I think we will do it under the Cammalleri Gionta and ? Era.
Replace the ? by the player were going to get with Gomez money.
In this Era we'll have Leblanc, Subban, Eller, Tinordi, Price and Weber with more exp.
And we'll get rid of Gomez how? Not because the habs make a lot of money Molson want to give that much money to Gomez for nothing in return , and no team will ever pick him up.
They're good players, and we win many games. If we win enough, we will win the Stanley Cup. Teams will knock each other off, and in the end, if we're one of the top tier teams in the East, we can be champions.
The team surprised me last season and I guess it could happen again, but I think last year was more a case of the perfect storm and we overachieved. To really contend, I think we'd have to replace Gomez and his ridiculous contract, bring a top6 forward with some size , not to mention upgrade our defence and inject some younger blood in it. Things that we just can't do when 4 small good-but-not-great forwards eat up 23 millions of the pay-roll
So I'm gonna stick with what I thought when we brought all those guys in : NO, it's not possible to win the cup with all of them ; they eat way too much cap space for the little gamebreaking abilities they have. Plus they are all smallish (you can add 5 millions for Plek too)
I think so. Although they will need to be complemented properly and have a young supporting cast that can carry their share of the load. In a couple of years, Eller, Pouliot, Patches, Subban should be ready to step up and play much bigger roles for the club. Price should be hitting his prime while our vets would still have the legs for a push.
There's no reason to think we can't win with Gomez and Gio since they've already done it. If Cammy keeps his playoff clutchness, then all the better chance we have at winning. Key is to make the perfect blend. That's Gauthier's problem.
The Habs have nice depth, but they lack a gamebreaker to really have a shot at winning it all. How do you get a gamebreaker? - usually you have to draft one.
That's the problem, the Habs have been good enough year over year that they draft fairly well down the order where it is very rare for a gamebreaker to be available. It's not impossible, but these days with 30 teams, it's a real long shot.
Teams are hoarding their draft picks now in the salary cap era so it's rare that you see one stupid enough to give away lottery picks for immediate help. Of course you can always hope for the next set of Leafs pick to become available.
Winning with depth as opposed to stars is almost impossible - who was the last to do it? - even Carolina had Stall - who can win a series all by himself. The last team to win with depth - the 93 Habs - of course they had Roy who was playing better than Halak did last year. Maybe those Devil teams fit the bill as well.
Absolutely but we need a strong puck moving d-corp to help the transition and a good support cast to help them out when they're slumping and to do the dirty stuff
We had that actually, not as consistant as you'd like maybe, but fo a 3rd/4th line trio, Halpern, Pouls and Darche were putting up points. Since they've been split none of them is doing particularly well.
( don't bring the ''anything can happen'' , I mean a serious chance )
not a hope in hell , last year was a Fernando Pisani playoff
we dont have the horses to win it all
no front line forward
no front line defender ....Markov is out ...a huge loss
slow aging defence where no one stands out
Price will have to do backflips ....but our problem is we cant have the 7-8th seed
and expect to run the course on the road ....too difficult a hill to climb
I do not beleive we have the players that will lead us to the Cup. In fact, we will be a perennial 6th to 10th place team with the roster we have.
The Forwards are meh. We have some decent players in our top six but no standout players besides Plekanec. The teams needs a dominant centre, something we have not had since Turgeon in the mid 90s. As well, more size and versatility is needed. I think we are generally okay on the bottom six. I would, however, like more speed and gumption on these lines.
The worst part of our team is the defense; it is mightly old. Without Markov, the lack of mobility and passing skills is glaring. Each d handles the puck like a gernade. Thankfully we have Wiz coming in who can skate, shoot, and has a mean streak. He may be our repelacment for Hamrlik next season and will begin to fill the void left by Markov. BTW, no more Picard!!!
I lol'ed. I was clearly trolling the main board.
You really took the time to search for this huh?
Oh yeah seriously, I took all of 2 minutes to find a thread I remembered you making from this summer. Do you know how search features work on a message board?
You also made a thread a few weeks back about how awesome and underrated the Habs' D is. I'm sure if I took the time to look through your actual posts, I could find more examples of your bipolarity.
Face it, this is a classic losing streak reaction thread.
in, lets say, 3 years, where do you see
- Eller (same, average 2nd liner, good 2nd line C, etc)? Probably a very good 3rd line center, who's able to play 2nd line when needed. I think he'll become a true defensive specialist, without the offensive skills to produce regularly. 30 to 40 pts per year.
- Pouliot ? I don't see him in Montreal in 3 years. He's definitely not JM's kind of player.
- Price ? One of the top 10 goaler in the NHL every year.
- Subban ? One of the best offensive defenseman in the NHL, but with a few defensive problems. Around 50 pts a year.
- Weber ? Not sure about him... Maybe a #5 or 6 who can play on the PP.
- Pyatt ? We won't remember his name in 3 years.
- Leblanc ? He's exactly the kind of player that is loved by JM and PG. Can play well both offensively and defensively and gives a full effort on every shift. I'll say a good 2nd line center with a 60-70 pts ceiling.
- Gorges ? (will be below 30) Just like today. A very effective #4-5 defenseman.
- other prospects ? In 3 years, I expect Ryan White to be our main agitator on the 4th line. Pacioretty should be a good 2nd liner, scoring 40-50 pts per year. Tinordi could play a few games on the 3rd pairing. Palushaj could earn a spot on the 3rd line. Bournival will be traveling between Hamilton and Montreal. And I think David Desharnais will produce a lot of points for another NHL team, because he's clearly not seen as an NHL player by the Habs organization.
The bolded parts are my predictions.
In conclusion, in 3 years, I think that we'll still rely massively on Gomez, Plekanec, Cammalleri and Gionta for our offensive production, and on whoever we can get with a trade or on the free agent market.
Last edited by Partisan du CH: 12-29-2010 at 03:45 PM.
ok, since you didnt really awnser the question, here it it is
in, lets say, 3 years, where do you see
- Eller (same, average 2nd liner, good 2nd line C, etc) ?
- Pouliot ?
- Price ?
- Subban ?
- Weber ?
- Pyatt ?
- Leblanc ?
- Gorges ? (will be below 30)
- other prospects ?
these are the key players, cause no matter how well guys you named are doing, if they're the only one doing well, we wont win anything... even if they all put up 100 pts in a season...
and these guys are key for another reason, minus Price none of them will make over 2Mil... giving plenty of room (cap wise) to whoever is our GM then to improve the roster.
So yeah, you dont see it cause you focus on those 3 guys... but hey, albeit their salary, they're still only 3/20 you know...
I don't know what you're getting at, but anyway your list of key players is unconvincing. In predict that no more than four of them will be on the Habs in three years. You also overlook Plekanec and Pacioretty, who will be on the team.
They're good players, and we win many games. If we win enough, we will win the Stanley Cup. Teams will knock each other off, and in the end, if we're one of the top tier teams in the East, we can be champions.
Sarcasm. And if you buy a lottery ticket you can win enough to retire for life.
Oh yeah seriously, I took all of 2 minutes to find a thread I remembered you making from this summer. Do you know how search features work on a message board?
You also made a thread a few weeks back about how awesome and underrated the Habs' D is. I'm sure if I took the time to look through your actual posts, I could find more examples of your bipolarity.
Face it, this is a classic losing streak reaction thread.
I still think our D is awesome with Markov in.In fact , I made this thread during the 2nd period of the game Markov got hurt.It's all my fault.
