Where would you rather the Montreal Canadiens finish this year?

Where would you rather finish at the end of the regular season?


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GSP2018

Registered User
Nov 20, 2018
408
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so do you think the posters here are suggesting that? That management should tell the players not to play hard?

Yes, yes i am suggesting that !! There are some pretty ridiculous posters in here. So yes i am
 

Habs Halifax

Loyal Habs Fan
Jul 11, 2016
68,166
25,919
East Coast
I know where you're coming from, but.... no thanks. Habs aren't ready for the playoffs, let alone a signature series against the boys from across town.

It would be like my band trying to perform a Motown set with a ukulele, toy piano, and a recorder. Let's get the right equipment, then we'll talk.

Agreed. Comes down to false hope vs hard cold reality. I will never jump on fans who have high hopes but the point is winning a cup and being a cup contender for several years, not to build a team like the Sens who go on a magical run in one playoff year but still fall short.

Teams that win a cup these days are legit Stanley cup contenders with solid rosters and depth at center. We have a few years of pain yet to go through before that becomes a possibility for our beloved Habs.

Focus on being cup contenders, not playoff pretenders. This is what it comes down to
 
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Rapala

Registered User
Mar 29, 2013
38,440
33,385
Montreal
We'll need to at least get rid of one of Byron and Tatar, because we have waaay too many small players and our best winger prospect is also yet another player on the small side. I'd rather keep Tatar for sure, he's also the youngest of the two and bigger than Byron.

I think we have to entertain offers on everyone except our 18 yr old. I certainly agree on trying to obtain players who can be more durable and can handle the wear and tear of an 82 game schedule with plenty in the tank if and when we become a playoff contender.
 
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Habs Halifax

Loyal Habs Fan
Jul 11, 2016
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DeLa Rose is in Detroit i believe atm.

Yeah, and your point is? I think you once again miss read my post. Go back and re-read please. It was about a strategy we should of had starting the season. Not all of a sudden a new strategy today. I was pretty clear by saying we should of waived Alzner before we lost DLR
 

Rapala

Registered User
Mar 29, 2013
38,440
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Montreal
Nope thats why it won’t happen ! Too many guys hate losing on this team.
Bad teams who lack talent don't tank they become discouraged, disgruntled, and disheartened. The second third and fourth efforts suffer in consequence which we all saw last year in living color. No matter how much you hate losing a sense of futility will hamper a team.
 

GSP2018

Registered User
Nov 20, 2018
408
207
Bad teams who lack talent don't tank they become discouraged, disgruntled, and disheartened. The second third and fourth efforts suffer in consequence which we all saw last year in living color. No matter how much you hate losing a sense of futility will hamper a team.

Didnt show in October
 

Habs Halifax

Loyal Habs Fan
Jul 11, 2016
68,166
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East Coast
I think we have to entertain offers on everyone except our 18 yr old. I certainly agree on trying to obtain players who can be more durable and can handle the wear and tear of an 82 game schedule with plenty in the tank if and when we become a playoff contender.

The issue with acquiring these types of players is you have to make a hockey trade to get one and not many teams give up durable assets with skill. They are rare to acquire and most teams draft them and keep them.

It appears we could of got ROR who fits. But the price was Poehling++. Glad we didn't make this move. It's too early yet.

Play the kids and test them in a large sample size. Ensure the D has some shutdown ability so Price is not exposed. Let the kids production dictate how we build our future team. We need to acquire assets like Tkachuk at this stage. Maybe one or two of them on wing. We also need a PMD and a shutdown guy at LD. Not sure if Mete/Reilly can be the PMD but we are going to find out while we test them with Weber

The key is the draft. Player for Player trades and going after UFA's comes after we see a better picture on how the youth looks like in a year or two ish.
 
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Habs Halifax

Loyal Habs Fan
Jul 11, 2016
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Hate ? Lol this is the internets. No hate here. English is my 3rd language so please your honor forgive me

When you misunderstand on several points and then use words like "Ridiculous" with your misunderstanding, I call this hate mode. Take the time to understand. You jumped to conclusion insisting that a tank strategy is talking to players telling them to not play well.
 

Habs Halifax

Loyal Habs Fan
Jul 11, 2016
68,166
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Didnt show in October

We all understand what you are saying. In our rebound/pride year and a relatively healthy roster, we are too legit to tank. You can't control the players and tell them to not play well. But you can control the roster and who plays.

Definition of insantity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. We have been on this same strategy since 2012. It's time for a new strategy or face the reality of it being forced on you after 10 year of missery like the Leafs went through before they came to their senses.

Do you watch Junior games? It's like this. Keep all your players and let them retire while they walk and turn pro while you end up stick in the middle of the pack for many years. Or, trade some expiring assets when you realize that your core is not good enough to win it all. Acquire multiple 1st round picks so you can accelerate a rebuild.
 

Rapala

Registered User
Mar 29, 2013
38,440
33,385
Montreal
The issue with acquiring these types of players is you have to make a hockey trade to get one and not many teams give up durable assets with skill. They are rare to acquire and most teams draft them and keep them.

It appears we could of got ROR who fits. But the price was Poehling++. Glad we didn't make this move. It's too early yet.

Play the kids and test them in a large sample size. Ensure the D has some shutdown ability so Price is not exposed. Let the kids production dictate how we build our future team. We need to acquire assets like Tkachuk at this stage. Maybe one or two of them on wing. We also need a PMD and a shutdown guy at LD. Not sure if Mete/Reilly can be the PMD but we are going to find out while we test them with Weber

The key is the draft. Player for Player trades and going after UFA's comes after we see a better picture on how the youth looks like in a year or two ish.

I agree the more decent picks we can stock over a two year period the easier it is to create a core. Make the few good moves made pay. The sense I get is most fans prefer the run and gun and the idea of reverting to the old style is disgusting. It seems to me these last number of games CJ is trying to tighten things up and only lets them go once we get down after 2?
 
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Habs Halifax

Loyal Habs Fan
Jul 11, 2016
68,166
25,919
East Coast
I agree the more decent picks we can stock over a two year period the easier it is to create a core. Make the few good moves made pay. The sense I get is most fans prefer the run and gun and the idea of reverting to the old style is disgusting. It seems to me these last number of games CJ is trying to tighten things up and only lets them go once we get down after 2?

Took the Leafs over 10 years to realize this. Shanahan came in and told the ownership group we need to do a PROPER rebuild and they had no problems with this strategy. Why? Cause their hope was squashed season after season for over a decade.

How long will the Habs realize this? Hope it's sooner rather than later.
 

GSP2018

Registered User
Nov 20, 2018
408
207
Please Toronto got lucky. Stars aligned for them. If it had been last year their 1st overall instead it would be completely different. They WON their lottery. Mathews feel in their lap
 

Grate n Colorful Oz

Hutson Hawk
Jun 12, 2007
35,310
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With a middle of the pack strategy and a few holes preventing us to be better in the short term, another tank year could taste very sweet if we get another top 10 pick and a shot at a lottery win!

I get the Pride/Rebound year where we are too legit to tank when healthy. But now is the time to squash the middle of the pack strategy. It's not a smart road to go down in terms of building a potential cup contender for futures years. It makes some fans and the owner happy though cause they believe in hope over reality

The owner doesn't believe in hope over reality. He believes in profit over reality.

He's gonna keep this up until he understands that his asset base has been too depleted to actually make it work. When your team has a hard time keeping up with the actual middle pack, which is in or just outside the playoffs, like they did last year, it's time to question if it's actually better for their profit to cut their losses now rather than take the risk of missing the playoffs more often not.

So when it came time to face this reality, Richie Rich saw Philly and Jersey making it out of the doldrums in the span of one off season with a high pick, so naturally, bingo, one off-season should make us battle for the playoffs again, with the right moves.

It's a delusion. Philly and Jersey have still ways to go, they aren't close right now to making it and this reflects what could also happen with the Habs. Pretty soon, they'll start changing their tune and instead of 'once the playoffs start, anybody can win" we'll get "When the season starts, all teams can make it to the playoffs.". Like you already know, if they keep the middle pack mentality, they'll get varied picks depending on how well they do, a rollercoaster of picks, and this will only make it longer until the asset base is built back to suitable levels to compete.

Will they change their approach if they see that for a 2nd consecutive season they'll miss the playoffs, something that hasn't happened in 15 years? Would that be enough missed playoff revenues to motivate them to really go with another direction?


As for the whole PR of tanking, it's overstated. It's actually not that hard. Majority of people are already buying their PR BS wholesale. Just don't call it what it is. Call it a youth movement. Make sure they play an open, exciting style to develop their puck possession abilities first and foremost.
 
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eklund the clown

Registered User
Dec 28, 2010
2,119
2,363
Please Toronto got lucky. Stars aligned for them. If it had been last year their 1st overall instead it would be completely different. They WON their lottery. Mathews feel in their lap
Yep and Marner and Nylander and Reilly and......
 

SirClintonPortis

ProudCapitalsTraitor
Mar 9, 2011
18,546
4,421
Maryland native
Please Toronto got lucky. Stars aligned for them. If it had been last year their 1st overall instead it would be completely different. They WON their lottery. Mathews feel in their lap
Toronto made their luck. Just like Washington did years prior.
The only team that truly was lucky was the Pittsburgh Penguins. Post-lockout draft in which standings don't matter and somehow, God was looking out for Pittsburgh that day and they got a then-French speaking superstar at number 1 overall in Sidney Crosby.
 

WeThreeKings

Habs cup - its in the BAG
Sep 19, 2006
91,123
91,577
Halifax
Toronto made their luck. Just like Washington did years prior.
The only team that truly was lucky was the Pittsburgh Penguins. Post-lockout draft in which standings don't matter and somehow, God was looking out for Pittsburgh that day and they got a then-French speaking superstar at number 1 overall in Sidney Crosby.

Bettman was looking after them.
 
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1909

Registered User
Jul 6, 2016
20,533
11,140
If at mid- season the team is still in Playoffs contention, I really want them to give it all to make them.

If they are like a .500 team or below, let's go down to bottom five team of the league, then.
 

Garnet76

Registered User
Dec 3, 2017
593
874
Chatham Ontario
I believe you continue to follow the plan. Yes the team had an amazing start to the season but the team isnt a stanley cup contender. Your either all in the win the Cup or your building a Stanley Cup roster. To me we are building and need to continue. Selling assets to make a run is a terrible mistake. I think the team will end up near the bottom of the league by seasons end and will get a great draft position to continue to pool young talent
 

Lshap

Hardline Moderate
Jun 6, 2011
27,276
24,865
Montreal
Toronto made their luck. Just like Washington did years prior.
The only team that truly was lucky was the Pittsburgh Penguins. Post-lockout draft in which standings don't matter and somehow, God was looking out for Pittsburgh that day and they got a then-French speaking superstar at number 1 overall in Sidney Crosby.
How did Toronto make their luck? It took zero scouting skill or strategy to select Matthews or their other top-8 picks, Marner, Kadri, and Nylander. Their only accomplishment was 1) Sucking for long enough to get these players; and 2) Sucking during good drafts.

Toronto's management did nothing that plenty of other teams tried to do. They're good now for the simple reason that they were bad for a very long time.
 
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