Non-Habs Fans, What would you do if you were the GM?

[jvr32]

What should've been done in the past I think:

Obviously Bergevin has f***ed up the team's future big time in the past two summers. Initially I didn't think the Subban<->Weber trade was that bad but the way the game is going now and also the fact that Bergevin has surrounded Weber now with defensive defensemen like Alzner and Petry is a big mistake. Mete is still too young. Also letting Markov and Radulov walk in the summer and not bending especially for Markov for that extra year was a big mistake. I'm all for hard negotiating but sometimes GM's have to give up their pride for a little bit for the interest of the team and should've paid Markov better. When now they have 9 million cap space and Markov could've easily fit in that for a few years. Radulov is different because he wanted long-term but he still was a top 6 forward who the Montreal team is not full of. Maybe sign him with risk because the playoff window was open and maybe dump Plekanec somewhere else with the price of draft picks to get cap space. Also was surprised Vadim Shipachyov signed with the Vegas because if I was Bergevin I would've gone hard after him considering Montreal's lack of top players at centre and his success in Russia and international games. I liked the Drouin-Sergachev trade because Bergevin took advantage of Tampa's cap problems and also Drouin doesn't have as big if's over him like Sergachev does when Montreal had to get success now. But now that trade is all about which one will become the better player, not about this season. What could've been:

Drouin-Shipachyov-Radulov
Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Gallagher
Hudon-Danault-Lehkonen
Byron-Shaw-Mitchell/a solid 4th liner

Markov-Subban
Schlemko-Petry
Alzner-Benn

Price

To the headline question:
Difficult question. If I was the full owner I'd probably still try to build a playoff team around the players they have now. Bergevin should probably get fired although the team is now designed how he wants the game to be played. Also underwhelmed with Julien so far. Prepare for heavy tank in a few years time and sign the best scouts around the league. Improve AHL team's overall quality and how they develop prospects. Listen to offers from Price and Weber and trade them when the right offer comes, but don't trade them yet with "I have to trade them out this summer"-mentality because then teams will probably take advantage of that.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

This... and worse they do not have the blue chip prospects to come in over the next 2 years and fill those holes.

That said, I think people saying "tank" are taking the easy way out. That team isn't going to tank with Price and Weber there. And honestly, I do not think they have to. I brought up RNH in my first post, but someone else brought up Soderberg. He's someone else that would help address the center issue in Montreal. But the key is the coach has to be willing to play these guys. And if he's not buying into the vision, then despite the expensive contract he has (5m a year) he needs to go.

Essentially Montreal gave up their best product to ultimately ice a worse roster than last year. Pretty embarrassing offseason. Yes tanking is the easiest option, but it's also probably the only one that will work. The Habs don't have valuable prospects to give up to improve the roster as of right now. They can either stagnate or blow it up

 

[sandysan]

So based on the fact that galchenyuk is now a 3/4 winger, I'm not going to try and get into CJ's head. But if we keep loosi9ng and we CAN'T add a real 1C, ( and no drouin does not count) what are the chances ( and I hope the bruins fans would chine in here) that the pressure to do something could force CJ's hans to give galchenyuk a prolonged stint at Center ? In other words if we actually do hit rock bottom, what are the chances that we actually see galchenyuk at center vs him being the whipping boy and kept at 3/4 wing and or shipped out ?

My heart says it would like to see that as at least an outside chance, my head says " Alex, pack your bags". No matter what happens, the incredibly high price to acquire Duchene ( keep stirring the pot foppa!) is likely increasing for us.

 

[Number 57]

I think Pacioretty and Galchenyuk should probably be moved. Galchenyuk because he just sucks, and Patch because he's too much of a passenger and one-trick pony. I'm fine with the Drouin trade and Markov walking. I would have used our cap space on Radulov, though.

I would take back Subban for Weber. Mete goes back to junior. And Lindgren in for Montoya.

Patch and Galchenyuk could be moved for equivalent players; one forward and one D. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone would give us a quality top-6 C, which we need, unless we could convince Colorado to send us Duchene or something.

With just those few moves (I say few moves but they are all pretty major trades lol), already you have a better looking line-up, one that can actually score. Radulov creates more offense than Patch, and the D we get more than makes up for the loss of Galchenyuk (indirectly).

Something like;

Lehkonen-Drouin-Radulov
Hudon-Duchene??-Gallagher
Danault-Plekanec-Byron
DeLaRose-Mitchell-Shaw
Hemsky

Alzner - Subban
NEW DEF - Petry
Schlemko - Jerabek
Benn - Morrow - Davidson

Price - Lindgren

Looks a bit better, more balanced. More upside.

 

[DANTHEMAN1967]

You could start in the Summer by buying out Price from his terrible contract.
Of course he would be on the books until 2034.

 

[Riptide]

I mean, what's the alternative? Keep letting Price carry the team into a futile playoff appearance only to keep taking swings at middle-of-the-pack first rounders? Hasn't been working well so far, so doing the same thing year after year won't change any fortunes. You know what they say about the definition of insanity.

That wouldn't be the end of the world if they already had two legitimate top 6 centers. The issue is they do not. And anyone they draft is 3 years away from being able to fill that spot.

Blowing up and sucking for a few years is painful but it pays off in the end if done correctly. The elite talent that teams are built around are more often than not found at the very top of the draft. Price is an obvious exception to this but as we can see much more is needed to turn the team around. Trading for guys like Drouin is great but come at the cost of emptying the cupboards of quality assets. Two steps forward one step back sort of thing. Why not draft them for free instead?

The issue is that it's more than "a few years". This isn't a "suck for 2-3 years" then have success thing. If they sell now, unless they get a bunch of top 3 picks (and with the draft lottery that's no guarantee), they could be in for a 5-7 year haul. There's other ways. Try to build out the roster using overall skilled depth like Ottawa has. Sure you'd rather have Toronto or Pittsburgh's center depth, but you have to play with the cards you've been dealt. I see many suggesting "trade Price for a young #1C". No one is going to do that. There's few teams that need a #1 goalie, and those that do likely do not have a #1C they'd be willing to trade. No to mention that Price has full control of where he goes.

Is a center group of RNH, Gally and Sodo all that great? No, not exactly. But if you can complement them with quality/skilled wingers and have blueliners who can get them the puck, you could have a team that could make some serious noise in the playoffs, and it wouldn't take a full rebuild. Something like that (as long as the coach is willing to play those guys) could happen over the next 1-3 years, while Price and Weber are still young and good enough to remain high end impact players.

 

[Riptide]

I would look at the schedule, realise that we are 1-3....and chill the **** out.

Won't change the fact that this team at the very best is a bubble team that will not be a contender without significant changes.

 

[Butch 19]

cash my paycheck and go to the bar - and the buffet

 

[Ken Wreggets revenge]

Price is absolutely an elite goalie. He has the highest save percentage over the last three seasons, hell he he's tied for first over the last 5 seasons. I wish Price wasn't that good but he's absolutely elite, it's not his fault his team can't score.

I stand by my earlier statement. Carey Price is not elite. I'll give you and example of an elite goalie. Lets compare the careers of Jonathan Quick and Carey Price. I posted this is another thread a few days ago but it still applies here.

Regular season	GP	W	L	SV%	GAA	SO
Carey Price	510	271	175	.920	2.40	39
Jonathan Quick	493	261	167	.916	2.26	45

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Both goalies debuted in 2007-08 and their number are fairly even through the regular season, but the playoffs are a different story.

Carey Price takes a step back in the playoffs and his numbers get a little worse, backstopping the Habs to just one conference final and five first round exits in eight playoff runs. Jonathan Quick on the other hand has elevated his game in playoffs. In six playoff runs, Quick has guided the Kings to three conference finals and two Stanley Cups, including a legendary run in 2011-12, finishing with a .946 SV% and a 1.41 GAA on route to winning the Smythe.

Playoffs	GP	W	L	SV%	GAA	SO
Carey Price	60	25	31	.914	2.54	5
Jonathan Quick	81	46	35	.921	2.27	9

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[S E P H]

Offer any and all pieces for Duchene. I am not saying to trade Price, Patchs, or Drouin for him, but that Mete, 1st 2018, and Galchenyuk should be available. Duchene not only goes automatically to Habs first line centre position, but he has the highest point total on the team from history, and should be the second most dangerous offencive piece for them if you consider Drouin number one.

It really is quite simple.

 

[TheGroceryStick]

They have been a decent playoff team, but don't see any way they break into contender status. With other teams around them getting better, it will only become more apparent (imo)

A total strip down would be ideal to get this team going in a different direction. If Not, they risk band-aiding a team together until Price retires. That includes trading for Duchene and /or waiting on /paying big for UFAs

-Trade Pacioretty/ etc for futures
-Realign your lineup to promote a youth movement
-Hope for a good draft/development

 

[Melrose Munch]

Price is dumb. Why didn't he sign with a contender like Chicago or even Anaheim?

Anyway,

Get rid of Price, Weber, Pacioretty. Max and his posse drove PK out of town but it's clear who the problem was. Maybe in Arizona or Vegas Pacioretty can get all the points he wants and not actually lead without the media on his back.

Get rid Plekanec, he's old as dirt and the game has passed him by.

Tank.

 

[Acallabeth]

As I don't believe the Habs owners would encourage a true rebuild with trading Price and Weber and hoarding picks in the incoming good draft, my quest would be turning a bubble team into a true contender relatively quickly. A hard task! I think I'd still need a minor rebuild.

Implement a new strategy where criticizing the team publicly is heavily penalized. Make sure the young players with confidence and attitude issues know that they're valued and relied upon, not viewed like they are on a trial. Try to build a family-like unity in the club, while remaining professional.
Retool, trading Pacioretty, Plekanec, Shaw and Alzner for picks and younger players. Retain salary on short contracts if it's beneficial.
Get Duchene.
Take no risks of losing more players to free agency. Be very agressive in FA too.
Make high-risk, high-reward picks in the draft. Draft skill, you can't get out of mediocrity drafting "safe" with picks in the middle.
Invest into the KHL scouting and go after KHL free agents in advance, as it's a relatively unexplored source of improving the team for free.

 

[Belieber]

I would retain on Weber and get the best return possible. Old and slow and getting even slower, what a stupid trade that was.

 

[Ken Wreggets revenge]

Price is absolutely an elite goalie. He has the highest save percentage over the last three seasons, hell he he's tied for first over the last 5 seasons. I wish Price wasn't that good but he's absolutely elite, it's not his fault his team can't score.

Sorry, but elite goalies carry a team, they don't use the team as an excuse. When Quick backstopped L.A. to their two cups, the Kings finished the regular season 29th(2011-12) and 25th(2013-14) out of 30 teams in GF during the season.

 

[Pocket Hercules]

I absolutely hate how everyone says "tank". That's literally what 90% of posters are saying. It's such a loser mentality.

I'm a habs fan. Hate the Subban move (obviously) - but I like our goalie and believe we can still contend/compete with this team. I can't believe so many of you are saying trade everyone away, hope you suck bad enough to get draft picks. That shouldn't be a strategy to win - that should be a consolation prize if you have a bad year,not the goal of the year.

I hear ya. But take it from us Leaf fans when we tell you...no matter how much money you dump at the problem with an assortment of band aids and patchworks aimed to bolster your lineup, you cannot game the NHL hard cap system! Believe me...we've tried it and failed miserably while becoming the laughing stock of the league during that dark period of perpetual mediocrity. For the last 12 years, Leafs managment chose to forgo a full blown rebuild in favour of a "retool" to which got us spinning our tires in the mud and just delayed the inevitable...which was a good ol' fashioned burn it to the ground "scorched earth" rebuild. Sooner or later it's going to bite the Habs really hard in the ass if they choose to stay the course. But if they want to right this ship, it starts with the Molson Bros firing that idiot BarginBin asap before he gets in desperation mode with the "Cup or Bust" mentality and starts making trades to save his job.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

One thing I would do is unload Price while I still can. I don't feel it is good cap management to spend 10.5M per for a Goalie. Even one that is the best in the world. But with that contract, I don't see there being many takers.

 

[EbonyRaptor]

I haven't read through 7 pages of comments, but my answer is simple - rebuild. I doubt Montreal management will agree to do that because the fanbase would show up with torches and pitchforks, but it may be the best way.

Price might be tough to move at $10.5M (as would Toews) - but Price is world class and he would be putting up world class numbers if the team in front of him was better. So, I don't think a rebuild would necessarily mean moving Price.

But some of the other pieces would be attractive to other teams and should return good prospects and/or high draft picks. Then suffer and suck for a couple or three years and come back strong with Price still not too old to be great.

 

[RoadWarrior]

The habs have no mobility on d and nothing up the middle either. They're built like a bad 90's team in the trap era.

Bergevin doesn't have a clue how to prioritize. He seems to think adding players with French names is more important than adding balance to the lineup.

There's just way too much politics going on with little regard for the on ice product beyond the crease.

Now thanks to poor drafting they have few young assets to offer.

The solution is to re-build. You start by firing Bergevin then trading patches and Gallagher for a centre prospect.

 

[Pocket Hercules]

I haven't read through 7 pages of comments, but my answer is simple - rebuild. I doubt Montreal management will agree to do that because the fanbase would show up with torches and pitchforks, but it may be the best way.

Price might be tough to move at $10.5M (as would Toews) - but Price is world class and he would be putting up world class numbers if the team in front of him was better. So, I don't think a rebuild would necessarily mean moving Price.

But some of the other pieces would be attractive to other teams and should return good prospects and/or high draft picks. Then suffer and suck for a couple or three years and come back strong with Price still not too old to be great.

I'm not so sure about the bolded. They said the exact same thing about us Leaf fans...how we would never tolerate a rebuild, same old shit, different management group etc, but guess what happened?...Leafs fans EMBRACED a rebuild, and were happier than pigs in shit when news broke out about it. Habs fans (for the most part) are a smart bunch, and know a championship calibre team when they see one. This current Habs team, with the exception of Price, is a complete and utter joke. Even with Price, they will not win a cup with this current group. JMHO.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

Sorry, but elite goalies carry a team, they don't use the team as an excuse. When Quick backstopped L.A. to their two cups, the Kings finished the regular season 29th(2011-12) and 25th(2013-14) out of 30 teams in GF during the season.

You're wrong on this, it's ridiculous to act as if Price isn't an elite goalie. Having a great playoff record doesn't make you elite, it just means you have better support in most cases. Since results are apparently all that matters I assume since Price won gold in the Olympics against Quick that makes him the better goalie?

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

1. Completely revamp the analytics department, ensuring that a sizeable investment was made
2. Unload many of the old scouts, and incorporate a new structure with a VP of scouting I trust (and 4 Directors reporting to him whom I vet)
3. Trade veterans over thirty for the best return possible without retaining material portions of the cap
4. Establish a robust S&I department
5. Trade Galchenyuk, and anyone else I deem to have a propensity to party
6. Mine Europe for undrafted free agents in the KHL, SHL under the age of 25

Rebuild, with a concentration specifically on speed and skill.

Ooh, and make it clear I will not be answering questions in French.

 

[TMLeafs17]

One thing I would do is unload Price while I still can. I don't feel it is good cap management to spend 10.5M per for a Goalie. Even one that is the best in the world. But with that contract, I don't see there being many takers.

Who do they need to pay?

 

[KingsFan7824]

Blowing it all up is easier said than done in a cap world. No cap, and you could trade Weber tomorrow for a prospect and a pick no problem.

To me, if the Habs are indeed in a complete funk from which there is no escape, then what they need to do is stop. Don't make things worse from here. If they're at where they're at, there's no rush. No need to sell low on everyone. Play out the year, see what happens, trade the rentals at the deadline. If there's a good deal for someone, fine, but if the team is in that bad a shape, take your time.

 

[Riptide]

Essentially Montreal gave up their best product to ultimately ice a worse roster than last year. Pretty embarrassing offseason. Yes tanking is the easiest option, but it's also probably the only one that will work. The Habs don't have valuable prospects to give up to improve the roster as of right now. They can either stagnate or blow it up

I disagree. Again, look at Ottawa. Look at Columbus. Having a #1C solves a lot of problems (and it would for Montreal as well). But there are other ways to build a team that has a legitimate chance to have playoff success. It'll be hard in Montreal due to some of the contracts they have, but it's not impossible. I mean there's a multitude of centers they could go after that would address some of their issues. Tavares, Turris, Flippula, RNH, Soderberg, Stastny, Bozak, Backlund. Most won't end up being options... but a couple will, and a couple is all they need to really change the team.