What Lessons Have The Habs Taught Us?

[Coconuts]

29 minutes ago, Jimmy McGill said:

yeah. If MTL ends up winning the cup I'll get teary eyed when Burr lifts the cup. That'll make the obnoxiousness of Montreal fans for the next decade worth it. 

100%

[ShawnAntoski]

Imo, there are five things:

 

1. Having a management team that is decisive and not afraid to make a change when neccessary: coaching change, trades and FA.

 

2. Having a good mix of new & experience in the coaching staff matters.

 

3..  Don't trade an unknown lottery ticket: Sergachev (OJ for the Canucks).

 

4.  In a losing season, it is prudent to bottom out, trade assets for picks; and play & showcase the future.

 

5. Cap management: most of the cap should go to core players and not to support/complementary players: Staal and Perry.  Both are ex first line players (that can mentor a young core from actual experience) and were signed to short & cheap contracts.   

 

For the most part, the Habs seems to be the team of destiny this year cause most of Bergevin's moves turned to gold, (the in season) coaching change worked out, the MAF gaffe happened at the right time & changed the tone of the series against Vegas, Price is playing lights out at the right time and so on....

 

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by ShawnAntoski

[philtbc829]

the run the habs are on ...shows you have to be lucky....plus a balanced roster....all your roll players step up to another level....solid goal tending... and a few bounces going your way...(as per first point)...

[rekker]

2 hours ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

Sure invites some mid-90's nostalgia, eh?

I hear you. Showing my age there.

[Warhippy]

3 hours ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

We've had a number of threads emerge from some team's collapses..(no, won't bother ranting more on the negative). Indeed, am a lil' lazy this morn, but figure this is worthy discussion/analysis.

 

Our team is mostly young, with many contracts petering out. The twins have just arrived with their work boots & hard hats at the ready. We could conceivably, change tack now, & take things in one of many possible directions. Could easily define this as a fairly pivotal moment in franchise history, due to an assortment of variables.

 

Drawing inspiration from the Hab's impressive run & PO-proficiency,(#1) what are the attributes/ingredients we need more of?

 

#2- Is their roster uniquely different, so therefore we shouldn't spend too much time trying to emulate?

 

#3- Within context of the salary cap era, is there a common thread in the Habs(& recent Champs: Caps, Blues), which are obvious lessons to heed?

 

...these are some of the Q's that immediately arise..we'll see where this goes.

I'd suggest they are teaching us the same lesson that the Sens did back in 2017

[Nucker 67]

54 minutes ago, Chris12345 said:

And I want that dman at #9 to be thick. Height ok....but thick.

 

Also need a dman with a bomb....and I mean absolute cannon.

So......Carson Lambos?

[Ghostsof1915]

2 hours ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

Sure invites some mid-90's nostalgia, eh?

 

[c00kies]

4 hours ago, Jimmy McGill said:

buy a lucky rabbits foot? a lot of things broke their way:

 

1) Tavares - do they beat TO if he's not whacked in the 1st game? 

 

2) waiver wire guys find new life 

 

3) Scheifflie goes nuts.

 

If those things don't happen are they still in it? pretty hard to say, but there's certainly room for doubt.

 

Now having said that, they are playing a great neutral zone game, and thats certainly something we can emulate with the right coaching direction. 

Well and getting Tofu in free agency for a good price...seriously, a skilled top 6 forward with cup experience who does the little things right (and the big things) is a huge boost to a team that lacked skill. 

Caufield coming in reminds me of Seguin coming in for Boston on their run.

A well-rested Price has success in playoffs, which emphasizes the need to have two good goalies or a capable backup.

Luck is important too! Tavares injury, Scheifele suspension, and only having to play a true contender in the conference Finals is huge...as well as avoiding injuries.

[aGENT]

That we should change our jerseys to a red, white and bleu colour scheme as apparently it has tricked Bettman in to thinking they're one of the US teams that should advance to the finals?

[c00kies]

1 hour ago, ShawnAntoski said:

Imo, there are five things:

 

1. Having a management team that is decisive and not afraid to make a change when neccessary: coaching change, trades and FA.

 

2. Having a good mix of new & experience in the coaching staff matters.

 

3..  Don't trade an unknown lottery ticket: Sergachev (OJ for the Canucks).

 

4.  In a losing season, it is prudent to bottom out, trade assets for picks; and play & showcase the future.

 

5. Cap management: most of the cap should go to core players and not to support/complementary players: Staal and Perry.  Both are ex first line players (that can mentor a young core from actual experience) and were signed to short & cheap contracts.   

 

For the most part, the Habs seems to be the team of destiny this year cause most of Bergevin's moves turned to gold, the coaching change worked out, that MAF gaffe changed the tone of this series, Price is playing lights out at the right time and so on....

 

 

For point #4,  the Leafs did similar, but there a difference. The Habs picked up veteran cup winners who played a key role in their cup wins (includes tofu, but he's a bigger piece).

[knucklehead91]

Also, what I would like to add, is when it comes to Defence, age is just a number. D age much better than forwards. Defensemen get better as they age, experience teaches positioning and awareness.
 

positioning>speed 
You dont need to be fast you just need to know where to be and when to be there. 
 

This is why signing or acquiring dmen near 30 and keeping them beyond 30 is okay. Dmen can carve out a top 4 pairing career until they are 37, 38, 39

 

Forwards start on the top line and wind up on the bottom line or out of the league.

 

Toffoli was the right signing for Montreal, the timing was off for Vancouver. Montreal was much deeper, much stronger on the blueline and in net. This is why I was and still am okay that we let Toffoli walk. This is Montreal’s big signing to help them try and win a cup. Toffoli is not and would not have been that guy for us this season, regardless of COVID or not.

 

 

Montreal has a very heavy veteran blueline. Experience on the blueline is what you need. 
 

Montreal is having a great post-season and I think this is, like all the great goalies who havent won a cup, Price’s one shot at a cup. After this season, I think Montreal will slowly begin to unravel next season. A good handful of Montreal’s key forward players in this post-season run are 31-36. Next season they’ll be another year older, another fraction of a second behind. Lou and Lundqvist had their shots, this is Price’s chance. Montreal has not gone through a full on rebuild in a loooong time, its only a matter of time. They’ve managed to “rebuild on the fly” but they can’t continue this forever. Bergevin milked everything out of this roster this offseason, similar to what Benning did in 2014-15 where he took Vancouver from 25th to 8th in the league over night. We unfortunately got ousted in the first round.
 

What Bergevin did this off-season was exactly what Benning was attempting to do from the day he got here, til the day the Sedins retired. We just didnt have the youth to support the Sedins and the veteran cast. 
 

 

ALSO, This goes to show how the Canadian division was not at all the weakest division and that teams like Colorado and Vegas benefitted greatly from playing easy teams like ANA, LAK and SJS. They are teams that feasted on weak teams and now that they have hit the playoffs, the games arent easy and the the quality of competition has gone up, there are no easy games. Montreal played in a division where there were no “easy” games all season. Almost every team in the division was fairly equal. NOT TOP TIER, but mid to upper mid tier. Montreal has been dialed in, thanks to the grind of the Canadian division. Vegas has had nearly half a season of playing bottom of the league teams where they could beat them on an off night or win through injuries against lower competition. 
Montreal has been in a dog fight all season and its helped them stay sharp.

 

When you look at the standings you think “oh my gosh Montreal is going to get destroyed”… but this is the inflation of the divisions that I made a post about “Feast or Famine”

[elvis15]

6 hours ago, goalie13 said:

I guess it depends on whether you consider the Habs run a great streak, or a sign of things to come.

 

To me, they look like a team that has caught fire, mostly fueled by the confidence that comes from Price's goaltending.  That is hard to replicate unless you have the right goaltender.  

I had them picked as the best team to come out of the North at the start of the season ...and then there was that terrible performance mid-way through where they didn't look like they'd win anything. They're a solid team though, with players playing to their best. Even with Price you need that, especially doing it without a big name top center.

[goalie13]

43 minutes ago, elvis15 said:

I had them picked as the best team to come out of the North at the start of the season ...and then there was that terrible performance mid-way through where they didn't look like they'd win anything. They're a solid team though, with players playing to their best. Even with Price you need that, especially doing it without a big name top center.

You are a wiser man than I.  They are solid, sure.  But I never predicted that they would get this far.  I thought it was going to be the Oilers, but then they would lose to the Avalanche.  Look how that turned out for me.

[ShawnAntoski]

2 hours ago, c00kies said:

For point #4,  the Leafs did similar, but there a difference. The Habs picked up veteran cup winners who played a key role in their cup wins (includes tofu, but he's a bigger piece).

Yeah; been noticing this trend with both the Laffs (first) then the Habs - perhaps JB should look at these opportunities before the price changes instead of overpaying for players that are only good at faceoffs on the ice but have the GREAT INTANGIBLES off the ice.  Imo, JB & his team will have to do a good job selling the core/team to these type of players to get them to agree below market. 

[ShawnAntoski]

2 hours ago, knucklehead91 said:

Also, what I would like to add, is when it comes to Defence, age is just a number. D age much better than forwards. Defensemen get better as they age, experience teaches positioning and awareness.
 

positioning>speed 
You dont need to be fast you just need to know where to be and when to be there. 
 

This is why signing or acquiring dmen near 30 and keeping them beyond 30 is okay. Dmen can carve out a top 4 pairing career until they are 37, 38, 39

 

Forwards start on the top line and wind up on the bottom line or out of the league.

 

Toffoli was the right signing for Montreal, the timing was off for Vancouver. Montreal was much deeper, much stronger on the blueline and in net. This is why I was and still am okay that we let Toffoli walk. This is Montreal’s big signing to help them try and win a cup. Toffoli is not and would not have been that guy for us this season, regardless of COVID or not.

 

 

Montreal has a very heavy veteran blueline. Experience on the blueline is what you need. 
 

Montreal is having a great post-season and I think this is, like all the great goalies who havent won a cup, Price’s one shot at a cup. After this season, I think Montreal will slowly begin to unravel next season. A good handful of Montreal’s key forward players in this post-season run are 31-36. Next season they’ll be another year older, another fraction of a second behind. Lou and Lundqvist had their shots, this is Price’s chance. Montreal has not gone through a full on rebuild in a loooong time, its only a matter of time. They’ve managed to “rebuild on the fly” but they can’t continue this forever. Bergevin milked everything out of this roster this offseason, similar to what Benning did in 2014-15 where he took Vancouver from 25th to 8th in the league over night. We unfortunately got ousted in the first round.
 

What Bergevin did this off-season was exactly what Benning was attempting to do from the day he got here, til the day the Sedins retired. We just didnt have the youth to support the Sedins and the veteran cast. 
 

 

ALSO, This goes to show how the Canadian division was not at all the weakest division and that teams like Colorado and Vegas benefitted greatly from playing easy teams like ANA, LAK and SJS. They are teams that feasted on weak teams and now that they have hit the playoffs, the games arent easy and the the quality of competition has gone up, there are no easy games. Montreal played in a division where there were no “easy” games all season. Almost every team in the division was fairly equal. NOT TOP TIER, but mid to upper mid tier. Montreal has been dialed in, thanks to the grind of the Canadian division. Vegas has had nearly half a season of playing bottom of the league teams where they could beat them on an off night or win through injuries against lower competition. 
Montreal has been in a dog fight all season and its helped them stay sharp.

 

When you look at the standings you think “oh my gosh Montreal is going to get destroyed”… but this is the inflation of the divisions that I made a post about “Feast or Famine”

The team has fully bought in to Ducharme - that in season, coaching change showed the players that management is all in (for this season).

[EddieVedder]

4 hours ago, Taphouse Canuck said:

We have mostly small mobile defencemen and no discernible defensive structure. Has anyone else seen a team with those qualities in the playoffs?

Never... 

As cute as a lot of posters here think Huggy bear is, we are getting nowhere if we think we can mold our defense around him.  You cant keep trying to convince yourselves that this is turning into a no hit girls league.  It will never happen.  This team needs a legit #1 and frankly,  legit #2 that can play in every situation.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by EddieVedder

[Me_]

[IBatch]

Habs are mostly a veteran team.   Bergevin the Clown, has made some crazy and some amazing moves while running that team, but aside from Suzuki, Kotnamyvowels, and Caufield (all contributors), look at the age of these guys, they are mostly in the the sweet spot.   Weber for Subban was one of his best moves, and was heavily critcized for it at the time.   Perry, Anderson, Staal.   These guys couldn't get enough credit, and of course TT.    Vegas vs TB.   I think Vegas could take them.   MTL is turning the corner from dark horse to contender before our eyes .... look at how well they've kept the three teams so far stars off the scoresheet.   Playing an effective team game.   Of course Price is their MVP.    Large D.  Large D. Large D.   Really St. Louis didn't have any superhero's either (ok maybe O'Reilly but that's it),  what we are seeing is a GM going for it and this time it worked. 

[IBatch]

9 hours ago, knucklehead91 said:

Also, what I would like to add, is when it comes to Defence, age is just a number. D age much better than forwards. Defensemen get better as they age, experience teaches positioning and awareness.
 

positioning>speed 
You dont need to be fast you just need to know where to be and when to be there. 
 

This is why signing or acquiring dmen near 30 and keeping them beyond 30 is okay. Dmen can carve out a top 4 pairing career until they are 37, 38, 39

 

Forwards start on the top line and wind up on the bottom line or out of the league.

 

Toffoli was the right signing for Montreal, the timing was off for Vancouver. Montreal was much deeper, much stronger on the blueline and in net. This is why I was and still am okay that we let Toffoli walk. This is Montreal’s big signing to help them try and win a cup. Toffoli is not and would not have been that guy for us this season, regardless of COVID or not.

 

 

Montreal has a very heavy veteran blueline. Experience on the blueline is what you need. 
 

Montreal is having a great post-season and I think this is, like all the great goalies who havent won a cup, Price’s one shot at a cup. After this season, I think Montreal will slowly begin to unravel next season. A good handful of Montreal’s key forward players in this post-season run are 31-36. Next season they’ll be another year older, another fraction of a second behind. Lou and Lundqvist had their shots, this is Price’s chance. Montreal has not gone through a full on rebuild in a loooong time, its only a matter of time. They’ve managed to “rebuild on the fly” but they can’t continue this forever. Bergevin milked everything out of this roster this offseason, similar to what Benning did in 2014-15 where he took Vancouver from 25th to 8th in the league over night. We unfortunately got ousted in the first round.
 

What Bergevin did this off-season was exactly what Benning was attempting to do from the day he got here, til the day the Sedins retired. We just didnt have the youth to support the Sedins and the veteran cast. 
 

 

ALSO, This goes to show how the Canadian division was not at all the weakest division and that teams like Colorado and Vegas benefitted greatly from playing easy teams like ANA, LAK and SJS. They are teams that feasted on weak teams and now that they have hit the playoffs, the games arent easy and the the quality of competition has gone up, there are no easy games. Montreal played in a division where there were no “easy” games all season. Almost every team in the division was fairly equal. NOT TOP TIER, but mid to upper mid tier. Montreal has been dialed in, thanks to the grind of the Canadian division. Vegas has had nearly half a season of playing bottom of the league teams where they could beat them on an off night or win through injuries against lower competition. 
Montreal has been in a dog fight all season and its helped them stay sharp.

 

When you look at the standings you think “oh my gosh Montreal is going to get destroyed”… but this is the inflation of the divisions that I made a post about “Feast or Famine”

I agree with this entire post with the exception of D's playing top four at that age, only the best in business can manage that.   But do agree that the blue chip D's (we have two in Schmidt and Myers, well three in Edler) often play their best hockey from 30-35.   Weber is a HHOF number one D that never quite won a Norris, his generations Brad Park.  Pretty sure without looking, nobody scored as many goals as him since his first NHL game.    Edler is past his due date now, too slow, but for sure could play well on a bottom pairing for another 2-4 years.    Curiously, TO also got some vets to help their run .... but didn't pick winners.   MTL did in Perry and Staal.   Also luck played into it against TO with Tavares, same with Schieffle.    That said they've played such a great team defense against the other teams stars so far ... it's starting to look like destiny. 

[mikeyman109]

22 minutes ago, IBatch said:

Habs are mostly a veteran team.   Bergevin the Clown, has made some crazy and some amazing moves while running that team, but aside from Suzuki, Kotnamyvowels, and Caufield (all contributors), look at the age of these guys, they are mostly in the the sweet spot.   Weber for Subban was one of his best moves, and was heavily critcized for it at the time.   Perry, Anderson, Staal.   These guys couldn't get enough credit, and of course TT.    Vegas vs TB.   I think Vegas could take them.   MTL is turning the corner from dark horse to contender before our eyes .... look at how well they've kept the three teams so far stars off the scoresheet.   Playing an effective team game.   Of course Price is their MVP.    Large D.  Large D. Large D.   Really St. Louis didn't have any superhero's either (ok maybe O'Reilly but that's it),  what we are seeing is a GM going for it and this time it worked. 

Highlighted. Please. Its not about punishing other teams its the ability to survive the punishment the other teams dish out in the playoffs.