How much, if any, upside is there to this team?

[tinyzombies]

So far, I only see a handful of guys pulling their weight:

Price, Subban, Markov, Pac, DD, ?

Lately Emelin has brought his game up.

But I what kind of upside can we expect from Pleks (even tho he's an admirable +11), Gallagher, Eller, Briere, Gionta?

Can Gorges come back fresh and be his best? Can Tinordi take the next step?

Click to read more...

 

[Alexdaman]

Well its no mystery that Pleks, Briere, Gionta don't have much of an upside anymore. I dont even think the question should be asked. They are what they are and they bring to the table enough to give a team a good chance to make the PO.

One day Gallagher will break the 60pts mark when Galchenyuk becomes the #1 C.

There is still some hope for Eller.

Gorges will be has been in the past, his upside comes when the team can show off one of the best PK unit in the league.

 

[MsChanandlerBong]

Well this is just an awful thread.

 

[Saintpatrick*]

We're getting hot just at the right time we're on a 3 game winning streak and you see no upside to this team? We have one of the best defenseman and goalies in the league. Gally is a little beast, Patches is one of the top goal scorers in the league, Chucky is a stud in the making and Pleks is one of the best two way players in the league. Nah no upside to this team whatsoever.

 

[BRAD HABSFAN]

THERE IS MORE UPSIDE TO THIS TEAM THEN 50% OF PEOPLE ON HERE BELIEVE.

 

[Binary Code]

Not every team have an elite G, D and F (Patches is near elite IMO), we are pretty good when you think about it.

When the whole team plays together (like Ottawa 3rd period or last game vs. Ducks) we can beat anyone in this league.

 

[Et le But]

Just imagine if we had a competent coach.

 

[Andy]

Gallagher, Eller, Galchenyuk, Subban could all play a better than what they currently are, especially Eller.

Consistency from Bourque and Emelin would help as well as more offense from Plekanec.

Unlikely to have all 23 players playing at their absolute best in a single season.

Galchenyuk and Gallagher taking the next step offensively could change the make up of the forwards.

Only a handful of players are playing up to their expectations this year. Aside from them, almost every other player has regressed a little.

 

[DJ Breadman]

The upside is Price, Subban, Gallgher, patches, Galchenyuk honorable mention Bil and tinordi not too bad, much better then we have had in a long time but we are not there yet

 

[JoelWarlord]

Pacioretty- 6th in the league in goals.
Subban- Year removed from a Norris.
Price- Monster season, olympic gold medal, in Vezina contention.
Plekanec- One of the best two way centers in the league, capable of shutting down opposing teams' top players.
Vanek- All star forward with multiple 30 and 40 goal years to his name.
Markov- One of the game's premier power play guys and an excellent passer.
Gallagher- 20 goal scorer and pest in his ELC.
Galchenyuk- 19 year old good enough to be a top 6 player on most teams with all star potential.
Eller- Two way center with size who has been productive in the past, unfortunately has been neutered by the coach this year.
Beaulieu- NHLer at 21 years old with top pairing potential.
Tinordi- NHLer at 22 who looks ready for regular duty with more puck moving ability than most guys of his play style.

No upside bro.

I actually find this mindset to be very annoying. Just because the Habs were mediocre for a long time does not mean they still are.

 

[Bob b smith]

So far, I only see a handful of guys pulling their weight:

Price, Subban, Markov, Pac, DD, ?

Lately Emelin has brought his game up.

But I what kind of upside can we expect from Pleks (even tho he's an admirable +11), Gallagher, Eller, Briere, Gionta?

Can Gorges come back fresh and be his best? Can Tinordi take the next step?

There's offensive upside in the 2nd and 3rd line. 1st and 4th line are already pulling their weight.

Considering their defensive role, I think the Habs are also getting as much as they can from Gionta and Pleks.

I think Galchenyuk will bring more as he plays more minutes. Then you hope MT can somehow fix the lines to get much more out of Brière, Eller and even Bourque. If you want a real spike in production it needs to come from the scapegoats.

 

[Hackett]

The upside is dangerous. The upside is 3 balanced scoring lines and a good role type 4th line.

The upside is Carey price being elite in the playoffs.

Then there is the game breaking ability of subban on the back end. Even the PP is underachieving

Of course, every single star aligning is very unlikely, but some of them might.

 

[Smokey Thompson]

If Galchenyuk and Gallagher can rekindle the chemistry they had last season and at the start of this season, that second line can be a big factor in the playoffs.

Eller has looked better of late, and can hopefully make an impact in the playoffs.

Briere's playoff history is also very intriguing.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Just imagine if we had a competent coach.

This.

Imagine us with a system that allowed us to play to our strengths and get more than one line scoring with any kind of consistency. There's lots of upside for the roster we have now nevermind one that we could improve with some good moves next offseason.

If we can keep Vanek and get rid of some of the deadwood while replacing them with good players, this team can go far in the near future. We've got holes but with Vanek we're not that far off.

 

[AmeriHab]

Imagine of we had Bouchard coaching and the team's PP got back on track

 

[lou4gehrig]

Plenty of upside. We're stuck in the win at all costs mode now at the expense of development. We have the top prospect / number one center top young D and top young goalie in the league. Thats a great core.

Look at St Louis a few yeara ago. They played the young guys and now look at them. We need to dump the vets and ageing players, resist the impatient media and fire MT.

Let's start next season with PK, Price, Galchenyuk and MaxPac as our leaders and build from there.

 

[TRG]

Pacioretty- 6th in the league in goals.
Subban- Year removed from a Norris.
Price- Monster season, olympic gold medal, in Vezina contention.
Plekanec- One of the best two way centers in the league, capable of shutting down opposing teams' top players.
Vanek- All star forward with multiple 30 and 40 goal years to his name.
Markov- One of the game's premier power play guys and an excellent passer.
Gallagher- 20 goal scorer and pest in his ELC.
Galchenyuk- 19 year old good enough to be a top 6 player on most teams with all star potential.
Eller- Two way center with size who has been productive in the past, unfortunately has been neutered by the coach this year.
Beaulieu- NHLer at 21 years old with top pairing potential.
Tinordi- NHLer at 22 who looks ready for regular duty with more puck moving ability than most guys of his play style.

No upside bro.

I actually find this mindset to be very annoying. Just because the Habs were mediocre for a long time does not mean they still are.

Except some seasons here and there, Habs have been performing decently since 2002. Key word here is decent. Mediocre would be the Panthers, the Jets/Thrashers, the Oilers or the Leafs.

But I believe the pieces are there to go the next level. With that said, I'm intrigued by what this team can do in the playoffs. Barring a surprize injury, Habs will be healthy by the playoffs, including our super 4th line. And we have Carey Price.

 

[JohnLennon]

Pacioretty- 6th in the league in goals.
Subban- Year removed from a Norris.
Price- Monster season, olympic gold medal, in Vezina contention.
Plekanec- One of the best two way centers in the league, capable of shutting down opposing teams' top players.
Vanek- All star forward with multiple 30 and 40 goal years to his name.
Markov- One of the game's premier power play guys and an excellent passer.
Gallagher- 20 goal scorer and pest in his ELC.
Galchenyuk- 19 year old good enough to be a top 6 player on most teams with all star potential.
Eller- Two way center with size who has been productive in the past, unfortunately has been neutered by the coach this year.
Beaulieu- NHLer at 21 years old with top pairing potential.
Tinordi- NHLer at 22 who looks ready for regular duty with more puck moving ability than most guys of his play style.

No upside bro.

I actually find this mindset to be very annoying. Just because the Habs were mediocre for a long time does not mean they still are.

Thank you for the breath of fresh air. Nice to see some warranted optimism in these boards. You'd think we were the Maple Leafs with all the whining that's been going on. I agree completely with your outlook.

 

[JoelWarlord]

Except some seasons here and there, Habs have been performing decently since 2002. Key word here is decent. Mediocre would be the Panthers, the Jets/Thrashers, the Oilers or the Leafs.

But I believe the pieces are there to go the next level. With that said, I'm intrigued by what this team can do in the playoffs. Barring a surprize injury, Habs will be healthy by the playoffs, including our super 4th line. And we have Carey Price.

I just mean that I think Habs fans have become overly pessimistic about the roster because it was so bad for so long. If people don't see the difference between Subban and Hamrlik as your #1 D, Pacioretty and Ryder as your top forward, Aebischer/Huet and 2013-14 Carey Price...

It leads to things like people saying Therrien is "doing the best he can with this roster" which is just nonsense. I don't quite think the roster is a cup contender but I don't think it's very far off (upgrade on DD - ideally Galchenyuk, and an upgrade on Emelin would be all it would take to be a reasonable contender.)

Thank you for the breath of fresh air. Nice to see some warranted optimism in these boards. You'd think we were the Maple Leafs with all the whining that's been going on. I agree completely with your outlook.

Well yeah, I mean what's unfortunate is there are a lot of similarities between the management and coaching of the Leafs and Habs but the rosters aren't even remotely similar.

I know that there has been an air of positivity many times but this time it is different. Instead of being amped about David Fisher it's PK Subban. Instead of excitement around Higgins it's Pacioretty. Price has reached the point where we can stop talking about if he'll ever reach the hype.

 

[Kriss E]

We definitely have some interesting upside. The issue is that it's rather unproven in the POs.

I can't recall of any team doing well in the POs without having some players in it scoring at or around a ppg pace. These playoffs are going to be a good test for us because the East is really wide open and there's no reason for us (as of today) not to at least get past the 1st rd.

 

[FlyingKostitsyn]

Several of our players underachieved offensively this season, the team could surprise.

We have also a pretty good core moving forward, altho several teams can claim that, we all hope the best for our young players.