HF Habs: Montreal Canadiens Hockey Ops - Part 2

[Max2]

Continuity and stability are important.If the Blue Jackets come sniffing around looking to talk to Gorton, I tell them to go pound sand and hustle somewhere else

 

[Adriatic]

Savard should shut up as he is the one that recommended Bergevin to begin with. Like based on what? Size of his biceps?

You're a smart one!

 

[dcyhabs]

Did Slaf really look like he was busting or was it more a case of him being in the wrong place for his first go in NA?
I had no issues with people being critical of his play but writing him completely off like they did was plain dumb.

Were people writing him off or suggesting that maybe he shouldn't have played in the NHL at 18? Looks like he figured it out but some of the hits he took may have long term effects.

 

[rik schau]

Were people writing him off or suggesting that maybe he shouldn't have played in the NHL at 18? Looks like he figured it out but some of the hits he took may have long term effects.

He should not have been in the NHL last year. It was evident he was not ready but how the injuries incurred and what ramification they have down the road is difficult to know without exact knowledge of what said injuries were.

 

[dcyhabs]

Savard should shut up as he is the one that recommended Bergevin to begin with. Like based on what? Size of his biceps?

Savard had his own businesses going and stopped paying enough attention to hockey while he was still GM in Montreal. He had good years but he wasn't the guy who should have been giving input on the GM search almost 20 years after he lost his NHL focus.

 

[donghabs98]

how did we keep this asshole for as long as we did.

Molson deserves blame here. Surely he must have known what was going on.

 

[HuGo Sham]

Molson deserves blame here. Surely he must have known what was going on.

also must be coincidental these articles pop up when GM vacancies open. bargainbin made lots of enemies here

 

[Rapala]

also must be coincidental these articles pop up when GM vacancies open. bargainbin made lots of enemies here

Enemy Number One Right Here.

 

[Vachon23]

Savard should shut up as he is the one that recommended Bergevin to begin with. Like based on what? Size of his biceps?

He was a good candidates back in 2012

- Have touch at every management position from the best organization in the league
- Was consider as one of the best futur GM around the league
- Refreshing personality after Pierre Gauthier

It happen everywhere that you think you have a great candidate after interviewing him and looking at his pedigree but you realize that he wasn’t what you thought you where getting

 

[Skip Bayless]

how did we keep this asshole for as long as we did.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

He was a good candidates back in 2012

- Have touch at every management position from the best organization in the league
- Was consider as one of the best futur GM around the league
- Refreshing personality after Pierre Gauthier

It happen everywhere that you think you have a great candidate after interviewing him and looking at his pedigree but you realize that he wasn’t what you thought you where getting

I'm curious how it would have gone if Jim Nill had come here.

 

[Miller Time]

I'm curious how it would have gone if Jim Nill had come here.

Better still... Had Molson/Gainey been smart enough to lure Yzerman rather than hand off to Gauthier...

Bolts run looks a lot different and we'd have had a competent leader in place to build around Price/PK in their prime... What could've been.

 

[Habs13]

Geoff Molson.
I called for his ass as President in year three. We needed a buffer at the very least.

I've met Molson a few times and he is a pompous, entitled ass.

 

[Leto]

Better still... Had Molson/Gainey been smart enough to lure Yzerman rather than hand off to Gauthier...

Bolts run looks a lot different and we'd have had a competent leader in place to build around Price/PK in their prime... What could've been.

Or Julien BriseBois... The guy was a homegrown talent and we let him go to Tampa.

 

[Scintillating10]

I've met Molson a few times and he is a pompous, entitled ass.

He could rub you wrong way time to time by Geoff good fellow. I use to email him back and forth on old Scout boards, he was Molson Man.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Their body of work with the Rangers is far from stellar. Props to JG for hiring KH though.

I'm not going to sit here and defend Bobrov for his body of work in New York, but in Montreal, he's not running the show solo. He and Lapointe share the load. And further to that, Bobrov has a different group of scouts than he did in New York. So the scouting talents and view points he hears in the meetings are different than those he had in New York. And that could benefit Bobrov.

We know most of the Bobrov/Lapointe picks haven't turned pro, and that could all change once they do, but in 2022 and 2023, you can't say they haven't made intriguing selections.

2022: Slaf, Mesar, Beck & Hutson are their first four picks. Slaf is blossoming in front our very own eyes. Mesar is having a better season in Kitchener than last year. And at the WJC, we saw what he brings to the table. Beck is in Saginaw and showing that he has offence in his game while knowing he is already steady defensively. And what to say about Hutson, who is setting recorts among D in the NCAA. And then you have someone like Engstrom among that group.

2023: Reinbacher, Fowler, Xhekaj & Konyushkov are their first four picks. While he wasn't many people's pick, Reinbacher is going to be a stud. Fowler looks like he can be a future #1, he's as stellar as stellar can be. Xhekaj is showing that he isn't just a grinder who drops the gloves, he's displaying an offensive game we didn't think he had. And Konyushkov is a 21-year old in the KHL playing top pair minutes (a rarity over there) and he's producing. He's their top scoring D by far. And he's 5th in scoring on his team.

We'll see who pans out and who doesn't, they won't all be what we project them to be. But I look at that group of picks and I feel like Bobrov/Lapointe and their team of scouts have added some real intriguing and exciting prospects.

 

[Vachon23]

I'm curious how it would have gone if Jim Nill had come here.

Sadly he wasn’t speaking French…

Serge Savard once said that Vincent Damphousse would probably have been the choice if he didn’t withdraw from the race

 

[salbutera]

I'm curious how it would have gone if Jim Nill had come here.

He didn’t ever even want to and found a convenient excuse given he had no issue taking Stars GM job despite his wife still under treatment the following spring

 

[Barriwhite]

I'm not going to sit here and defend Bobrov for his body of work in New York, but in Montreal, he's not running the show solo. He and Lapointe share the load. And further to that, Bobrov has a different group of scouts than he did in New York. So the scouting talents and view points he hears in the meetings are different than those he had in New York. And that could benefit Bobrov.

We know most of the Bobrov/Lapointe picks haven't turned pro, and that could all change once they do, but in 2022 and 2023, you can't say they haven't made intriguing selections.

2022: Slaf, Mesar, Beck & Hutson are their first four picks. Slaf is blossoming in front our very own eyes. Mesar is having a better season in Kitchener than last year. And at the WJC, we saw what he brings to the table. Beck is in Saginaw and showing that he has offence in his game while knowing he is already steady defensively. And what to say about Hutson, who is setting recorts among D in the NCAA. And then you have someone like Engstrom among that group.

2023: Reinbacher, Fowler, Xhekaj & Konyushkov are their first four picks. While he wasn't many people's pick, Reinbacher is going to be a stud. Fowler looks like he can be a future #1, he's as stellar as stellar can be. Xhekaj is showing that he isn't just a grinder who drops the gloves, he's displaying an offensive game we didn't think he had. And Konyushkov is a 21-year old in the KHL playing top pair minutes (a rarity over there) and he's producing. He's their top scoring D by far. And he's 5th in scoring on his team.

We'll see who pans out and who doesn't, they won't all be what we project them to be. But I look at that group of picks and I feel like Bobrov/Lapointe and their team of scouts have added some real intriguing and exciting prospects.

All good points.

I agree, that is an intriguing group.

Still, I just can’t help but feel underwhelmed that the head scout spearheading this rebuild came packaged with the new VP of hockey ops. There wasn’t a rising star somewhere in the league that we could have poached? Maybe Bobrov was the best option, but the optics are that he was the easiest option.

 

[donghabs98]

Better still... Had Molson/Gainey been smart enough to lure Yzerman rather than hand off to Gauthier...

Bolts run looks a lot different and we'd have had a competent leader in place to build around Price/PK in their prime... What could've been.

Had Gainey promoted Brisebois to get him to stick around till post Gauthier things might have panned out a little different.

 

[Barriwhite]

Had Gainey promoted Brisebois to get him to stick around till post Gauthier things might have panned out a little different.

I’m on the fence about Brisebois. I mean, he’s a lawyer, knows how to work the CBA, but how much of a hockey mind/ talent evaluator is he? Hard to really tell with the good on ice situation (and presumably off ice) Yzerman left him.

 

[Vachon23]

Had Gainey promoted Brisebois to get him to stick around till post Gauthier things might have panned out a little different.

It’s Brisebois who wanted to see how things work in other organizations (what is a good idea). Gainey couldn’t have done anything to keep him

 

[jrom]

Better still... Had Molson/Gainey been smart enough to lure Yzerman rather than hand off to Gauthier...

Bolts run looks a lot different and we'd have had a competent leader in place to build around Price/PK in their prime... What could've been.

Even simpler, they had Julien Brisebois in their backyard…

 

[Adam Michaels]

All good points.

I agree, that is an intriguing group.

Still, I just can’t help but feel underwhelmed that the head scout spearheading this rebuild came packaged with the new VP of hockey ops. There wasn’t a rising star somewhere in the league that we could have poached? Maybe Bobrov was the best option, but the optics are that he was the easiest option.

You know how it works in hockey. People bring people they previously worked with to their new organization. When you have a familiarity and you know you work well with a person and you have a trust, you will bring them in.

Another example is Dubas hired Spezza in Toronto. As soon as he gets the Pens gig, he brings Spezza over.

I would say that goes beyond just hockey and sports. There is something to be said about working with people you trust and have previously worked with.

 

[Rapala]

I'm not going to sit here and defend Bobrov for his body of work in New York, but in Montreal, he's not running the show solo. He and Lapointe share the load. And further to that, Bobrov has a different group of scouts than he did in New York. So the scouting talents and view points he hears in the meetings are different than those he had in New York. And that could benefit Bobrov.

We know most of the Bobrov/Lapointe picks haven't turned pro, and that could all change once they do, but in 2022 and 2023, you can't say they haven't made intriguing selections.

2022: Slaf, Mesar, Beck & Hutson are their first four picks. Slaf is blossoming in front our very own eyes. Mesar is having a better season in Kitchener than last year. And at the WJC, we saw what he brings to the table. Beck is in Saginaw and showing that he has offence in his game while knowing he is already steady defensively. And what to say about Hutson, who is setting recorts among D in the NCAA. And then you have someone like Engstrom among that group.

2023: Reinbacher, Fowler, Xhekaj & Konyushkov are their first four picks. While he wasn't many people's pick, Reinbacher is going to be a stud. Fowler looks like he can be a future #1, he's as stellar as stellar can be. Xhekaj is showing that he isn't just a grinder who drops the gloves, he's displaying an offensive game we didn't think he had. And Konyushkov is a 21-year old in the KHL playing top pair minutes (a rarity over there) and he's producing. He's their top scoring D by far. And he's 5th in scoring on his team.

We'll see who pans out and who doesn't, they won't all be what we project them to be. But I look at that group of picks and I feel like Bobrov/Lapointe and their team of scouts have added some real intriguing and exciting prospects.

Anyone who saw the video posted here of the draft team in action should not be questioning the process. It's in good hands.
The only two who I found to be questionable unfortunately were Boisvert and Audette. They seemed a cut below for some reason.