Are we really going to be better next year? Is this really a transition year?

[Lorty]

Will Petry sign here? If not, we're in big trouble.


Plekanec is getting older, Markov is getting older to the point that he's going to be even worse in the next playoffs.


Gallagher pretty much plateaued. Not enough skillset to improve that much.


Eller is going to remain the same unless Therrien actually does something in his favor.


Weise/Mitchell/Prust/Flynn/DLR/DSP... the grinding machines, some will be traded, some will stay. Perhaps DSP or even DLR are going to be better, we don't know. So far, it's not that promising.


Parenteau remains ineffective or shipped away.


Subban/Pacioretty/Desharnais aren't going to be better, they pretty much plateaued already.


Gilbert/Emelin/Gonchar/Weaver : Either traded/shipped or they remain the same.


Our hopes are pretty much : Galchenyuk and Beaulieu (and Pateryn/Tinordi?), and our AHL players that barely played in the NHL.


Price had a Vezina/Hart year, and I highly doubt he does the same next year (but we can hope!).


And finally, our prospects aren't THAT promising and we don't have a Sam Bennett coming up. Hudon looked hot in the AHL, but we still don't know how he's going to be in the NHL.


So yeah, is this really a transition year? Next year, the playoff fight is going to be even harder, with teams like Florida, Columbus and maybe Ottawa stepping up. If Price doesn't play as good as last year, we could easily have a hard time to fight for a playoff spot.


We have a scary future, in my opinion. The more we wait, the more players like Subban and Pacioretty are going to lose their prime.


****.

Click to read more...

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

We need players like Galchenyuk and Beaulieu to take a couple of steps forward next year. All the more reason why we should've given them bigger roles this season.

 

[Banjo Cat]

We need players like Galchenyuk and Beaulieu to take a couple of steps forward next year. All the more reason why we should've given them bigger roles this season.

Absolutely. If we knew this was a transition year we should have played them more and more. And the Sekac trade makes less sense.. why trade a prospect with possible top 6 capability for a physical player for a playoff run now.

 

[Richiebottles]

will petry sign here? If not, we're in big trouble.


Plekanec is getting older, markov is getting older to the point that he's going to be even worse in the next playoffs.


Gallagher pretty much plateaued. Not enough skillset to improve that much.


Eller is going to remain the same unless therrien actually does something in his favor.


Weise/mitchell/prust/flynn/dlr/dsp... The grinding machines, some will be traded, some will stay. Perhaps dsp or even dlr are going to be better, we don't know. So far, it's not that promising.


Parenteau remains ineffective or shipped away.


Subban/pacioretty/desharnais aren't going to be better, they pretty much plateaued already.


Gilbert/emelin/gonchar/weaver : Either traded/shipped or they remain the same.


Our hopes are pretty much : Galchenyuk and beaulieu (and pateryn/tinordi?), and our ahl players that barely played in the nhl.


Price had a vezina/hart year, and i highly doubt he does the same next year (but we can hope!).


And finally, our prospects aren't that promising and we don't have a sam bennett coming up. Hudon looked hot in the ahl, but we still don't know how he's going to be in the nhl.


So yeah, is this really a transition year? Next year, the playoff fight is going to be even harder, with teams like florida, columbus and maybe ottawa stepping up. If price doesn't play as good as last year, we could easily have a hard time to fight for a playoff spot.


We have a scary future, in my opinion. The more we wait, the more players like subban and pacioretty are going to lose their prime.


****.

use a paragraph plz. My eyes

 

[Lorty]

Absolutely. If we knew this was a transition year we should have played them more and more. And the Sekac trade makes less sense.. why trade a prospect with possible top 6 capability for a physical player for a playoff run now.

This is why it hurts. Badly. Our young players didn't improve at ALL this year, because they weren't given the chances to succeed.


They basically went into safe-mode, just to make sure they secure a playoff spot and they acquired "playoff" players to make a deeper run.


But hey, we failed, and we're left with no improvement.


Transition year my ass.

 

[Banjo Cat]

We have a scary future, in my opinion. The more we wait, the more players like Subban and Pacioretty are going to lose their prime.


****.

You make some good arguments. And it all comes down to the same problem we have had for years. We refused to a proper retool. We didn't need a firesale or an entire rebuild or anything. But for years we refused to sell off assets who were going UFA all because the Habs had to make the playoffs. Then finally we had one year where all hopes of making the playoffs were dashed.... and we sold Gill and Kostytsin??? Wow.

 

[The Great Weal]

Why on earth would petry resign? Unless if he is that type of guy who doesn't care where he plays for which I doubt he is. This team is going nowhere

 

[Smokey Thompson]

If it were a transition year, Galchenyuk would've played centre. We're incredibly thin down the middle and that's the one position holding us back from hitting that upper tier, yet our highly touted 3rd overall pick hasn't progressed at all under Therrien. He was better as a fuxking 18 year old than he is now under this fuxking clown.

So no, it wasn't a transition year and no we won't be better next season. It'll be the same God damn boring system that sucks any creativity out of our forwards.

 

[Jeffrey]

I agree with the OP if the habs want to make the full transition they should move the older vets like Plekanec, Markov and Prust.

I doubt we do that but orherwise it's not really a transition year just a waste.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

I would re-sign Petry, Mitchell

I would trade DD, PAP

I would re-evaluate Prust's place on the team and look for a younger version.

I would try to acquire Marleau and/or Sharp for wing and C backup purposes.

I would put Galchenyuk at C.

I would give Beaulieu a bigger role

Markov and Petry as co #2s, reducing Markov's minutes as a result.

 

[FlyingKostitsyn]

Come on guys... I'm as dismayed as everyone else but reading some posts here you'd think we are comparable to the Oilers or Leafs.

Price, Pacioretty and Subban are each 5+ years away from being ''past their primes'' to the point it becomes a problem, and they are all signed long term. Price might still be a good no1 goalie in 10 years. HE'S 27, Vezina winners are often well into their 30ies. The only key player we can lose because of aging is Markov. Plekanec too in a few years. Time is not running short.

This team's main problem is coaching. Just fix the powerplay and this team would have easily scored 5 more goals so far in these playoffs with all the opportunities. Five on five we're actually OK, we can't say we've had the puck rolling our way at all.

While Bergevin has serious work to do there are no rational reasons to panic. Blowing the team up is insane at this point. The team is incomplete, but the frame is there and far better than people think.

Why on earth would petry resign? Unless if he is that type of guy who doesn't care where he plays for which I doubt he is. This team is going nowhere

Of course, Petry is probably dismayed at finally playing in the playoffs. I'm sure he remembers fondly playing for a winner like Edmonton.

More seriously, if Petry doesn't re-sign its going to be about the money. Bergevin being quite cheap so far won't help. Keeping him is a priority imho, getting him was an excellent move. Now Bergevin needs to replace some of our useless ''talent'' forwards (DD, PAP) by some that can score goals.

 

[Habs100]

I think losing Sekac was a big step backwards.

DSP will be out of the NHL shortly and Sekac will become an effective two way player and make whatever team he's on faster, which is key in today's NHL.

I also hope we give more of a role to young players like Thomas, Bournival, Andrighetto and maybe Hudon. Their speed will make us a better team.

 

[Yarice]

I think losing Sekac was a big step backwards.

DSP will be out of the NHL shortly and Sekac will become an effective two way player and make whatever team he's on faster, which is key in today's NHL.

I also hope we give more of a role to young players like Thomas, Bournival, Andrighetto and maybe Hudon. Their speed will make us a better team.

I don't think Thomas and Bournival are part of the future plan. And Hudon is not really fast for a small player. He is a good player, but skating was probably, along with his size, what made him available in the 5th round.

 

[Habitant#1]

Absolutely zero transitioning was done this year.

Of all prospects only Beaulieu got regular time. Even then they sent him down twice. Tinordi barely played. Pateryn is in the lineup now but only because Beaulieu is injured. DLR is in the lineup too I guess.

Tinordi barely played
Pateryn barely played
Galchenyuk only got 10 games or so at center.

I saw very little transition happening.


I thought we had a small cup window possibly open this year: if Galchenyuk became a productive center but before Markov started to decline.

Unfortunately was kept on the wing to stagnate and Markov has already started to decline.

 

[Ezpz]

Only way we're going to be better is if Markov and Plekanec are traded for young players ready to contribute but it will turn next year into an actual transition year. If we don't trade them our window is already closed. Markov can't handle a full season + playoffs playing 25 minutes a night anymore.

 

[Bobs your uncle]

The Habs have some long standing glaring weaknesses, size and strength down the middle, an aging blue line, and general skill upgrades.

 

[Nynja*]

Them calling it a transition year was a copout to encourage people to lower the bar.

DLR 33 games
Bournival 29 games
Thomas 18 games
Pateryn 17 games
Tinner 13 games
Ghetto 12 games
Dumont 3 games
Bowman 3 games

High profile rookie free agent traded away in a downgrade after 50 games.
Chucky got 10 games at C, then was shifted back to W because he went pointless in a game
Desharnais is still our #1C, when he is clearly unfit for the role.

How is this transition?

 

[Ezpz]

Them calling it a transition year was a copout to encourage people to lower the bar.

DLR 33 games
Bournival 29 games
Thomas 18 games
Pateryn 17 games
Tinner 13 games
Ghetto 12 games
Dumont 3 games
Bowman 3 games

High profile rookie free agent traded away in a downgrade after 50 games.
Chucky got 10 games at C, then was shifted back to W because he went pointless in a game
Desharnais is still our #1C, when he is clearly unfit for the role.

How is this transition?

We're transitioning back into a garbage non-playoff team with decades of futility.

 

[Devourers]

I think losing Sekac was a big step backwards.

DSP will be out of the NHL shortly and Sekac will become an effective two way player and make whatever team he's on faster, which is key in today's NHL.

I also hope we give more of a role to young players like Thomas, Bournival, Andrighetto and maybe Hudon. Their speed will make us a better team.

Meh. Sekac has done nothing to make me think he'll be a two-way player. Expecting him to be at this point is wishful thinking. That isn't to say he won't be better than DSP but an effective two-way top sixer I have my doubts.

I have about as much faith DSP will become an offensive threat as I do Sekac will become a dependable two-way player, which is not a lot.

It's also hard to say we took a step back having a guy in the press box versus actually on the ice. People can blame Therrien and I don't even blame them but the facts are what they are.

Both players are 21 and IMO will get ample time to develop into NHLers. People saying DSP won't be in the NHL next year are making a severely premature judgment. It doesn't surprise me though because those are the very same people assuming Sekac will become a two-way forward. These guys are 21, anything can still happen with them.

 

[DAChampion]

Sekac had 23 points in 69 games in his first NHL season playing difficult minutes. He's already a two way forward.

He's already done better than Smith-Pelly is ever going to do.

Let's be honest. Sekac was a good winger for Eller. So they traded him to get someone they thought could be a good winger for the teacher's pet, David Desespoir.

 

[CupInSIX]

Hopefully most of Hudon, Andrighetto, Sorkin, Reway, Gregoire, Bozon, Dietz, Tinordi, Lernout, McCarron and Scherbak have impressive camps.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

This is why it hurts. Badly. Our young players didn't improve at ALL this year, because they weren't given the chances to succeed.


They basically went into safe-mode, just to make sure they secure a playoff spot and they acquired "playoff" players to make a deeper run.


But hey, we failed, and we're left with no improvement.


Transition year my ass.

Terrible development.

Transition year yet we bring in guys like Gilbert, Gonchar, some 4th liner scrubs. Galchenyuk plays on the wing...Sekac chased out of town..Tinordi and Beaulieu not playing consistently. All so we can finish first in the reg season and get demolished in the playoffs.

Coach and GM not on the same page.

 

[hockeyfan2k11]

Hopefully most of Hudon, Andrighetto, Sorkin, Reway, Gregoire, Bozon, Dietz, Tinordi, Lernout, McCarron and Scherbak have impressive camps.

and what? You trust MT will know how to develop them? Not a chance.

 

[CupInSIX]

and what? You trust MT will know how to develop them? Not a chance.

oh god no. Not him.

 

[optimus2861]

Absolutely zero transitioning was done this year.

Of all prospects only Beaulieu got regular time. Even then they sent him down twice. Tinordi barely played. Pateryn is in the lineup now but only because Beaulieu is injured. DLR is in the lineup too I guess.

Correct on all counts. And let's face it: DLR's playtime was political on Therrien's part. Therrien had a real hate-on for Eller at the time, and gave DLR the #3C spot for a lengthy period of time to try & send the message to Bergevin that Therrien wanted Eller gone. Eller's confidence was at an all-time low while Therrien was doing this, and it was only after the deadline passed that Eller got some life back and Therrien relented in his ******* treatment of him.

DLR currently has the offensive instincts of a lamppost. He'd be far better served with another season on the farm than being used as one of Therrien's favorites.

Tinordi barely played
Pateryn barely played
Galchenyuk only got 10 games or so at center.

I saw very little transition happening.

Correct on all counts.

I thought we had a small cup window possibly open this year: if Galchenyuk became a productive center but before Markov started to decline.

Unfortunately was kept on the wing to stagnate and Markov has already started to decline.

Yup. If we don't resign Petry, Markov's decline is going to seriously hurt our overall effectiveness next year, since Therrien has not taken care to develop any of the three young D in the system with any effectiveness (don't forget that Therrien leaned on Gonchar pretty hard for a stretch too, rather than trust the rookies). Markov simply should not have been played 25+ minutes all season like he was. He's gassed now. Entirely predictable.

This was not a transition year. This was a coach playing it safe all year, and pissing away an MVP season from our goaltender. This jackass should be fired before he pisses away any more such performances from our core.