HF Habs: Montreal Canadiens Hockey Ops - Part 2

[montreal]

thanks for posting that, I didn't see that anywhere but he just impresses with with the way he talks and he just seems to get it so with him and MSL I am hopeful for the future and we know they likely drafted a number of NHLers with the 58 picks they have made in the last 6 drafts plus the 31 picks he currently owns for the next 3 years. That's a shit ton of picks so you just got to hope they hit on as many as possible and use others for more help.

Hughes said they still need a lot of help so he seems to understand where they are at as next season you will need to see them take another step up and then things could get interesting.

 

[Miller Time]

I think summer 2025 is the time.

Dvorak, Armia, Savard, Petry and Allen money all freed up.

Armia & Savard are playing at a solid level for depth vets.

There will be cap room to work with this summer.

We have a brewing log jam of quality D prospects & lots of draft capital.

I won't complain if they don't find the pieces or trade fit they are looking for at all... But I get the impression they will be assertive in giving their young core some support in pushing firmly into the playoff picture.

The issue with our roster is the Gally/ Anderson/Dvorak expensive & underperforming middle 6. 1 or 2 upgrades to the middle 6 & I think we're playoff bound and I suspect they have a similar view.

 

[Treb]

Armia & Savard are playing at a solid level for depth vets.

There will be cap room to work with this summer.

We have a brewing log jam of quality D prospects & lots of draft capital.

I won't complain if they don't find the pieces or trade fit they are looking for at all... But I get the impression they will be assertive in giving their young core some support in pushing firmly into the playoff picture.

The issue with our roster is the Gally/ Anderson/Dvorak expensive & underperforming middle 6. 1 or 2 upgrades to the middle 6 & I think we're playoff bound and I suspect they have a similar view.

They are fine depth vets but you can save about 3-4 millions and get similar players to replace both.

I am sure Hughes will do some moves to upgrade this team this summer (like he did since the 2022 draft), but 2025 is the year where he'll have the most space to do it.

 

[Miller Time]

They are fine depth vets but you can save about 3-4 millions and get similar players to replace both.

I'm not so sure about that... Especially this summer with the big cap bump & the Habs not being the likely destination for a vet of higher quality willing to take a big discount to sign a contender short term.

Both are playing at very good value for <3.5M cap hit. I bet this summer we'll see a bunch of similar or worse players signing at 4M$+

I am sure Hughes will do some moves to upgrade this team this summer (like he did since the 2022 draft), but 2025 is the year where he'll have the most space to do it.

After Arizona takes Price & once he finds a sucker to take Anderson & Gally off his hands is when we'll really have cap room to go all in

 

[Sorinth]

What I found interesting in the interview was Hughes linking getting better as a team with player motivation. So even if you aren't fighting for a playoff spot, if the players can see the team improve it gives them confidence that the team is on the right track which helps keep them motivated throughout the year and focused on their own improvement.

 

[Steve Shutt]

Curious if we will see any staff changes this summer. Curious who might be leaving or get promotions elsewhere and who we might be able to add

 

[WeThreeKings]

Curious if we will see any staff changes this summer. Curious who might be leaving or get promotions elsewhere and who we might be able to add

As long as Houle is replaced.

 

[Hope Of Glory]

Come on Kent, there's hope now. Our young core is great and showed solid progression. We need help in the top 6 so we can compete for the playoffs and be fighting until game 82 next year at the very least.

We have assets (even surplus assets on D) and cap space, there's no reason not to improve this team.

This is the first Kent offseason where I'll have at least some expectations.

 

[Treb]

Come on Kent, there's hope now. Our young core is great and showed solid progression. We need help in the top 6 so we can compete for the playoffs and be fighting until game 82 next year at the very least.

We have assets (even surplus assets on D) and cap space, there's no reason not to improve this team.

This is the first Kent offseason where I'll have at least some expectations.

Most of the cap and roster space is in 2025.

I could see some Dach/Newhook type move, but I expect 2025 to be the big summer.

We also have to see full seasons of Slaf (good season)/Newhook/Dach to know where we stand.

 

[Hope Of Glory]

Most of the cap and roster space is in 2025.

I could see some Dach/Newhook type move, but I expect 2025 to be the big summer.

We also have to see full seasons of Slaf (good season)/Newhook/Dach to know where we stand.

Yeah, 2025 is gonna be bigger but we'll still have decent money to spend on a forward. Won't be the end of the world if we do nothing big but this would build up the pressure on 2025. A Dach/Newhook type move would be perfecf but I wouldn't mind getting a more experienced UFA of we can avoid long term contracts (doubtful).

 

[Habsfan18]

Come on Kent, there's hope now. Our young core is great and showed solid progression. We need help in the top 6 so we can compete for the playoffs and be fighting until game 82 next year at the very least.

We have assets (even surplus assets on D) and cap space, there's no reason not to improve this team.

This is the first Kent offseason where I'll have at least some expectations.

Not sure what the value would be, but have to think Harris is the odd man out. Can’t see Barron having a whole lot of value.

Maybe we see Harris moved for a similarly aged forward who needs a change of scenery.

 

[Treb]

Not sure what the value would be, but have to think Harris is the odd man out. Can’t see Barron having a whole lot of value.

Maybe we see Harris moved for a similarly aged forward who needs a change of scenery.

But, do we need one? We already have a full team so we would need subsequent moves and therefore it should be a bona fide upgrade.

Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsky
Newhook - Dach - Gallagher/Anderson
RHP - Dvorak - Gallagher/Anderson
Pezzetta - Evans - Armia
Ylonen

With Roy, Farrell and Heineman already pushing from Laval.

Similar thing with the D

Matheson - Guhle
Xhekaj - Savard
Struble - Harris
Barron, Kovacevic

With Hutson, Reinbacher and Mailloux pushing.

We're getting farther from gamble time and closer to actual upgrade time.

 

[WeThreeKings]

They'll do something - it might not be anything massive, it could be a Copp or Compher like addition but they are gonna give a cookie to this group.

But next summer is definitely the time to make that big move. Not that they'd be shy to do it this summer, I just don't see anything but a potential Necas move. Reinhart is re-signing with Florida, I doubt Guentzel would come here nor is he the right age, Pesce would make sense if our D wasn't going to be stacked in short order, and Zegras sucks.

 

[Habs Icing]

Most of the cap and roster space is in 2025.

I could see some Dach/Newhook type move, but I expect 2025 to be the big summer.

We also have to see full seasons of Slaf (good season)/Newhook/Dach to know where we stand.

I don't know about that. My instincts (or maybe it's just my wish) tell me Hugo will make huge trades between now and the start of next season. Just look at that surplus of d-men.

On the left side: Matheson, Guhle, Harris, Struble, Huston, Xhekaj. That's six
On the right side: Savard, Kovacevic, Barron, Mailloux. That's four.

True, some of them are waiver-eligible but how do you send Mailloux, Xhekaj, Struble down and keep their morale up?

I feel he'll couple the excess defencemen with some draft picks and convert them to forward help. Unless they win the lottery, their top pick this year most likely will not play in the NHL and they need help in the forward position.