2024 Offseason Habs Thread -- news, musings, whatnot

[Runner77]

A Bloumeister sighting!



Also a Hoes Mad ditty involving Caufield:

Click to read more...

 

[overlords]

A Bloumeister sighting!

 

[Canadienna]

Matheson, Guhle, Xhekaj, Savard, Barron, Hutson, Mailloux, Struble, Kovacevic, Harris, Reinbacher

Who plays game 1?

 

[red devil]

An area this team really needs to improve next year is their own zone play if they want to take the next step. At the moment they have given up the 4th most goals in the league and Chicago right now are 4 goals behind them who still have one more game left. I didn't calculate shootout goals or empty goals but the point still stands. They need to make the necessary improvements in their defensive play if they are to become a more competitive team.

 

[GrandmaCookie]

Little off season Poll:

Are you addicted to this forum?

How many hours a day do you spend on HFBoards?

1 rule you wish was implemented on these boards, and 1 rule you wish wasn`t?

 

[Rapala]

5 months until camp.

 

[Naslundforever]

5 months until camp.

Not sure if cancelling cable for the summer I don’t watch baseball… Maybe for the golf but also I should just get out more.

 

[sandviper]

5 months until camp.

I think we need a deep discussion on acquiring PLD once the Kings are eliminated. I don’t think we’ve discussed the topic enough.

 

[Naslundforever]

Little off season Poll:

Are you addicted to this forum?

How many hours a day do you spend on HFBoards?

1 rule you wish was implemented on these boards, and 1 rule you wish wasn`t?

yes

.5, but 3 hours on game day live

rules- not sure, hate those love those. I got modded and deserved it; I don’t see a lot of fake news / rumors… doing good hf.

fix the ads my ipad makes it a struggle for sure.

 

[Rapala]

I think we need a deep discussion on acquiring PLD once the Kings are eliminated. I don’t think we’ve discussed the topic enough.

No worries we will have Trevor Zegras to discuss all summer long.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

It's crazy to me how people think Newhook is a bust because he didn't put up 40 pt seasons his first 2 years in the league. This was his 3rd year, and he was on a 50 pt pace. He put up career highs in goals and points in 55 games this year.

He's getting 25g, 55 pts next year. That's my prediction. At $2.9m, it's ridiculously cheap.

 

[26Mats]

I think we need a deep discussion on acquiring PLD once the Kings are eliminated. I don’t think we’ve discussed the topic enough.

Now that would be one bold reclamation project move by HuGo. Dach, Newhook, PLD...

 

[Rapala]

It's crazy to me how people think Newhook is a bust because he didn't put up 40 pt seasons his first 2 years in the league. This was his 3rd year, and he was on a 50 pt pace. He put up career highs in goals and points in 55 games this year.

He's getting 25g, 55 pts next year. That's my prediction. At $2.9m, it's ridiculously cheap.

What's crazy is they wouldn't consider his role with Colorado his age and or his attributes.
The notion that we overpaid for him always gave me a chuckle or two.
I mean what exactly do people think a 22 year old roster ready middle 6 versatile player with speed to burn and a wicked wrist shot should actually cost.
The fact that he could step into our lineup and that he fits our window was HUGE for us no matter where he levels out.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

What's crazy is they wouldn't consider his role with Colorado his age and or his attributes.
The notion that we overpaid for him always gave me a chuckle or two.
I mean what exactly do people think a 22 year old roster ready middle 6 versatile player with speed to burn and a wicked wrist shot should actually cost.
The fact that he could step into our lineup and that he fits our window was HUGE for us no matter where he levels out.

Yup, all we did was give up bust range picks.

They traded the 2nd for Colton, who they felt better fit their team. He probably does, but he also makes $1.1m more, and in 25 more games had 2 more goals, and 6 more points than Newhook.

 

[salbutera]

Rebuilds can’t last forever, and while patience is needed to see them through properly, expediting them so that the rot of losing doesn’t set in and poison the atmosphere of the team is an important consideration when you look around the league and see rebuilds that simply don’t end. This is why the Canadiens want to aim for the playoffs as soon as next season, even if their building process is nowhere near complete.

When Gorton was general manager of the New York Rangers, Artemi Panarin was handed to him on a silver platter as an unrestricted free agent, and it was the city of New York that served as that draw at the time. Whether it’s your city, your history, your weather, your taxation rates, your fan base, every team needs some sort of attraction for talent to choose you over the 31 other teams in the league.

“The style of play that we play, I think it’s encouraging for our team,” Gorton said. “They like playing an offensive, thinking game, and I think it’s going to help us as we move forward as we develop players and acquire players.

“I think Montreal is going to be a place where players are going to want to play, I think we’re hearing that more. I think Marty’s a big part of that, we’re not naïve to think it’s us.”

This is important because of Gorton’s time in New York, because the rebuild there was at roughly the same early phase when they signed Panarin to a seven-year, $81.5 million contract on July 1, 2019, a little over a year after the Rangers sent The Letter to their fans signalling a rebuild and tough times to come.

“If there’s a free agent out there, a great one that can really help us, we’ll be looking. If there’s a trade, we’ve made a number of trades since we got here that have helped that, moved it along, been the right age players, that’s a different way of doing it. Those are all conversations we’re going to have, this is the day after the season ended, so we’ll go through that. But it’s a team that’s shown us a lot, and I think we’ll spend the summer to figure out if we can move that forward.”

This has Stamkos written all over it…. I’m convinced they're going to go hard after him & leverage his “mentor” MSL to pull at emotional strings ….whether HuGo are successful at pulling it off? Who knows?

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

some def will need to get traded ( Barron,Harris,Struble )

package with Winnipegs 1st to move up or trade for a youngish player a la Dach,Newhook

extend Slafkovsky,Guhle and Xhekaj

no need for buyots yet we dont need the cap and Gallagher seems well liked in the locker room and did step up towards the end

dont waste money on ufas this summer next year is the big one

tell Dach to drink his milk every morning so he can play more then 10 games next season

 

[Milhouse40]

Although the rebuild is not completed yet but it's still over.

Habs don't need to trade more assets to get picks and prospects, they have a load of them already. They already set-up for another big draft this year and the next with 12 picks including 2 first rounder in each of the next 2 drafts.

Time to move to the next phase of the rebuild.

 

[Nicko999]

package with Winnipegs 1st to move up or trade for a youngish player a la Dach,Newhook

Let's keep the pick and draft a player. If the team does not trust their scouting staff, we have big issues.

Moving up (package with D), I would definitely be open in doing.

 

[Canadiens98]

This has Stamkos written all over it…. I’m convinced they're going to go hard after him & leverage his “mentor” MSL to pull at emotional strings ….whether HuGo are successful at pulling it off? Who knows?

I can be wrong but I think we're going to try for Reinhart if he hits the market or Lundell if they prefer to keep Reinhart.

The Panthers won't have the money to bring back everyone..

- Montour, Reinhart, and Lundell expire this year
- Bennett, Verhaeghe, and Ekblad expire next year

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

32 thoughts.

Friedman - said he got a text from a friend saying they never talk about the Habs, Friedman said they're in no man's land.

Next season St. Louis is really going to have to grind the young guys. I think he grinds the vets because they can handle it, but he's going to have to grind the kids as there's going to be expectations.

Hughes will have some interesting moves on the blueline.

Friedman thinks the expectations is the Habs don't have to make the playoffs, but be in the race.

Marek asked him what the plan might be for the offseason and he just dropped the above.

 

[Sorinth]

There's no doubt they will look to add a player whether through FAs or another trade at the draft but they are in a position where if the right player isn't available then they can afford to be patient.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

TSN 690 they talked with Aaron Ward and they brought up Stamkos signing, but neither side seems to think that is what could happen, but Ward gave a little reason like Stamkos wouldn't be able to get paid in Toronto, so playing in Montreal, original 6 and with Marty as the coach might be enough.

Just more of a positive note as normally Ward would shoot that down as there's not much of a draw to Montreal.

Ward mentioned how Stamkos could help players on the team get better as an added bonus to signing him

 

[Sorinth]

32 thoughts.

Friedman - said he got a text from a friend saying they never talk about the Habs, Friedman said they're in no man's land.

Next season St. Louis is really going to have to grind the young guys. I think he grinds the vets because they can handle it, but he's going to have to grind the kids as there's going to be expectations.

Hughes will have some interesting moves on the blueline.

Friedman thinks the expectations is the Habs don't have to make the playoffs, but be in the race.

Marek asked him what the plan might be for the offseason and he just dropped the above.

What does grind the young guys even mean?

If it's play them more then the vets, that's pretty much already happened at forward where our top guys in ice time were Suzuki, Caufield, Monahan, Slafkovsky, Newhook. And Dach is no doubt going to replace Monahan on that list.

On D sure there's more of a case, but we only have 2 vets to begin with so even if they are overplayed there's still plenty of ice time going to the young guys. It's only really special teams where there's just not a lot of ice time being given to the young guys.

 

[hvac412]

I can be wrong but I think we're going to try for Reinhart if he hits the market or Lundell if they prefer to keep Reinhart.

The Panthers won't have the money to bring back everyone..

- Montour, Reinhart, and Lundell expire this year
- Bennett, Verhaeghe, and Ekblad expire next year

What I'm hoping for is a quick playoff exit for teams like Florida who have some interesting pieces that might be available.

 

[salbutera]

TSN 690 they talked with Aaron Ward and they brought up Stamkos signing, but neither side seems to think that is what could happen, but Ward gave a little reason like Stamkos wouldn't be able to get paid in Toronto, so playing in Montreal, original 6 and with Marty as the coach might be enough.

Just more of a positive note as normally Ward would shoot that down as there's not much of a draw to Montreal.

Ward mentioned how Stamkos could help players on the team get better as an added bonus to signing him

Ward: The market will be flooded

Former NHL defenceman Aaron Ward on the move of the Coyotes and what the thinks the Habs should focus on in the off season

www.tsn.ca

Starting @ 12:30 mark