Not sure who misses the boat here. Yes they did. First, because they have all sorts of trouble drafting and evaluating players. So yes, the missed the boat. Also, they missed the boat because their scouts for the Q are awful to say the least. So with better scouts, they might have caught him and a few others. So yep, they do miss the boat. They also have that small luxury (I know, the Q doesn't have a ******** of prospect superstars, but there are still very good players out there) to put an emphasize on a league that quite a few teams don't respect.
The only thing it took for the Preds to be interested in Gaudreau was a Q scout loving him....and 1 visit from Paul Fenton.
So whether EVERYBODY else missed the boat is NOT in play here. So to feel better, we can say that everybody else did too. But as Habs fans, we can safely say that they did miss the boat. And probalby even moreso 'cause at this point of his career, Gaudreau could have been seen as a piece to add to a farm team. Like we've been doing with tons of other players....but that RARELY translate into anything. Especially not up front.
So yeah, Habs missed the boat with that example and tons of others. We suck at invitiation and while I did agree at the time with the Habs to sign him, we invite and sign guys like Philippe Lefebvre.....