Speculation: Troll Thread: Cube wants to play a few more years

[Runner77]

We could debate every one of those moves... Like I said, his past performance doesn't look great. He's learning the ropes on the job and that doesn't bode well for us.

It does bother me as well that MB has not had any longstanding tenure at any of the management positions he held. I much prefer the portfolio of someone who was an understudy for 5 plus years as an assistant-GM. MB tried to make up for his shortcomings by assembling a League of Ex-Goon Lackeys. Who knows how much of their judgment was left impaired by undiagnosed concussions.

Again, cautiously optimistic that we'll see improvements going forward but he's got to start making net positive moves rather than bad or questionable ones. Turning down big overpriced FAs with bad contracts is great, but he's got to do more than that for us to win. Let's see what happens with Bouillion... if he re-signs him, then that's scary.

Biggest issue as I see it was how far off the charts the Habs were, pre-MB, in terms of what most teams have set-up as a minimal blueprint for success. With so many holes in terms of qualified overseers, player procurement deficiencies in both expertise and manpower, disjointed decision-making, the reliance on too few individuals at key positions, the perceived need to have an ex-Hab player in management to foster some kind of "winning tradition" -- MB had to build the organization from the ground up.

He did identify the deficiencies, jury is still out as to whether he addressed them with the right individuals. Also, his whole mantra about building through the draft is highly desirable, but he's on a short self-imposed cycle to deliver success.

To peg the team's fortunes on prospects while the teams keeps earning draft picks within the bottom third of every draft, will require the services of oracle to assist Timmins. Bottom line, I don't think MB can do it with the draft or even a combo of the UFA market and the draft -- he's got to learn to trade and trade well.

Especially if he really does want to build through the draft, the irony will be for him to trade in order to secure better draft selection slots than his team is likely to warrant based on their foreseeable regular season performances.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It does bother me as well that MB has not had any longstanding tenure at any of the management positions he held. I much prefer the portfolio of someone who was an understudy for 5 plus years as an assistant-GM. MB tried to make up for his shortcomings by assembling a League of Ex-Goon Lackeys. Who knows how much of their judgment was left impaired by undiagnosed concussions.

Biggest issue as I see it was how far off the charts the Habs were, pre-MB, in terms of what most teams have set-up as a minimal blueprint for success. With so many holes in terms of qualified overseers, player procurement deficiencies in both expertise and manpower, disjointed decision-making, the reliance on too few individuals at key positions, the perceived need to have an ex-Hab player in management to foster some kind of "winning tradition" -- MB had to build the organization from the ground up.

He did identify the deficiencies, jury is still out as to whether he addressed them with the right individuals. Also, his whole mantra about building through the draft is highly desirable, but he's on a short self-imposed cycle to deliver success.

To peg the team's fortunes on prospects while the teams keeps earning draft picks within the bottom third of every draft, will require the services of oracle to assist Timmins. Bottom line, I don't think MB can do it with the draft or even a combo of the UFA market and the draft -- he's got to learn to trade and trade well.

Especially if he really does want to build through the draft, the irony will be for him to trade in order to secure better draft selection slots than his team is likely to warrant based on their foreseeable regular season performances.

Good post.

I'll focus on the bold: He said all the right things but then with Briere he actually worsened the deficiencies. That was my issue with him. The Parros one I actually understood in the context of that move because quite frankly we were so small...

 

[Runner77]

He said all the right things but then with Briere he actually worsened the deficiencies. That was my issue with him. The Parros one I actually understood in the context of that move because quite frankly we were so small...

Thing is Brière's play has gathered steam in the second half of the season. All may not be lost on that front. But yes, Brière is a redundant and fragile asset whose health condition alone should have provided the Habs with sufficient ammunition to deny him a NMC. The mistakes with Brière were compounded both as a non-necessary signing, but also in terms of how they cowered to his demands -- the Habs should have been in a position of strength as Brière seemed deadset on a contract with his childhood team before calling it quits. Habs should have sensed his desperation.

Unfortunately, the torch-passing joke made it all-too-obvious that MB kneeled at the altar of all-too-powerful Habs Marketing Dept., aided and abetted by Geoff's gars-de-chez-nous obsession. Yes Geoff, le gars-de-chez-nous is a great crowd-pleaser for the locals (and a seamless moneymaker for you Geoff, where it counts the most), but next time, rather than skimp by signing a low-hanging, near-retirement, broken-down asset, save your cash and aim for someone whose better days are still ahead of him.

 

[Fazkovsky]

In europe? Yes Bouillon.. In the NHL? Maybe with the Sabres.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Thing is Brière's play has gathered steam in the second half of the season. All may not be lost on that front. But yes, Brière is a redundant and fragile asset whose health condition alone should have provided the Habs with sufficient ammunition to deny him a NMC. The mistakes with Brière were compounded both as a non-necessary signing, but also in terms of how they cowered to his demands -- the Habs should have been in a position of strength as Brière seemed deadset on a contract with his childhood team before calling it quits. Habs should have sensed his desperation.

Unfortunately, the torch-passing joke made it all-too-obvious that MB kneeled at the altar of all-too-powerful Habs Marketing Dept., aided and abetted by Geoff's gars-de-chez-nous obsession. Yes Geoff, le gars-de-chez-nous is a great crowd-pleaser for the locals (and a seamless moneymaker for you Geoff, where it counts the most), but next time, rather than skimp by signing a low-hanging, near-retirement, broken-down asset, save your cash and aim for someone whose better days are still ahead of him.

Why get Briere if he's not going to be played though? I mean don't MT and MB talk? Right from the get go it was clear that Briere wasn't fitting into our lineup. Just really strange.

Nevermind the fact that he was small, soft and the opposite of what MB said we needed.

 

[Runner77]

Why get Briere if he's not going to be played though? I mean don't MT and MB talk? Right from the get go it was clear that Briere wasn't fitting into our lineup. Just really strange.

That certainly wasn't the perception of Brière at the time he was signed. Reports at the time indicated they had plans for him as a top 6 -- there was some kind of sales job that everyone bought into. It all came crashing down when Brière didn't gel with MT at training camp, apparently had shown up out of shape and it spiralled down from there.

Nevermind the fact that he was small, soft and the opposite of what MB said we needed.

That's a whole other debate. Not everyone buys into the size thing. I don't know what to say, but look at how many here want to sign Czarnik's brother, start threads about adding players who are smaller than Brière, pursuing more diminutives at the draft table. It's quite the quagmire to question the contentment of those who minimize the importance of physicality and size in a contact sport.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

That certainly wasn't the perception of Brière at the time he was signed. Reports at the time indicated they had plans for him as a top 6 -- there was some kind of sales job that everyone bought into. It all came crashing down when Brière didn't gel with MT at training camp, apparently had shown up out of shape and it spiralled down from there.

That's a whole other debate. Not everyone buys into the size thing. I don't know what to say, but look at how many here want to sign Czarnik's brother, start threads about adding players who are smaller than Brière, pursuing more diminutives at the draft table. It's quite the quagmire to question the contentment of those who minimize the importance of physicality and size in a contact sport.

My problem isn't so much signing a smaller player. By all means do it if that player is elite. But ANOTHER mediocre, small, soft, older player? Why? It's not like he was going out and getting Claude Giroux.

And let's face it there were alternatives, Jagr being the most obvious.