Kent Hughes & Jeff Gorton General Discussion Thread - The Honeymoon Is Over

[le_sean]

But wouldn't you want to have a decent player if he doesn't become a franchise player rather than a total, utter bust? Because the downside risk of the cool, swag Chad Slavkovsky is a 100% total bust.

Yakupov was mega confident too.

If not Yakupov then like Baker Mayfield and a billion other high pick busts.

I have a hard time believing Slafkovsky won’t make an impact in the NHL. The size and hands are too good. What type of upside remains, but he’s not Yakupov.

 

[ReHabs]

I have a hard time believing Slafkovsky won’t make an impact in the NHL. The size and hands are too good. What type of upside remains, but he’s not Yakupov.

Out of pure curiosity/interest. Is a Kostitsyn-like career an impact? Would you be disappointed?

 

[First Line]

Hey, there's always the next draft...
Until it turns out those guys have warts and uncertainties of their own that come to the surface upon scrutiny

What’s makes you think the same scouts will be better by next draft?

 

[No More Subban]

But wouldn't you want to have a decent player if he doesn't become a franchise player rather than a total, utter bust? Because the downside risk of the cool, swag Chad Slavkovsky is a 100% total bust.

Yakupov was mega confident too.

If not Yakupov then like Baker Mayfield and a billion other high pick busts.

Wright could easily bust too in Montreal. We just have to wait. Too many people are saying he lacks compete and can be a floater.

I also prefered Wright (only because he's the consensus #1) but Slaf is a big body with nastiness in his game. A true PF. The more I read about him, the more this pick makes sense especially in a market like Montreal.

Give him a chance.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

I believe your avatar needs a changing.

Fits perfectly with the draft
You are right i could add Bobrov and Lapointe in the bin

 

[morhilane]

It's strange. Back in late February, I didn't like Wright because I found him entitled in interviews and while he seemed to have great IQ, yeah his play looked more like "carry me". Then after reading more stuff and watching more stuff, I somewhat went "ok he's fine".

I also watched a few Slaf video from the Olympics and I really liked what he had, but watching more/reading more I never considered him at 1 oa choices.

I guess my first impression was the right one...and that is what happened with the Habs too.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Wow the bitterness..

Imagine posting an opinion where the question is to ask what's your opinion.

I mean i remember some of you living in a pink cloud with pink elephant who were saying Bergevin was doing good and everything was fine. Rushing a rebuild is bad and at the pace we are doing it , it's gonna end bad.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Counterpoint, Eichel and Laine were much more charismatic compared to their counterparts, but nobody in their right mind would have drafted either of the two first overall.

There was no McDavid or Matthews in this draft.

 

[Takeru]

What’s makes you think the same scouts will be better by next draft?

Don't expect them to be any better or worse than this year.

My point was mostly a wink at the fact that for quite a few years, the next draft always seems like a better yield of star players. Then those guys play their D-seasons and turns out they aren't that much (or we always end up at the spot where those are the available types).

Don't read too much into my ramblings

 

[Kwikwi]

So Dach = Zibanejab
Huberdeau = Panarin

Thats the plan!

 

[Jaynki]

Gambling with a 1OA is more than stupid...it is criminal!!

They have not gambled. They drafted the player they taught was the best and they have many valid reason to believe this, as was the case for Wright too and obviously Nemec and Cooley.

 

[Andy]

The Devils also admitted they had Slaf #1. Habs didn’t really go off the board here and select someone projected to go 10th at 1st. Some perspective is needed.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

So Dach = Zibanejab
Huberdeau = Panarin

Thats the plan!

Kakko
and Andersson are Slaf and Dach then???

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

Fits perfectly with the draft
You are right i could add Bobrov and Lapointe in the bin

 

[JoelWarlord]

If not Yakupov then like Baker Mayfield and a billion other high pick busts.

What if he's Josh Allen? That's actually not a bad comparison in terms of the draft day questions and the supposed overthinking of dreaming on upside.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

So Dach = Zibanejab
Huberdeau = Panarin

Thats the plan!

How did we end up with Huberdeau? Pretty sure he'll resign in Florida.

Zibanejad is a big time shooter. Dach is a pass 1st center, so a little different.

 

[Kwikwi]

How did we end up with Huberdeau? Pretty sure he'll resign in Florida.

Zibanejad is a big time shooter. Dach is a pass 1st center, so a little different.

Thats what happened with Gorton in NYR it was a joke.

 

[Apoplectic Habs Fan]

Every yr at draft, everyone screams about who should be picked especially after round 1 and 99 percent of the time we are all wrong and the players amount to nothing

Its fine as we are just fans, its what we do but lets be honest it just mainly noise

Im learning i just need to let it play out.

I found myself trying to talk myself into liking the picks made (not this yr only, every yr) but i really have no idea if i care for the player until they hit the NHL and how their game translates

Im just gonna hope for the best and hope Hugo's visions pan out

 

[Jaynki]

Very happy because we had a f***ing good show.

Obviously our organisation is taking a bet on Dach. I am skeptical but also think it could pay off big. We will see but i trust that they see something big in him. Gorton must have scouted and interviewed a lot back in 18-19 when he had the 2nd overall pick with NYR.

I was initially in Wright camp but i am finally very happy with Slaf. He has an awesome presence, he has enormous starpower. I watched some of his tapes and he was something at the world cup as he was reaching for Patrik Laine record. I think he could be a franchise winger in the sphere of Kovalchuk/Nash/Gaborik in their prime.

I am also comforted by the fact that Wright fell to 4. I probably overrated him and i think there were legit question marks on him.

It is far too early to assess if Dach or Slaf will end up a good trade and the right pick.

But i am excited by the prospective of these guys hitting their ceiling.

Tough to give Romanov but ultimately we need 1D. Romanov is very nice and likeable but we already have a plethora of good defenseman. Romanov was the not. A good price to pay for Dach.

Very happy with the Hutson selection.

Mesar, Beck and Rohrer are also some very nice gets.

Cant wait to see the race of our roster at the same hours on wednesday. I don't expect much because of our cap situation.

Also, with the way he is behaving, i feel like Hughes will sometime do something his predecessor haven't been able to do. Sign a big time UFA to a rich deal.

Enjoy the weekend and get aboard the Slaf hype train.

 

[Kwikwi]

Kakko
and Andersson are Slaf and Dach then???

Lol oops abort abort

Needless to say There are similarities

 

[FF de Mars]

Out of pure curiosity/interest. Is a Kostitsyn-like career an impact? Would you be disappointed?

I don't remember Kostitsyn having mitts, neither being impressed by his acceleration. Kostitsyn had a great shot and smashed nice checks at top speed; but in the end, he was more of a perimeter player.

 

[salbutera]

The Athletic - overall draft grade:

Montréal Canadiens: A+​

The host team brought in the most talent into their organization at the draft floor. They started off by grabbing the best player in the draft in Juraj Slafkovsky. They then added highly skilled players in winger Filip Mesar and defenseman Lane Hutson, a two-way forward in Owen Beck, and with a high quantity of picks they selected various guys later on who should at least have a chance to play. This is a draft that could produce at least two or three NHL players for the Habs — and ones who can make a difference.

 

[JustAHabFan]

If anything, they've at least shown they won't base their decisions around popular opinion, which is the way to go when building a franchise imo. Gotta have the balls to make those unpopular decisions sometimes.

Now whether that's for the better or the worse in this specific case, no one can tell for sure today, only time will tell. They might come out geniuses or look like utter fools.

Fair point you're stating too, the patience is probably at its thinnest after the numerous Bergevin fiascos.

There is at least hope for two things:
-HuGo have better acumen at targeting the "proper" reaches and reclamation projects.
-Otherwise, they'll be decently proactive in recouping assets when those gambles don't pan out.

They are gamble with 1st OA pick and overpaid for a reclaiming project Center. How can we recuperate asset? If this failed, I would like them to be fired.

 

[JoelWarlord]

The idea that the Habs did some crazy riverboat gambler move here is pure fiction. Montreal was not on an island valuing Slafkovsky as the best or among the best players in the draft, and he wasn't falling past #2 if Montreal didn't pick him.

Whether or not he was the best pick is another question and one we'll argue about for a long time I'm sure, but I don't get the idea that taking Bob McKenzie's #1 prospect at #1 is some crazy lunatic out there move. It was ballsy for sure, but the Habs were not out of line with consensus to value him even as high as 1.

 

[Kimota]

Anecdotally, the most successful competitors I have seen (in team based stuff) are the ones who are solid between the ears. A player who can think at a high level (not even just the game, but in general) will usually have a more successful and fruitful career ... being a good teammate, being able to break out of slumps, being able to show humility to improve your weak areas, acknowledging your shortcomings so you can improve upon them etc.

I think the big reason they went Slaf over Wright had to do with something between the ears. Slaf seems very charismatic in a way I never really got from Wright. One feels like they are speaking from their heart, and the other from the hockey handguide for talking to the press. The on-ice product is only one component of a player; and you can see that the most successful stars in the NHL are ones with robust personalities, otherworldly talent, or something in between. You really need that swagger but it needs to read as confidence as opposed to conceitedness, and I think while Slaf's reads as the former, Wright clearly rubbed people the wrong way.

One thing about Wright though is that he had these big expectations for long time and he may have been crawling under the pressure. Slaf didn't have that. He was actually shocked to be taken.