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Habs Season Thread: 2024-25 Regular Season

WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou said:
You keep saying what the market will or won't allow despite proof to the contrary. The fans in Montreal over the last 25 years have proven time and time again that they will allow whatever the team forces them to allow. Good, bad, or otherwise the one thing that Montreal hockey fans never do is stop showing up. The ticket prices average triple figures, they go up every year, and by puck drop pretty much every seat has someone's ass sitting in it. Jerseys priced between $150 - $300 still fly off the store shelves like they're going out of style. Every ugly retro or alternate jersey that gets released is gobbled up. The Habs are a license to print money and the team's performance on the ice hasn't impacted their bottom line since Guy Lafleur was still playing. The Habs are now just like the Leafs in that they no longer need to win in order to be immensely profitable. So stop pretending that there's some sort of mythical tipping point at which the fans revolt by not opening their wallets because it's never happening.

The fans will "allow" whatever the fuck they're told to allow. They long ago ceded their power. They are slaves now. If they could put up with Christian Laflamme, Craig Darby, Eric Chouinard, and Johan Witehall 20-odd years ago, they'll certainly be able to put up with Condotta, Stephens, Simoneau or Davidson without batting an eye. All management has to do is stay the course, fuck the fans, and keep tanking.
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Wasn't there talk of moving the team (just before the Gillette days)? Even if it was ridiculous, times were not great. It's not just about money, its the constant grind of having to put up with the relentless criticisms from this media. Remember how Bergevin had to go on just about every talk show in Quebec and apologize for his team being so bad?
 
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wiseguy1 said:
Wasn't there talk of moving the team (just before the Gillette days)? Even if it was ridiculous, times were not great. It's not just about money, its the constant grind of having to put up with the relentless criticisms from this media. Remember how Bergeron had to go on just about every talk show in Quebec and apologize for his team being so bad?
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The Habs were never moving. Their value as a franchise drops dramatically if they're no longer the MONTREAL Canadiens. They'd never be worth as much anyplace else.
 
GGpX said:
Boy, do I have some thoughts on this.
...

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.
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I'd like to see more points out of him but I'm very very pleased with his development this year. He's a big factor on the ice and often driving the plays. He's been the best player on that first line many nights. I don't think he'll be an elite offensive guy but he'll be an important core player for years.
GGpX said:
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.
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McDonagh was always my comparable for him. Nothing wrong with that.
GGpX said:
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.
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Tanking is the best way to acquire high-end talent, but tanking comes with a cost and it's not the surest way to build a winner. At the beginning of the cap, teams took advantage of the rule to sign up their elite talent for long term way below market value and that really gave them an advantage. Teams that did that pretty much won most of the Cups for the next decade. But Matthews pretty much broke that mold and it will be rare to see those young elite talent on such team friendly deals in the future. Since those early days, the tanking teams have produced mixed results. Colorado won a Cup with McKinnon on one of the team friendliest deal in history, but I think they'll be one and done. Edmonton and Toronto haven't had much playoff success despite their superstars. Arizona/Buffalo are still disasters. NJ has a good team but time will tell.

In the meantime teams like Vegas, St.Louis, Boston, LA, Carolina, Dallas are finding successes through good management, and drafting, but without relying on tanks. You definitely need some luck though, regardless of the strategy taken.

However I'm joining you in my lack of faith in our scouting department. It needs to change ASAP, but we both know it won't.
 
GrandWazoo said:
I'd like to see more points out of him but I'm very very pleased with his development this year. He's a big factor on the ice and often driving the plays. He's been the best player on that first line many nights. I don't think he'll be an elite offensive guy but he'll be an important core player for years.

McDonagh was always my comparable for him. Nothing wrong with that.


Tanking is the best way to acquire high-end talent, but tanking comes with a cost and it's not the surest way to build a winner. At the beginning of the cap, teams took advantage of the rule to sign up their elite talent for long term way below market value and that really gave them an advantage. Teams that did that pretty much won most of the Cups for the next decade. But Matthews pretty much broke that mold and it will be rare to see those young elite talent on such team friendly deals in the future. Since those early days, the tanking teams have produced mixed results. Colorado won a Cup with McKinnon on one of the team friendliest deal in history, but I think they'll be one and done. Edmonton and Toronto haven't had much playoff success despite their superstars. Arizona/Buffalo are still disasters. NJ has a good team but time will tell.

In the meantime teams like Vegas, St.Louis, Boston, LA, Carolina, Dallas are finding successes through good management, and drafting, but without relying on tanks. You definitely need some luck though, regardless of the strategy taken.

However I'm joining you in my lack of faith in our scouting department. It needs to change ASAP, but we both know it won't.
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First of all Matthews didnt sign a team friendly deal , he got within 5% of CMD money with only 5 years of term

The league has changed and you need to lock up your stars to term after ELC

I have no issue what Buffalo and Ottawa have done locking up their core stars to full term regardless of their team records now

If they decide to make moves every player will be coveted for good returns

Very difficult to win a cup when players enter their third contracts at bigger money

I think Eichel is the only 10 mil player to ever win a cup
 
GEEMAN said:
First of all Matthews didnt sign a team friendly deal , he got within 5% of CMD money with only 5 years of term

The league has changed and you need to lock up your stars to term after ELC

I have no issue what Buffalo and Ottawa have done locking up their core stars to full term regardless of their team records now

If they decide to make moves every player will be coveted for good returns

Very difficult to win a cup when players enter their third contracts at bigger money

I think Eichel is the only 10 mil player to ever win a cup
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That's exactly what I said. He was the first one to get paid market price out of ELC.
 
GEEMAN said:
Got it, my bad

It still comes down to eliminating mistakes retaining aging vets like Gally or having too many Dvorak`s and Armia`s in the 4 mil range
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I think we can sum it up to maximizing the value of your cap space. Getting as many players under market value as possible and the least amount of players over market value as possible. For rebuilding teams, monetize your cap space to acquire assets.
 
GrandWazoo said:
I think we can sum it up to maximizing the value of your cap space. Getting as many players under market value as possible and the least amount of players over market value as possible. For rebuilding teams, monetize your cap space to acquire assets.
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Suzuki/CC are signed for good deals even though they are like 1B players. I think if we ever get that 'star' player, we are going to have to overpay. We have no one in our system, and I don't know if we'll get someone via a trade. Hard to get a deal in FA.
 
xposbrad said:
Suzuki/CC are signed for good deals even though they are like 1B players. I think if we ever get that 'star' player, we are going to have to overpay. We have no one in our system, and I don't know if we'll get someone via a trade. Hard to get a deal in FA.
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Need to draft and develop a star , Habs have no front line talent
 
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