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Habs Season Thread: 2024-25 Regular Season

GrandWazoo said:
How are you all feeling about the season so far? The team is battling but on an individual level it’s a lot of meh. Normally there is a few surprises and a few let downs but there hasn’t been a lot of surprises this year besides of Strubble and it seems like everyone one else is struggling. Even in a rebuilding year we should normally be expecting some bright spots I think. Curious about other people perspectives.
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Boy, do I have some thoughts on this.

What we're seeing now is the inheritance that The Charlatan and his management has left us. We are smack in the middle of a decade of mediocrity with no quick way out for, at the very least, two or three more seasons. This team isn't anywhere near close to being good. We're 31 games in and this team only has six wins in regular time, which is dead last in the league. We're bottom third in virtually every single meaningful statistic, and yet we're a stone's throw away from being in the playoffs. Meaning, our points come from getting to overtime where it's pond hockey and if the goals don't come there, we win in a skills competition. Competing for the playoffs is quite possibly the single worst thing that could happen to this franchise. It will give a false sense of reality and will fuck-up the rebuild. We'll slowly become like Detroit. A middle of the pack team that can't really compete because they're not that good, but not shitty enough to tank to get a top 5 pick.

The whole season, minus a game & a half, has been completely deflating. The season more or less became a wash when Kirby Dach got injured. He's the only prospect/young player on the team that I think has potential to be elite. I don't think he's a #1 center, but I do think he might be a first line winger.

When Dach got hurt, watching the prospects on the team not named Guhle was thoroughly less interesting.

I don't think many people who follow the team, whether it's fans or media types (especially the media types), including some here, had realistic expectations for the team and some of the young players in this organization. Easiest example: Some think Guhle's going to be our #1 in a few years. Guhle could be your team's #1... if you're in the bottom of the league. But in no way is he going to be a #1 on a real contender.

The young players mostly regressing has been disappointing, but that's to be expected. Xhekaj regressing is disappointing, but not surprising. Last year, had the d-men not been ravaged by injuries at training camp, Xhekaj would have started in Laval & we wouldn't have claimed Kovacevic on waivers.

Suzuki is what he is, and no matter how some people think he's going to be a #1 and bring up so many ludicrous and irrelevant arguments, he's a #2 that needs good wingers to support him.

Caufield's in a slump, but what is apparent to me is: He needs a big center and he needs a big complimentary winger. I don't think it's a surprise that Suzuki & Caufield started looking better when they got literally the biggest winger on the team to play with them. Caufield & Suzuki aren't going to win that many puck battles, so both of them need size & weight to support them. I think this season's a write-off for Caufield and he'll be fine by next year's training camp.

Slafkovsky has been better overall, but he's been very disappointing since we've drafted him. I get that he's 19 and I get that he's young, but the offensive talent isn't improving. I don't want to make this into another "We our lottery pick into the NHL" debate, but he doesn't look like the tools that would make him a top-6 player are improving. His overall game is getting better, and I guess that's good, but you know what would make me more confident in him? Goals. Setting up goals. Being on pace for better than 21 points. Even in a weak draft, a #1 overall pick shouldn't look like a third line energy winger.

Newhook, whatever. Already mentioned in this thread a few weeks ago, but I don't get why we acquired this player in the larger scheme of things.

Guhle, solid. Looks like he'll be really good, as long he's not a first pairing d-man. A second pairing, sort of poor man Ryan McDonagh? I think that would suit him perfectly.

Xhekaj needs to decide: Is he going to be a defenseman that can fight, or a fighter that plays defense? Because if it's the former, he'll have a very long and prosperous career. If he decides to be the latter, he'll become a suitcase and eventually finish in the AHL or Europe. This year, he's been more the latter than the former and he's in Laval. I think Laval will do him a world of good, honestly.

Barron/Struble are interesting surprises. I don't know if either have a long-term future with us, but they're part of the group of 7 or so d-men (Struble, Barron, Xhekaj, soon-to-be-Sweden-bound-Norlinder, Trudeau, Harris, Kovacevic & Mailloux to an extent) currently at the pro level fighting for one or two spots at the NHL level long-term. They don't have much time to make their mark because next season, Reinbacher, Engstrom & Hutson are all going to be playing at the pro level in Laval/Montreal and two of those three are probably going to spend a lot of time in Montreal next season.

Now, some general thoughts on the team & the future of the team...

I need you all to say it with me, loudly and maybe not-so-proudly: This rebuild won't end until we have elite talent to build this team around.

I get that tanking sucks and having a shitty team without much of a shot to get meaningful games in Spring makes it boring, but it's unfortunately the best way to get high-end talents in the draft... assuming we don't fuck it up like we have with Galchenyuk/KK/Slaf.

You'll still have some media types (hi Eric Engels!) & fans that somehow defend Trevor Timmins and his body of work. "Well, look at the prospects we have now, he's the one who drafted most of 'em" like the current NHL really isn't devoid of players he selected.

By the way, I'm already on the fire Bobrov, Lapointe & Billy Dumbfuck From Bawstun bandwagon. I have zero confidence in them being the right people to properly evaluate prospects.

Our cap's a mess and it needs to be cleaned up. Need to figure out a way to get out of the Gallgher/Anderson contracts, hope someone takes Dvorak/Savard off our hands this season & buyout Armia this upcoming July. Don't give out any term contracts this summer to free agents, even with the cap going up.

By the way, I don't believe for a fucking second that Anderson had suiters at any point during his time here with that contract & the cap not rising. Same thing for Jake Allen and the comedic claim (Hi Craig Button!) that the Habs could get a great return for him. Get the fuck out of here.
 
GGpX said:
Boy, do I have some thoughts on this.

What we're seeing now is the inheritance that The Charlatan and his management has left us. We are smack in the middle of a decade of mediocrity with no quick way out for, at the very least, two or three more seasons. This team isn't anywhere near close to being good. We're 31 games in and this team only has six wins in regular time, which is dead last in the league. We're bottom third in virtually every single meaningful statistic, and yet we're a stone's throw away from being in the playoffs. Meaning, our points come from getting to overtime where it's pond hockey and if the goals don't come there, we win in a skills competition. Competing for the playoffs is quite possibly the single worst thing that could happen to this franchise. It will give a false sense of reality and will fuck-up the rebuild. We'll slowly become like Detroit. A middle of the pack team that can't really compete because they're not that good, but not shitty enough to tank to get a top 5 pick.

The whole season, minus a game & a half, has been completely deflating. The season more or less became a wash when Kirby Dach got injured. He's the only prospect/young player on the team that I think has potential to be elite. I don't think he's a #1 center, but I do think he might be a first line winger.

When Dach got hurt, watching the prospects on the team not named Guhle was thoroughly less interesting.

I don't think many people who follow the team, whether it's fans or media types (especially the media types), including some here, had realistic expectations for the team and some of the young players in this organization. Easiest example: Some think Guhle's going to be our #1 in a few years. Guhle could be your team's #1... if you're in the bottom of the league. But in no way is he going to be a #1 on a real contender.

The young players mostly regressing has been disappointing, but that's to be expected. Xhekaj regressing is disappointing, but not surprising. Last year, had the d-men not been ravaged by injuries at training camp, Xhekaj would have started in Laval & we wouldn't have claimed Kovacevic on waivers.

Suzuki is what he is, and no matter how some people think he's going to be a #1 and bring up so many ludicrous and irrelevant arguments, he's a #2 that needs good wingers to support him.

Caufield's in a slump, but what is apparent to me is: He needs a big center and he needs a big complimentary winger. I don't think it's a surprise that Suzuki & Caufield started looking better when they got literally the biggest winger on the team to play with them. Caufield & Suzuki aren't going to win that many puck battles, so both of them need size & weight to support them. I think this season's a write-off for Caufield and he'll be fine by next year's training camp.

Slafkovsky has been better overall, but he's been very disappointing since we've drafted him. I get that he's 19 and I get that he's young, but the offensive talent isn't improving. I don't want to make this into another "We our lottery pick into the NHL" debate, but he doesn't look like the tools that would make him a top-6 player are improving. His overall game is getting better, and I guess that's good, but you know what would make me more confident in him? Goals. Setting up goals. Being on pace for better than 21 points. Even in a weak draft, a #1 overall pick shouldn't look like a third line energy winger.

Newhook, whatever. Already mentioned in this thread a few weeks ago, but I don't get why we acquired this player in the larger scheme of things.

Guhle, solid. Looks like he'll be really good, as long he's not a first pairing d-man. A second pairing, sort of poor man Ryan McDonagh? I think that would suit him perfectly.

Xhekaj needs to decide: Is he going to be a defenseman that can fight, or a fighter that plays defense? Because if it's the former, he'll have a very long and prosperous career. If he decides to be the latter, he'll become a suitcase and eventually finish in the AHL or Europe. This year, he's been more the latter than the former and he's in Laval. I think Laval will do him a world of good, honestly.

Barron/Struble are interesting surprises. I don't know if either have a long-term future with us, but they're part of the group of 7 or so d-men (Struble, Barron, Xhekaj, soon-to-be-Sweden-bound-Norlinder, Trudeau, Harris, Kovacevic & Mailloux to an extent) currently at the pro level fighting for one or two spots at the NHL level long-term. They don't have much time to make their mark because next season, Reinbacher, Engstrom & Hutson are all going to be playing at the pro level in Laval/Montreal and two of those three are probably going to spend a lot of time in Montreal next season.

Now, some general thoughts on the team & the future of the team...

I need you all to say it with me, loudly and maybe not-so-proudly: This rebuild won't end until we have elite talent to build this team around.

I get that tanking sucks and having a shitty team without much of a shot to get meaningful games in Spring makes it boring, but it's unfortunately the best way to get high-end talents in the draft... assuming we don't fuck it up like we have with Galchenyuk/KK/Slaf.

You'll still have some media types (hi Eric Engels!) & fans that somehow defend Trevor Timmins and his body of work. "Well, look at the prospects we have now, he's the one who drafted most of 'em" like the current NHL really isn't devoid of players he selected.

By the way, I'm already on the fire Bobrov, Lapointe & Billy Dumbfuck From Bawstun bandwagon. I have zero confidence in them being the right people to properly evaluate prospects.

Our cap's a mess and it needs to be cleaned up. Need to figure out a way to get out of the Gallgher/Anderson contracts, hope someone takes Dvorak/Savard off our hands this season & buyout Armia this upcoming July. Don't give out any term contracts this summer to free agents, even with the cap going up.

By the way, I don't believe for a fucking second that Anderson had suiters at any point during his time here with that contract & the cap not rising. Same thing for Jake Allen and the comedic claim (Hi Craig Button!) that the Habs could get a great return for him. Get the fuck out of here.
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Exactly until an infusion of legit top talent joins us , Habs are going nowhere .

I disagree with the cap issue .

Habs are are 1 year or sooner away from unloading Dvorak, Evans, Armia , Allen , etc..

Habs have no big money due to any players exiting ELC and won’t be players overpaying anyone in the UFA period

They are a year closer to eventually finding a trading partner to park Price on LTIR

I still think Anderson and Gally can be moved if the Habs are creative

Bottom line as you say , the rebuild will be over when it’s over .

You can’t fix 2 decades of mistakes overnight .
 
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100%. This team needs to recommit itself to the tank because blowing your brains out trying for a playoff berth gets you nowhere. This team is still 3 players away from being 3 players away and the front office needs to accept this and act accordingly. Of course fans will be impatient because that is their nature. This is why you need a front office with a "fuck the fans" mindset that won't get distracted from the mission. We are the Montreal Canadiens. We are supposed to be trying to win championships, not just compete for playoff spots. If we have no realistic hope of doing the former we must not waste time and resources pursuing the latter. The one luxury that we have that most other teams don't is that our front office doesn't really need to suck up to the fans. They're going to keep showing up regardless so we aren't going to have a half-empty arena just because we suck. By contrast, has anyone seen a game from San Jose lately? Or Anaheim? They aren't drawing flies. You can buy Sabres tickets for under $50 for most games. But in Montreal they can still charge top dollar prices and never worry about sparse crowds so they have no good reason to cave to fan pressure. Fuck em. Do the rebuild the right way with no shortcuts. It takes however long it takes.
 
WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou said:
100%. This team needs to recommit itself to the tank because blowing your brains out trying for a playoff berth gets you nowhere. This team is still 3 players away from being 3 players away and the front office needs to accept this and act accordingly. Of course fans will be impatient because that is their nature. This is why you need a front office with a "fuck the fans" mindset that won't get distracted from the mission. We are the Montreal Canadiens. We are supposed to be trying to win championships, not just compete for playoff spots. If we have no realistic hope of doing the former we must not waste time and resources pursuing the latter. The one luxury that we have that most other teams don't is that our front office doesn't really need to suck up to the fans. They're going to keep showing up regardless so we aren't going to have a half-empty arena just because we suck. By contrast, has anyone seen a game from San Jose lately? Or Anaheim? They aren't drawing flies. You can buy Sabres tickets for under $50 for most games. But in Montreal they can still charge top dollar prices and never worry about sparse crowds so they have no good reason to cave to fan pressure. Fuck em. Do the rebuild the right way with no shortcuts. It takes however long it takes.
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Yup might see a small decrease in attendance at some point but its the only show in town

The bars and restaurants will lose more than the regime
 
GEEMAN said:
Exactly until an infusion of legit top talent joins us , Habs are going nowhere .

I disagree with the cap issue .

Habs are are 1 year or sooner away from unloading Dvorak, Evans, Armia , Allen , etc..

Habs have no big money due to any players exiting ELC and won’t be players overpaying anyone in the UFA period

They are a year closer to eventually finding a trading part to park Price on LTIR

I still think Anderson and Gally can be moved if the Habs are creative

Bottom line as you say , the rebuild will be over when it’s over .

You can’t fix 2 decades of mistakes overnight .
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Which is why GG said 2-3 years minimum. There's a path but it isn't an expressway.
 
WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou said:
100%. This team needs to recommit itself to the tank because blowing your brains out trying for a playoff berth gets you nowhere. This team is still 3 players away from being 3 players away and the front office needs to accept this and act accordingly. Of course fans will be impatient because that is their nature. This is why you need a front office with a "fuck the fans" mindset that won't get distracted from the mission. We are the Montreal Canadiens. We are supposed to be trying to win championships, not just compete for playoff spots. If we have no realistic hope of doing the former we must not waste time and resources pursuing the latter. The one luxury that we have that most other teams don't is that our front office doesn't really need to suck up to the fans. They're going to keep showing up regardless so we aren't going to have a half-empty arena just because we suck. By contrast, has anyone seen a game from San Jose lately? Or Anaheim? They aren't drawing flies. You can buy Sabres tickets for under $50 for most games. But in Montreal they can still charge top dollar prices and never worry about sparse crowds so they have no good reason to cave to fan pressure. Fuck em. Do the rebuild the right way with no shortcuts. It takes however long it takes.
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yet you want them to win every game you attend
 
We’ve tanked enough. They don’t need superstars. They need to keep going along this developmental path.
 
I realize Slaf is playing better (he was barely an NHLer last season) but will feel better when the “significant leap” shows up in the box scores.

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