They're a 12-15 team right now (Subban included). Based on the premise that a big market team has much more pressure to win, Habs will probably trade picks/prospects for vets on big money contracts. That will make the team more competitive, just enough to finish 10th or 11th in the East.
I would say we finish between 9-11 but that would be the worst scenario. It's either we make the playoffs or we tank in order to get a better position at the 2013 NHL Draft.
Those who believe this is a playoff team or is on the cusp of being a playoff team will be very frustrated. Therrien will try lots of stuff this season but he's trying to squeeze water out of stone. This team finished 15th last season. Where did it improve?
It's only real strength was the PK. 2nd in the whole league. That dominance dissappeared when Hal Gill left... The PP was worst in the East. That's with Subban. Will a healthy Markov change everything? Therrien's fighting a losing battle...
They're a 12-15 team right now (Subban included). Based on the premise that a big market team has much more pressure to win, Habs will probably trade picks/prospects for vets on big money contracts. That will make the team more competitive, just enough to finish 10th or 11th in the East.
it goes both ways,if the habs are out of the playoffs race come trade deadline,i could see MB unloading some vets for picks making our team abit worst
I voted 9-11 because, as I already mentioned in another thread: I hate our D squad!
- How many games will Subban miss?
- Markov's health is still a concern (his KHL stint is encouraging; fingers crossed)
- We may be forced to use Emelin in the top 4 and I think he is not ready for such duties
- We also may be forced to use Emelin as a RD and he looked better as a LD
- We never replaced Hamrlik: he was a stabilizing force out there. One who was able to eat a lot of evens strength minutes
- Because of his experience and style of play, we may be forced to use Bouillon in the top 4. I am a big fan (he is much better than Campoli!) but I don't like him as a top4 D.
- Most of our D bring a redundant contribution: soft (to various degree) offensive defensemen. We badly need a big, experienced and tough stay at home D.
- Subban, Diaz, Weber, Saint-Denis, Emelin... these are not experienced defensemen. And at least 3 of them will play a big role.
Think of all the 3rd period leads we lost last season: it is the sign of an inexperienced D squad imo. This season should not be different.
I agree 100%, if they play half of their games, or more, the same way the played on Saturday night. They will need to be way better than they were on Saturday night if they want to even get a sniff of the 8th playoff spot.
The only bright spot in the loss to TO was Carey Price. He had to deal with way more pressure than Scrivens all night, and he still gave the team a chance to win the game. He was excellent, as we normally would expect.
Against TO, the Habs forwards couldn't generate a lick of serious offensive pressure in the first two periods. In the third, they had a couple moments with some decent pressure, but they were certainly fleeting. On defence, they let the TO forwards gain the blueline with little to no adversity and they lost too many one on one battles in their own zone. Overall, the team was sloppy and couldn't execute breakouts, forechecks, plays to gain the blueline, and the PP set-up. I watched quite a bit of hockey on the weekend and it was pretty clear to me that the Habs were, by far, the poorest when it came to play execution.
The Habs are sure to lose 95% of their games this year IF they play the same way they did on Saturday night. I'm certain they will not play that poorly in every game... but how often can they play good games? And, how good is their "good"?
I will personally be surprised if the Habs finish above 12th in the East.
Hard to be optimistic at this point. In order for the Habs to make the playoffs they would need to be better than 7 other teams in the Eastern Conference. Looking at it right now, I think it would be a tough exercise to find those 7 teams. Hell, even finding more than a couple would be a challenge.
