State of the Habs

[CANADIENS27]

On ‎1‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 1:22 PM, habs1952 said:

Jaromir Jagr is on waivers. Maybe the Habs can resurrect his career.

He's been assigned to Kladno in the Czech Republic.  

 

 

[HabsAlways]

1 hour ago, CANADIENS27 said:

He's been assigned to Kladno in the Czech Republic.  

 

 

Well now that he's cleared waivers I'm sure MB will offer Patches + 2nd for Jagr

 

[rocketbelifleur]

16 minutes ago, HabsAlways said:

Well now that he's cleared waivers I'm sure MB will offer Patches + 2nd for Jagr

 

It's really tough to hold your breath while laughing your butt off. Thanks a lot.

[kinot-2]

From CJ's presser yesterday re Benn's benching"

""You have to make hockey decisions, not popularity decisions. This is where we are right now. There are other guys back there that are struggling. If they don't pick up their game, they'll get their turn as well."

[maas_art]

10 minutes ago, kinot-2 said:

From CJ's presser yesterday re Benn's benching"

""You have to make hockey decisions, not popularity decisions. This is where we are right now. There are other guys back there that are struggling. If they don't pick up their game, they'll get their turn as well."

I still really wish we knew how much MB is micromanaging CJ.   There's no way all the decisions Julien has made this year are his own. 

[kinot-2]

9 minutes ago, maas_art said:

I still really wish we knew how much MB is micromanaging CJ.   There's no way all the decisions Julien has made this year are his own. 

Just wondering if this is the way it went:

CJ: "I have to bench someone to get the point across that they aren't working hard enough".

MB: "Well, here's a list of players that you cannot bench."

[maas_art]

29 minutes ago, kinot-2 said:

Just wondering if this is the way it went:

CJ: "I have to bench someone to get the point across that they aren't working hard enough".

MB: "Well, here's a list of players that you cannot bench."

I doubt if its quite that bad but I wouldnt be surprised at all if CJ say, writes his list of lineups, or line combinations or who he's playing at centre etc & MB casually peruses and changes then as he sees fit. 

[jwlk]

could you imagine the look on MBs face if CJ put Alex Galchenyuk back at center, i mean at this point why not, you cant draft a center, you cant trade for a center, i would even say try max at center, you really cannot get any worse

[CANADIENS27]

Last night, we had a team that couldn't finish chances and couldn't capitalize on a 6 on 4 power play.  

 

 

[jennifer_rocket]

3 hours ago, maas_art said:

I doubt if its quite that bad but I wouldnt be surprised at all if CJ say, writes his list of lineups, or line combinations or who he's playing at centre etc & MB casually peruses and changes then as he sees fit. 

I hope not.

I'm sure MB is an interfering type of GM though.

Give me Pierre Gauthier at this point.

[Habs=stanleycup]

1 hour ago, jennifer_rocket said:

I hope not.

I'm sure MB is an interfering type of GM though.

Give me Pierre Gauthier at this point.

Agreed.

[BigTed3]

5 hours ago, jwlk said:

could you imagine the look on MBs face if CJ put Alex Galchenyuk back at center, i mean at this point why not, you cant draft a center, you cant trade for a center, i would even say try max at center, you really cannot get any worse

It's getting to be very bizarre. Everyone but Galchenyuk gets a turn at center. Drouin got a long look, Danault, McCarron, Hudon, Byron, Plekanec, Shaw, Froese, etc. It's pretty clear it's not about how well or poorly AG could do in that role and more about purposely not moving him there so as to avoid the chance that he has success and everyone looks stupid

[rocketbelifleur]

1 hour ago, BigTed3 said:

It's getting to be very bizarre. Everyone but Galchenyuk gets a turn at center. Drouin got a long look, Danault, McCarron, Hudon, Byron, Plekanec, Shaw, Froese, etc. It's pretty clear it's not about how well or poorly AG could do in that role and more about purposely not moving him there so as to avoid the chance that he has success and everyone looks stupid

Yup - looks pretty blatant.

[BigTed3]

In an interview with The Athletic, Karl Alzner states the locker room is pretty dead. He says guys are concentrated but that the room is very quiet and tense and few players speak up. He states that he's usually been part of teams where guys talk a lot and he finds that helps, so he's been trying to bring some of that vibe back.

Basically sounds like once again, Bergevin was wrong. There seems to be little to no character or personality to the team, and this statement simply confirms the fact we lack true leadership and miss players like Subban and Radulov in the room.

[ChiLla]

4 hours ago, BigTed3 said:

In an interview with The Athletic, Karl Alzner states the locker room is pretty dead. He says guys are concentrated but that the room is very quiet and tense and few players speak up. He states that he's usually been part of teams where guys talk a lot and he finds that helps, so he's been trying to bring some of that vibe back.

Basically sounds like once again, Bergevin was wrong. There seems to be little to no character or personality to the team, and this statement simply confirms the fact we lack true leadership and miss players like Subban and Radulov in the room.

What a selfish player, we should probably trade him. He clearly thinks he's above the team.

Honestly though, it's the same misconception as drafting/trading for size instead of skill in my opinion. The idea of being able to actively build a locker room culture as a GM is ridiculous, there are way too many variables that are inevitably going to be out of your control. Acquiring players because of hearsay or reputation in the room instead of on-ice performance is silly, who's going to say that player A will have the same kind of influence on two totally different groups of individuals? You can't even predict that player A is going to behave the same way in entirely different surroundings, or that he's going to be equally liked/accepted by the two groups. It's pure nonsense, leadership is directly related to on-ice performance. Koivu, Radulov, Subban, etc. all lead by example on the ice, they actually wanted the puck, make things happen, and - more importantly - had the necessary skill to do so. No we have a bunch of guys who apparently hate losing but aren't good enough to avoid it, it's a recipe for disaster. No wonder the room is quiet.

[kinot-2]

Ya know,,, there should be a thread that has concernes about the failed trades that the Habs have made over the years. I'm sure that there would be quite a few of them. Conversely, there "might" be some that have worked out for us. 

[Windoe]

1 hour ago, ChiLla said:

Now we have a bunch of guys who apparently hate losing but aren't good enough to avoid it, it's a recipe for disaster. No wonder the room is quiet.

Exactly.  They need talented centers.  They can't finish and score without them.  The GM tells them that the answer is in the room, but they all know its not.  They are actually a very hard working team, but ultimately the lines are doomed without talented centers. 

Subban masked this weakness better than Weber does, but its a critical flaw regardless.  Subban should have been packaged up with whatever it took to get a real 1C.  Sergachev should have been traded for a strong center prospect, or decent known young center.  Basically we needed to flip our top D into top C.    

MB used one of his big chips on the player he wished he could have been, and his second big chip on getting a highly talented local player.  Unfortunately MB was not a center, and Drouin is a winger.

 

 

[ChiLla]

26 minutes ago, Windoe said:

Exactly.  They need talented centers.  They can't finish and score without them.  The GM tells them that the answer is in the room, but they all know its not.  They are actually a very hard working team, but ultimately the lines are doomed without talented centers. 

Subban masked this weakness better than Weber does, but its a critical flaw regardless.  Subban should have been packaged up with whatever it took to get a real 1C.  Sergachev should have been traded for a strong center prospect, or decent known young center.  Basically we needed to flip our top D into top C.    

MB used one of his big chips on the player he wished he could have been, and his second big chip on getting a highly talented local player.  Unfortunately MB was not a center, and Drouin is a winger.

Agreed, everybody knows the answer isn't in that room. Work ethic definitely isn't the issue with this team, it's painfully obvious that they simply can't compete with top teams like Tampa, Boston, Toronto etc.

I'm also not going to argue against using Subban/Sergachev to acquire a legit 1C/1C prospect, which would instantly change the entire complexity of our lineup. MB dropped the ball though, it's that simple. We didn't need Shea Weber at the cost of P.K. Subban, and we probably didn't need Drouin at the cost of Sergachev since we don't have a legit scoring center he can play with anyway.

[Windoe]

1 minute ago, ChiLla said:

Agreed, everybody knows the answer isn't in that room. Work ethic definitely isn't the issue with this team, it's painfully obvious that they simply can't compete with top teams like Tampa, Boston, Toronto etc.

I'm also not going to argue against using Subban/Sergachev to acquire a legit 1C/1C prospect, which would instantly change the entire complexity of our lineup. MB dropped the ball though, it's that simple. We didn't need Shea Weber at the cost of P.K. Subban, and we probably didn't need Drouin at the cost of Sergachev since we don't have a legit scoring center he can play with anyway.

Yep it is that simple.  He acquired the player he wished he had been (Weber), and a popular home town talent.  The Stud and the local talent were too tempting for MB to resist.  Add in that Galchenyuk failed MT's and CJ's center requirements, and MB is left without any competitive centers. 

Even if we just had two decent centers...two RNH types, it would go a loooooooooooong way.  

MB is responsible for this, and I believe a new GM will be here by the start of next season.    

[jennifer_rocket]

It's not surprising to hear the room is supposedly "dead." I mean, the players obviously understand there's no point in "rallying" at this point. They're a bad team. They have gotten terrible results all season.

I don't think Marc Bergevin knows what character is. He clearly hasn't been able to keep it in "his" locker room.

[Habs=stanleycup]

HIO Show

 

[BigTed3]

Craig Button, in an interview today, said Marc Bergevin needs to quit whining about how hard it is to do his job. He states that if his idea is to bring back Plekanec as a cheaply paid 3rd or 4th line center (like a Domenic Moore), then that's fine. But if MB thinks he can plug Plekanec into his top 6 and try to use him in a scoring role just because he has no one better at center, then MB should be fired. Button goes on to say that any GM who complains he can't do his job should be canned.

[maas_art]

52 minutes ago, BigTed3 said:

Craig Button, in an interview today, said Marc Bergevin needs to quit whining about how hard it is to do his job. He states that if his idea is to bring back Plekanec as a cheaply paid 3rd or 4th line center (like a Domenic Moore), then that's fine. But if MB thinks he can plug Plekanec into his top 6 and try to use him in a scoring role just because he has no one better at center, then MB should be fired. Button goes on to say that any GM who complains he can't do his job should be canned.

agree completely.

At the end of the day, he inherited a team that was built for the modern NHL and turned it into a team that was built for 8 years ago.  I think most of us have no faith he can now rebuild to suit the league in 2018 and beyond. Its time for him to go.  He had his chance, he didnt succeed, time to let someone else try. 

 

[Habs=stanleycup]

1 hour ago, BigTed3 said:

Craig Button, in an interview today, said Marc Bergevin needs to quit whining about how hard it is to do his job. He states that if his idea is to bring back Plekanec as a cheaply paid 3rd or 4th line center (like a Domenic Moore), then that's fine. But if MB thinks he can plug Plekanec into his top 6 and try to use him in a scoring role just because he has no one better at center, then MB should be fired. Button goes on to say that any GM who complains he can't do his job should be canned.

Ever since the Subban trade fiasco last season, MB has been complaining about how hard it is to do his job, and yet he remains employed.

All the Hockey minds and hockey wisdom all say he should have been fired a long time ago, and yet he remains employed.

MB is known to micromanage everything from coaching on down to player positioning and yet he remains employed.

Molson is an owner with no hockey sense and takes all of his cues from MB so we are stuck in an endless cyclone.

 

[MuddyWaterMoose]

5 hours ago, Habs=stanleycup said:

HIO Show

 

So, while talking about the state the Habs are in, Chris Nilan says that it's a shame because this is such a great organization. I hear this a lot, but I'm seriously doubting that right now. It's extremely difficult be at all optimistic about this club when I hear a panel like this vehemently state that there is no way what so ever that they would ever hire a non French speaking coach or GM. So, in essence, politics and stubbornness will forever keep this team spinning in a state a mediocracy. 

So I ask, to anyone, convince me of the greatness of this organization. What proof is there to support that statement from the last 25-30 years? What good reason is there to even hang in there with dreadful bunch?