HF Habs: Official Montreal Canadiens Off-Season Thread

[WeThreeKings]

I knew I was going to have someone comment this

I respect your opinion and I can see where you're coming from, I just disagree

I don't see many 34+ defenseman who really make a very big impact on the game.. and Weber suffers from the NHL going in a complete different direction than his skill set. He's not really a top defenseman in the game right now, in 2 years, after a tendon injury to his foot (when he's already not fleet of foot), the decline is going to be pretty bad for him.

A smart manager would sell him high right now..

 

[Yoshidas Island]

I don't see many 34+ defenseman who really make a very big impact on the game.. and Weber suffers from the NHL going in a complete different direction than his skill set. He's not really a top defenseman in the game right now, in 2 years, after a tendon injury to his foot (when he's already not fleet of foot), the decline is going to be pretty bad for him.

A smart manager would sell him high right now..

I agree the game is going in a different direction. I (personal opinion) don't see any reason as to why he can't be a 40 point, solid defensive option in 2 years.

If we decide to move on from Weber this offseason for the exact reason you're stating, I'd completely understand, but I'd also understand the decision to keep him.

 

[Adam Michaels]

 

[Habs 4 Life]

Wow and Bergerien didn't even use this as an excuse !!! I'm impressed

 

[Shabs]

Wow and Bergerien didn't even use this as an excuse !!! I'm impressed

He implied that byron’s Shoulder had a bad attitude this year.

 

[smirob]

I sincerely hope we don’t move picks this year for another Shawlike addition....we need to land on a few of our picks and despite who or gm is we need to plan for 3-5 years from now....

 

[montreal]

I sincerely hope we don’t move picks this year for another Shawlike addition....we need to land on a few of our picks and despite who or gm is we need to plan for 3-5 years from now....

It wouldn't surprise me in the least, the heat is fully on now or so I would think. The GM's biggest moves were made more to win now and so far it's blown up in his face in a major way. Losing Subban and Sergachev, you just can't give up that kind of talent and now we have to hope that Weber/Drouin can either help us win or return solid assets at some future date.

I would bet the farm that MB is telling himself that all will be well once Price rebounds, Weber is healthy, Drouin gets more comfortable at center. And he might be right, the problem is if gives up more future assets to try to right the ship just to make the playoffs. Guess we'll see what happens.

 

[CHfan1]

Wow and Bergerien didn't even use this as an excuse !!! I'm impressed

He’ll likely miss training camp and the start of next season. He’ll be an excuse of why they started the season so bad.

 

[BLONG7]

He’ll likely miss training camp and the start of next season. He’ll be an excuse of why they started the season so bad.

Injury to guys like Byron, make it hard to make da playoff...

 

[Unclewhalebone]

I would bet the farm that MB is telling himself that all will be well once Price rebounds, Weber is healthy, Drouin gets more comfortable at center.

I had to log in to post about this. What makes us sure that Price will be better next year. If it was Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, what makes us sure it will go away? If it is problems in his head brought on by personal issues, what makes us think those will blow away in the wind? If it was injuries catching up, what then?

This is the single most important thing to assess before any other signings, trades and game-plans are made. We need to know if we can count on our goalie. If we sign Tavares or trade for O'Reilly and we get below average goal-tending again, we will have compounded the problems AGAIN. If we are "going for it" we better have our lynch-pin.

 

[montreal]

I had to log in to post about this. What makes us sure that Price will be better next year. If it was Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, what makes us sure it will go away? If it is problems in his head brought on by personal issues, what makes us think those will blow away in the wind? If it was injuries catching up, what then?

This is the single most important thing to assess before any other signings, trades and game-plans are made. We need to know if we can count on our goalie. If we sign Tavares or trade for O'Reilly and we get below average goal-tending again, we will have compounded the problems AGAIN. If we are "going for it" we better have our lynch-pin.

for sure, 100%. It all starts and ends with Price. No matter what changes are made, if he doesn't return to at least close to what he was, we are just f***ed. 10.5M for one of the worst goalies in the league would be a disaster. Now that said who knows it's such a mystery if he can rebound or not. If he does, and he's back to a sub 2 gaa or even slightly over 2, the Habs will likely at least hang around a playoff spot especially if Weber is back to putting up 17-20 goals and they either get better play from Pac or a decent return on a trade for him.

 

[Unclewhalebone]

For sure. I guess I don't mean to be pessimistic about Price, just highly cautious. I sure hope the team knows the root of Price's troubles and will make decisions that are informed by that. I'm hoping that Bergevin is not just hoping.

 

[montreal]

For sure. I guess I don't mean to be pessimistic about Price, just highly cautious. I sure hope the team knows the root of Price's troubles and will make decisions that are informed by that. I'm hoping that Bergevin is not just hoping.

agreed we so badly need Price to be Price either to help win games or to up his trade value if he were to ever want out and we could find a dance partner to take on that massive contract.

 

[justafan22]

With the lottery on the 28th of April, and the results that may come after it, how much does the lottery in terms affect bergevin's moves this summer? If they get a top 3 but not #1 pick, do they trade it? Do they trade down?

 

[Zorba]

With the lottery on the 28th of April, and the results that may come after it, how much does the lottery in terms affect bergevin's moves this summer? If they get a top 3 but not #1 pick, do they trade it? Do they trade down?

Even if they get Dahlin , Bergevin needs to acquire and number one centre
If not , Dahlin or not we will still be a bottom feeder for a couple more years
If they do get Dahlin it changes the off season plan to only go after Centre. Defence will not be as much a concern

 

[LaP]

A lot.

If you get the 1st overall then it likely solves all the problems with the defense for many years to come. Maybe not next year but in the next 3 years it likely will. Dahlin, Mete and Alzner is potentially a perfectly fine left side. Weber, Petry, Juulsen and eventually maybe Brook or Fleury is potentially a perfectly fine right side. Then you can focus all your energy to solve the centers problem and throw lot of money at Tavares in the hope he wants to play in front of Weber, Dahlin and Price. If it doesn't work then you have lot of years to solve the center problems. This is good for the next 3-4 years :

Dahlin-Weber
Mete-Petry
Alzner-Juulsen

Then this could realistically work after that :

Dahlin-(Juulsen-Brook-Fleury)
Mete-Weber
UFA-(Juulsen-Brook-Fleury)

If you get the 2nd or 3rd overall then you will likely land an elite winger. Maybe not next year but in the next 3 years. Zadina and Schnikov are both the real deal. Svechnikov junior stats are impressive. Not only did he have a great season but statistically he did relatively well in playoffs too (did not watch any games). If you land any of those two then you can comfortably trade any winger for a LHD and throw lot of money at Tavares in the hope he wants to play with an upcoming winger having elite potential. If it doesn't work then you have a very young group of wingers with Drouin, AG, (Svechnikov or Zadina) and Gallagher and it gives you a lot of years to solve the center problem as long as the LHD you get with Patch is not too old.

If you get the 5th, 6th or 7th overall then you must think about maybe trading some vets and rebuild. I think past the 3rd overall there's very good players but it's not as clear cut as the top 3. Might be wrong but this is what it looks like. I'm not too familiar with Svechnikov but 40 goals in 44 games is very impressive for a 17 years old guy. I liked a lot what i saw of both Dahlin and Zadina at the u20. Huges and Tkachuk are both older and it is a concern. Boqvist and Wahlstrom are likely not ready and the other dmen are all RHD i think which is a bad fit for us unless we trade Weber or they can play on the left side.

 

[Weber Fan]

MB need to acquire 2 centers...Drouin has to play as a winger and i dont want to see DLR as our 3rd center!

 

[habsfan909]

MB need to acquire 2 centers...Drouin has to play as a winger and i dont want to see DLR as our 3rd center!

Pleks is coming back... will probably cost us an extra few million since he is now a 'proven playoff goal scorer'

 

[Apoplectic Habs Fan]

I will let you know when its apparent there is a plan

Outside of attitude and new hot dogs, we havent heard much of a plan

 

[LastWordArmy]

With an April with no hockey, fans of the Montreal Canadiens have inevitably turned their attention to the off-season. It goes without saying this is an important off-season for the Habs. The team is at a crossroads. Whether you are a fan of general manager Marc Bergevin or not, he needs a strong off-season to get the team back on track – and save his job. Most people can outline the best case scenario for the Habs in the off-season. Get lucky in the draft lottery and a few key free agent signings and the Canadiens are right back in the mix. Unfortunately, all of these things are out of Marc Bergevin‘s hands. Sometimes things don’t go your way. It is in this light that the people should also prepare for a worst case scenario Montreal Canadiens off-season.

Montreal Canadiens Off-Season Worst Case Scenario

 

[mariolemieux66]

With an April with no hockey, fans of the Montreal Canadiens have inevitably turned their attention to the off-season. It goes without saying this is an important off-season for the Habs. The team is at a crossroads. Whether you are a fan of general manager Marc Bergevin or not, he needs a strong off-season to get the team back on track – and save his job. Most people can outline the best case scenario for the Habs in the off-season. Get lucky in the draft lottery and a few key free agent signings and the Canadiens are right back in the mix. Unfortunately, all of these things are out of Marc Bergevin‘s hands. Sometimes things don’t go your way. It is in this light that the people should also prepare for a worst case scenario Montreal Canadiens off-season.

Montreal Canadiens Off-Season Worst Case Scenario

I guess i am ok with signing Jack Johnson to a 2 years deal max and trade him at the deadline, which leaves Juulsen and Mete in the AHL for much needed top minutes.

Its very true we can't afford giving any UFAs, unless it's Tavares, long term deals. I really hope nobody wants to sign here. This team is such a mess.

 

[webersshot]

I don't see many 34+ defenseman who really make a very big impact on the game.. and Weber suffers from the NHL going in a complete different direction than his skill set. He's not really a top defenseman in the game right now, in 2 years, after a tendon injury to his foot (when he's already not fleet of foot), the decline is going to be pretty bad for him.

A smart manager would sell him high right now..

I just watched a 41 year old chara hold the prodigal son of leaf land to 2 points for 7 games. Weber is of the same mold. I just can’t agree with ya man. I’m sorry, but we’re talking about Shea Weber here. This guy is elite because of how well positioned he is, his rocket shot, and simply the fact that he’s a mountain of a man. None of those things are going to be subject to much deterioration for awhile. If chara can do what he’s doing, shea can too. Yes he needs to be surrounded better but he’s being sold short

 

[Hannibal]

How is JJD still in charge?

Ffs...

 

[L4br3cqu3]

How is JJD still in charge?

Ffs...

 

[yianik]

It wouldn't surprise me in the least, the heat is fully on now or so I would think. The GM's biggest moves were made more to win now and so far it's blown up in his face in a major way. Losing Subban and Sergachev, you just can't give up that kind of talent and now we have to hope that Weber/Drouin can either help us win or return solid assets at some future date.

I would bet the farm that MB is telling himself that all will be well once Price rebounds, Weber is healthy, Drouin gets more comfortable at center. And he might be right, the problem is if gives up more future assets to try to right the ship just to make the playoffs. Guess we'll see what happens.

Yeah, and he picks Tkachuk with our 1st except if its Dahlin because its his kind of player and he thinks Tkachuk can play this coming season to help him keep his job. And sure, out go 2nds for grit and attitude.

So what could have been the start of a renewal ends up being the beginning of the death spiral.

All on Molson if this goes south.