HF Habs: Who are the core players moving forward?

[26Mats]

He's not one now, but I think they want him to be at some point. They'll give him opportunities to get there, hopefully he takes them.

Yes, this is how I see Drouin. He really has to improve his overall game and his attitude. If he becomes a solid overall player and can put up 50 -60 points, that's good enough. If you have 9 forwards like that you have a damn good army of forwards, even if you don't have any elite forwards. They could do just as much damage as a unit as a top heavy team. We have at least 9 with that potential (Domi, KK, Caufield, Drouin, Poehling, Suzuki, Tatar, Danault, Gallagher - plus Ylonen,and other prospects...)

But Drouin has a long way to go to become a good overall player with a good attitude.

 

[Just Linda]

For me, the core is what you build around.

Pittsburgh built around Malkin, Crosby, Letang, MAF/Fluery

Washington around Ovi, Backstrom, etc

LA had Quick, Doughty, Kopitar, Brown

Chicago has Crawford, Kane, Toews, Keith

Edmonton has McDavid, Drain

Toronto has Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Anderson, Reilly

Let's face it, we aren't building around Drouin. We aren't building around Byron. We aren't even building around Denault or Petry. All are great players but all are what MB hopes will be expendable soonish.

Our former core was built around Price, PK, and Patches. I'd argue Galchenyuk was supposed to be the 4th core piece but never became it.

Our current (before this year) core is Price, Weber, Gallagher and... a system built on 4 lines and balance?

That's the sign of a team in rebuild to be.

Our team is now building around:
Kotkaneimi
Gallagher (with Caufield as the potential replacement)
Mete
Centre depth (weird that it's a hope not a player)
Price

It's definitely a core in transition, I don't believe it's fully set yet.

 

[Grandpa]

Drouin will definitely get every opportunity to become core player. At least for one more season, but the results need to be better than very good complementary player. First of all, 60 points is not as impressive as it was few seasons ago. Scoring is up and so should be point expectations for players who are considered to be part of the core. Drouin needs to get his shit together and not go AWOL when the most important quarter of the season begins and everything is on the line.

We have lots of nice things on the wing but we're missing top-end talent. To be a core forward in a team your production has to start from 70 points. If we go under it, there better be some Selke nominations. Drouin is still very far away from what he was supposed to be. We lost our best defensive prospect (could use one right now) in exchange, so if we don't find a way to harness his toolbox, he better be traded while he still has value.

 

[The Great Weal]

This franchise will never win anything(except maybe a lottery spot) if Victor Mete is a core player.

 

[the]

Kotkaniemi is proven???

From our pool of prospects he has the highest ceiling and the one already playing in the NHL.

I agree he still has a long way to go but he is the most likely of being a core player going forward.

 

[26Mats]

This franchise will never win anything(except maybe a lottery spot) if Victor Mete is a core player.

I'm not comparing the two because their games are very different, but do you consider Krug a core player in Boston?

What about Ellis in Nashville? And Girard in Colorado (future core)?

 

[The Great Weal]

I'm not comparing the two because their games are very different, but do you consider Krug a core player in Boston?

What about Ellis in Nashville? And Girard in Colorado (future core)?

Krug absolutely because he is a f***ing stud. Ellis is a damn good player, and I think it depends how many core pieces one team can have. For instance, I think RyJo, Duchene, Arvidsson, Forsberg, Josi and Ekholm are above him. He is the next guy. I don't think Girard is a core player.

 

[26Mats]

Krug absolutely because he is a ****ing stud. Ellis is a damn good player, and I think it depends how many core pieces one team can have. For instance, I think RyJo, Duchene, Arvidsson, Forsberg, Josi and Ekholm are above him. He is the next guy. I don't think Girard is a core player.

Incidentally, I went over to look at the PK Subban trade thread in the Nashville forum recently. The first few pages are anger at the return, and saying Ekholm and Ellis disappear in the playoffs, whereas PK steps it up. The last few are saying Subban slowed down, but so did Ellis... I would have rolled the dice on PK bouncing back from an injury-altered season. I'm not sure he's to blame for Nashville's decline. And PK was damn good before last season - a real gamer and playoff performer...

But I'm hoping Mete can keep developing into an unlikely player - a small guy who although isn't overly offensive, can have a big impact on the game by darting forward and back constantly and controlling the play. He certainly improved a lot after a real short stint in Laval. I believe he has not hit his ceiling.

I also believe Girard has a lot of future potential.

 

[The Great Weal]

But I'm hoping Mete can keep developing into an unlikely player - a small guy who although isn't overly offensive, can have a big impact on the game by darting forward and back constantly and controlling the play. He certainly improved a lot after a real short stint in Laval. I believe he has not hit his ceiling.

I hope he gets better too, but man he has A LOT to work on to be in the same conversation as those guys.

 

[ECWHSWI]

like who?

rethink your "core" concept, you have a FULL d corp, both goalies and a full top 9 as core players man...

might as well put the whole team as "core", you know...

 

[Number 57]

I think our most important pieces right now are Price, Weber, Domi, Kotkaniemi and Gallagher. This is the core.

Secondary core would be all of our top prospects such as Poehling, Suzuki, Caufield, Romanov, Brook, Primeau.

Other relevant players are Drouin, Mete, Tatar, Petry, Danault and Byron.

The rest are easily replaceable

 

[26Mats]

rethink your "core" concept, you have a FULL d corp, both goalies and a full top 9 as core players man...

might as well put the whole team as "core", you know...

My concept of core players are a group of players i think we can win with if we keep them together, let them mature, and add a few pieces around them.

Imo, since we don't have elite d or forwards, we'll need a lot of very good players to win. I think we have a deep group of very good players, if not 4 elite players.

You can take out Primeau. The only reason I kept him there is because in 4 years perhaps Price will have slowed down and Primeau emerged. So, he's more there as a potential core player in the future. But if both Price and Primeau are good, one is expendable. Unless you want to keep Primeau as a core player for 8 years from now - when our current deep "best prospect pool in hockey" will be in their prime and Price will be done or on his last legs...

 

[Mrb1p]

My concept of core players are a group of players i think we can win with if we keep them together, let them mature, and add a few pieces around them.

Imo, since we don't have elite d or forwards, we'll need a lot of very good players to win. I think we have a deep group of very good players, if not 4 elite players.

You can take out Primeau. The only reason I kept him there is because in 4 years perhaps Price will have slowed down and Primeau emerged. So, he's more there as a potential core player in the future. But if both Price and Primeau are good, one is expendable. Unless you want to keep Primeau as a core player for 8 years from now - when our current deep "best prospect pool in hockey" will be in their prime and Price will be done or on his last legs...

1. the central or most important part of something.

This is the only definition you need. You buils around a first liner, you build around a first pairing D, you build around a number one G.

Malkin, Crosby, Letang, Fleury.
Hossa, Toews, Kane, Keith
Quick, Kopitar, Doughty, Carter
Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Carlson, Ovi, Holtby

As I said, you cant just invent a definition. The whole point of a core is to know who you stick with through the year, whos irreplaceable.

 

[26Mats]

I think our most important pieces right now are Price, Weber, Domi, Kotkaniemi and Gallagher. This is the core.

Secondary core would be all of our top prospects such as Poehling, Suzuki, Caufield, Romanov, Brook, Primeau.

Other relevant players are Drouin, Mete, Tatar, Petry, Danault and Byron.

The rest are easily replaceable

This basically how i see it. The only thing i would say is: if you take Petry or Danault out of the lineup now, we're a much worse team. I see them as key pieces. And, if the same is true even ad the younger players develop say in 3 years, then they're essential if we're going to contend, and hence core players.

I would hope Mete and Drouin can become like this. But there's no guarantee.

Tatar is an import as nt piece now and i hope he continues to be so for 4 years.

Byron can't find a spot on the top 9. He doesn't fit ss an essential player since we're already small. Useful player. But i think we'll need to move him as the others get bigger salaries.

 

[26Mats]

1. the central or most important part of something.

This is the only definition you need. You buils around a first liner, you build around a first pairing D, you build around a number one G.

Malkin, Crosby, Letang, Fleury.
Hossa, Toews, Kane, Keith
Quick, Kopitar, Doughty, Carter
Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Carlson, Ovi, Holtby

As I said, you cant just invent a definition. The whole point of a core is to know who you stick with through the year, whos irreplaceable.

My definition is who you stick with through the years because they're essential to winning. Because we probably don't have 4 elite top players, it will be essential to winning that we have a larger group of very good players.

Again, I ask, were Gainey and Carboneau not part of our core?

 

[Mrb1p]

My definition is who you stick with through the years because they're essential to winning. Because we probably don't have 4 elite top players, it will be essential to winning that we have a larger group of very good players.

Again, I ask, were Gainey and Carboneau not part of our core?

Maybe you dont actually have a core if you have to list Danault and Byron

Gainey and Carbo are both HOFer that make Danault look like Desharnais, but lets assume for a second that Danault is even close (f***ing LOL), Gainey was still not exactly core. He was behind Lafleur, Shutt, Robinson, Savard, Dryden, Lapointe, Lemaire. And Carbo was behind Roy, Naslund, Smith, Robinson, Chelios and for 93 he was behind Roy, Damphousse, Muller, Bellows, Desjardins, Schneider. Heck even Paul Dipietro had better production than Carbo in 93.

 

[Omar]

This is how I see our future lineup:

X - Kotkaniemi - Caufield
Domi - Poehling - Suzuki
Y - Danault - Gallagher

Romanov - Weber
Juulsen
Brook

Price

So based on this, from our active NHL roster, the current core is Kotkaniemi, Domi, Danault, Gallagher, Weber and Price.

Going forward, it should be guys in the lineup above. X should be someone we draft next year.

Drouin, Petry, Mete and Byron I'm not sold on their inclusion in the core. Mete seems like a smallish #4-5 defenseman to me and I'd make all these guys available.

 

[26Mats]

Maybe you dont actually have a core if you have to list Danault and Byron

Gainey and Carbo are both HOFer that make Danault look like Desharnais, but lets assume for a second that Danault is even close (****ing LOL), Gainey was still not exactly core. He was behind Lafleur, Shutt, Robinson, Savard, Dryden, Lapointe, Lemaire. And Carbo was behind Roy, Naslund, Smith, Robinson, Chelios and for 93 he was behind Roy, Damphousse, Muller, Bellows, Desjardins, Schneider. Heck even Paul Dipietro had better production than Carbo in 93.

I didn't say Danault was Gainey or Carboneau. But you said Danault can't be considered core because he is a 3rd liner. Gainey and Carboneau were 3rd liners and they are hall of famers.

If you don't consider hall of famers part of the core you clearly need to re-examine your definition of core. smh. Hint: stop looking at the stat sheet and limiting it to 4 players.

Also, I explicitly said Byron isn't in my core. Danault is.

 

[Mrb1p]

I didn't say Danault was Gainey or Carboneau. But you said Danault can't be considered core because he is a 3rd liner. Gainey and Carboneau were 3rd liners and they are hall of famers.

If you don't consider hall of famers part of the core you clearly need to re-examine your definition of core. smh. Hint: stop looking at the stat sheet and limiting it to 4 players.

Also, I explicitly said Byron isn't in my core. Danault is.

Carbo doesnt deserve it and Gainey is there mostly because he changed the game, not because of their actual value.

 

[AlexGretzchenvid]

Kotka, romanov, suzuki, caufield

Brook, poehling,


Supporting cast of revolving door trade targets ( domi, drouin, price )

Honorable mention to:

McCaron. Probably a bust but has a great hockey i.q should be able to slot into a core 4th line role and top out at 13 goals and 18 assists. If we can get him there hes a core player.

 

[PhysicX]

1. the central or most important part of something.

This is the only definition you need. You buils around a first liner, you build around a first pairing D, you build around a number one G.

Malkin, Crosby, Letang, Fleury.
Hossa, Toews, Kane, Keith
Quick, Kopitar, Doughty, Carter
Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Carlson, Ovi, Holtby

As I said, you cant just invent a definition. The whole point of a core is to know who you stick with through the year, whos irreplaceable.

Current core:
Price, Weber, Gallagher, Domi

Danault excels defensively, but shouldn't be seen as a core player. Neither should Mete nor Kotkaniemi, because the argument to do so is based solely on potential and future performance.

 

[Mrb1p]

Current core:
Price, Weber, Gallagher, Domi

Danault excels defensively, but shouldn't be seen as a core player. Neither should Mete nor Kotkaniemi, because the argument to do so is based solely on potential and future performance.

Agreed.

The thing is, as much as the Danault lovers will hate me for saying that, hes easily replaceable. Same as Tatar. Same as Petry. Those guys are available.

Even Kessel wasnt a core player in Pittsburgh.

 

[26Mats]

Carbo doesnt deserve it and Gainey is there mostly because he changed the game, not because of their actual value.

Fair enough, we're on different pages.

But I think we're also talking about a current core and a future core. The current core isn't good enough. That's why we're not contending. The future core has a certain potential. I also think the transition period when the future core starts to emerge and the current core is still effective has a certain potential.

Future core (serious candidates):
Domi, KK, Poehling, Suzuki, Caufield, Drouin, Romanov, Brook, Mete, Juulsen, Primeau.

Present core:
Price, Weber, Petry, Domi, Gallagher, Danault. Take any one of those players out of the lienup for a significant amount of time and we're significantly weakened. (I agree it's a stretch to have Tatar in there, but if you take him out, we're not the same).

Put the two together and you have the transition period core.

 

[jordy]

When I consider who the core is I look at who'll be playing for the habs at a high level in 5 to 10 years.

I would look at

Domi
Danault
Gallagher (should be given the C this season)
Mete
Caufield
Poehling
Kokkaniemi
Primeau

 

[Mrb1p]

Fair enough, we're on different pages.

But I think we're also talking about a current core and a future core. The current core isn't good enough. That's why we're not contending. The future core has a certain potential. I also think the transition period when the future core starts to emerge and the current core is still effective has a certain potential.

Future core (serious candidates):
Domi, KK, Poehling, Suzuki, Caufield, Drouin, Romanov, Brook, Mete, Juulsen, Primeau.

Present core:
Price, Weber, Petry, Domi, Gallagher, Danault. Take any one of those players out of the lienup for a significant amount of time and we're significantly weakened. (I agree it's a stretch to have Tatar in there, but if you take him out, we're not the same).

Put the two together and you have the transition period core.

Thats just too many players man. The fact that this roster isnt good doesnt make 3rd liners core players. You can just say that because a core works in conjunction with the league, not in a bubble.