Habs competitive edge - what do we do with it

[sergejean]

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mlm45fjdge/3-montreal-canadiens-8/

Looking at the operating income (apparently 59.8M for the 2013-2014 season).

I will preposition this first: My expectation as a hardcore Habs fan is that ownership sacrifices everything, even if that means every penny of their profit, to gain any competitive advantage they can get over their competitors.

Now, I understand the Habs are privately owned and they want to make $$$ but there must be more than that. No?

In this day and age of salary cap, what are the Habs doing to gain a competitive edge over the teams who can't afford to spend? And what are some ideas that you have that would increase our chances at reclaiming the number 1 spot that once was ours in today's NHL?

Discuss.

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[BLONG7]

Molson paid 660M for the team and building, and of course want s to recoup alot of that, but I think the Habs have already put together a state of the art practice facility that most teams don't have, and MB has a team of executives at his disposal to do the things needed....

What other things could they do, that they currently don't?? If you treat everyone in the organization well, then people want to come to you.........

 

[sergejean]

Do we have the very best in the world in terms of physical preparation? Power skating? nutritionists? Do we have the very best money can buy in terms of scouts, player development personnel?

One thing I fail to understand is why aren't we systematically going for the very best from every NHL teams and try to hire them.

Here is an interesting article from 2012 about investing in scouting to circumvent the salary cap.

http://www.silversevensens.com/2012/7/10/3148329/circumventing-the-salary-cap-investing-in-scouting

So why aren't the Habs innovating and creating a new scouting structure that would allow them to have better success at getting NHL players all the way through the draft? NHL teams will usually accept you to reach out to their staff if it is to offer them a better salary and position. Why aren't we doing that?

What is preventing the Habs from having teams of (I'm just making up numbers here) 15 scouts led by one senior scout in each league of the words?

Here is an example: You just make an offer to double the salary of Brent Flahr (or Hakan Andersson or any other top end scout in the business) for him to lead a team of 12-15 scouts strictly focusing on the OHL. All of the scouts will report to him directly. You do the exact same thing times the number of leagues in the world. Then you have your super scouts getting together to work on your drafting list.

I don't care if this new structure costs 10 times more than the actual one if it means increasing our chances to draft even more NHL talent and potential stars.

 

[sergejean]

Molson paid 660M for the team and building, and of course want s to recoup alot of that, but I think the Habs have already put together a state of the art practice facility that most teams don't have, and MB has a team of executives at his disposal to do the things needed....

What other things could they do, that they currently don't?? If you treat everyone in the organization well, then people want to come to you.........

They are doing a lot of things right. I believe they can do more. Way more. Look at the Leafs, they said *** you all. I want the best in the business I pay the best money. End of story. This hiring has no impact on the salary cap and yet, it has an impact on how competitive the final product will be on the ice. Look at the Yankees, the Boston Red Sox. The salary cap may be working differently but at the end of the day, they are not afraid to spend, and spend some more to try and gain the competitive edge.

 

[BLONG7]

They are doing a lot of things right. I believe they can do more. Way more. Look at the Leafs, they said *** you all. I want the best in the business I pay the best money. End of story. This hiring has no impact on the salary cap and yet, it has an impact on how competitive the final product will be on the ice. Look at the Yankees, the Boston Red Sox. The salary cap may be working differently but at the end of the day, they are not afraid to spend, and spend some more to try and gain the competitive edge.

Good points, but right now the Habs don't even have a good coach, so there is alot they have to do before thinking outside the box...unfortunately.

 

[Hackett]

A little off topic, but tampa reported a relatively large operating loss according to that link, which is particularly alarming considering that they got a couple home playoff gates out of that season too.

I wonder how they will fare for the next report, but when you have a winning team with alot of stars, and were fortunate enough to draft a super talent like stamkos, things cannot get much better from an on ice standpoint. If teams like these are not able to create operating income, then it makes you wonder about the long term viability of the club.

 

[gusfring]

When the top coach in the league becomes available, you do due diligence. Oh wait...

 

[Habs]

When the top coach in the league becomes available, you do due diligence. Oh wait...

Wait, is Joel Quenville available?

 

[Richiebottles]

When the top coach in the league becomes available, you do due diligence. Oh wait...

Who was that ? Babcock ? Lol ok...

 

[gusfring]

Who was that ? Babcock ? Lol ok...

I know he sucks...

 

[sergejean]

Yes... the coach... yes Desharnais.... yes.... coach and GM has to speak French... yes, we all know this.

Knowing that, what else can we do to get a slight advantage over our competitors? I suggested a massive investment in scouting. Any other ideas?

 

[Seb]

Yes... the coach... yes Desharnais.... yes.... coach and GM has to speak French... yes, we all know this.

Knowing that, what else can we do to get a slight advantage over our competitors? I suggested a massive investment in scouting. Any other ideas?

Development of our prospects. It stinks and has been terrible for decades. This is our main priority.

 

[CGG]

Yes... the coach... yes Desharnais.... yes.... coach and GM has to speak French... yes, we all know this.

Knowing that, what else can we do to get a slight advantage over our competitors? I suggested a massive investment in scouting. Any other ideas?

We pried Dudley away from Toronto.
We took Stephen Waite from Chicago.
Our head scout (Timmins) is one of the best in the business.
We spent like crazy on the Brossard sports complex.

There really isn't a whole lot else you can do. I don't think we're keeping Therrien due to money. I think they think he's (still) the right coach for the team. More scouting might help, but who's to say the team isn't already spending more on scouting?

Money can only get you so much. The Leafs have won 3 playoff games in a decade and they have far more money than the Habs do.

 

[Brainiac]

One area of weakness for us is clearly our AHL affiliate. Very poor coaching over there. We need to invest money in there to get the best up and coming coaches, like we did back then with Boucher.

 

[hototogisu]

They are doing a lot of things right. I believe they can do more. Way more. Look at the Leafs, they said *** you all. I want the best in the business I pay the best money. End of story. This hiring has no impact on the salary cap and yet, it has an impact on how competitive the final product will be on the ice. Look at the Yankees, the Boston Red Sox. The salary cap may be working differently but at the end of the day, they are not afraid to spend, and spend some more to try and gain the competitive edge.

Always the best place to start. Maybe we can get some insider tips from Edmonton next.

 

[OnTheRun]

Always the best place to start. Maybe we can get some insider tips from Edmonton next.

Leafs started their rebuild 4 months ago, they haven't succeeded or failed yet.

And yeah, they should get some tips from Edmonton, there is a lots to learn from other peoples mistakes.

 

[sergejean]

Always the best place to start. Maybe we can get some insider tips from Edmonton next.

Ah, Ah. The fact of the matter is that in this particular instance, the Leafs did well to shower Babcock with money. Nothing against you but your reply doesn't bring much to the table to be honest.

 

[sergejean]

Leafs started their rebuild 4 months ago, they haven't succeeded or failed yet.

And yeah, they should get some tips from Edmonton, there is a lots to learn from other peoples mistakes.

The worst part is that at the end of the day, Edmonton could very well be hoisting the Cup before Montreal thanks to the NHL and they rewarding mediocrity.

 

[dcal64]

Leafs started their rebuild 4 months ago, they haven't succeeded or failed yet.

And yeah, they should get some tips from Edmonton, there is a lots to learn from other peoples mistakes.

Pretty sure Toronto started their re-build when they hired Burke, this is their second re-build.

 

[OnTheRun]

Pretty sure Toronto started their re-build when they hired Burke, this is their second re-build.

Their goal was definitely short term success (ie making the playoffs) under Burke they went after Raycroft, Phaneuf, Kessel, Clarkson & Lupul during that era, it was more a re-tooling than a rebuild.

 

[BeliveauFan4ever]

There is nothing wrong with the idea of re-examining the scouting structure, and I would add our drafting philosophy should be looked at as well.

LA Kings draft size. Review their picks and you'll find most picks top six feet and 190 pounds.

And the big guys they draft, can skate. They keep drafting from that template, knowing there will be misses but confident there will be hits, too.

Connor Crisp skates like he's in sand. He has some good qualities, decent hands and he's tough but if a player can't get to the puck before the opponent more often than not, he's not going to be effective or last in the league.

Habs have resources and owe it to the fans to do the maximum.

Deflective talk and platitudes do not excite a fan base, but a full house every night can make management complacent.

 

[Sorinth]

I remember reading somewhere Therrien was in the top5 or 10 highest paid coaches in the NHL.

Money only matters if you use it properly.

 

[Team_Spirit]

We pried Dudley away from Toronto.
We took Stephen Waite from Chicago.
Our head scout (Timmins) is one of the best in the business.
We spent like crazy on the Brossard sports complex.

There really isn't a whole lot else you can do. I don't think we're keeping Therrien due to money. I think they think he's (still) the right coach for the team. More scouting might help, but who's to say the team isn't already spending more on scouting?

Money can only get you so much. The Leafs have won 3 playoff games in a decade and they have far more money than the Habs do.

This.

People expect the Habs to buy leagues like back in the days or something?

3. Montreal Canadiens
Current Value: $1,000 mil.
Revenue 2013-2014: $187 mil.
Operating Income 2013-2014: $59.8 mil

The Canadiens have sold out the 21,273-seat Bell Centre, which opened in 1996, for every game since January 2004 despite having the second highest ticket prices in the NHL.

That's 128,2M cost to run the team.

 

[Devourers]

1) AHL coaching staff that is on the level of an NHL staff. Con is that it's hard to find people willing to do that if they're NHL level. How to get them? Overpay them.

2) Player development experts, I don't mean Patrice Brisebois, I mean legitimate guys who could even be coaches for an NHL team, again overpay.

3) Vastly improve scouting in Russia. Why? Because Russians tend to fall and we aren't picking high. Go as far as to send TT if need be but improve in all areas if possible, again overpay to get people over qualified.

4) The minute a superior coach becomes available overpay them like the leafs did with Babcock. Insulate them well with specialists for the PP and PK.

5) Hire an assistant GM type guy who is a pro in depreciating assets and offload players prior to their decline for picks to constantly stock the cupboard.

6) Hire another conditioning coach, Gallagher's dad anyone? Get a bunch of these guys to train together in the summer so they're in top 5 in the league type shape come puck drop in March.

Obviously much of it is easier said than done, but these are areas I see we can improve. There's no harm in hiring more scouts to reach out to areas we are less involved in. Lately our drafting in Sweden has increased which I do like. We can only get better.

 

[Habs]

Leafs started their rebuild 4 months ago, they haven't succeeded or failed yet.

And yeah, they should get some tips from Edmonton, there is a lots to learn from other peoples mistakes.

I think the team should learn from winners, not the armpit franchises of the NHL.