I think this is a playoff team if....

[Censored Toad]

ok.. got it.. wow I was slow on that one. it just didn't register.

1220 is also a number a close friend of mine uses so that might've confused me a bit.

random coincidence !

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I have to commend Nova Leaf for starting this provocative thread. Somehow, we have managed to fill 7 pages worth of posts dedicated to a disingenuous premise: namely, that there is any possible contingency in existence which could make the current edition of the Habs into a playoff team.

Sadly, there is nothing and never was anything real to discuss here. The Habs can only be a playoff team if things which can never and/or will never happen actually happen, which they won't. Bergevin isn't suddenly going to grow a brain, or suddenly come to the realization that his entire existence and everything he believes to be true is in fact bogus and become humbled. And when Bergevin is fired, as they all eventually are, Geoff Molson isn't suddenly going to change the way he does business and hire someone who doesn't fit the template that brought us Bergevin in the first place, and the others before him. The Habs as an organization aren't going to concede that goalies no longer matter very much or that defense no longer wins championships or that intangibles are meaningless when compared with actual skills like an ability to score goals.

The plausibility of the statement proffered in this thread relies on the Habs being both willing and able to fundamentally change who and what they are and have been for decades. Is it technically possible? Sure, in the way that it is technically possible that Justin Bieber will someday become a neurosurgeon. Possible, sure. But is it likely? Not really.

There always remains the possibility that the ownership group settles on another brother, or someone else entirely, with a different direction. All big dynastic franchises have gone through this sorta period, some have taken decades before they changed their way of doing and won again. It has happened, it can still happen. Nothing is static. Life is movement, life is change. Epiphanies do happen.

 

[Laurentide]

There always remains the possibility that the ownership group settles on another brother, or someone else entirely, with a different direction. All big dynastic franchises have gone through this sorta period, some have taken decades before they changed their way of doing and won again. It has happened, it can still happen. Nothing is static. Life is movement, life is change. Epiphanies do happen.

Even if all the necessary epiphanies happen in the next 5 minutes this team still ain't going to the playoffs this season. You know it. I know it.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Even if all the necessary epiphanies happen in the next 5 minutes this team still ain't going to the playoffs this season. You know it. I know it.

Yeah that's sure

 

[Kriss E]

Copycat

More like Great minds think alike mate! Cheers!

 

[nhlfan9191]

This is a playoff team if Price/Niemi have great seasons and we get some guys overachieving offensively. As far as the defense, I still don’t see it from a puck moving aspect which should sink us, but we do have a few guys who could surprise. Who knows, the season seems set up for failure.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I grant you that playing on a top team like Tampa made Sergachev's season look a bit shinier than if he'd played here. Plus the fact that our D was so weak and the guy we swapped for Sergachev underachieved gave the trade an even harsher contrast. However you see it right now, a complete evaluation of Sergachev and the trade only begins after two or three seasons, after both players have time and opportunity to reach their potential, whatever it is.

No doubt, Sergachev looks good. How good? We will see. It's just funny to me how Sergachev's value is pumped up while Drouin's is inflated and team performance is ignored. I guess we will have a better comparison between Galchenyuk/Coyotes and Domi/Habs. Both teams are bottom 3rd of the league

 

[Habs Halifax]

This is a playoff team if Price/Niemi have great seasons and we get some guys overachieving offensively. As far as the defense, I still don’t see it from a puck moving aspect which should sink us, but we do have a few guys who could surprise. Who knows, the season seems set up for failure.

Agreed. Lots of holes and concerns but the possibility of a wild card spot is there. I would love another bottom 5 finish but not so sure this happens. Lets see how camp, pre-season, and the first month of the season goes as this will dictate the trend for the rest of the season I would imagine.

Key points:

1. Price and the team defense needs to be much better. We won't be wining too many games allowing more than 2 or 3 goals a game. Goal scoring will be a challenge

2. PP and PK needs to be top 10 in the league (+/-).

3. The young players need to take steps forward. Lehkonen, Scherbak, Hudon, Armia, DLR, Mete, Juulsen.

4. Weber needs to come back 100%. No more major long term injuries to any impact players.

5. Center depth. Can Drouin, Danault, Pleky, DLR, Peca get the job done

 

[Habs Halifax]

Only 25 points?

That's almost as much as Benn and Alzner points totals (27). And they were #2-3 in points for Ds last season (not considering Weber)

25 points would have been great

Great or good? as far as only 25 pts... Who knows what numbers he would of put up or how Julien would of used him. I do remember lots of Habs fans saying Sergachev looked lost out there in his games with us and also said he might not even make our team last season. Not saying you said this but those comments were out there.

 

[PaulD]

This is a playoff team if Price/Niemi have great seasons and we get some guys overachieving offensively. As far as the defense, I still don’t see it from a puck moving aspect which should sink us, but we do have a few guys who could surprise. Who knows, the season seems set up for failure.

Last year MBs squad was out of play off race by November.

This year they were out by July.

I would say they are the best sure bet in the league for not making the play offs.

 

[BlackStar]

Threads like this keep Bergevin employed.

 

[CauZuki]

I agree with OP we are a playoff team , we just need:

- # 1 C
- # 2 C
- Top 2 D
- Top 4 D

I believe...

 

[Habs Icing]

For what it's worth, I liked the trade when it happened because, at the time, it looked like we were trying to build a good win-now roster. If your target is the next two years, a high-potential NHLer is worth more than a high-potential prospect. We still had Markov and Radulov, Weber was coming off a great season, defense was pretty good, Price was terrific, and Pacioretty was still an elite winger. The biggest need was more scoring, which Drouin helped address. Of course, Bergevin needed to keep going and get a top C, then re-sign the key guys like Rads and Markov. That would've been a credible direction to take and it looked like that was where he was heading.

Very possible the team still wouldn't have been strong enough, but it was a reasonable to build on the 103-point season they had, bolster the offence, and go for it, starting with Drouin. Instead, they ended with Drouin.

I see a very basic error in your post. You're assuming MB has the same intelligence as you do. That would be the case only if you had had three lobotomies, 2 concussions and a partridge fly through your ears.....carrying a pear tree in its beak. There is no rhyme or reason to this GM's stupidity and it pains me to read your post where you're assuming he's as intelligent as you are.

 

[peate]

More like Great minds think alike mate! Cheers!

And fools seldom differ.

 

[Lshap]

I see a very basic error in your post. You're assuming MB has the same intelligence as you do. That would be the case only if you had had three lobotomies, 2 concussions and a partridge fly through your ears.....carrying a pear tree in its beak. There is no rhyme or reason to this GM's stupidity and it pains me to read your post where you're assuming he's as intelligent as you are.

This is the single best way anyone has ever disagreed with me.

 

[Habs Icing]

This is the single best way anyone has ever disagreed with me.

I'm surprised by that, considering how many married men we have on this site.

 

[Belial]

Clearly, a lot of posters ignore the parity in this league...

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Clearly, some posters don't realize that no matter the parity in the league, there's a certain threshold of a mix of on-ice and off-ice talent that is required to at least reach the plaoffs, and that the Habs are nowhere near that threshold.

And dont give me the Vegas example. We don't have Gallant.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Clearly, some posters don't realize that no matter the parity in the league, there's a certain threshold of a mix of on-ice and off-ice talent that is required to at least reach the plaoffs, and that the Habs are nowhere near that threshold.

And dont give me the Vegas example. We don't have Gallant.

Gallant is a good coach, but crediting him with Vegas making the play-offs seems shortsighted. Vegas made the play-offs on excellent depth, taking advantage of some undervalued and underplayed guys, a complete buy in and some good shooting luck from their top guys. And Gallant.

 

[Haburger]

Clearly, a lot of posters ignore the parity in this league...

Alot of posters are just guessing.as if anyone really knows what will happen.thats why the nhl is the greatest league in the world...anything can happen.

 

[Belial]

Alot of posters are just guessing.as if anyone really knows what will happen.thats why the nhl is the greatest league in the world...anything can happen.

They're not even guessing, they're just going for the worst scenario possible...

 

[Haburger]

They're not even guessing, they're just going for the worst scenario possible...

Which is completey insane.no way possible it could be worse than last season.alot of habs are going to be disappointed when they see how this team plays this year.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

I just don't see a world where we are better than Tampa, Boston, Buffalo, Florida and Toronto for the next 10 years without at least another top 3 pick. Scraping into the playoffs would be bad for this teams future.

 

[montreal]

Threads like this keep Bergevin employed.

Molson being a cheap ass is what keeps Bergevin employed. Either that or MB has some major dirt on Molson cause nobody could f*** things up so badly and still keep their job like MB has.

 

[CauZuki]

Clearly, a lot of posters ignore the parity in this league...

What are you talking about , just because there is more parity in the league doesn't mean anything can happen...Those aren't the same thing and it's misrepresenting the situation.

Please provide a scenario where we are better than:

Tampa
Toronto
Boston
Washington
Pittsburgh
Philly
CBJ
NJ
Florida
Carolina
Buffalo

Even NYI are in better shape than us...

Any reason why you think cheering for the least likely scenario is a healthy behaviour?