HF Habs: When Does Our Postseason Fate Sort Itself Out? Rebuild Thread

[atrud66]

MOD: Couple ground rules since we are doing this.
- Still no tank talk in Pre/Post game and GDT
- Just posting consecutive tank pictures with no discussion will be considered spamming. This is a message board, not a meme board.

The Habs are currently two points back of Toronto for second in the Atlantic and five points behind Philly for the second wild card spot. Montreal is also only 6 points up on LA for 28th in the league. How confident are you guys that we'll make the playoffs? At what point in the season/schedule do you think the outcome of the season will become clearer?

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[HOPE]

we aren't making the playoffs.

and hopefully we don't stay in the race for too long so we can make a quicker decision and actual sell high on some assets and get a good package back.

 

[Slashers98]

They will lose 3 of the next 4 road games then they host Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh who always beat them at home, so they will be out of contention by January 5th, 2020.

 

[badfish]

I think with parity the Habs will stay in it until the last 5 games of the season.

I'm divided. I miss Montreal playoff hockey. The east seems wide open this year and an upset of the top teams combined with a hot streak, I can see a wildcard team going deep in the east this year. But it's also a fantastic draft class this year and I think one more top 10 pick would go far for the Habs re tool.

 

[the]

Get to the playoffs and call it a day

 

[Tabarouette]

as both wild cards will be in the metro for sure, the only way would be to finish top 3 in the atlantic. I still have a hard time believing Tampa will keep playing like this all year, and that Toronto won't go up, and that Florida won't go up.

Add to that that all 3 of those teams have significantly easier schedules than us for the rest of the season according to the strength of schedule stats thingy

we're not making the playoffs

 

[Chili]

Kept waiting for a move to strengthen the blueline last summer, when it didn't happen thought their fate was sealed then. But they got off to a good start with a pretty tough early schedule. With the struggles against teams practically out of the race already like the Wings and Devils since then the question is can they stay in what looks like 5 teams chasing two spots? Odds are against them.

 

[ahmedou]

No commitment. When'll commit to something then we shall see. That's hockey 101...

 

[Mrb1p]

Team isnt making the POs, Tampa, TO, Florida and Buffalo will pass the habs sooner or later.

 

[BLONG7]

Sad, what MB has done to the team, and fans. Our discussions reflect this.

 

[Habs]

Probably by the Allstar Break, as usual. I think thats when the team starts booking golf vacations.

They will be just good enough to draft around 15, instead of top 3. You don't rebuild with 15th overall picks, and you don't rebuild with this scouting crew and GM, so it doesn't matter anyways.

 

[jaffy27]

Early April

 

[jaffy27]

No commitment. When'll commit to something then we shall see. That's hockey 101...

For 2yrs he’s committed to youth and playing them, acquiring picks hence the 33 picks in 3 yrs and not trading for rentals for significant assets.

 

[sheed36]

Sad, what MB has done to the team, and fans. Our discussions reflect this.

You forgot to include Molson who seems absolutely fine with how MB is doing things. It seems every time Molson and/or MB open their mouths the bar and expectations for the Habs gets set even lower.

As for the thread title I think the Habs will continue to battle for a playoff spot all season but will fall short yet again due to lack of talent and the other teams they're battling with being more talented and better. Expecting the Habs to miss the playoffs and pick between 10-12 at the 2020 draft but hoping for an even higher pick.

 

[CH25]

It's over. That 8 game losing streak cost them the season.

 

[BLONG7]

For 2yrs he’s committed to youth and playing them, acquiring picks hence the 33 picks in 3 yrs and not trading for rentals for significant assets.

The problem is, he has been on the job for 8 years, and still seems to lean on his training wheels. All the while lowering expectations so low, even the ants complain the bar is too low.

 

[habamillions]

we aren't making the playoffs.

and hopefully we don't stay in the race for too long so we can make a quicker decision and actual sell high on some assets and get a good package back.

This.

 

[jaffy27]

The problem is, he has been on the job for 8 years, and still seems to lean on his training wheels. All the while lowering expectations so low, even the ants complain the bar is too low.

Training wheels are off.....in this regard, he at least picked a direction and is sticking to the plan

tge six years prior saw us with multiple 100pt seasons and some playoff success. But that’s gone now.

you won’t see picks dealt unless it’s for a substantial return.....no Hall type deals in OUR horizon

 

[Mrb1p]

For 2yrs he’s committed to youth and playing them, acquiring picks hence the 33 picks in 3 yrs and not trading for rentals for significant assets.

What has been the narrative about the playoffs?
Its not "Were not looking to make the POs this year, if we do good, if we dont good"

Its "Were a playoff team and once you get in anything can happen"

Hes trying to get in every year. He acquired Weal and Thompson last year for the final push and I bet hell acquire other vets for the final push this year.

 

[BLONG7]

Training wheels are off.....in this regard, he at least picked a direction and is sticking to the plan

tge six years prior saw us with multiple 100pt seasons and some playoff success. But that’s gone now.

you won’t see picks dealt unless it’s for a substantial return.....no Hall type deals in OUR horizon

The 100 pt seasons were back in his early years..........this was the Gainey/Gautier team. Once MB started making changes, we became a mess. Hence the so called re-set.

 

[Lshap]

Teams aren't reinventing themselves almost half way through the season. Time to dump the genius predictions of which teams 'should' make the playoffs -- Leafs and Florida simply aren't as good as people imagined in September. On the other hand, Buffalo's a legit threat and Montreal's in the mix. The only team that 'should' pick up steam is Tampa. The rest of the Atlantic is closer than people want to admit. The team that avoids injuries will make the playoffs.

 

[Gamimenos]

Unfortunately I think we lost too many divisional games again this season to get it done. I predict we will barely miss again like last season.

 

[Hacketts]

 

[sheed36]

Unfortunately I think we lost too many divisional games again this season to get it done. I predict we will barely miss again like last season.

Also the lost points in those 4 losses to the Wings and Devils and the 2 points lost in that Rangers big comeback win will likely prove to be very costly for the Habs.

 

[Tabarouette]

Teams aren't reinventing themselves almost half way through the season. Time to dump the genius predictions of which teams 'should' make the playoffs -- Leafs and Florida simply aren't as good as people imagined in September. On the other hand, Buffalo's a legit threat and Montreal's in the mix. The only team that 'should' pick up steam is Tampa. The rest of the Atlantic is closer than people want to admit. The team that avoids injuries will make the playoffs.

even by that logic, our odds are stilll pretty bad as we only have 3 spots to make the playoffs instead of 5, due to the metro being way better than the atlantic and most likely having both wild cards. Boston is a lock, so that leaves 2 spot for 5 teams

and as I said earlier if you look at the strength of schedule, our 4 direct opponents are all past the hump of the hard schedule and have a significantly easier schedule moving forward while ours remain much harder

even if you're being optimistic, realistically the numbers are not looking good