Players to watch in 2018-19

[Captain Mountain]

Like I said, either you grumble eternally against the GM and owner, or either you take it easy and try to enjoy the new (underwhelming I agree) group of guys while drinking a good old Labatt 50.

Having seen the impressive run of Vegas' scrubs last season, the habs could surprise this year, who knows.

You can do both you know. "[W]ho knows" is a bad mentality, especially in large fanbases. Its basically how sad-sack organizations develop, since there's no impetus for ownership to actually address management issues or examine how they select management.

I'll be excited about specific players AND be critical of how the team is run, since there are players to be excited about AND management is a raging tire fire.

 

[OldCraig71]

Eh, Julien's got flaws, but he was willing to give young guys a shot with ice-time and situations.

Hudon was pretty good, apart from the fact that he has some awful puck luck with his shot. I don't think he's got one of the worst shots in the NHL, so I'm optimistic that he'll produce more next season. Lehkonen is kind of in the same boat, except no one was finishing around him either.

None of it will matter if the Habs can't start forcing goalies to move around more (which Domi might help with, although he'd be playing with, at most, one of Lehkonen and Hudon), but they're who I'm watching among the forwards next season.

Those are also the two guys I think would look significantly better with a strong center.

Hence the reason I asked if they were getting traded.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Hence the reason I asked if they were getting traded.

I understood, I just think they could have really good seasons regardless.

 

[OldCraig71]

I understood, I just think they could have really good seasons regardless.

I can't see it, neither is particularly good at driving the play and that's not a knock on either but just the way they play, Radulov was the last winger we had that could still produce in the absence of a good center and I would say that Kovalev was the last one we had before he came along. Pacioretty scored so many of his goals off long bomb passes from Subban and Markov and since neither of these guys have the luxury of having either version of those two on D I highly doubt that they are able to be very successful. ( I left out Galchenyuk because in my opinion he was at his best as a center).

 

[Captain Mountain]

I can't see it, neither is particularly good at driving the play and that's not a knock on either but just the way they play, Radulov was the last winger we had that could still produce in the absence of a good center and I would say that Kovalev was the last one we had before he came along. Pacioretty scored so many of his goals off long bomb passes from Subban and Markov and since neither of these guys have the luxury of having either version of those two on D I highly doubt that they are able to be very successful. ( I left out Galchenyuk because in my opinion he was at his best as a center).

They certainly aren't as skilled as Radulov, but there really aren't many players as skilled as Radulov in the NHL. I will say this about them:

Lehkonen:
-He's not much of a playmaker, but he's a shot generating machine. Close to Gallagher and better than Pacioretty.
-He was really unlucky with his shot last season. Even without a lot of distributors at center or on D, he's likely to rebound somewhat.
-He probably benefits more than anyone else if Pacioretty is traded considering they occupy similar roles.
-He's strong enough defensively to get minutes regardless.

Hudon:
-He's a strong passer that needs to get more confidence, but there's a strong playmaker there.
-He was even more snake-bit than Lehkonen and I don't think he's a worse shooter than a guy like De La Rose, especially since he's been a high percentage shooter at every other level.

Honestly, if you're holding either of them to the standard of Radulov, Kovalev and Pacioretty, you'll probably be very disappointed, because those are unfair expectations. They probably aren't going to be able to take over a game or be one of the best goal scorers in the NHL.

But both those guys are good at getting shots off, have good hands and transition the puck well. They don't take over the play by themselves, but they ARE VERY good at driving the play. That's why I'm keeping an eye on them.

 

[OldCraig71]

They certainly aren't as skilled as Radulov, but there really aren't many players as skilled as Radulov in the NHL. I will say this about them:

Lehkonen:
-He's not much of a playmaker, but he's a shot generating machine. Close to Gallagher and better than Pacioretty.
-He was really unlucky with his shot last season. Even without a lot of distributors at center or on D, he's likely to rebound somewhat.
-He probably benefits more than anyone else if Pacioretty is traded considering they occupy similar roles.
-He's strong enough defensively to get minutes regardless.

Hudon:
-He's a strong passer that needs to get more confidence, but there's a strong playmaker there.
-He was even more snake-bit than Lehkonen and I don't think he's a worse shooter than a guy like De La Rose, especially since he's been a high percentage shooter at every other level.

Honestly, if you're holding either of them to the standard of Radulov, Kovalev and Pacioretty, you'll probably be very disappointed, because those are unfair expectations. They probably aren't going to be able to take over a game or be one of the best goal scorers in the NHL.

But both those guys are good at getting shots off, have good hands and transition the puck well. They don't take over the play by themselves, but they ARE VERY good at driving the play. That's why I'm keeping an eye on them.

I am not comparing either to Radulov or Kovalev but I was trying to make the point that I think it will be tough for either Hudon or Leks to be productive because I feel like both are really in need of a strong center and I do agree that Lehkonen could benefit with a Pacioretty trade but only if we get a center for him to play with. Most of our young forwards have potential but we really need some leadership and talent in the middle of the ice before they can be more productive.

 

[Captain Mountain]

I am not comparing either to Radulov or Kovalev but I was trying to make the point that I think it will be tough for either Hudon or Leks to be productive because I feel like both are really in need of a strong center and I do agree that Lehkonen could benefit with a Pacioretty trade but only if we get a center for him to play with. Most of our young forwards have potential but we really need some leadership and talent in the middle of the ice before they can be more productive.

They don't need a strong center THAT much to be more productive. I feel pretty comfortable betting on improvement from players that have low shooting %s (much lower than at other levels) and great underlying numbers. Especially since they're coming off seasons where they didn't produce much. Unless they're some of the least effective shooters in the NHL, they'll be better next season.

Drouin has never been a good ES player in the NHL. Domi has never been a good scorer. Both have always been...liabilities in the defensive zone. Even Scherbak hasn't really done much at the NHL level.

Those guys need to make changes or improve inunexpected ways if they're going to be more than complementary pieces. Hudon and Lehkonen just have to finish more.

 

[Krnage]

i bet Alex Galchenyuk will have a great season with Arizona

 

[OldCraig71]

I am interested to see what happens with Daniel Carr.

 

[OldCraig71]

They don't need a strong center THAT much to be more productive. I feel pretty comfortable betting on improvement from players that have low shooting %s (much lower than at other levels) and great underlying numbers. Especially since they're coming off seasons where they didn't produce much. Unless they're some of the least effective shooters in the NHL, they'll be better next season.

Drouin has never been a good ES player in the NHL. Domi has never been a good scorer. Both have always been...liabilities in the defensive zone. Even Scherbak hasn't really done much at the NHL level.

Those guys need to make changes or improve inunexpected ways if they're going to be more than complementary pieces. Hudon and Lehkonen just have to finish more.

So if these guys falter as I expect they will, who else steps up for us?

 

[Habs Halifax]

The thing that frustrates me the most when looking at the Habs lineup is that I like our wing depth (even without Pacioretty). All our wingers have the ability to chip in anywhere between 10-30 goals each (depends on the player) but our center depth is just painful to look at. If we can get a top 6 center back for Pacioretty then our forward group would be quite competent.

The defense is another story though.

There are certainly a few holes to fill! Will our prospects do this in the next 3 years while Price and Weber are still on the right side of 35? We will find out. Until then, I'm looking forward to youth movement and selling off expiring assets.... Patch, Byron, and Petry. That should help return some solid futures on top of our own picks.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I am interested to see what happens with Daniel Carr.

Similar to what happened to Ghetto IMO.

 

[Captain Mountain]

So if these guys falter as I expect they will, who else steps up for us?

Potentially Lehkonen and Hudon. Gallagher. Price if last season was a fluke. Maybe Mete if he's in the NHL. After that... No one really. The roster is pretty terrible.

 

[OldCraig71]

Potentially Lehkonen and Hudon. Gallagher. Price if last season was a fluke. Maybe Mete if he's in the NHL. After that... No one really. The roster is pretty terrible.

We don't really have much of a physical presence either and it will be extremely tough for this group to win any games outside of the eastern conference.

 

[Captain Mountain]

We don't really have much of a physical presence either and it will be extremely tough for this group to win any games outside of the eastern conference.

Eh, Montreal was one of the more physical teams last season and were better than league average at both getting off shots in close and preventing shots in close. I'm honestly not that concerned about the physical presence. Maybe its an issue with board battles, but I think mobility and stick-work are the bigger issues for the team there. Montreal's problem is that don't really force D-men to skate or goalies to move in the crease and that they can't defend for shit.

As it is, physicality is become much less important league-wide.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Eh, Montreal was one of the more physical teams last season and were better than league average at both getting off shots in close and preventing shots in close. I'm honestly not that concerned about the physical presence. Maybe its an issue with board battles, but I think mobility and stick-work are the bigger issues for the team there. Montreal's problem is that don't really force D-men to skate or goalies to move in the crease and that they can't defend for ****.

As it is, physicality is become much less important league-wide.

we're just getting tinier and tinier though lol. I'm not even a 'moar size' type but christ we're freaking small. I like that we'll at least be speedier though. Armia might offset some of the lack of size and Domi might play bigger than Galch does so it might not be much worse.

I'm kind of worried about a bunch of hungry kids with things to prove can do to our tank. Even if they're mostly middle 6er types (whom I like mostly. Lot of these guys would be great complementary types if we had top talent for them to complement). I at least think this bunch will be more fun to watch than last year. Not by a helluva lot.