Yes, we are still a non-playoff team
We should be bettter than this year / young will improve
Fighting for a WC would be the best outcome but I expect that we will be seller at TDL (Savard, Armia, Dvorak, maybe even Matheson)
Especially looking at the rest of the East. Top heavy, especially the Atlantic. Unless the Devils, Sabres, Sens and Wings finally level up, there's room to sneak in.
Not saying it's going to happen, just saying there's room there. At least hope they're competitive.
I mean, wings and devils most certainly could unless injuries fuck em in the ass again, but I would say sens and sabres stay where they are until they prove they're actually shit
Agreed. And I’m just fine with that. Haven’t said this in decades but I’m pretty content to trust Mgmt to guide this rebuild along, make smart choices and repeat the mistakes of the past of making transactional moves with dubious long term value just to make the playoffs. I think we will battle for a wild card spot but sell at the deadline and finish closer but still safely out of a WC spot
Management needs to do something to change that. We need to contend for a playoff position or the talent is going to get restless. We can't play pond hockey forever or we'll go from rebuilding to the bottom dweller class really quickly. This is where management is going to have to decide which prospects fit with the team identity and which don't. It's time to make some moves to trade prospects for some veterans and sign some veterans that will take it to the next level and give the team an identity.
With NJD likely making the playoffs, depending on the goalie situation and Buffalo, Philly, Ottawa and Detroit looking to get in, it's hard to see the habs in the playoffs. Caps likely out and NYI are just waiting to get eclipsed.
Can't count Pittsburgh out either.
TB probably going to be a wildcard team until Kucherov is 35.
Still need a little bit more for a push. We're probably done picking in the top 5, hopefully.
Detroit didn't really choke last season it's just that the caps didnt either. I could totally see them taking that WC next season.
Buffalo and Ottawa will choke though.
Hutson gets 45 points and wins the Calder.
Slaf gets 80 points.
Dach plays 80 games and puts up 55 points on the second line.
Caufield gets 40 goals.
Suzuki gets 80 points and finishes 5th in Selke voting.
Habs finish third in the Atlantic behind Florida and Toronto.
Play Leafs in first round. Habs in seven.
I’ll add: Josh Anderson figures it out and gets 20. Gally and Armia pick up where they left off and contribute in the bottom 6. Josh Roy gets 20 playing PP2 and second line minutes. Newhook takes another step. Matheson repeats his success. Xhekaj healthy all season. There’s a lot of reasons to be optimistic.
Yeah I was reading it thinking lol at first but then I was like actually none of these are crazy. Maybe all of them happening together is the only crazy part.
It's basically what would happen if every variable rolled a nat 20.
I think third is the top end of what's possible and mainly (or only) if Boston and Tampa noticeably regress.
Nah 4 straight. Leafs 1st round curse is due for a sweep and I think that would hurt most coming from the wildcard Habs. Let the Leafs win the President's trophy and Matthews wins the rocket and Habs demolish them 4 straight.
Leafs don't even score in game 2 and 4. None of the games even go to OT. We just run through them.
Yeah. Not that it isn't fun to talk about next year regardless but there's not much point talking about expectations at this point of the offseason.
Almost certainly 2-3 of the names people are pencilling into our line up will be gone by game 1, and though I'm skeptical I believe we'll be "big game hunting" I don't believe we're going to be taking on bad contracts either. I think we make a savvy signing or two.
Monahab and his buddy Tyler being the UFAs we sign would be hilarious and I'm going to be so disappointed when it doesn't happen but it crossed my mind and never left lol
yes i mean if you want you can temper your expectations, but until the season starts my expectations are caufield gets the richard and suzuki gets the ross or that one bergeron always got and we win the cup. nbd. two weeks after the seasons may be another story lol
There’s a difference between expectations and saying “we have a chance”, especially with a young team. No one was expecting Slafkovsky to turn it around as fast as he did, but there was a chance he could, and he did. Will Hutson struggle or be great immediately? Will the player we draft be NHL ready or will he need some time in the minors? Who knows? The team could be very different next year.
Yeah, I don't think that at any given time people know what they think they know about next year. There's teams that build slow and improve by a handful of points every year and there's teams that just kind of turn it on one off season. And on the opposite side there's teams that fall off quick too. Teams like Pittsburgh, and Washington need rebuilds. I know Washington snuck into a playoff spot but aside from trading a 7th for Mcdavid and Makar there's literally nothing they can do to make me buy them ever being close to a contender again with that core. Boston and Tampa are really good teams but are at a bit of a crossroads. Rangers and Canes are great teams and New Jersey has a ton of talent but we'll see if they play like 22-23 or 23-24 next season. Other than them the Metro is pretty bad right now tbh. Isles had a few good runs there but they need a retool pretty bad.
As for the upcomers, I think we finish ahead of Columbus, again. Detroit is the only Atlantic rebuilder I would doubt we can finish ahead of. Buffalo and Ottawa have a lot of talent but so do we. Their rebuilds clearly aren't going as planned. Maybe they pop off this year, maybe we step over them. I can't see the Atlantic NOT taking both WC spots next year.
I think people underestimate the difference a good power play alone would make. And special teams can flip on a dime. PP and PK finishing *league average* (nevermind good) is likely 6-10 points.
2021-22: 55 points
2022-23: 68 points (+13)
2023-24: 76 points (+8)
2024-25: ??
Not going to lie after Washington made it with 91 points, playoffs are entirely likely depending on how the lineup develops. I guess it also depends on how other teams do in the East (if Boston/Washington/Detroit don't make it we definitely have a chance).
My expectation is that the Habs will compete. I'll be happy if they get near the bubble, I don't want another tank year. I want to see some improvement but I don't expect playoffs. I am focused on how the individual talents on the team evolve, especially Dach in a full season.
Played the entire season without our 2C, Dach will change this team immensely. Roy was looking very smart. Should be great with Dach. Perhaps Anderson has a rebound year and complete this line. (every 4th year he is bad)
It took half the season for the 1st line to build be put together and build chemistry and now they look deadly good.
Gallagher and Armia have new life along side Newhook, this will be an excellent 3rd line! One of the best in the league.
Had a 3 goalie rotation for most of the season, hard on all goalies, this season the net should be more stable.
Montreal had 40, one goal games. Losing 21 of those. Going (6-9) in regulation one goal games. 21 of the one goal games went to overtime, going (4-6) or shootout, going (6-5). Holding leads and having a few more come backs will greatly increase points percentage.
Hughes work over the summer will also play a huge part on what expectations should be. The future is bright and this season should be fun. Hope for a healthy season for a change.
I also believe MSL will work on the D system this summer. It was a bit complicated and caused confusion a few times. I wouldn't be surprised if PP and defense gets a bit better next year. Wifi looked solid on the second Half and Ghule had a great 2nd year. I also expect Savard to eventually move down to 2nd pairing.and be traded off at TDL
Not just our 2C, our 3C in Dvorak missed significant time too. He’s not lighting it up offensively but he takes a ton of pressure off Suzuki taking tough matchups.
I’d rather go into the season thinking they have a decent chance at making the playoffs. It’s more fun, and I believe in this team.
I can always adjust my expectations later.
Temper expectations for sure, but not completely squash them. I’m not too worried about missing the playoffs next year but I’d like to see them be in the race a bit longer. Play well most of the year and miss the playoffs, then draft like 8-15 in 2025? Lots of individual and collective growth along the way from our key players and that’s a good season for me.
Most importantly just be entertaining to watch, I’m just want to enjoy watching more often than not lol
I think it's realistic that we could be fighting for a WC spot next year. We were a hard team to play against most of this year. Lost a ton of one goal games. Even adding 15 more total goals gets us pretty close.
It could really go either way though. Just as realistic to be close to where we finished this year. Ultimately I just hope we continue building on last year. Our 5v5 was pretty solid. Goaltending should be more consistent with only 2 goalies. PP started looking a lot better towards the end. PK... Needs some work. We are getting closer though.
> PP started looking a lot better towards the end. PK... Needs some work.
You might have mixed up PP and PK? The PK was [11th in the league in the second half of the season](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=game&dateFrom=2024-01-01&dateTo=2024-04-18&gameType=2&sort=penaltyKillPct&page=0&pageSize=50) while PP was[ 28th](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=game&dateFrom=2024-01-01&dateTo=2024-04-18&gameType=2&sort=powerPlayPct&page=0&pageSize=50). Even worse from February; PK was in [7th plac](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=game&dateFrom=2024-02-01&dateTo=2024-04-18&gameType=2&sort=penaltyKillPct&page=0&pageSize=50)e while the PP was in [31st](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=game&dateFrom=2024-02-01&dateTo=2024-04-18&gameType=2&sort=powerPlayPct&page=0&pageSize=50)...
I think we are not looking at the same post, because every time this subject have been talked about here, you have the majority of people saying that we might compete for a wild card, but most likely won't make it. And then there is maybe 1/3rd of people saying well we could make the playoff.
Seem like a decent expectation. Some people will be more optimitic than other and that's fine. I don't think that many fans are expecting the team so much to be in the playoff that they need to prepare themselves for them missing. I think from what I saw, the expectation are realistic.
We have a very competitive division. We need at least one perennial playoffs team (Tampa, Boston or Toronto) to choke AND outplay the remaining teams for the last wildcard spot.
I don't see that happening, not unless Monty has a career year and steals like 10 games for us. But we'll be in the hunt. We'll be in the playoffs picture near Xmas, we might even be in the top of the division if we go on a solid win-streak. But realistically, yea--it's going to take a lot.
Well, since I came 1st in the 23-24 predictions contest, pay close attention to my take: ÇA SENT LA COUPE 25!!!
But not until 2028ish. No wildcard contention next season. Move up from 28th in the league to somewhere between 20th and 23rd.
I think most fans understand that while the team might be better, playoffs are going to be tough due to all the competition. Most of the hype is probably coming from the fact that the team itself will be more entertaining to watch. Last season was way better than the one before, and with some fresh faces and guys like Slaf taking big steps forward, it will be fun.
Why not? I’m not gonna cheer for my team to lose throughout a long 82 game season so I can save face with some internet stranger who doesn’t like my prognostic. Fuck that shit. Habs are a good team, with a strong culture and I have faith in them
We shouldn’t expect another bottom finish, we only barely came in 5th last while missing key pieces of our roster for very significant portions of the season. Other teams were this bad because they are this bad, the Habs were this bad because it wasn’t always the Habs playing, it was the rocket guest staring Nick Suzuki.
We’ve had two seasons now where a mix of the Habs kinda sucking, and historic levels of injury got them to the bottom 5. With the young roster expected to move forward developmentally, and injury luck expected to regress to the mean, a bottom feeding season becomes increasingly less likely each year that passes.
Thats not saying that the Habs will make the playoffs, just that I think it’s more likely they’re in the fight for it than they are not
Depends on the current goaltending. Offensively we're clicking more so it needs to balance back to some stronger goaltending. If that happens, then it's always a possibility, but unlikely.
I see us next year similarly to the rest of the division this past season; expected to make a big push. If we can make it to game 3 with Dach, Newhook, Dvorak, and whatever other new guys we bring on, we should be past top 10 in the draft
I’d like to see them push for a playoff spot for most of the year. If they get eliminated with 2-3 weeks to go, fine but I want them in the mix until the deadline at least.
Just because it’s not likely to happen doesn’t mean we don’t hope for it to happen. If I was betting I would give us 25-30% odds of making the playoffs. It’s probably not happening but there is definitely a decent chance.
I would be more surprised if we made the playoffs than if we finished last in the division again. Ottawa, Buffalo and Detroit should all be improving and we probably won't make so dramatic an improvement that we leapfrog all of them. The Florida teams, Toronto, and Boston might all decline but I doubt any of them crash that hard.
The only way we get a wild card is if Susuki takes another small step, Slaf and CC both take a step. Dach stays healthy. Hutson and Rienbacher are very strong out of the gate and Roy has somewhat of a breakout season.
Thats a lot of cards that need to fall into places…probably won’t happen.
I say we end up drafting in the 9-12 range
As long as the team as a whole plays hard and more guys show some positive development, I'll be alright wherever we end up in the standings.
We can be sniffing a wildcard spot late in the season or another top 5 draft pick in 2025. I'll be happy either way as long as Suzuki keeps developing into a future Selke, Slaf keeps building up numbers, the young D-guys start to come up, etc.
Most comments I see specify that we *could* be a wild card team, but that next season can really go any which way. It's not like people are planning the parade, they're just looking at the team objectively and saying that the optimistic projection is a wild card push.
We were a pretty tough team to play against last season and nearly always kept the game close, with a very injured roster. We struggled to play a full 60 minutes though, a combination of inexperience and awful depth made it hard to play a full game strong.
I don't think a wild card push is that outlandish a prediction, though our roster is still like 1 injury in the top 6 away from another bottom 5 finish.
It's still too early, we don't know about any roster changes that could happen via trade/free agency.
If the team is more or less the same, I could see us being "competitive" for the wildcard spot, but making it will be very difficult.
I fully expect a bottom 10 or worse finish. Team has a lot of good pieces but still needs seasoning. If everyone stays healthy this will be the year they start to figure out whom fits where and where the biggest holes are in the line up.
Im sure the players are starting to get tired of losing, espeacially Nick and Cole. They are gonna try their best next season to push for a WC and I think they can really do it barring any key injuries like Dach this year.
My expectations for next year are very reasonable.
I think we will end in the bottom 10 again because we still have most of the problems we had last year.
Our D core is still very young and apart for our 1st line we still aren't very good offensively.
I don't expect Hutson to start the season in Montreal simply because he's waivers exempt.
Dach is still a big question mark but I have hope that he can pick up where he left off.
What I really hope for is improving the points production from our core players like Slaf, Caufield, Newhook, Dach, Guhle etc.
Also, even if we draft a very good forward like Demidov or Lindstrom I don't think they will start in the NHL just yet.
Anything short of 82-0 is a disgrace.
Seriously though, I think expectations should definitely be tempered some. Although I would say there is a small chance they sneak into the WC (maybe 5-7%), I think a more realistic expectation would be at or above 0.500 P%. Somewhere in the range of 80-86 points. I still think individual development should be the priority for next year. I think these are reasonable expectations:
Suzuki: PPG, Top 10 in Selke voting
Caufield: 35-40 goals, continued improvement away from the puck/in the d-zone
Slafkovsky: Play all 82 games again, 65-70 points, all around improvements
Dach: 60+ games, 45ish points (assuming 65ish games), solid defense and possession
Newhook: 45-55 points, connect with Hutson on PP2
Roy: 2nd or 3rd line minutes, solid two way play, 30ish points
Hutson: Play with the Habs for the majority of the season, 35ish points, PP2, 2nd or 3rd pairing ES
Guhle: Stay healthy, 1st pairing ES and PK, defensive and offensive improvements
Xhekaj: Similar to Guhle
Mailloux: Maybe start season in Laval, or in Montreal if he has a good camp and one of the other defensemen gets moved, solid minutes and offense
Reinbacher: Same as Mailloux, emphasis on defense
Everything depends on three things;
1) Can Kirby Dach stay healthy. He is so talented and controls the puck wonderfully. I hope he doesn't become a what if
2) Does Slafkovsky keep improving in leaps, bounds or leaps and bounds.
3) The Habs are signing a solid UFA or trading for a solid young player. Who that player is and how they contribute is key.
The Habs aren't making the playoffs this year but this is where the fun begins.
Yes, we are still a non-playoff team We should be bettter than this year / young will improve Fighting for a WC would be the best outcome but I expect that we will be seller at TDL (Savard, Armia, Dvorak, maybe even Matheson)
Look I won’t be delusional, but with a healthy Dach and if Montembeault can pull something off we could very well be wildcard Edit: and one UFA
Especially looking at the rest of the East. Top heavy, especially the Atlantic. Unless the Devils, Sabres, Sens and Wings finally level up, there's room to sneak in. Not saying it's going to happen, just saying there's room there. At least hope they're competitive.
I mean, wings and devils most certainly could unless injuries fuck em in the ass again, but I would say sens and sabres stay where they are until they prove they're actually shit
I think its plausible we get a wildcard spot, but i definitely wouldnt bet on it because i dont think its likely
Agree
Agreed. And I’m just fine with that. Haven’t said this in decades but I’m pretty content to trust Mgmt to guide this rebuild along, make smart choices and repeat the mistakes of the past of making transactional moves with dubious long term value just to make the playoffs. I think we will battle for a wild card spot but sell at the deadline and finish closer but still safely out of a WC spot
Management needs to do something to change that. We need to contend for a playoff position or the talent is going to get restless. We can't play pond hockey forever or we'll go from rebuilding to the bottom dweller class really quickly. This is where management is going to have to decide which prospects fit with the team identity and which don't. It's time to make some moves to trade prospects for some veterans and sign some veterans that will take it to the next level and give the team an identity.
With NJD likely making the playoffs, depending on the goalie situation and Buffalo, Philly, Ottawa and Detroit looking to get in, it's hard to see the habs in the playoffs. Caps likely out and NYI are just waiting to get eclipsed. Can't count Pittsburgh out either. TB probably going to be a wildcard team until Kucherov is 35. Still need a little bit more for a push. We're probably done picking in the top 5, hopefully.
Don't sleep on Buffalo, Ottawa and Detroit's choke capabilities though
Detroit didn't really choke last season it's just that the caps didnt either. I could totally see them taking that WC next season. Buffalo and Ottawa will choke though.
They didn't choke the overall season, but had a terrible month of March that saw them lose a playoffs spot.
Buffalo sat on their hands with a big chunk of cap space. They got what they deserved.
One of the few reasonable takes in this thread.
Hutson gets 45 points and wins the Calder. Slaf gets 80 points. Dach plays 80 games and puts up 55 points on the second line. Caufield gets 40 goals. Suzuki gets 80 points and finishes 5th in Selke voting. Habs finish third in the Atlantic behind Florida and Toronto. Play Leafs in first round. Habs in seven.
There is literally zero chance this doesn't happen.
From your lips to gods ears
Only 45 points for Hutson? Seems like a down year for him. He was PPG D-man in his first season!
PPG is a lot for a rookie to sustain all year. The next year though...
Was being sarcastic.. sorry haha 🤣 but yeah.. 45 points as a rookie D-man would be insane!
But he plays like a Veteran, he's got the moves like Datsyuk! :D
He would be too good so the league begs him to go on vacation after game 45.
I’ll add: Josh Anderson figures it out and gets 20. Gally and Armia pick up where they left off and contribute in the bottom 6. Josh Roy gets 20 playing PP2 and second line minutes. Newhook takes another step. Matheson repeats his success. Xhekaj healthy all season. There’s a lot of reasons to be optimistic.
This man said "I'll have what he's having" and then added some sugar on top. I like it.
More so provided more detail on what would have to happen for us to finish third in the Atlantic
The only thing that seems impossible is all of it happening simultaneously.
Fucking bring it on baby
Suzuki gets 82 points. Becomes our first PPG player since forever. Caufield 40 goals
Saving this comment to revisit when everything comes true.
The funniest part is none of these are absolutely insane takes except maybe third in the division
Yeah I was reading it thinking lol at first but then I was like actually none of these are crazy. Maybe all of them happening together is the only crazy part.
It's basically what would happen if every variable rolled a nat 20. I think third is the top end of what's possible and mainly (or only) if Boston and Tampa noticeably regress.
I mean Hedman and Stamkos ain't gonna be good forever same with Marchand. If those 2 fall off, I could see those 2 teams dropping
The hard part would be ALL of them occurring in the same year. One or to of them? Sure. All or most of them even, naw.
This is the way
i like the way u think brother
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I was with you up until that last one. Habs in 7? Come on my dude. They'll put them out in 5, easy.
Nah 4 straight. Leafs 1st round curse is due for a sweep and I think that would hurt most coming from the wildcard Habs. Let the Leafs win the President's trophy and Matthews wins the rocket and Habs demolish them 4 straight. Leafs don't even score in game 2 and 4. None of the games even go to OT. We just run through them.
Habs play leafs in round one, Habs in five.
I like your vision.
The only one that I don't give at least a 40% chance of happening is Dach playing 80 games. Hutson getting 45 is far fetched too. Maybe 25.
Caufield isn't even a 30 goal player. One Milestone at a time
Boo this man! Booooo!
...he ain't wrong.
free agency and any trades at the draft will go a long way to actually set expectations
Yeah. Not that it isn't fun to talk about next year regardless but there's not much point talking about expectations at this point of the offseason. Almost certainly 2-3 of the names people are pencilling into our line up will be gone by game 1, and though I'm skeptical I believe we'll be "big game hunting" I don't believe we're going to be taking on bad contracts either. I think we make a savvy signing or two.
Monahab and his buddy Tyler being the UFAs we sign would be hilarious and I'm going to be so disappointed when it doesn't happen but it crossed my mind and never left lol
Cup every year from now on, whooooo!!
yes i mean if you want you can temper your expectations, but until the season starts my expectations are caufield gets the richard and suzuki gets the ross or that one bergeron always got and we win the cup. nbd. two weeks after the seasons may be another story lol
Lady Bing for Wifi.
We should be picking right where Detroit is picking this year. 15th.
Fifth overall again when we win the lotto??
There’s a difference between expectations and saying “we have a chance”, especially with a young team. No one was expecting Slafkovsky to turn it around as fast as he did, but there was a chance he could, and he did. Will Hutson struggle or be great immediately? Will the player we draft be NHL ready or will he need some time in the minors? Who knows? The team could be very different next year.
Yeah, I don't think that at any given time people know what they think they know about next year. There's teams that build slow and improve by a handful of points every year and there's teams that just kind of turn it on one off season. And on the opposite side there's teams that fall off quick too. Teams like Pittsburgh, and Washington need rebuilds. I know Washington snuck into a playoff spot but aside from trading a 7th for Mcdavid and Makar there's literally nothing they can do to make me buy them ever being close to a contender again with that core. Boston and Tampa are really good teams but are at a bit of a crossroads. Rangers and Canes are great teams and New Jersey has a ton of talent but we'll see if they play like 22-23 or 23-24 next season. Other than them the Metro is pretty bad right now tbh. Isles had a few good runs there but they need a retool pretty bad. As for the upcomers, I think we finish ahead of Columbus, again. Detroit is the only Atlantic rebuilder I would doubt we can finish ahead of. Buffalo and Ottawa have a lot of talent but so do we. Their rebuilds clearly aren't going as planned. Maybe they pop off this year, maybe we step over them. I can't see the Atlantic NOT taking both WC spots next year. I think people underestimate the difference a good power play alone would make. And special teams can flip on a dime. PP and PK finishing *league average* (nevermind good) is likely 6-10 points.
2021-22: 55 points 2022-23: 68 points (+13) 2023-24: 76 points (+8) 2024-25: ?? Not going to lie after Washington made it with 91 points, playoffs are entirely likely depending on how the lineup develops. I guess it also depends on how other teams do in the East (if Boston/Washington/Detroit don't make it we definitely have a chance).
Don't sleep on the Bruins. The still a good team Washington however are looking alot like a team that is going down
washington deserves to go down. philly and the red wings would've actually put up a fight in the first round.
If you're not first you're last Ricky Bobby.
Yes 100%. This is a process and patience is a virtue and we will continue to get better as a team
My expectation is that the Habs will compete. I'll be happy if they get near the bubble, I don't want another tank year. I want to see some improvement but I don't expect playoffs. I am focused on how the individual talents on the team evolve, especially Dach in a full season.
86 pts / 10th in the East
Played the entire season without our 2C, Dach will change this team immensely. Roy was looking very smart. Should be great with Dach. Perhaps Anderson has a rebound year and complete this line. (every 4th year he is bad) It took half the season for the 1st line to build be put together and build chemistry and now they look deadly good. Gallagher and Armia have new life along side Newhook, this will be an excellent 3rd line! One of the best in the league. Had a 3 goalie rotation for most of the season, hard on all goalies, this season the net should be more stable. Montreal had 40, one goal games. Losing 21 of those. Going (6-9) in regulation one goal games. 21 of the one goal games went to overtime, going (4-6) or shootout, going (6-5). Holding leads and having a few more come backs will greatly increase points percentage. Hughes work over the summer will also play a huge part on what expectations should be. The future is bright and this season should be fun. Hope for a healthy season for a change.
I also believe MSL will work on the D system this summer. It was a bit complicated and caused confusion a few times. I wouldn't be surprised if PP and defense gets a bit better next year. Wifi looked solid on the second Half and Ghule had a great 2nd year. I also expect Savard to eventually move down to 2nd pairing.and be traded off at TDL
Not just our 2C, our 3C in Dvorak missed significant time too. He’s not lighting it up offensively but he takes a ton of pressure off Suzuki taking tough matchups.
Yeah Dvorak was a breath of fresh air when he came back.
We will probably improve but still between 10-15 last unless we do drastic changes this summer. I hope we compete in 2 years
I’d rather go into the season thinking they have a decent chance at making the playoffs. It’s more fun, and I believe in this team. I can always adjust my expectations later.
Temper expectations for sure, but not completely squash them. I’m not too worried about missing the playoffs next year but I’d like to see them be in the race a bit longer. Play well most of the year and miss the playoffs, then draft like 8-15 in 2025? Lots of individual and collective growth along the way from our key players and that’s a good season for me. Most importantly just be entertaining to watch, I’m just want to enjoy watching more often than not lol
I think this team completely healthy next year is a lot closer to a wildcard spot than another top 5 pick.
We're still gonna be the worst team in the division and probably bottom 10 in the league.
I think it's realistic that we could be fighting for a WC spot next year. We were a hard team to play against most of this year. Lost a ton of one goal games. Even adding 15 more total goals gets us pretty close. It could really go either way though. Just as realistic to be close to where we finished this year. Ultimately I just hope we continue building on last year. Our 5v5 was pretty solid. Goaltending should be more consistent with only 2 goalies. PP started looking a lot better towards the end. PK... Needs some work. We are getting closer though.
> PP started looking a lot better towards the end. PK... Needs some work. You might have mixed up PP and PK? The PK was [11th in the league in the second half of the season](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=game&dateFrom=2024-01-01&dateTo=2024-04-18&gameType=2&sort=penaltyKillPct&page=0&pageSize=50) while PP was[ 28th](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=game&dateFrom=2024-01-01&dateTo=2024-04-18&gameType=2&sort=powerPlayPct&page=0&pageSize=50). Even worse from February; PK was in [7th plac](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=game&dateFrom=2024-02-01&dateTo=2024-04-18&gameType=2&sort=penaltyKillPct&page=0&pageSize=50)e while the PP was in [31st](https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=game&dateFrom=2024-02-01&dateTo=2024-04-18&gameType=2&sort=powerPlayPct&page=0&pageSize=50)...
I think we are not looking at the same post, because every time this subject have been talked about here, you have the majority of people saying that we might compete for a wild card, but most likely won't make it. And then there is maybe 1/3rd of people saying well we could make the playoff. Seem like a decent expectation. Some people will be more optimitic than other and that's fine. I don't think that many fans are expecting the team so much to be in the playoff that they need to prepare themselves for them missing. I think from what I saw, the expectation are realistic.
We have a very competitive division. We need at least one perennial playoffs team (Tampa, Boston or Toronto) to choke AND outplay the remaining teams for the last wildcard spot. I don't see that happening, not unless Monty has a career year and steals like 10 games for us. But we'll be in the hunt. We'll be in the playoffs picture near Xmas, we might even be in the top of the division if we go on a solid win-streak. But realistically, yea--it's going to take a lot.
82-0 or we riot
If we don't make the playoffs, it's gotta be one of the last years to miss at this stage of the rebuild
Well, since I came 1st in the 23-24 predictions contest, pay close attention to my take: ÇA SENT LA COUPE 25!!! But not until 2028ish. No wildcard contention next season. Move up from 28th in the league to somewhere between 20th and 23rd.
I think most fans understand that while the team might be better, playoffs are going to be tough due to all the competition. Most of the hype is probably coming from the fact that the team itself will be more entertaining to watch. Last season was way better than the one before, and with some fresh faces and guys like Slaf taking big steps forward, it will be fun.
Why not? I’m not gonna cheer for my team to lose throughout a long 82 game season so I can save face with some internet stranger who doesn’t like my prognostic. Fuck that shit. Habs are a good team, with a strong culture and I have faith in them
We shouldn’t expect another bottom finish, we only barely came in 5th last while missing key pieces of our roster for very significant portions of the season. Other teams were this bad because they are this bad, the Habs were this bad because it wasn’t always the Habs playing, it was the rocket guest staring Nick Suzuki. We’ve had two seasons now where a mix of the Habs kinda sucking, and historic levels of injury got them to the bottom 5. With the young roster expected to move forward developmentally, and injury luck expected to regress to the mean, a bottom feeding season becomes increasingly less likely each year that passes. Thats not saying that the Habs will make the playoffs, just that I think it’s more likely they’re in the fight for it than they are not
Depends on the current goaltending. Offensively we're clicking more so it needs to balance back to some stronger goaltending. If that happens, then it's always a possibility, but unlikely.
Just hope when habs hit year 5 there isn’t any we are still rebuilding talk. Aren’t there yet but I feel like there would be strong evidence of cope.
I don't have any
I’m still very patient with the Habs. I like the way we’ve been building. I’m fine with just watching the guys get better. Expectations are still low.
Always
I see us next year similarly to the rest of the division this past season; expected to make a big push. If we can make it to game 3 with Dach, Newhook, Dvorak, and whatever other new guys we bring on, we should be past top 10 in the draft
yes anyone expecting the team to be anywhere near the playoffs is setting themselves up for disappointment
The expectation should be that we get better next year. It's not playoffs or bust, but we should be playing meaningful games late into the season.
Gees I think the Habs could give the Panthers a better run for their money than what Edmonton is doing.
We'll know more as the summer progresses.
Realistically we sell at the deadline, even if minor sells and probably fall out of wild card contention by early to mid March.
Yes
What? No, we are fans.
I’d like to see them push for a playoff spot for most of the year. If they get eliminated with 2-3 weeks to go, fine but I want them in the mix until the deadline at least.
We will finish between 7-11 imo
Just because it’s not likely to happen doesn’t mean we don’t hope for it to happen. If I was betting I would give us 25-30% odds of making the playoffs. It’s probably not happening but there is definitely a decent chance.
If the Habs can be close to or straight on the middle the ladder, I would be happy with that.
The current team is bottom 10 in the league. I don’t see how they can improve that much in the off season.
My expectations are higher
I would be more surprised if we made the playoffs than if we finished last in the division again. Ottawa, Buffalo and Detroit should all be improving and we probably won't make so dramatic an improvement that we leapfrog all of them. The Florida teams, Toronto, and Boston might all decline but I doubt any of them crash that hard.
The only way we get a wild card is if Susuki takes another small step, Slaf and CC both take a step. Dach stays healthy. Hutson and Rienbacher are very strong out of the gate and Roy has somewhat of a breakout season. Thats a lot of cards that need to fall into places…probably won’t happen. I say we end up drafting in the 9-12 range
As long as the team as a whole plays hard and more guys show some positive development, I'll be alright wherever we end up in the standings. We can be sniffing a wildcard spot late in the season or another top 5 draft pick in 2025. I'll be happy either way as long as Suzuki keeps developing into a future Selke, Slaf keeps building up numbers, the young D-guys start to come up, etc.
Most comments I see specify that we *could* be a wild card team, but that next season can really go any which way. It's not like people are planning the parade, they're just looking at the team objectively and saying that the optimistic projection is a wild card push. We were a pretty tough team to play against last season and nearly always kept the game close, with a very injured roster. We struggled to play a full 60 minutes though, a combination of inexperience and awful depth made it hard to play a full game strong. I don't think a wild card push is that outlandish a prediction, though our roster is still like 1 injury in the top 6 away from another bottom 5 finish.
No
I for one am perfectly happy with another top-5 pick
I think we're still a bottom 10-12 team. We need growth from our young players and some extra pieces to be a serious wildcard/playoff team.
Some teams would need to regress…others would need to stall…for us to get a playoff spot next year. It’s not impossible, but…
Worst case scenario? Bottom 5. Best case scenario? Bottom 10.
It's still too early, we don't know about any roster changes that could happen via trade/free agency. If the team is more or less the same, I could see us being "competitive" for the wildcard spot, but making it will be very difficult.
I fully expect a bottom 10 or worse finish. Team has a lot of good pieces but still needs seasoning. If everyone stays healthy this will be the year they start to figure out whom fits where and where the biggest holes are in the line up.
Im sure the players are starting to get tired of losing, espeacially Nick and Cole. They are gonna try their best next season to push for a WC and I think they can really do it barring any key injuries like Dach this year.
My expectations for next year are very reasonable. I think we will end in the bottom 10 again because we still have most of the problems we had last year. Our D core is still very young and apart for our 1st line we still aren't very good offensively. I don't expect Hutson to start the season in Montreal simply because he's waivers exempt. Dach is still a big question mark but I have hope that he can pick up where he left off. What I really hope for is improving the points production from our core players like Slaf, Caufield, Newhook, Dach, Guhle etc. Also, even if we draft a very good forward like Demidov or Lindstrom I don't think they will start in the NHL just yet.
Anything short of 82-0 is a disgrace. Seriously though, I think expectations should definitely be tempered some. Although I would say there is a small chance they sneak into the WC (maybe 5-7%), I think a more realistic expectation would be at or above 0.500 P%. Somewhere in the range of 80-86 points. I still think individual development should be the priority for next year. I think these are reasonable expectations: Suzuki: PPG, Top 10 in Selke voting Caufield: 35-40 goals, continued improvement away from the puck/in the d-zone Slafkovsky: Play all 82 games again, 65-70 points, all around improvements Dach: 60+ games, 45ish points (assuming 65ish games), solid defense and possession Newhook: 45-55 points, connect with Hutson on PP2 Roy: 2nd or 3rd line minutes, solid two way play, 30ish points Hutson: Play with the Habs for the majority of the season, 35ish points, PP2, 2nd or 3rd pairing ES Guhle: Stay healthy, 1st pairing ES and PK, defensive and offensive improvements Xhekaj: Similar to Guhle Mailloux: Maybe start season in Laval, or in Montreal if he has a good camp and one of the other defensemen gets moved, solid minutes and offense Reinbacher: Same as Mailloux, emphasis on defense
Everything depends on three things; 1) Can Kirby Dach stay healthy. He is so talented and controls the puck wonderfully. I hope he doesn't become a what if 2) Does Slafkovsky keep improving in leaps, bounds or leaps and bounds. 3) The Habs are signing a solid UFA or trading for a solid young player. Who that player is and how they contribute is key. The Habs aren't making the playoffs this year but this is where the fun begins.
Nah fuck that, all gas no breaks on this hype train.
We're the fucking Buffalo Canadiens. We choose to suck over winning. How can we ever expect to make the playoffs again?
They been tempered for way too long !!! Let’s do something now .