HF Habs: HuGo moves approval rates (Year II)

[Ligue]

Wow everybody hates the Caufield extension? Why?

 

[WeThreeKings]

Wow everybody hates the Caufield extension? Why?

It was added after the fact.

 

[WinterLion]

I even like the Allen contract... !! I'm just that crazy for the bald guy!!

 

[Ligue]

It was added after the fact.

Then it should be taken out. Looks silly now

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

The Rangers profited from players only wanting to go there.

Montreal has not had that luxury in recent memory.

Gorton also made the Zibanejad trade which is their 1st line center.
Kreider was the hold over from the previous build (Suzuki, for example).
God awful drafting from Gorton got them that goalie you are talking about, it also built out their defense with Schneider and Miller.

Adam Fox, Panarin and Trouba all forced their way to New York.

You may have thought Gorton was brought over to do a quick rebuild like that, but he wasn't. He was brought over because he oversaw that rebuild and was the one who was in charge when Boston built their core that ended up being their cup winning core. It was never about unrealistic timelines.

I think this is why so much emphasis is placed on turning Montreal into a place that players want to play, I am just uncertain of the methodology and if the results will pay off. Extending Wideman, Allen, and Pezzetta because they are fun in the room, promising to trade Petry wherever he wanted, hiring MSL to be a player's coach, etc. I don't know if these moves will ever move the needle enough to make Montreal a destination players want to go. They would likely be better off attracting players with a Vegas style pitch about strippers and night life, there is a reason Russian players loved Montreal for so long.

I do think Gorton was brought in to rebuild the team in less than 5-8 years. If it is true that we will be a consistent playoff team in 2-3 years, I will be very happy and the years of misery will pay off. I just think 2 years ago people were saying it would take 2-3 years before we would be on the upswing, now it has been 2 years already with very little to show for it, and the rebuild timeline has been extended indefinitely.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I think this is why so much emphasis is placed on turning Montreal into a place that players want to play, I am just uncertain of the methodology and if the results will pay off. Extending Wideman, Allen, and Pezzetta because they are fun in the room, promising to trade Petry wherever he wanted, hiring MSL to be a player's coach, etc. I don't know if these moves will ever move the needle enough to make Montreal a destination players want to go. They would likely be better off attracting players with a Vegas style pitch about strippers and night life, there is a reason Russian players loved Montreal for so long.

I do think Gorton was brought in to rebuild the team in less than 5-8 years. If it is true that we will be a consistent playoff team in 2-3 years, I will be very happy and the years of misery will pay off. I just think 2 years ago people were saying it would take 2-3 years before we would be on the upswing, now it has been 2 years already with very little to show for it, and the rebuild timeline has been extended indefinitely.

I think the timeline expectations were just off and wishful thinking.

Like even if Slafkovsky and Reinbacher hit their desired upside, that isn't happening tomorrow. It's going to take 3 seasons at least for these guys to resemble what they are projected to be. You're not gonna start winning until those pieces are there.

The good thing is that the problem a lot of other teams run into, lack of depth, good defense, we've likely got that handled. We just have to find a way to get the offensive talent and develop this all through. Now if Dach stays healthy, that looks a lot different, and the Newhook gamble could ease some of that.

If we land a legit top line player in one of the next two drafts, we are cooking with gas. That really seems to be the thing but maybe, we could make a move on Elias Pettersson if he wants out, or another Dubois situation happens.. maybe we can get Nylander off FA. There are opportunities, but until we turn those opportunities into a reality - the reality is that rebuilding from last in the league takes longer than 2-3 seasons.

 

[xX SEYF Xx]

Wow everybody hates the Caufield extension? Why?

My bad, just added it,
hopefully peeps would go in and revote

 

[Scintillating10]

I have Hughes as average GM.

 

[WinterLion]

My bad, just added it,
hopefully peeps would go in and revote

Fuk that shrimpy caulfield!

 

[Miller Time]

The handling of Cayden Primeau says it all about the competence of this manages group. If you aren't going to play him, f***ing waive him and let him get on with his career.

Meh... If it is true that they were fielding trade requests for Primeau prior to the season start, I get the rational to hold on and see if better offers arrive once season starts.

If we're still juggling the 3 a month into the season, then I'd agree with you but for now, the patience with a less than ideal situation makes sense & could prove to be very schrewd asset management

 

[Tyson]

Meh... If it is true that they were fielding trade requests for Primeau prior to the season start, I get the rational to hold on and see if better offers arrive once season starts.

If we're still juggling the 3 a month into the season, then I'd agree with you but for now, the patience with a less than ideal situation makes sense & could prove to be very schrewd asset management

Not shrewd to sit a kid for a month, play him while being rusty and then everyone hammers the kid. That is poor management.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I agree with all the moves aside from the Allen move but I'm surprised the slaf pick or and development isn't an option

 

[CHfan1]

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6 seasons of missing the play-offs for the Sens, and it's really been 10 years of rebuilding as one of those years was a fluke run.

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12 seasons straight for Buffalo and they are on a sad start despite superstar Zach Benson.

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Took 10 seasons for Chicago.

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Pittsburgh the outlier, they took 5 seasons and were lucky to get back to back generational talents in Malkin/Crosby.

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8 years for Colorado.

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8 years for Tampa Bay.

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8 years for the Blues.

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9 years for Washington

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9 years for LA.

Unbelievable, next are you going to tell us that the majority of draft picks don’t make an immediate impact to a franchise.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

It’s not looking good so far

 

[Bouboumaster]

More people are ok with Reinbacher's draft than Caufield's New contract?

The f***?

Reinbacher will be a good defenseman in the NHL but he absolutly ain't the guy HuGo should have gone with

 

[Miller Time]

Not shrewd to sit a kid for a month, play him while being rusty and then everyone hammers the kid. That is poor management.

You can't say that until you see the outcome.

As if today, all we know is that we still have the player's rights and he hasn't played in the first 3 games.

No sense dooming and grooming as if the worst possible outcome is a fait accompli

 

[dcyhabs]

For me I broadly "agree" with everything on the list behind Allen (which I was fine with at the time and don't currently think is a big deal, but it's obviously not good value today). I dunno, I'm generally bullish on the FO but it's not really meaningful to look at things in this this way IMO. At the end of the day it's going to come down to the big stuff, not the batting average on Pezzetta extensions and there's an inherent amount of speculation in evaluating the big stuff when Slafkovsky isn't even 20 years old yet. All these threads of The Direction Of The Franchise boil down to whether the top few guys (Slafkovsky, Reinbacher, Hutson, implied 2024 high 1st, arguably Dach) are going to be enough to elevate Suzuki and Caufield, and whether our development is going to be normal or if we're still in the dark ages.

Personally I don't really think there's much reason to believe that development is going to be this absolute fatal flaw going forward anymore given the early returns on young players already, but I understand why people want to be fully convinced. I certainly don't blame people for waiting to see what prospects become when they're evaluating the team, but it pretty much creates a dichotomy of either being "homers" that are penciling in future growth of young players and prospects when evaluating the medium/long-term future and the "haters" who are waiting to see it play out and are recognizing that the roster doesn't currently have enough talent.

At this point we're just going to argue about this shit until things become clear one way or the other. We're in a rebuild which inherently means some level of speculation on how prospects will develop, it is what it is.

Looks like the fatal flaw is changing from development to player health. If Guhle and Dach don’t work out because of injuries the team has a long way to go. Knee injuries can lower a player’s ceiling a lot.

 

[Tyson]

You can't say that until you see the outcome.

As if today, all we know is that we still have the player's rights and he hasn't played in the first 3 games.

No sense dooming and grooming as if the worst possible outcome is a fait accompli

Time will tell but carrying a 3rd goalie won't end well.

 

[Habs13]

Add dumping Armia

 

[JT3]

I think the timeline expectations were just off and wishful thinking.

Like even if Slafkovsky and Reinbacher hit their desired upside, that isn't happening tomorrow. It's going to take 3 seasons at least for these guys to resemble what they are projected to be. You're not gonna start winning until those pieces are there.

The good thing is that the problem a lot of other teams run into, lack of depth, good defense, we've likely got that handled. We just have to find a way to get the offensive talent and develop this all through. Now if Dach stays healthy, that looks a lot different, and the Newhook gamble could ease some of that.

If we land a legit top line player in one of the next two drafts, we are cooking with gas. That really seems to be the thing but maybe, we could make a move on Elias Pettersson if he wants out, or another Dubois situation happens.. maybe we can get Nylander off FA. There are opportunities, but until we turn those opportunities into a reality - the reality is that rebuilding from last in the league takes longer than 2-3 seasons.

It's pretty much a guarantee that management will take a run at any potential star/elite players that come available in the next few years. Probably not this year, I expect them to play out the year and draft a top F in 2024 (hopefully) while selling off what they can and collecting more assets. But we've already got an extra pick in each of the first 4 rounds in 2025, on top of the crazy defensive prospect depth we have right now. They will use some of that to try an add elite talent.

With a top 10 F this draft, a 1st liner forward acquired by trade, a starting G, and proper development, we should have what we need to move forward. Doesn't mean we will be a contender in 2 years, but hopefully we're around where Ottawa are now.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Only 37% agree with the Caufield contract?

 

[CHfan1]

I agree with the majority of the moves. I think Hughes has done a great job of asset management, especially turning cap space into future picks. The 2025 draft can potentially help set the Habs up for a while with up to 4 picks in the 1st two rounds.

I’m most skeptical of the drafting, which we won’t know the results of for years. Can players like Slafkovsky and Reinbacher be impact players, especially in the post season when the games matter most.

What fans need to remember is it’s only been a year and a half. Rebuilds take a lot of time, especially to build a perennial contender. When Hughes made his 1st major move, letting Ducharme go, the Habs had 8 wins in 46 games. It takes time to turn a team that bad around. The Habs haven’t won a Cup in 3 decades. I’m willing to wait a few years for them to build a team that can compete for years and, hopefully, win a Cup and not just rush a rebuild to hopefully make the playoffs only to lose in the 1st couple of rounds.

 

[Skip Bayless]

The grand majority of his moves I agree with. Even the Allen extension.

That said, the main move/non-move I don't agree with, and am perplexed by, is not letting Lapointe go and the hiring of Bobrov.

Two vital positions filled with questionable resumés.

 

[salbutera]

That said, the main move/non-move I'm don't agree and I am perplexed by is not letting Lapointe go and the hiring of Bobrov.

Two vital positions filled with questionable resumés.

What’s the common theme?

Both are close w Gorton & Lapointe / Hughes are very close going back 30+ years

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I’ve appreciated most moves even if a bit skeptical about the targets. Dach/Newhook, I love the premise, they wouldn’t have been who I targeted, but if Dach can get healthy I suspect to be wrong there and I just haven’t seen Newhook the last couple years. I wasn’t a huge fan when he was drafted, but he looks pretty good for us so far.

The drafting has me concerned even if I think our two lottery picks will end up good players.