And for most of us this team isn’t on the up unless big, brave moves are made. Moves that you can’t trust the GM to make.
Whose "most of us"?
Is this the same "most of us" who thought the Galchenyuk for Domi trade was the worst trade ever?
I don't expect fans, especially Habs fans, to think things are on the up. I always expect Habs fans to expect the worse, that what we do.
This team left very little on the table, several players had an excellent season, and the CH still didn’t make it. All in all, we still have a very flawed roster that now has a lesser chance to get an elite talent via the draft.
The Habs will end up missing the playoffs by basically 1 win...and it's not like this is an aging team, yes they still have holes on the roster.
But last year at this time, things were hopeless at center...today things look MUCH better.
Hopefully, similar progress can be made in other areas of the roster, at the very least, you should be able to acknowledge that it IS possible to address roster needs with some creativity.
IMO, the only way the Habs are going to become contenders, is by accumulating as many assets as they can prospect wise, so more drafts like we've had the last 2yrs...we've got another 10 picks this draft, another strong draft and the asset base of this team will, IMO, be the best it's been in many years.
And yes, despite common belief, it's possible to add talent via the draft even out of the top 5. Most of this teams prospects were acquired outside the top 5, actually, all of them were.
So you're certainly entitled to think things are bad...that's your right and for many Habs fans, it's a way of life.
But I'm also entitled to feel like there's hope and there's been progress this year. That's what I wanted to see this year and on that front, I'm satisfied.
Next year, my expectations will be higher...