Does Montreal make the playoffs in 2021-2022?

[amnesiac]

VAN, DAL, and PHI are just a few example of how you can be good one season and miss the playoffs the next.

I think FLA may be that team, but MTL will be on the bubble as usual unless Price has a Vezina type season.

NYR could breakout in the east too under Gallant.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

It’s a coin flip honestly. It really depends on Price but I could easily see them just missing even though I think they will be a better team than they were the last two years.

 

[Koivu11]

HF predicts the Habs missing the playoffs every single season even though they’ve made them 11 times in the last 16 seasons.

 

[LOFIN]

HF predicts the Habs missing the playoffs every single season even though they’ve made them 11 times in the last 16 seasons.

Fun sample size you got there. Maybe something more relevant would be the time Bergevin has been there. Out of the 9 seasons Montreal has made it to the playoffs in a regular format 4/7 times. On top of that they made the playoffs in the bubble which they would've missed by a long shot in a normal season (24th overall), and this season they made it because of a weak division (18th overall), though the same can be said for St. Louis as well.

If their kids maintain their current play and Price is good then sure, they have chance even though it's a tough division and a tough conference. However the exact same thing was said after the bubble last year, and it didn't really translate to the regular season did it?

 

[ted2019]

I think the cinderella's slipper will come off after this season.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

I think so with Suzuki, Caufield, KK, Romanov being a year older and gaining a TON of experience right now. Question is whether the big 4 on D can do what theyre doing over 82 games. I dont think theyll be a top 5 seed, but 6-8th is a definite possibility.

Boston may be a little worse with Rask and Krejci leaving. Im not convinced FLA will repeat, but definitely could. PIT and WSH's elite core are a year older, but still great.... Philly and NYR are the big question marks for me.

TB
CAR
TOR
NYI
WSH
PIT
BOS
MTL

FLA
NYR
PHI
OTT
DET
CBJ
NJD
BUF

Florida missing is wishing thinking for Habs fans. They were one of the best teams in the league this year

 

[Team Cozens]

If they win the cup obviously it doesn't matter if they miss next year - you take that any day of the week but I'm curious where the Vegas odds will sit.

Tampa, Boston, Florida, Toronto in a tough division.

Going to be tought. Boston could be in trouble. Don’t count Ottawa out either, based on rosters today before UFA season and trades I would go;

Tampa
Florida
Montreal
Boston
Toronto
Ottawa
Buffalo

 

[Gravity]

Why is everyone so mad at Montreal? Lol.

Jealously, envy and various other petty emotions disguised as a being a "knowledgeable" hockey fan.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Jealously, envy and various other petty emotions disguised as a being a "knowledgeable" hockey fan.

Or people could just be looking at their Division and thinking it’s going to be a dog fight for the last spot.

 

[Golden_Jet]

If they win the cup obviously it doesn't matter if they miss next year - you take that any day of the week but I'm curious where the Vegas odds will sit.

Tampa, Boston, Florida, Toronto in a tough division.

Leafs might not be a shoe-in either.

 

[Boeser Fan]

Yes they make it back to the final and lose to the Canucks!

 

[Gravity]

Or people could just be looking at their Division and thinking it’s going to be a dog fight for the last spot.

It will be a dog fight but look at the various Mtl threads on this and the Stanley Cup board. "Mtl making the finals is terrible for the league", "Is the regular season now irrelevant","18th place team doesn't deserve to be here" etc.... All that contempt is just plain sad.

 

[LOFIN]

It will be a dog fight but look at the various Mtl threads on this and the Stanley Cup board. "Mtl making the finals is terrible for the league", "Is the regular season now irrelevant","18th place team doesn't deserve to be here" etc.... All that contempt is just plain sad.

Montreal is playing excellent hockey right now and their fans should enjoy the moment. I also fail to see how cindarella runs are bad for the sport. If anything it should make more fans happy that there are surprises and it gives more hope to every fanbase I think.

That said, there's also no reason to believe this is nothing more than a cindarella run by Montreal.

 

[Gravity]

Montreal is playing excellent hockey right now and their fans should enjoy the moment. I also fail to see how cindarella runs are bad for the sport. If anything it should make more fans happy that there are surprises and it gives more hope to every fanbase I think.

That said, there's also no reason to believe this is nothing more than a cindarella run by Montreal.

Agreed with this. As for the Cinderella team, we can only know over a larger sample size as the youth have been progressing and we've been trending up for the last two years. However, as it stands now they are very much a Cinderella team.

 

[amnesiac]

Florida missing is wishing thinking for Habs fans. They were one of the best teams in the league this year

So was Philly last year and look where they ended up . Dallas and Vancouver also got far in the playoffs and missed them this year.

Hence it's far from being a stretch that Florida may miss next season. They were the biggest surprise if anything and may fall back down to earth in a regular 82 game season... Their goaltending won't be any better that's for sure. Time will tell.

 

[NotLeddy]

Going to be tought. Boston could be in trouble. Don’t count Ottawa out either, based on rosters today before UFA season and trades I would go;

Tampa
Florida
Montreal
Boston
Toronto
Ottawa
Buffalo

You're missing an Atlantic division team

 

[Team Cozens]

You're missing an Atlantic division team

Keeps scrolling.... they are alway below Buffalo.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

So was Philly last year and look where they ended up . Dallas and Vancouver also got far in the playoffs and missed them this year.

Hence it's far from being a stretch that Florida may miss next season. They were the biggest surprise if anything and may fall back down to earth in a regular 82 game season... Their goaltending won't be any better that's for sure. Time will tell.

Philly/Vancouver/Dallas don't have 2 of the top 15 forwards in the league, who are in their primes.
I wouldn't be surprised if they feel down back to Earth a bit, but I'd be highly surprised if they missed the playoffs.

Habs can make the playoffs but it'd likely be due to someone else missing, I doubt Florida goes from top 4 team in the league to on the outside looking in.

 

[dalewood12]

I think they end up with a wild card spot.

 

[Treb]

Next year team IMO:
Toffoli - Suzuki - Caufield
XXX - Danault - Gallagher
Lehkonen - KK - Anderson
Byron - Evans - Armia
Perry

XXX - Petry
Edmundson - Weber
Kulak - Romanov
Fleury

Price
Allen

I think Chiarot is the ED pick due to his value post Cup final. Drouin dealt after the ED. Danault, Armia and Perry re-signed after the ED.

It all depends who we get for those 2 spots. I do think they make it though, especially if Suzuki, Caufield, KK, and Romanov take their steps up.

 

[Rude Dog]

Likely be a Dallas Star repeat.

 

[cave troll]

It will depend on if Suzuki, Caufield and Kotkaniemi will take one step forward

 

[abo9]

I don't think so. They're playing a style that cannot be sustained all year. And Price cannot steal games at that pace for 82 games.
This is a team that was 24th last year and on pace for 4 years without playoff appearances. We added some solid pieces in the offseason though.

Plus, A lot of personel changes:

Negatives:
- Tatar, Drouin, Danault, Perry, Staal, Armia are all UFA
- our 3rd pairing in D is UFA and still awful
- Toffoli will come back to earth
- Can Petry have another career year or will he shows signs of aging?
- Losing someone to Seattle - potentially a D like Chiarot, with no replacement in sight.
- Aging core players like Price/Weber/Petry/Gallagher

Positives:
- Growth of KK, Suzuki, Romanov
- Addition of Caufield
- good UFA additions ?

So, are we a bubble team next year? I think that these teams will finish comfortably ahead:
TB
CAR
TOR
NYI
WSH

And then those I expect to be better than Montreal:
FLA
BOS
NYR
PIT

And you have a couple of wildcard like
PHI
NJD
OTT

There's only those guys I can't see challenging for the playoffs:
DET
BUF
CBJ

 

[LOFIN]

Likely be a Dallas Star repeat.

Dallas is a bit misleading, because they had massive injury issues this season. Bishop and Seguin basically gone for the entire season. Radulov played only 11 games, and while Roope Hintz played for about 75% of the games he basically played the majority of the season injured and went straight under the knife the day season ended. I don't think people expected them to repeat as SC finalists, but they probably would've made the playoffs with a healthy roster. I mean they didn't miss by much as it was.

 

[CraigsList]

I am torn, but have to think they do.

Assuming Allen stays (if he does), then they'll have 2 capable goaltenders and also a bunch of draft picks to make any other improvements they deem necessary.