Habs chances

AB Habman · Guru

Habs chances

heet_150 · Guru

While I agree with you AB on the fact that it will be a tough sled to get into the playoffs this year, especially with the parity that the cap is creating, I'm going to take a page out of Barry's book and hope, nay, pray, that the Habs will outshoot their opponents. I was reminded of their style of play tonight at the prospect game, and it was same old same old, allow the other team to shoot at will, all night long. You would think that with the defensive minded personnel they have, that there would be fewer shots on the Hab's net, whereas it is translating into fewer Hab shots.

barry33 · Guru

I am thinking a 7th spot again this year. Someone on this board mentioned 3rd...I have seen nothing in the off season to justify this team jumping from 7th (and barely 7th) to 3rd? In a sense it is tough to tell because as Ab said, some teams have really improved and others have fallen. But I still say Carolina has a helluva team and I those who feel that the Canes will not make the playoffs this year need some time off work. Eric Cole being around a full season will help and yes Virginia, Cam Ward is the real thing. Boston WILL make it this year (best dman in the league, new coach), Toronto will fight for 8th. Atlanta did nothing to improve. Ottawa is still very strong. Bufallo will be strong again but may go down a spot or 2.

In other words..look for Boston to be in the mix this year, Carolina, Ottawa, Buffalo, Jersey, Philly will be shoe ins. So that is 5 shoe ins, and I predict Boston grabs a spot. That leaves 2 spots between Tampa Bay, Rangers, Habs, Toronto. I predit the habs and Tampa will grab the last 2 spots. But honestly guys, all bias' aside, do you see anything in the offseason to say that 'lina, Buffalo, Jersey, Ottawa, and Philly will not grab the first 5 spots?

macneil · Guru

well barry carolina will be good but they have lost some parts from last year , ward may still be the flash in the pan raycroft was or not , they lost arron ward and cullen, if ward falters they could be outside the playoff picture .ottawa have also lost a few pieces so they aren't as strong either , buffalo lost alot this summer and didnt replace anything , jersey still has to sort out lou's mess so who know what they will be like , and philly are slow on d and their goaltending is shaky , and what and about gagne , when does he sign and what are the repercussions of this long negotiating . now im not saying the habs are as good as these teams but i feel we have improved over last year . i think that if montreal had huet in nets from the start of the season last year we would not have snuck into the playoffs . as for the teams below us , the only team i see that may pass the habs are the bruins , they improved alot on d, they have a good top 6 forwards and if their goaltending is good they could be this years buffalo/carolina .

barry33 · Guru

macneil wrote:

well barry carolina will be good but they have lost some parts from last year , ward may still be the flash in the pan raycroft was or not , they lost arron ward and cullen, if ward falters they could be outside the playoff picture .ottawa have also lost a few pieces so they aren't as strong either , buffalo lost alot this summer and didnt replace anything , jersey still has to sort out lou's mess so who know what they will be like , and philly are slow on d and their goaltending is shaky , and what and about gagne , when does he sign and what are the repercussions of this long negotiating . now im not saying the habs are as good as these teams but i feel we have improved over last year . i think that if montreal had huet in nets from the start of the season last year we would not have snuck into the playoffs . as for the teams below us , the only team i see that may pass the habs are the bruins , they improved alot on d, they have a good top 6 forwards and if their goaltending is good they could be this years buffalo/carolina .

Time will tell red. I still think that Ottawa has a ton of talent and will battle for top spot. Sabres managed to keep most of their key cogs together as did Jersey, although Jersey still has a few to move. Tampa still has not goalie and that will be their achilles heel. As far as the "if we had of had Huet all last year we would not have snuck into the playoffs", as you know, I am NOT a fan of "what if's".Gainey wanted to stick with Theo and only when he took over the coaches reins and he saw first hand how bad Theo stunk did he make a change. As much as some say Cam Ward may be a flash in the pan like Raycroft was, who is to say that Huet won't be either? We are all assuming that Huet is the real deal but Cam Ward is not, which I believe is clouded by our bias'. I do agree about Boston. I believe that some people are not looking at the total picture on Boston. They are solid. Question mark (like 75% of the NHL teams this year) will be goaltending but I think they will be fine. Additionally, although the Pens will not make the playoffs, they WILL be a much tougher team for the habs to play against. With Malkin they now have a pretty fast team that matches up well with Montreal's speed.

It will be a very interesting year to say the least.

macneil · Guru

ottawa will be the cream , buffalo will still be good but i think montreal as good,carolina will be good as well , the reason i say that about ward is they have no backup where as
montreal has a first string goalie as a backup. i really wasnt playing the what if card just saying that huet will give us solid goaltenting this year as apposed to what theo gave us, we should be that much better . i dont think jersey will be as good as the habs this year unless lou can sucker some dumb gm into helping him out , they are at the cap without gionta, hale and martin so they need to shed atleast 6 mil from the team so they are not set as a team just yet .

-- Edited by macneil at 19:51, 2006-09-10

barry33 · Guru

macneil wrote:

ottawa will be the cream , buffalo will still be good but i think montreal as good,carolina will be good as well , the reason i say that about ward is they have no backup where as
montreal has a first string goalie as a backup. i really wasnt playing the what if card just saying that huet will give us solid goaltenting this year as apposed to what theo gave us, we should be that much better . i dont think jersey will be as good as the habs this year unless lou can sucker some dumb gm into helping him out , they are at the cap without gionta, hale and martin so they need to shed atleast 6 mil from the team so they are not set as a team just yet .

-- Edited by macneil at 19:51, 2006-09-10

I received an email from CJ last week. He says to expect some changes once camp opens. He still feels that they can make a trade or two that will get the cap down but also help them with some younger talent. Look for them to make a trade or 2 for young prospects.

macneil · Guru

interesting , wonder who is going where , maybe you can talk him into talking lou into ribs for gionta lol , its been a long summer , i had forgotten about claude being in jersey.

barry33 · Guru

macneil wrote:

interesting , wonder who is going where , maybe you can talk him into talking lou into ribs for gionta lol , its been a long summer , i had forgotten about claude being in jersey.

Ribs for Gionta? Nahh..I am sure being fired once in a year is plenty for him lol...would be nice though.

Jay1982 · Guru

Barry, three things came to mind after reading this post, and I feel that it is my duty to correct them

barry33 wrote:

and yes Virginia, Cam Ward is the real thing.

Boston WILL make it this year (best dman in the league, new coach),

But honestly guys, all bias' aside, do you see anything in the offseason to say that 'lina, Buffalo, Jersey, Ottawa, and Philly will not grab the first 5 spots?

The Canes play in North Carolina

Zubov, Niedemier (sp), McCabe, Redden, and even Phaneuf rank higher in my books than Chara. The guy is huge and has a presence, thats it (Size isn't everything anymore, people have to get the old mindset out of their heads) he sometimes makes a play, but that was on Ottawa.

Philly will be lucky to grab 7th or 8th spot with the current team including Gagne, if Gagne sits for any amount of time more than the 1st 2 weeks of the season, Philly won't make the playoffs, they are too slow. If it wasn't for Threeorfour dropping all those games, we would have finished above the Devils (yeah, its been said alot how theo dropped games, I will continually bring this point up until people can realize that HE single handedly lost us games), and the Devils will have to move players-- which disrupts chemistry, depending on who they move, they can fall to 7th. Carolina is putting their 06-07 season on Cam Ward -- everyone talks about Huet, and how he has to prove himself, that he was only good for a 30 game stretch....well, what about Ward, he needs to prove himself, he had a stretch of 12 games where he was good (not counting the finals) and lets face it, he wasn't Kipper -- and when Ward reached the finals, he didn't impress me all that much, he made good saves, but you could tell he was winding down. If Ward fails Carolina is cooked, destined for 5th and under.

Oh, and just for the record, the habs will be great to watch!!!

barry33 · Guru

Jay1982 wrote:

Barry, three things came to mind after reading this post, and I feel that it is my duty to correct them

barry33 wrote:

and yes Virginia, Cam Ward is the real thing.

Boston WILL make it this year (best dman in the league, new coach),

But honestly guys, all bias' aside, do you see anything in the offseason to say that 'lina, Buffalo, Jersey, Ottawa, and Philly will not grab the first 5 spots?

The Canes play in North Carolina

Zubov, Niedemier (sp), McCabe, Redden, and even Phaneuf rank higher in my books than Chara. The guy is huge and has a presence, thats it (Size isn't everything anymore, people have to get the old mindset out of their heads) he sometimes makes a play, but that was on Ottawa.

Philly will be lucky to grab 7th or 8th spot with the current team including Gagne, if Gagne sits for any amount of time more than the 1st 2 weeks of the season, Philly won't make the playoffs, they are too slow. If it wasn't for Threeorfour dropping all those games, we would have finished above the Devils (yeah, its been said alot how theo dropped games, I will continually bring this point up until people can realize that HE single handedly lost us games), and the Devils will have to move players-- which disrupts chemistry, depending on who they move, they can fall to 7th. Carolina is putting their 06-07 season on Cam Ward -- everyone talks about Huet, and how he has to prove himself, that he was only good for a 30 game stretch....well, what about Ward, he needs to prove himself, he had a stretch of 12 games where he was good (not counting the finals) and lets face it, he wasn't Kipper -- and when Ward reached the finals, he didn't impress me all that much, he made good saves, but you could tell he was winding down. If Ward fails Carolina is cooked, destined for 5th and under.

Oh, and just for the record, the habs will be great to watch!!!

Jay- the "yes Virginia" reference pertains to an old Xmas story "Yes Virginia there is a Santa Clause". Given your young age I will forgive you for not knowing it lol. I still think you guys put wayyy too much weight on the Cam Ward effect. Carolina was at the top or near the top of that division ALL year long, without Cam Ward. And what they have lost this year will not drop them from 1st to 6th place. And the devils will not end up in 7th place Jay. They have the bext goalie in the league and a ton of talent even after they move Gionta.

Jay1982 · Guru

barry33 wrote:

Jay1982 wrote:

Barry, three things came to mind after reading this post, and I feel that it is my duty to correct them

barry33 wrote:

and yes Virginia, Cam Ward is the real thing.

Boston WILL make it this year (best dman in the league, new coach),

But honestly guys, all bias' aside, do you see anything in the offseason to say that 'lina, Buffalo, Jersey, Ottawa, and Philly will not grab the first 5 spots?

The Canes play in North Carolina

Zubov, Niedemier (sp), McCabe, Redden, and even Phaneuf rank higher in my books than Chara. The guy is huge and has a presence, thats it (Size isn't everything anymore, people have to get the old mindset out of their heads) he sometimes makes a play, but that was on Ottawa.

Philly will be lucky to grab 7th or 8th spot with the current team including Gagne, if Gagne sits for any amount of time more than the 1st 2 weeks of the season, Philly won't make the playoffs, they are too slow. If it wasn't for Threeorfour dropping all those games, we would have finished above the Devils (yeah, its been said alot how theo dropped games, I will continually bring this point up until people can realize that HE single handedly lost us games), and the Devils will have to move players-- which disrupts chemistry, depending on who they move, they can fall to 7th. Carolina is putting their 06-07 season on Cam Ward -- everyone talks about Huet, and how he has to prove himself, that he was only good for a 30 game stretch....well, what about Ward, he needs to prove himself, he had a stretch of 12 games where he was good (not counting the finals) and lets face it, he wasn't Kipper -- and when Ward reached the finals, he didn't impress me all that much, he made good saves, but you could tell he was winding down. If Ward fails Carolina is cooked, destined for 5th and under.

Oh, and just for the record, the habs will be great to watch!!!

Jay- the "yes Virginia" reference pertains to an old Xmas story "Yes Virginia there is a Santa Clause". Given your young age I will forgive you for not knowing it lol. I still think you guys put wayyy too much weight on the Cam Ward effect. Carolina was at the top or near the top of that division ALL year long, without Cam Ward. And what they have lost this year will not drop them from 1st to 6th place. And the devils will not end up in 7th place Jay. They have the bext goalie in the league and a ton of talent even after they move Gionta.

Carolina was there mostly because of Gerber's play, he's not there anymore.

I also said IF the devils move certain players they'll end up ion that position (not Gionta, I heard Rafalski+Gomez, and other role players). Goaltending is the most important position in hockey, but just because you have Brodeur in nets doesn't mean you are a shoo-in. Look at Florida and Luongo....... I rest my case.

barry33 · Guru

Rafalski+Gomez, and other role players). Goaltending is the most important position in hockey, but just because you have Brodeur in nets doesn't mean you are a shoo-in. Look at Florida and Luongo....... I rest my case. Jay

Jay- I like to think that the Devils, even without Gionta would have a bit more to offer than Florida. And I strongly feel that your hatred towards Carolina is clouding your opinion. Surely you are not suggesting that Carolina was only at the top of the division because of marty Gerber?!?? In that case I change my mind. If Huet stands on his head we are winning the cup this year!!! But I do feel that the habs will be a very entertaining team to watch this year. Young and fast. It will really be a matter of whether they can minimize the mistakes that cost them games and score enough goals.

Just fooling with ya big guy. I see you are sitting behind me in October at the game so I best behave..I do not want a Molson down the back of my neck..that would be a waste of good beer

-- Edited by barry33 at 15:14, 2006-09-11

JohnM · Guru

I think we will be anywhere from 5-7 in the conference. There are too many good teams to think we can be in the top 4. Too many stars have to be aligned for that to happen.

ray · Senior Member

Barry I agree with you top 5 except I'm not sold on Philly, and I Believe Jay 1982 feels the same way. The Gagne situation may start negative situations in Philly, Forsberg, how long til he gets hurt? I'm not sold on the goaltending situation there neither. Their D-man are somewhat on declining side and very slow. Yes, they have some young fantastic talent but if Forsberg goes down and Gagne misses some time. I'm afraid there going to be hard pressed to make the playoffs.

NEWFIEHABSFAN · Senior Member

Right now before the season starts, Montreal is still tied for first as is all teams, as much as i would like for montreal to have a great season and finish in the top four,the reality is that they will have to fight night in and night out so they can make the playoffs. they are going to have to show us that they can do it, if they play like they can take a night off then they are in trouble! AS a true habs fan i like to say that the habs will win the cup,but as a sensible habs fan i hope they make the playoffs!

barry33 · Guru

NEWFIEHABSFAN wrote:

Right now before the season starts, Montreal is still tied for first as is all teams, as much as i would like for montreal to have a great season and finish in the top four,the reality is that they will have to fight night in and night out so they can make the playoffs. they are going to have to show us that they can do it, if they play like they can take a night off then they are in trouble! AS a true habs fan i like to say that the habs will win the cup,but as a sensible habs fan i hope they make the playoffs!

Newfie- well put!!!! I agree 100%. I have coached many teams who were not as deep in talent as our opposition. In that case, the key has always been whether I can get the kids to buy into the "outwork your opponent every shift and every single night" approach. If they do, it makes a huge difference. That will be the key to Montreal this year. Carbo will need to somehow get through to some of the players on the team (and by now we all know who they are) that they are going to have to battle for everything they get. If he can do that, you have the makings of a team that will grab 5-6th. If not, you have the makings of a team that will struggle to get into the dance.

That is not putting down the habs. They will have an exciting young team..but the key word is young. Lets face it, alot of teams in our conference have more talent at this stage (and yes I include carolina in that group). But if Carbo gets them to buy into a system of hard work and busting their butts, they will surpise a few.

That is where Koivu does excel at. It is effort. Do I think effort and leadership is worth 4.75 mill a year in a cap system? Nope. But that is not up to me to decide. The bottom line is that alot of these loafers could leran something regarding work ethic from the finnish smurf.

wright · Veteran Member

Predicting the outcome of the season is a bit of a crap shoot. To quote Gainey "expect the unexpected". There were no so called hockey experts predicting the success of Buffalo and Carolina last season, or Tampa winning the cup in '03. In this era of salary cap, a lot of teams are one key injury away from melting away. As powerful as Ottawa is, the loss of Havlat makes them look more like a one line team, if Brodeur goes down for any length of time Jersey is in trouble. The salary cap has eroded the sizable advantages the elite teams had over the less competitive, as the better teams no longer have the same depth they used to have. Carolina is still good, but they took some big hits in the off season losing Recchi,Weight,Gerber,Cullen.

Virtually every team in the east goes into the season with question marks: Boston could be a lot better, but they will have 7 new players in their lineup, will they gel as a team, and as good as their finnish goalie appears to be, he has a history of injury problems. Some teams like Tampa address the big weakness they had last season (goaltending) but weaken themselves in other areas by giving up a quality forward in Modin, and dmen in Sydor and Kubina. Buffalo loses Pyatt, Griere, Mckee and makes no moves to upgrade themselves. Philly has a brutally slow defence, and if Jagr decides he is bored this year and their young goalie has the sophmore jinx despite their other moves they are in trouble. The Habs could finish anywhere from 5th to 10th. If Koivu is healthy they could make a bit of a run, if not they could struggle to make the playoffs.

Jay1982 · Guru

barry33 wrote:

Rafalski+Gomez, and other role players). Goaltending is the most important position in hockey, but just because you have Brodeur in nets doesn't mean you are a shoo-in. Look at Florida and Luongo....... I rest my case. Jay

Jay- I like to think that the Devils, even without Gionta would have a bit more to offer than Florida. And I strongly feel that your hatred towards Carolina is clouding your opinion. Surely you are not suggesting that Carolina was only at the top of the division because of marty Gerber?!?? In that case I change my mind. If Huet stands on his head we are winning the cup this year!!! But I do feel that the habs will be a very entertaining team to watch this year. Young and fast. It will really be a matter of whether they can minimize the mistakes that cost them games and score enough goals.

Just fooling with ya big guy. I see you are sitting behind me in October at the game so I best behave..I do not want a Molson down the back of my neck..that would be a waste of good beer

-- Edited by barry33 at 15:14, 2006-09-11

lol, its all good, I wasn't saying they only got to where they were cause of Gerber, but he was a big factor. And, as for my hatred...lol, it'd be less if they were still the Hartford Whalers, but I'm just splitting hairs

Fatherhab · Senior Member

This is the year that all and I mean all the Hab Veterans answer the call. We can not expect Koivu to lead this team on his own. With a good mix of veteran and rookies in all positions(coaching) included, all pulling in the same direction with no cliques in the dressing room, we will surprise alot of people around the league.

For those of you who did not see the Spector article reviewing the Canes, in shows the departures and additions over the off season. Some mention is made of the loss of Stillman due to injury, the return of Cole and the break-out season expected of Ladd. Where Carolina may falter is in the net if ward can't pick-up the games played by Gerber.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/5953682

I am really excited about this coming season. The departure of some deadwood players who failed to buy into the system, have or will be replaced by other experienced players or enthusiatics rookies, which bodes well for us.

Good season Habs fans

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Traveling Hab · Veteran Member

I see the Habs making the playoffs, but with a severe struggle.

Most of the teams above us have become slightly worse, but with no significantly huge drop in skill level, and the teams below us have (with the exceptions of Washington and the Islanders) have all improved. This seems to create a logjam around the last few playof spots, and it makes it especially difficult for the Northeast division, where there are two shoe-ins, and three teams with good chances at the lower playoff spots. Hopefully the improvement of Pittsburgh will rob some points from the Devils, the Flyers, and the Rangers, creating a little more space in the middle and lower tier playoff spots. Unfortunately, the expected dropoff for the Islanders will more than likely make up for those lost points.

AB Habman · Guru

Alot of great insight guys!!!!!

To sum it all up, you're all right! Many scenarios may happen for other teams! This may be the season that we make or break based on what happens to other teams but the fact is, has Gainey did enough to control his own destiny?

We are marginally better because of the new coaching style that Carb and Muller bring. Also because our rookies will bring better energy than last season now that they gained a little experience and confidence. The actual roster moves of this off season for myself merely balances out. The big excitement of this season will be seeing which new rookie will take a position.

I think we will squeek into 7th or 8th again. After all...isn't that now almost a norm?

Just maybe we shouldn't place as much stock on Gainey's long term plan on regular season improvement but rather what we do in post season! So far we have been fairly consistent in that department but this season has to be different. We must win at least a couple rounds!

-- Edited by AB Habman at 01:57, 2006-09-12