Line Combos: Early look at the 23-24 Habs

[Scriptor]

I prefer the comparison to Buffallo because if we’re similar to the Sens it would mean were a few years from moving up 3 spots !
Kidding aside, I’m not so sure that no more top 5 are in the future. You can pick 15 next season and top 5 in 2025.
I don’t see a clear upward projection unless we get 1/2 C, a 1RD and a goalie that’s a real starter quality.

I agree with the bolded part, but MON has the assets to add those players within two years at the latest and HuGo are creative enough to do as much.

Will it happen? I don't know, but I think we have proactive management that will seek to do that.

I'm actually optimistic that there will be some concretely positive changes this offseason and at next year's trade deadline, plus the following season.

Basically two years of acquisitions and natural additions that will improve this roster significantly. Of course, it doesn't mean that it won't still take three four or five years to see the Habs become something akin to contenders.

 

[Sorinth]

At this point, I think Monahan is the type to trip over his kid's bike, break a leg & be out 6 months.

He went through this shit with Calgary, which is why they traded him & gave up a 1st for it.

It pre-dates his arrival in Montreal. Definition of being injury prone.

Andrei Markov was also the definition of being injury prone after a 3 year span where he played 45, 7, and 13 games respectively. Then he comes back and misses all of 2 games over the next 4 years. It's hard to predict these things.

 

[Lockin17]

Caufield - Suzuki - RHP
Slaf - Dach - Anderson
Farrell - Dvorak - Gurianov
Hoffman - Evans - Gally
Armia - Beck, Heinemen

Matheson - Savard
Guhle - Barron
Xhekaj - Harris
Edmundson - Kosvacevic


Allen
Montembeault

Hopefully Edmundson and Hoffman are traded this summer
Maybe buy Gally's contrat or leave him in LTIR

 

[morhilane]

I'm looking at people's line-ups suggestion and I think that Dvorak needs to go next off-season as well. So Eddy*, Hofman and Dvorak**.

*Or Harris and trade Eddy at the deadline and call-up a prospect LD from the AHL
**Or Evans, but Dvorak has a partial NTC that start July 1st and should be worth more.

----
A none-roke line-up: A big guy with small guy on every lines...

Caufield - Suzuki - Gurianov
Farrell - Dach - Anderson
Slaf - Beck - RHP
Heinemen - Evans - Gally
Armia

Guhle - Savard
Matheson - Barron
Harris - Xhekaj
Kovacevic - Wideman

Allen
Montembeault/Primeau

Primeau isn't waiver exempt next season and a few team had worst as back-up this year so I'm pretty sure he gets claimed. Monty too, that's how the Habs got him. Habs will have to decide if they keep Primeau or let him go (and watch him turn into a NHL goalie in a few years).

 

[Sorinth]

For the forwards I think the skeleton roster looks something like
Caufield - Suzuki - XXXX
Slafkovsky - Dach - XXXX
XXXX - Dvorak - Gallagher
XXXX - Evans - XXXX

Chances are no line will be permanent and there will be a shuffle throughout searching for chemistry and depth scoring but generally speaking.
Fighting for the 2 top-six spots are: Anderson, Hoffman, Gurianov, RHP, Farrell, and Roy
Fighting for the 3 bottom-six spots are: Pitlick, Ylonen, Heineman, Pezzetta, and Armia plus whoever doesn't make it from the top-six fight except for Farrell and Roy who probably are sent to the AHL if they can't crack the top-six.

Realistically there's probably 3 roster spots to fight over as Anderson, Hoffman, Armia aren't likely to be waived and sent to the AHL and we probably go 13F, 8D, 2G.

That said this is all assuming no injuries, no offseason moves, and no surprise prospects stealing a spot which all together seems unlikely.

 

[calder candidate]

I think you need to stay patient we start being more aggressive next off seasons.
CC Suzuki Gurianov
Slaf Dach Anderson
UFA Dvorak Gallagher
RHP Evans Armia
Pitlick

Guhle Matheson
Harris Savard
Xhekaj Baron
Kovacevic

Allen
Montembeault

- Edmundson and Hoffman traded at the draft/ off season.
- sign a player like Domi, Monahan, Bjugstad or Athanasiou you over pay for a 1 year deal that would bring the most value a the TDL.

That team if there isn’t any injuries like the past 2 years could challenge for a wildcard spot they probably fall short but they should make it entertaining.

Other player on the block because of the contract
Gallagher
Anderson

Player available because of upcoming prospect

Harris, with Matheson, Guhle, Xhekaj and Hutson that left side is looking pretty good. he played RD before but he hasn’t look good on the right side in the NHL… with Savard, Baron and Kovacevic being adequate option. Harris might be the odd man out and he could have significant value.

Dvorak with Beck and likely a 2023 pick he going to the the odd man out…

 

[Omar]

Caufield - Suzuki - RHP
Slaf - Dach - Anderson
Farrell - Dvorak - Gurianov
Hoffman - Evans - Gally
Armia - Beck, Heinemen

Matheson - Savard
Guhle - Barron
Xhekaj - Harris
Edmundson - Kosvacevic


Allen
Montembeault

Hopefully Edmundson and Hoffman are traded this summer
Maybe buy Gally's contrat or leave him in LTIR

Farrell? A bit early for him

 

[Lockin17]

Farrell? A bit early for him

he will be 22 years old,, he better be ready or else he will be a AHLer

 

[Kennedys]

Caufield will probably score 50% of Habs goals

 

[Scriptor]

Caufield will probably score 50% of Habs goals

56 total goals for the Habs?

 

[Kennedys]

56 total goals for the Habs?

Caufield will absolutely only score 28 goals next season. And sorry if you missed the joke (or exageration).

 

[Destopcorner]

Farrell? A bit early for him

He's more than ready and will look great patroling Kovalev spot the PP. Outstanding IQ skills and work ethic, he can't miss if given the opportunity.

My other lock is Heineman. Patch like tools and was one of our best foward at camp before his injury. His game is suited for NA ice but needs to play in the NHL to avoid returning in Europe.

 

[BaseballCoach]

He's more than ready and will look great patroling Kovalev spot the PP. Outstanding IQ skills and work ethic, he can't miss if given the opportunity.

My other lock is Heineman. Patch like tools and was one of our best foward at camp before his injury. His game is suited for NA ice but needs to play in the NHL to avoid returning in Europe.

Farrell doesn't have Kovalev's shot, nor power. I see him as perhaps a Mats Naslund type.

At the same age as Heineman, Pacioretty was doing a bit better in the AHL in points per game than Emil in the SHL. I know this is just stat-watching, bnut I just don't see Heineman as a guy who should have been a high first-round pick. Patches is 3rd in career goals and 6th in points from his draft year.
I do get that Pacioretty was hugely advantaged by having Desharnais and Plekanec as his centers. That is just not fair. He would never had done so well if he had played with more ordinary guys.

 

[Number 57]

The more I think about it the more I think Dvorak needs to go. Just get that 2nd round pick and be done with it. Jake Evans has basically spent his career on the 4th line, he deserves a shot at the 3rd line while we are rebuilding.

Not only that, but if Monahan can play next year, it's likely we could re-sign him for 1 year (and trade him at the deadline) so Monahan can also fill in as the 3rd line center if need be.

You can sign a cheap UFA to center the 4th line. Just get an asset for Dvorak and clear his contract if you can. Dvorak is a luxury as a 3rd line center, a luxury contending teams can afford. We are not contenders.

Go Suzuki-Dach-Evans-UFA (with Monahan as replacement if injuries strike)

 

[Ozmodiar]

To Mtl: Dubois
(Dvo, 1st, Harris)

Caufield - Suzuki - Dach
Slafkovsky - Dubois - Anderson
Harvey-Pinard - Monahan - Gallagher
Heineman - Evans - Armia
Ylonen

Matheson - Savard
Guhle - Barron
Ed - Xhekaj
Kovacevic

Without Dubois trade:

RHP - Suzuki - caufield
Slafkovsky - Dach - Anderson
Farrell - Dvorak - Gallagher
Heineman - Evans - Armia
Ylonen

Matheson - Savard
Guhle - Barron
Ed - Xhekaj
Kovacevic/Harris

I wonder if being patient is the way to go. Use the FLA pick on a RD, and fill out the top 6 with RHP, Farrell, Roy, Mesar, 2023 1st. You’d think one of them can step up.

I like Dach’s potential at C and he’s cost-controlled. Also, they’d still have dvo as a trade chip.

 

[George Lebay]

Can't see Harris consent to a trade to Winnipeg. I mean.. correct me if I'm wrong but he almost didn't come to Montreal.

 

[TomKosto]

Can't see Harris consent to a trade to Winnipeg. I mean.. correct me if I'm wrong but he almost didn't come to Montreal.

Can I see a source on that?

 

[AlexGretzchenvid]

For me, We need to pair Slafkovsky with a VET and right now we don't have a proper one.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Can't see Harris consent to a trade to Winnipeg. I mean.. correct me if I'm wrong but he almost didn't come to Montreal.

He doesn't have trade protection.

 

[George Lebay]

Can I see a source on that?

...but I did say correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[BergevinBurner]

I think it goes without saying that Suzuki, Dach, Caufield and Anderson will be in the top 6 assuming they're healthy.

After that I have no confidence in who we'll see fill out the last 2 spots in the top 6, or even who'll be on the 3rd line.

We're going to have plenty of guys competing for forward spots at the training camp, and Hughes has made it clear that he likes moves that accelerate the rebuild. So assuming that Florida's pick ends up in the 10-15 range I'd says there's a >50% chance he moves that pick for an established young player before the draft.

 

[JoelWarlord]

Andrei Markov was also the definition of being injury prone after a 3 year span where he played 45, 7, and 13 games respectively. Then he comes back and misses all of 2 games over the next 4 years. It's hard to predict these things.

That's true, but it was a pretty different situation. Markov's injuries were all isolated contact-related injuries that came from a nasty cut and some bad hits. There was obvious concern that the knee injuries would destroy his mobility, but the injuries themselves weren't really connected.

In contrast, Monahan has just had ongoing non-stop nagging injuries and likely played too much while hurt over the years, and it's always something new. Two hip surgeries, groin, wrist, and now whatever else is going on with his foot or whatever the current injury is, it's a very different thing than Markov having a deep cut to his ankle and then taking violent hits a couple years in a row that led to knee injuries.

 

[Wayfarer13]

Were we even tanking and WTF do you all think tanking is.

What ARI is doing is tanking -- It's a fukin joke as well.

What CHI is doing is tanking -- It's also absolutely unsportsmanlike and humiliating for the League.

Technically, MON did everything that could be considered tanking.

They headed into the season with no legitimate starting G and kept it that way throughout the season.

They played inexperienced youth all season long, including 5 rookies on D on many nights because of injuries.

They didn't trade for over-the-hill place holders because of those injuries, all in the hopes of winning low scoring, anti-hockey affairs.

St-Louis didn't clamp down the game plan and pervert it into a meaningless, D-only affair.

Management tried to unload veterans at the deadline, but the only experienced players of value were injured. The others were so worthless that there was no takers, or longer term contracts were likely obstacles to making trades.

MON called up half their AHL team at some point or another and are still playing a bunch of career AHLers passing off as NHL depth players.

Management basically did absolutely nothing to help the team through hard times.

If that's not tanking, what is.

Yet, we won more games than we should have if we were aiming for last place in the NHL.

Yah know the team was a borderline playoff team going into Death Valley and then hitting the injury wall in December. We are still dealing with the hang over from last year along with roster composition and cap issues that will continue for at least another couple years. All things considered I am happy with where things are and where I see things going. Let the process do what it does.

 

[Apoplectic Habs Fan]

The one thing needed to be found is toughness that can play on the fourth line.

Enough with soft AF, no energy depth. Anderson is rarely tough, Jackeye cant do it all nor do you want him to if he becomes a top 4 D. Pez is really just Tom Kostpolous or Steve Begin. No one really fears them

 

[1909]

injured-Suzuki-injured
Injured-Dvorak-injured
injured-Pitlick-injured
Pezzetta- injured-Ylonen

Harris-Kovacevic
Schuneman-Savard
Beaudin-Allard

For me, We need to pair Slafkovsky with a VET and right now we don't have a proper one.

Monahan would had been the solution but....