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

[Ezpz]

I am not sold on Dach at all and hate the acquisition but I'll reserve judgement until these guys hit the ice next year. Ultimately everyone will start being critical from this point as their moves haven't been popular thus far.

 

[Heffyhoof]

The honeymoon is over yet somehow I've fallen deeper in love

 

[Tripledeke333]

Inexcusable decision to pass on Wright.

Two way centers with good senses are tough to acquire can carry a team (ie Bergeron with Boston, Kopitar with the Kings, O'Reily with the Blues). We could have had Suzuki and Wright down the middle for the next decade or more. Wright has been the consensus #1 pick since he was one of the few players to be granted exceptional status (the last 3 being Ekblad, McDavid, and Tavares). Wright did not have as good of a season as some people expected, but he still did very well. The Covid era through a lot of people "slightly off" due to all the hysteria and lockdowns. Judging a one year sample size so much is not smart. The criticism against Wright was the same as Suzuki, that he was not passionate, when really he is just a brainy/smart player. He is regarded as a leader by everyone who knows him. The career longevity is also longer for the smart two way centers than power forwards.

I hope I am wrong though, but feel this new management will fail us big time and have zero confidence in them.

 

[Apoplectic Habs Fan]

Well they are putting their stamp on the team and building in their vision

Its very clear size is important to them especially in the top 6.

Its also telling me they expect another down yr which im ok with

 

[BargainBinSpecial]

Well they are putting their stamp on the team and building in their vision

Its very clear size is important to them especially in the top 6.

Its also telling me they expect another down yr which im ok with

Start by clearing cap though, don't trade potential top 4 Ds for third liners. These are bergevenesque moves, reminiscent of the Drouin trade.

 

[BLONG7]

The new regime want size boys.............size,
Slaf better be able to skate!!

 

[cave troll]

So draft ended and we got a winger as 1OA who can be good or who can easily bust.
We got Dach, who can't score goals, for Romanov and 2 picks.
We had gaping holes at 1C, 1D and 2D positions before draft.
At least we had a chance to draft Nemec for fixing od D holes. We didn't draft him.
Seems like Gorton & Hughes are all in for 2023 lottery. If they lose the Bederd chase, what are they gonna do? Resign saying this is too hard for us or go for 2,3 more years of tanking?

 

[BargainBinSpecial]

Inexcusable decision to pass on Wright.

Two way centers with good senses are tough to acquire can carry a team (ie Bergeron with Boston, Kopitar with the Kings, O'Reily with the Blues). We could have had Suzuki and Wright down the middle for the next decade or more. Wright has been the consensus #1 pick since he was one of the few players to be granted exceptional status (the last 3 being Ekblad, McDavid, and Tavares). Wright did not have as good of a season as some people expected, but he still did very well. The Covid era through a lot of people "slightly off" due to all the hysteria and lockdowns. Judging a one year sample size so much is not smart. The criticism against Wright was the same as Suzuki, that he was not passionate, when really he is just a brainy/smart player. He is regarded as a leader by everyone who knows him. The career longevity is also longer for the smart two way centers than power forwards.

I hope I am wrong though, but feel this new management will fail us big time and have zero confidence in them.

Agreed. As Bergevin said, Cs are hard to acquire. The Habs have struggled getting a top 2-1 C offensive punch since the 90s. Cs are hard to get they say, trades are hard to do, yet you put all your faith on new fan favourite Pouliot Dach.

 

[calder candidate]

To me the Dach trade is a bigger gamble than the Slaf pick.

 

[CHwest]

I got a bit of a bit of a bad vib off of Wright. It felt like those quarterbacks in the US that have been groomed for years to be drafted. Cannot put my finger on it and yes I still wanted him, but I am not overwrought about our pick. A few teams passed on him, makes me feel a little better. I still wish him nothing but the best.

Slav is the best goal scorer in the draft, this pick makes sense if they sign PLD. I was never sold on Wright, or Cooley.. go with the best player no matter what

I'll never understand the pining over PLD on this board, he's not even that good.

 

[BenchBrawl]

I got a bit of a bit of a bad vib off of Wright. It felt like those quarterbacks in the US that have been groomed for years to be drafted. Cannot put my finger on it and yes I still wanted him, but I am not overwrought about our pick. A few teams passed on him, makes me feel a little better. I still wish him nothing but the best.

I had the exact same impression, and I too couldn't put my finger on it. It's not that he had a huge ego, but it felt like he was gradually groomed into thinking he was that next big player, that it got ingrained into his mentality and expectation, with no ego involved. Like when he called himself "generational" without an ounce of arrogance. Very strange. Who knows what the real truth is.

 

[Habs]

I got a bit of a bit of a bad vib off of Wright. It felt like those quarterbacks in the US that have been groomed for years to be drafted. Cannot put my finger on it and yes I still wanted him, but I am not overwrought about our pick. A few teams passed on him, makes me feel a little better. I still wish him nothing but the best.


I'll never understand the pining over PLD on this board, he's not even that good.

it fills a void on this team, without trading an asset. He's a 65+ C, how many of those do you think you can draft? Once every 5-7 years? This isn't the year I don't believe, and I also don't have a PLD obsession, but he fills a gap on this team. If another 65pt C is available, I welcome the addition.

Regarding your Wright 'vibes' I've heard the same from kids that have played and trained with him, they say he's a super strange OCD kid that doesn't gel that well with others. So whatever, its done!

 

[ReHabs]

The honeymoon is over. If you're going to take big swings with the fate of our dear hockey team, you better bring the goods. It has less to do with Wright and more to do with Slafkovsky (for me, anyway).

Good luck to Hughes and Gorton. This time around, I don't think Habs fans will be as patient and naive as we were with Bergevin.

 

[Habs]

The honeymoon is over. If you're going to take big swings with the fate of our dear hockey team, you better bring the goods. It has less to do with Wright and more to do with Slafkovsky (for me, anyway).

Good luck to Hughes and Gorton. This time around, I don't think Habs fans will be as patient and naive as we were with Bergevin.

But you gotta admit, we drafted BPA which has been the team's problem the last 15 years.

 

[ReHabs]

But you gotta admit, we drafted BPA which has been the team's problem the last 15 years.

I do not know enough about Slafkovsky to say he's BPA. Nothing about his profile says BPA, the analytics nerds all howled about him because his numbers were so bad it broke their projections/models. I respect hockey professionals and the hockey community -- especially now that they've owned me -- but I won't just believe he's the real deal until he proves it. I think that's fair.

Who did the Habs take? They took a player who, given his very low production in his draft year, could very easily bust. That's what I call a cowboy move, a big swing for a unicorn... good luck to all of us.

 

[Takeru]

Let's see how this works out now, gentlemen.

We’re on draft day, for sure people will be emotional and exagerate.

After the full offseason and when season starts, I could see the majority turning on them if those moves dont pan out.

 

[Et le But]

If we can't be good, at least we can be tall

 

[BenchBrawl]

I do not know enough about Slafkovsky to say he's BPA. Nothing about his profile says BPA, the analytics nerds all howled about him because his numbers were so bad it broke their projections/models. I respect hockey professionals and the hockey community -- especially now that they've owned me -- but I won't just believe he's the real deal until he proves it. I think that's fair.

Who did the Habs take? They took a player who, given his very low production in his draft year, could very easily bust. That's what I call a cowboy move, a big swing for a unicorn... good luck to all of us.

I'm the complete opposite of an analytic nerd, I absolutely despise analytics (in general), even if I like math, but I still see great things in Slafkovsky.

You're just as nerdy repeating the stat angle ad nauseum.

He could bust, or he could become Zubrus, or he could become a Kovalchuk-like force. We don't know. Craig Ramsay said the sky is the limit for him, but he needs to put it together. The brass just gambled their legacy on this. I hope it's not from f***ing analytics, and I'm just it isn't, although who knows.

 

[Takeru]

Well they are putting their stamp on the team and building in their vision

Its very clear size is important to them especially in the top 6.

Its also telling me they expect another down yr which im ok with

So we’re trying to build the next blues/kings/bruins I guess

 

[Milhouse40]

I am not sold on Dach at all and hate the acquisition but I'll reserve judgement until these guys hit the ice next year. Ultimately everyone will start being critical from this point as their moves haven't been popular thus far.

Feel exactly the same.....Can't say I approved all of this, mostly in the negative.....but it's on the ice the game is being played, this is the only place that matters but on paper, it's a huge gamble both the pick and the trade I wouldn't have made.

They better be right, those were ballsy moves, need big results.
But now we know, they are big on size and most of the players we thought safe are not...including Caufield.

 

[ReHabs]

The brass just gambled their legacy on this.

Yeah, I don't really like that they did this with the 1OA.

It's happened though, so let's hope it works out.

 

[NekkiChiconey]

When Leroux dropped the 1st pick bomb, I said: "If they pick Slaf they better have a plan to grab a top young center as well"...

they did have a plan. Now let's see if it was a good one.

If Dach reaches his full potential that's a homerun... big if.

 

[Nedved]

But you gotta admit, we drafted BPA which has been the team's problem the last 15 years.

I think we went with a fancier toy. It’s big and shiny.

 

[cave troll]

Well, I'm not disappointed about Slakofsky. He has a chance to become a decent player. IMO not a superstar, but a solid winger who can reach 50-60 pts.
I'm disappointed with Dach as someome who can try to fix the gaping hole on C.

Ofc, if Slaf busts and proves to be another Kakko, that means that Gorton & Hughes are busts too.

 

[Ezpz]

Well, I'm not disappointed about Slakofsky. He has a chance to become a decent player. IMO not a superstar, but a solid winger who can reach 50-60 pts.
I'm disappointed with Dach as someome who can try to fix the gaping hole on C.

Ofc, if Slaf busts and proves to be another Kakko, that means that Gorton & Hughes are busts too.

60 points at first overall would be quite bad. Slaf better be more than that as a winger.