Habs Wing Depth

[Kudo Shinichi]

Where does the Habs wing group rank in the league?

Toffoli - x - Caufield
Hoffman - x - Gallagher
Drouin - x - Anderson
Lehkonen - x - Armia
Perreault - x - Byron
Paquette

Click to read more...

 

[Stewie Griffin]

I said top 6. They are very deep but don't have that superstar. Ahead of them for me is :
Tampa: Kucherov, Stamkos, Palat, Killorn, etc.
Florida: Huberdeau, Verhaeghe, Reinhart, Duclair, Hornqvist, Tippet
Colorado: Rantanen, Landeskog, Burakovsky
Vegas: Stone, Paccioretty, Smith, Marchessault, Janmark, Dadonov
NYR: Panarin, Kreider, Goodrow, and all the young guys

Just off the top of my head.

 

[Techcoockie]

Probably the deepest wingers with Tampa bay Pre Stanley cup. but probably top 6-8 for top lines when you look at those lines it's sooooooo deep with middle 6 wingers but only CC as a maybe superstar.

Add, let's say, Huberdeau to that wingers group and it's the best in the league.

 

[BlueBaron]

Can't find under 15. Invalid poll

 

[Fledgemyhedge]

Can't find under 15. Invalid poll

Should be an option just to weed out the trolls

 

[BlueBaron]

The lack of elite wingers makes this far more debatable than you seem willing to admit. My main complaint is being railroaded into declaring them top half . I don't even necessarily think they aren't.

It's like all those McDavid and Matthews threads where their supremecy (best player vs best goal scorer) is a given when in fact its not. It's cheesy.

I am glad you enjoyed beating the Leafs. That was the epitome of rivalry satisfaction. Funny thing though, It doesn't change what I think is presumptious.

 

[BlueBaron]

Should be an option just to weed out the trolls

Should be an option since it's debatable.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Deep, but lacks stars. 11-15 range.

 

[abo9]

In no particular order:

Better than Montreal:

• Boston
• Hurricanes
• Florida
• Rangers
• Flyers
• Tampa
• Vegas
• Washington

I'm on the fence:

• Columbus
• Colorado
• Dallas
• Islanders
• Seattle
• Blues
• Vancouver

And I'm not sure who the wingers are on the Jets after Ehlers, Connor, Wheeler, but that would take some garbage down the lineup for their winger group to not be at least equivalent to Montreal's.

That means there are 8 teams clearly better than Montreal on the wings, and 7 that I'm not sure. Colorado for example has the obvious star power advantage (Rantanen - Landeskog), but I prefer Montreal's "bottom 6" wingers.

I selected top 12, as I'm really hopeful Caufield and Hoffman can make it a team that has a scoring option on each line.

 

[The Great Weal]

If you don't see the problem with this poll when their best winger is a rookie you are going to need to take off those rouge colored glasses.

Ya but it's not dead obvious that Caufield is our best winger. Toffoli is coming off a phenomenal year (yes, it's likely an anomaly), Hoffman and Gallagher are 30 goalscorers, Anderson can score 25 goals while providing speed and physicality, Caufield has a shot at the Calder as he was one of if not the best player outside the NHL before joining the Habs.

It's definitely not below 15.

 

[BlueBaron]

Ya but it's not dead obvious that Caufield is our best winger. Toffoli is coming off a phenomenal year (yes, it's likely an anomaly), Hoffman and Gallagher are 30 goalscorers, Anderson can score 25 goals while providing speed and physicality, Caufield has a shot at the Calder as he was one of if not the best player outside the NHL before joining the Habs.

It's definitely not below 15.

It's difficult to discuss anything with anyone who sees their opinion as a fact. Especially since I've already told you that I'm not committed to them being out of the top 15.

This is massive insecurity. It's debatable. Get over it.

 

[The Great Weal]

It's difficult to discuss anything with anyone who sees their opinion as a fact. Especially since I've already told you that I'm not committed to them being out of the top 15.

This is massive insecurity. It's debatable. Get over it.

Maybe you should actually provide other comparisons and/or valid arguments instead of saying "that's not a fact, that's your opinion"

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Should be an option just to weed out the trolls

Yep. The same as ‘the Best’ is an option to weed out the homers.
I voted top 12. Excellent depth but I prefer the groups with elite wingers. Caufield may get there but not this year I don’t think.

 

[Techcoockie]

Lol. Love the assumptions, though I suppose with no prompting you needed to invent a reason to brag. Classy.

If you don't see the problem with this poll when their best winger is a rookie you are going to need to take off those rouge colored glasses.

The lack of elite wingers makes this far more debatable than you seem willing to admit. My main complaint is being railroaded into declaring them top half . I don't even necessarily think they aren't.

It's like all those McDavid and Matthews threads where their supremecy (best player vs best goal scorer) is a given when in fact its not. It's cheesy.

I am glad you enjoyed beating the Leafs. That was the epitome of rivalry satisfaction. Funny thing though, It doesn't change what I think is presumptious.

faking blackhawks best wingers when they won was a rookie. WTF does that even mean when you have superstar under your wings ? MArner was your best winger and still is.

See my point ?

 

[majormajor]

The title says wing depth, where the Habs are remarkably strong, but the poll is about best wingers. Those are not the same thing, especially for the Habs. I think that's disingenuous.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

I voted top 12, nothing over spectacular at all but a lot of serviceable wingers

 

[BlueBaron]

Maybe you should actually provide other comparisons and/or valid arguments instead of saying "that's not a fact, that's your opinion"

ROFL. I had no idea your fanbase was as insecure as my own.

So you guys are melting down because I think a more valid approach would be too avoid assumptions of minimum placement. It's not even really about the Habs. It's about railroading.

Though I have pointed this out twice now all I'm getting are insults and people trying to convince me it's a given they are top 15, sprinkled with a mixture of comments about my team.

It should be obvious when I tell you I don't necessarily have them out of 15, just that it would be nice to have a broader range of options.

You have all responded with a bizarre combination of defensiveness or hostility despite me in no way saying your team is not in the top 15.

Your responses have been insane.

No need for more silly quotes to tell me they are an amazing group of wingers, it's irrelevant to my point.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I said top 6. They are very deep but don't have that superstar. Ahead of them for me is :
Tampa: Kucherov, Stamkos, Palat, Killorn, etc.
Florida: Huberdeau, Verhaeghe, Reinhart, Duclair, Hornqvist, Tippet
Colorado: Rantanen, Landeskog, Burakovsky
Vegas: Stone, Paccioretty, Smith, Marchessault, Janmark, Dadonov
NYR: Panarin, Kreider, Goodrow, and all the young guys

Just off the top of my head.

Toronto I’d add to you list

 

[BlueBaron]

Your opinion is an outlier.

Key word, opinion.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

Wow, Montreal fans get riled up real quick. While I don't think many people would put them below the top 15, it should absolutely be an option.
I see their wingers and think they're okay, nothing great, just okay.
There are quite a few teams that I think compare to this group, and wouldn't be at all surprised if someone legitimately see them as the 16th best group or quite possibly even lower.

 

[htpwn]

Toronto I’d add to you list

As a Leafs fan, I'm on the fence on that. Marner and Nylander would top the Habs group, but the rest of our winger group is really mediocre and relies on Bunting having a break-out year, Kase being healthy, and maybe Mikheyev finding an offensive touch.

For the Habs, I voted Top 9, but I think it is on the lower end of that (8-10 range) and an argument could be made for top 12. To be better than that, this group needs a game-breaking winger. Caufield could be that, but he's scored 17P in 30 career GP or a 46-point pace over an 82-game season. I get many of those points came in tight-checking playoff games and that the eye test suggests he has far more to give but he needs to actually do it first. It is a long, grinding season, especially for a guy who's 5'7." Let's see how he handles it before he's anointed a star.

I also wonder about Gallagher. An excellent, and frankly, underrated first-line winger when healthy. But he's coming off an injury plagued season and is turning 30 this coming year. A little early to fall off but we've seen it happen, and with his playing style, I'd have some concerns. Guys like Hoffman and Drouin are fairly typical peripheral scoring wingers, the former a pretty decent one, but nonetheless not a guy who is going to make or break a successful team and the latter of course with all sorts of concerns around him. Likewise, who the heck knows what Josh Anderson is at this point. On the one hand, you don't want to put too much stock into this shortened season after a long injury layoff; on the other hand, he scored at a 38-point pace in the regular season and did not look good at all from the playoff games I watched. I do like both Lehkonen and Armia.

In short, the group has the potential to be really good, but aside from Toffoli (who I didn't mention, because the following doesn't apply to him), there are a lot of question marks. Accordingly, from this admitted outsider's view, I voted Top 9. Could be top 6, bordering on top 3, but a lot of things need to go right (and though this question is about wingers specifically, the Habs' lack of strong centre depth is going to hinder the forward group as a whole).

 

[Crow]

It’s good but lacks high end talent. Comfortable with top 15, maybe top 12. Toffoli played out of his career norm in a short season and Caufield still has a lot to prove. Drouin is a question mark and is one dimensional. I don’t see why having some doubts isn’t a smart move and don’t see any vailidity in calling people haters for having that opinion.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Middle of the pack. 15-20.

 

[AvatarAang]

Should be an option just to weed out the trolls

Yet leaving “Best” as an option is perfectly acceptable?

Homers are so funny when they complain about trolls, like you’re just as bad lol.

 

[jetsforever]

I said top 6. They are very deep but don't have that superstar. Ahead of them for me is :
Tampa: Kucherov, Stamkos, Palat, Killorn, etc.
Florida: Huberdeau, Verhaeghe, Reinhart, Duclair, Hornqvist, Tippet
Colorado: Rantanen, Landeskog, Burakovsky
Vegas: Stone, Paccioretty, Smith, Marchessault, Janmark, Dadonov
NYR: Panarin, Kreider, Goodrow, and all the young guys

Just off the top of my head.

Winnipeg: Ehlers, Connor, Wheeler, Stastny or Dubois, Copp, Perfetti probably, Vesalainen