkovski need to really learn some self preservation...maybe get some pointers from Hoffman/Drouin on how to float around their whole careers and avoid any physical contact with opposing team.

If compare how Slafkovski's buddy Nemec thrived in the AHL this year...just makes me wonder how Slafkovski would of played out in Laval? 

 

Hope they have something else to play for next spring, besides draft slotting; but still relatively weak on backend and between the pipes. Maybe that changes this summer and convert Anderson into a young top 4 RH d-man and find a good young Euro goalie prospect?

[GHT120]

10 hours ago, Habsfan89 said:

... Any trade for PLD I think will include Dvorak ...

 

 

And a HECK of a lot more.

[DON]

All the boys.

 

https://theathletic.com/4410896/2023/04/14/martin-st-louis-canadiens-lottery/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983

 

Kudos to the Captain for not missing 1 game in his career so far and just keeps getting better.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m just sick of everything Gallagher 

 

Sucks that he will be part of the team for five more years. 
 

We don’t need a “warrior” we need some speed and skill. 
 

1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

 

And a HECK of a lot more.

 

Yeah I was wondering if Florida’s pick is enough of a base to get it done. 
 

Like Florida’s pick plus Dvorak plus a guy like Ylonen? They will ask for Hutson or maybe Beck/Roy but that isn’t happening. 
 

Gurianov can go pound salt. I don’t want him even for minimum. 

[Habsfan89]

5 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m just sick of everything Gallagher 

 

Sucks that he will be part of the team for five more years. 
 

We don’t need a “warrior” we need some speed and skill. 
 

 

Yeah I was wondering if Florida’s pick is enough of a base to get it done. 
 

Like Florida’s pick plus Dvorak plus a guy like Ylonen? They will ask for Hutson or maybe Beck/Roy but that isn’t happening. 
 

Gurianov can go pound salt. I don’t want him even for minimum. 

How does a offer like 

Florida's 1st round pick +Dvorak +Kovacevic,  have Hoffman be a throw in 

For

PLD

 

This trade helps the jet's with depth and guys under contract. Plus they get a middle round 1st round pick that would give them a nice young prospect. 

[dlbalr]

37 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m just sick of everything Gallagher 

 

Sucks that he will be part of the team for five more years. 
 

We don’t need a “warrior” we need some speed and skill. 

 

It's actually only four after this one.  Still a lot but not quite as much as you're worried about.  (And I think he'll be bought out by the end anyway but not for a couple more seasons.)

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I agree with Prime Minister Koivu’s observation that this team was a lot more fun to watch for the first two months of the season than it was for the rest of it. Those early days were hugely entertaining, as a bad team full of rookie enthusiasm managed comebacks, blown leads, and general craziness up the wazoo. 

 

After that, the combination of injuries, the regular season grind, and opponents buckling down and getting serious made it a fairly painful death march to the end, which is usually what these bottom-feeding seasons are like.

 

The best stories, to me, were

 

1. The young D being thrown into the deep end and mostly showing that we have a critical mass of credible kids on the blueline. Just how good they will be remains uncertain, of course, but they can all play.

 

2.  Suzuki embracing the C, being the iron man even amidst the carnage, and showing that he’ll be a 70+ point C with decent linemates. He is a cornerstone.

 

3. Caufield’s emergence as a top NHL sniper. We haven’t seen that kind of pure goal-scoring on the Habs since Shutt or maybe Richer (and CC does not seem to have Richer’s mental illness). I just hope that his injury doesn’t compromise the electrifying scorer we saw. All too often, that’s what happens.

 

4. Montembault emerging as a legitimate NHL starter. Again, what his ceiling is isn’t clear, but like the young D, he’s established that he can play at this level, which many doubted.

 

I don’t like how they handled Slaf, and his injury seems to have been a direct consequence of that mishandling. 

 

If these guys can stay healthy, I can see them battling for a bubble spot next season - especially if we re-up Monahan and he manages a full season. I don’t think we will be bottom-5 next year. 

 

Squinting into the future, though, I have a hard time seeing a contender in the distance. Much will depend on the ceiling of guys like Harris and Barron, as well as Kirby Dach. And how we draft this May, and develop the players we do draft, will also matter a ton. And then there’s the PLD factor. 

 

It’s still going to take shrewd management making mostly the right moves over the next couple of seasons. I don’t think we’re at the point where we can just say “with all these talented kids, contention is likely.”

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Sorry friend the polls have spoken!

 

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

 

Perhaps Chicago might want you?

[Prime Minister Koivu]

9 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

I agree with Prime Minister Koivu’s observation that this team was a lot more fun to watch for the first two months of the season than it was for the rest of it. Those early days were hugely entertaining, as a bad team full of rookie enthusiasm managed comebacks, blown leads, and general craziness up the wazoo. 

 

After that, the combination of injuries, the regular season grind, and opponents buckling down and getting serious made it a fairly painful death march to the end, which is usually what these bottom-feeding seasons are like.

 

The best stories, to me, were

 

1. The young D being thrown into the deep end and mostly showing that we have a critical mass of credible kids on the blueline. Just how good they will be remains uncertain, of course, but they can all play.

 

2.  Suzuki embracing the C, being the iron man even amidst the carnage, and showing that he’ll be a 70+ point C with decent linemates. He is a cornerstone.

 

3. Caufield’s emergence as a top NHL sniper. We haven’t seen that kind of pure goal-scoring on the Habs since Shutt or maybe Richer (and CC does not seem to have Richer’s mental illness). I just hope that his injury doesn’t compromise the electrifying scorer we saw. All too often, that’s what happens.

 

4. Montembault emerging as a legitimate NHL starter. Again, what his ceiling is isn’t clear, but like the young D, he’s established that he can play at this level, which many doubted.

 

I don’t like how they handled Slaf, and his injury seems to have been a direct consequence of that mishandling. 

 

If these guys can stay healthy, I can see them battling for a bubble spot next season - especially if we re-up Monahan and he manages a full season. I don’t think we will be bottom-5 next year. 

 

Squinting into the future, though, I have a hard time seeing a contender in the distance. Much will depend on the ceiling of guys like Harris and Barron, as well as Kirby Dach. And how we draft this May, and develop the players we do draft, will also matter a ton. And then there’s the PLD factor. 

 

It’s still going to take shrewd management making mostly the right moves over the next couple of seasons. I don’t think we’re at the point where we can just say “with all these talented kids, contention is likely.”

The Slafkovsky thing really annoyed me too. I can see only two explanations for his handling. 
 

1) Habs do not like or trust Laval coaching staff - if this is true then we should see changes this offseason. 
 

2) HuGo believes that St. Louis is such an enormously talented development coach that it was worth it. 
 

I see a guy that wasn’t ready to play on North American ice. A guy that got his head rocked too many times already. 
 

A guy that should have played all year in Laval but I sincerely doubt that the Habs change direction now. 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

1 hour ago, Habsfan89 said:

How does a offer like 

Florida's 1st round pick +Dvorak +Kovacevic,  have Hoffman be a throw in 

For

PLD

 

This trade helps the jet's with depth and guys under contract. Plus they get a middle round 1st round pick that would give them a nice young prospect. 

It would be funny to trade Kovacevic back to the Jets after waivers pickup. 
 

Dvorak has minimal value but Jets could use him as a short term replacement for Dubois. 
 

Hoffman would be a negative value contract and there would be a price to dump him. 
 

Jets are going to ask for our #5 pick, Hutson and Beck I would bet and we aren’t doing that. 
 

Again if the price is too high then we pass or try again as a UFA in one more season. I can’t see a scenario where the Jets get a big return from the Habs. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

16 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

The Slafkovsky thing really annoyed me too. I can see only two explanations for his handling. 
 

1) Habs do not like or trust Laval coaching staff - if this is true then we should see changes this offseason. 
 

2) HuGo believes that St. Louis is such an enormously talented development coach that it was worth it. 
 

I see a guy that wasn’t ready to play on North American ice. A guy that got his head rocked too many times already. 
 

A guy that should have played all year in Laval but I sincerely doubt that the Habs change direction now. 

 

Yup, that is exactly my sense of it.

 

7 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

It would be funny to trade Kovacevic back to the Jets after waivers pickup. 
 

Dvorak has minimal value but Jets could use him as a short term replacement for Dubois. 
 

Hoffman would be a negative value contract and there would be a price to dump him. 
 

Jets are going to ask for our #5 pick, Hutson and Beck I would bet and we aren’t doing that. 
 

Again if the price is too high then we pass or try again as a UFA in one more season. I can’t see a scenario where the Jets get a big return from the Habs. 

 

Giving up premium assets for PLD would be a Houle-level dumb move. If he wants to play in Montreal, then we can wait for the plum to drop into the basket. If he doesn’t, then we would be idiots to acquire him.

 

I’d be OK with giving *some* return to Winnipeg as part of a trade-and-sign deal. But premium assets? No frigging way. 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Good for Montembault he deserves it

 

Expect him to get more elsewhere but I’d take a low salary flier on him. 
 

He was pretty frigging good

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

10 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Good for Montembault he deserves it

 

Expect him to get more elsewhere but I’d take a low salary flier on him. 
 

He was pretty frigging good

 

Great news re: Monty. The experience should continue to further his development as a late-bloomer.

 

Monahan - for a guy with his injury history, he should have known better. And surely Habs’ doctors could have told him that he was at risk of ‘compensatory’ injury elsewhere? (Anyone who has ever found some muscles compensating for others understands this). Also - why was it so unthinkable for the Habs to shut him down and insist he heal up properly?