Post-Game Talk: Habs lose to Leafs. Extended winning streak ends at 1.

[WeThreeKings]

How can you seriously compare an overall standing when teams don't play out of their division? They have no choice to use them for playoff seeds past the divisional rounds and likely for the draft but it's not a good way to compare teams this season. Looking at the Habs normal division, they likely would have been lower in the standings having to play Tampa Bay, Florida, Boston, Toronto and the Sens always seem to play hard and get their points against the Habs. They would likely be in the 5th spot like they were last season and out of the playoffs.

We are making the play-offs by default.. not because we are a good team who deserves it.

It's crazy that people don't understand this. Like our record outside of the first part of the season is atrocious and would have more calls for Bergevin's firing in a normal year when they wouldn't be surrounded by a bunch of other ass level teams.

 

[Habs Halifax]

How can you seriously compare an overall standing when teams don't play out of their division? They have no choice to use them for playoff seeds past the divisional rounds and likely for the draft but it's not a good way to compare teams this season. Looking at the Habs normal division, they likely would have been lower in the standings having to play Tampa Bay, Florida, Boston, Toronto and the Sens always seem to play hard and get their points against the Habs. They would likely be in the 5th spot like they were last season and out of the playoffs.

How can you seriously look it one way and have questions and then look it another way guessing but pretending it to be probable.

Bad team in terms of contenders. That's all I'll agree with you on.

 

[Habs Halifax]

We are making the play-offs by default.. not because we are a good team who deserves it.

It's crazy that people don't understand this. Like our record outside of the first part of the season is atrocious and would have more calls for Bergevin's firing in a normal year when they wouldn't be surrounded by a bunch of other ass level teams.

You know what is crazy... Riding the roller coaster point and cherry picking the bottom point to talk. At least wait till the off season. Pretending that others don't see the concerns is comical

Nobody in our fan base right now is saying we are a contender. We are in the 10-20 range or at best 10-15 range. Heading in, I thought we had a chance to be in the fringe top 5-10 mix but after what we have seen so far, that's not at play. Suzuki and KK didn't take substantial jumps forward and Price/Weber are not the leaders we expected them to be (leading by example... not by talking).

This team is better than last year. And yeah, I do think we have a set back or reset coming. Don't kid yourself, most if not all of us understand we can loose 4 games straight against the Leafs.

 

[expy]

I don't consider a team from 10-15 range as a team that sucks (yes we are 17th at the moment). We have issues and flaws yes. Don't let your frustration get to you and exaggerate things.

I'm not frustrated. I accept that the team sucks.

I've been hammering it for years.

 

[OnceWasNot]

I'd be curious to see what some of the doomsayers today were saying during the first 2 weeks...

Habs have started the season well almost every year of MB's tenure, and they were only able to sustain it the year Price was the best player in the league. It doesn't really suggest anything other than that they're able to come out flying, catch teams off guard and beat them despite having less talent, then regress to the mean.

 

[hvac412]

That goal was happening to any team in this case,just everything happened so fast,not much anybody on any team could do,fate!

Oh ok ,that explains the whole season

 

[angusyoung]

Oh ok ,that explains the whole season

I was under the impression this was a discussion about the Mathews goal. The whole season in a nutshell, MB thought wrong, miscalculated his talent,again

 

[RealityBytes]

this club is done

they will blow it up in the summer, book it

I'm not so sure about that. The only way this club will be able to move to get better is if gets rid of the Weber and Price contracts that eat up almost one quarter of the cap. No other team will take them as is and the Habs can't offer up picks and young talent to get rid of them if they are going to try and get better. The only hope is that both Weber and Price go on LTIR, but then Molson has to pay those amounts in addition to the salary of the regular players. That's a big additional financial hit for Molson to eat (up to $91M over five years) and he may not want to do that.

If that doesn't happen and Price and Weber stay eating up almost a quarter of the cap, a rebuild will not be fully effective since it will be short of what it needs to financially rebuild a team. It will just be another mediocre mess for the next five years.

Look at Toronto's rebuild. They ate a ton to get rib of bad players contracts (or players bad contracts if you prefer), like taking on Horton's contract when he couldn't play, and just paid them off and ate the loss. They also spent a lot on scouting and on the organization itself. They got better and smarter better but it cost a lost. I just don't see Molson doing anything of that caliber, or spending like that and instead prefer to just put up a team the way he has been doing and save his money.

Hockey is a sport, the NHL is an entertainment business. Did MLSE's spend pay off? Well, even if they don't win a cup, they are the top team in Canada with the largest and growing fan base, literally control the media, and they have turned their image around. Fans love it and free agents want to go there. It was a costly gamble to get their team out of the doldrums and make it an entertaining upper echelon team. In that sense they are successful.

The cup is for the fans and it takes a lot to get one, but it's a money business for the owners.

 

[Tanknation]

There is no way he gets fired now with losses from COVID. Molson won't want to take on another GM contract now.

Does his contract not run out after this year?

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

Does his contract not run out after this year?

After next year, iirc...unfortunately...

 

[beowulf]

Yeah, habs fans are bipolar. They just swing from one extreme to the other according to the results of the moment. No doubt, this team is a mess right now. But saying we have no talent, no heart, etc. is as wrong as saying we were contenders and the best canadian team after the first 2 weeks this season.

I'd be curious to see what some of the doomsayers today were saying during the first 2 weeks...

Anyway, the truth is somewhere in the middle, between our hot start and the disaster we see now. We have average talent, with bad coaching and a bad defense. The worse traits and the biggest weaknesses can be emphasized or diminished by coaching. Unfortunately, we're seeing the former right now.

I was saying the team might surprise me. I had them not making the playoffs or maybe just squeaking in and that is exactly where they were. I said during the off season that I hoped I would be wrong and the first couple of weeks had me doubting it but like most who know the game enough, I knew the would come back down and it was just a matter of how much would the fall off that early pace. I hope they would level off way before were the are right now...heck when Ducharme was picked to run the team I complained that if you are going to clean house you clean house and not a half measure when you put one of the assistants of the guy you just booted in to replace him. People told me to relax and it would be fine...but ya no.

 

[OldCraig71]

I think this team is exhausted

What about the other teams in the North? Exhaustion can be a factor for any sports team but it's not the thing that is holding this team back. The lack of talent and a very poorly constructed D group is the reason that this team is struggling. We would be much better off right now if we had gone .500 against the Canucks early in the season, a top 5 pick might be in the cards. I hate the thought of losing to Toronto in the first round.

 

[Capz]

One of the biggest issues with this team.

Whenever they have a good shift, it usually ends when one of their D flips the puck to the goalie's chest. It's like they want a whistle. Even after a face-off won ... flip.

Petry's the only D that gets his feet moving at the blue line.

OTOH ... look at the leafs. That minute long shift in the Habs end vs the KK line. How many times did their D touch the puck? Plenty.

The defence needs an overhaul.

Exactly!

 

[HabsDood]

What about the other teams in the North? Exhaustion can be a factor for any sports team but it's not the thing that is holding this team back. The lack of talent and a very poorly constructed D group is the reason that this team is struggling. We would be much better off right now if we had gone .500 against the Canucks early in the season, a top 5 pick might be in the cards. I hate the thought of losing to Toronto in the first round.

Here's an example: Yesterday the Habs played the Leafs, Habs just travelled from Calgary, 5 games in 7 days, Leafs had rested for 3 days.. Simple math.

 

[azcanuck]

Here's an example: Yesterday the Habs played the Leafs, Habs just travelled from Calgary, 5 games in 7 days, Leafs had rested for 3 days.. Simple math.

It's always something.

Lets just face it this team is below average.

 

[WeThreeKings]

It's always something.

Lets just face it this team is below average.

We have been tired for 6 seasons.

 

[OldCraig71]

Here's an example: Yesterday the Habs played the Leafs, Habs just travelled from Calgary, 5 games in 7 days, Leafs had rested for 3 days.. Simple math.

Okay. So on Saturday night, we can expect Ben Chiarot and Shea Weber to execute good breakouts from our zone and the center group will set up actual good scoring chances because they are well-rested. I am excited to see this.

 

[sheed36]

Okay. So on Saturday night, we can expect Ben Chiarot and Shea Weber to execute good breakouts from our zone and the center group will set up actual good scoring chances because they are well-rested. I am excited to see this.

Chiarot and Weber will never be able to execute good breakouts no matter what but the Habs won't be well rested on Saturday. They play the Jets tomorrow and a rested Sens team on Saturday so what we saw last night is what we'll likely see from the Habs again Saturday.

 

[hvac412]

I was under the impression this was a discussion about the Mathews goal. The whole season in a nutshell, MB thought wrong, miscalculated his talent,again

I just thought that particular play exemplified what our entire season has looked like minus the first dozen or so games . We've been seeing the same movie for the past 9 years and once again it has come down to oh we had too many injuries or the condensed schedule,yada yada yada,excuses, excuses, excuses . On a different note I'm so sick and tired of hearing how ottawa is one of the worst teams in the league, i wish our team had half the character they have.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Think if this was a 82 game season, Ottawa will pass Montreal. Saw post on main boards, last 35 games they have 37 points while during that same span Montreal has 33 points in 34 games.

This bodes well for the next two seasons. We might finally draft high when it counts.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

We have been tired for 6 seasons.

Yeah tired of the shit show

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

This broken record just keep rolling. They gave him good wingers, the best wingers, they tried him with everyone. They gave him endless PP opportunities. Always the same outcome. It's not his linemates, it's him. He still skates the same way as 3 years ago. The only difference is that he has 5 pounds more muscle and 15 pounds more water in his body.

I disagree he never had a stretch of games with 2 good wingers ever.

Yes he had Toffoli , Anderson but never both of them together .
Like if we were healthy (with Caufield in the AHL cause I think he's not ready)

Tatar-Suzuki-Anderson
Toffoli-Kotkaniemi-Gallagher
Lekhonen-Danault-Armia
Staal-Evans-Perry

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Oh they are in trouble no doubt. Kotkaniemi looks like another failed 1st rd pick, a 3rd line C at best, not something you burn a 3rd overall pick on. Lots of vets on the way out, slow and immobile D and questions in net.

Needs a complete rebuild , but not at the hands of this idiot GM and Timmins. You wait though, Timmins will get promoted to the job once numbnuts gets fired.

Indeed KK might not be the player we need but he could still be a decent 3rd liner. Like we did with Eller just because he was not good enough for a top 6 doesnt need you need to ship him away

 

[26Mats]

It's always something.

Lets just face it this team is below average.

I'm going to hash tag every post "FireBergevin"

#FireBergevin

 

[OldCraig71]

Chiarot and Weber will never be able to execute good breakouts no matter what but the Habs won't be well rested on Saturday. They play the Jets tomorrow and a rested Sens team on Saturday so what we saw last night is what we'll likely see from the Habs again Saturday.

See, I care too much.