HFBoards - View Single Post - 2011-12 most complete Habs team in 5 years?

macavoy · 07-24-2011, 08:46 AM

I'm looking forward to this season immensely, more so than the past few years. I don't think we are a top 3 contender but I think we have what it takes to be making a lot of noise.

I feel like we finally have a legit top 6. We've had holes in our top 6 for a long time. We've even got AK who is on the outside looking in right now but is a legit top 6 imo. So when someone inevitably gets injured, we'll still have 6 top 6 forwards.

Hopefully Eller can step up his game this year. We need to decide shortly if he can be a 2nd line centre. I think one of our biggest problems is a lack of a 3rd line shut down centre. We are using that spot right now to let Eller develop and its adding strain on Pleks. I really hate paying $5m to have a guy used in a shut down role. Vancouver did it right when they got Maholtra for the 3rd line so Kessler could play an offensive role. Then when injuries occurred, they still had Kessler in the mix. We need to do the same.

I think we've got a good enough defence to make noise this year. We are a lot younger which is good. Ideally, I'd like a little more depth in case of injuries but I'm liking this core better than what we started last year with. Going into last year, while we were all super high on PK, there were doubts if he could ride the wave all year long and he's proven he can. So Markov + PK is a solid top 2 dman. Then having Gill and Gorges as your shut down guys with Markov and PK who also have excellent shut down capabilities. Then we've got Yemelin who can add some toughness and grit on the back end. Hopefully Weber continues to progress in his development.

And last but not least, we just seen a career year from Carey Price. I expect him to be in the same ballpark as last year but I don't think he'll have to steal as many games for us, so I don't have a problem if his stats dip ever so slightly. I'm just hoping that PG and staff are right about gambling on a backup again this year and going off the board with Peter Budaj. Maybe without the pressure of being a #1 and being a pure backup, he'll shine.

All in all, I like what this team can do come playoff time. We've seen Cammy turn into a beast in the playoffs. I'm really hoping my hope for next season doesn't end prematurely like it did this past January when Gorges went down.

I'm hoping for huge years from MaxPac and Yemelin but in the end all that matters is how they do as a team.

07-24-2011, 08:46 AM	#1
macavoy HFB Partner Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 6,471 vCash: 500	2011-12 most complete Habs team in 5 years? I'm looking forward to this season immensely, more so than the past few years. I don't think we are a top 3 contender but I think we have what it takes to be making a lot of noise. I feel like we finally have a legit top 6. We've had holes in our top 6 for a long time. We've even got AK who is on the outside looking in right now but is a legit top 6 imo. So when someone inevitably gets injured, we'll still have 6 top 6 forwards. Hopefully Eller can step up his game this year. We need to decide shortly if he can be a 2nd line centre. I think one of our biggest problems is a lack of a 3rd line shut down centre. We are using that spot right now to let Eller develop and its adding strain on Pleks. I really hate paying $5m to have a guy used in a shut down role. Vancouver did it right when they got Maholtra for the 3rd line so Kessler could play an offensive role. Then when injuries occurred, they still had Kessler in the mix. We need to do the same. I think we've got a good enough defence to make noise this year. We are a lot younger which is good. Ideally, I'd like a little more depth in case of injuries but I'm liking this core better than what we started last year with. Going into last year, while we were all super high on PK, there were doubts if he could ride the wave all year long and he's proven he can. So Markov + PK is a solid top 2 dman. Then having Gill and Gorges as your shut down guys with Markov and PK who also have excellent shut down capabilities. Then we've got Yemelin who can add some toughness and grit on the back end. Hopefully Weber continues to progress in his development. And last but not least, we just seen a career year from Carey Price. I expect him to be in the same ballpark as last year but I don't think he'll have to steal as many games for us, so I don't have a problem if his stats dip ever so slightly. I'm just hoping that PG and staff are right about gambling on a backup again this year and going off the board with Peter Budaj. Maybe without the pressure of being a #1 and being a pure backup, he'll shine. All in all, I like what this team can do come playoff time. We've seen Cammy turn into a beast in the playoffs. I'm really hoping my hope for next season doesn't end prematurely like it did this past January when Gorges went down. I'm hoping for huge years from MaxPac and Yemelin but in the end all that matters is how they do as a team.