Is There an End in Sight for the Habs Woes?

[RGM81]

The "Leafs are an embarrassment" thread of your own creation is this way ----> https://www.sportscardforum.com/thre...-embarrassment

[historian]

Sorry! I meant ...of the Milky Way.

[Devlin]

Primeau gets the start.......agaynst the avs

[mooneyes]

Well Primeau was fine but they lost again, and lost Kotkaniemi. Everyone is saying it was a clean hit but he landed on his head so...maybe not so clean.

[BLStryker]

Absurd that Bergevin has done nothing with all his cap space the past couple of years while they have arguably the best Goalie & Dman of the decade in the final years of their prime. If there was ever a team that should've loaded up for a one to two year run, this is it.

[mooneyes]

Absurd that Bergevin has done nothing with all his cap space the past couple of years while they have arguably the best Goalie & Dman of the decade in the final years of their prime. If there was ever a team that should've loaded up for a one to two year run, this is it.

Hard to do if no free agents want to play there.

[BLStryker]

Hard to do if no free agents want to play there.

Always teams looking to unload decent players somewhat overpaid to free up cap space for not a lot of return. If a GM doesn't know how to utilize cap space in this era, they have no business running a team. Montreal has never been a place where hockey players didn't want to play hockey.

[RGM81]

Always teams looking to unload decent players somewhat overpaid to free up cap space for not a lot of return. If a GM doesn't know how to utilize cap space in this era, they have no business running a team. Montreal has never been a place where hockey players didn't want to play hockey.

It's tough when there's not a fully-established "winning culture" in a big market town. It's not like the old days where wealthy teams can spend whatever they wish to sign any player at any amount. The cap is a very delicate system, and while it's frustrating as all heck that "Cap Space" is our second-highest paid player, they're being somewhat wise in conserving those $$$ for down the not-too-distant road when a number of younger players will be coming off their ELC and needing raises.

There's three factors working against the Habs (in addition to the winning culture thing--guys will take a shave off their max value when that exists, look at all the Bruins guys) signing free agents: 1. the taxes; 2. the media, and 3. the weather. You can probably rank them in that order of significance, but look at a guy like Matt Duchene. I know the Habs (among other teams, of course) spoke with him but ultimate he went to Nashville, where he can get more take-home pay, do it all in relative anonymity without being criticized in two languages for any gaffe he makes, and there's not really bad snowfalls throughout the season. Not everybody is like a Max Domi where they want to thrive on a big stage with 23,000+ cheering them on every night.

Especially in the last three-four years, the media in Montreal have appointed themselves as judge & jury when it comes to this team and its management. There was so much toxicity in the air surrounding the team that two key guys--Subban and Pacioretty--were shipped out of town. Bergevin got great returns on both; I don't think there's much of a dispute that he "won" both those trades, but the media dragged both of those players for considerable time and turned an already uncomfortable situation (missing the playoffs) into a personality struggle, and the fans took sides. People to this day still want Bergevin fired for trading Subban. Can't do much in that scenario. LOL

What the team really needs to make itself marketable & attractive again is to have 2 really good seasons in a row. That means winning a playoffs round or two each year, demonstrating that there's some real strong cohesion in the locker room, and avoiding any media sensations. Get that, and people who want to win a Cup will start thinking of Montreal as a destination again. I don't care if we don't get guys who are looking to max out on their paycheque; I want guys who want to win a Stanley Cup. But the players all talk to each other; I don't know if Carey & Shea have parties here in the Okanagan in the summer where they do some recruiting, but man imagine if you're a UFA and those two dudes say "Come to Montreal, help us win a Cup." It probably would go a long way depending on a guy's priorities.

[Devlin]

yup, taxes, media and weather. Big factor in much of sports. tough media towns, boston, ny,philly, cubs, maybe st. louis (cards, more than blues)


figure montreal and toronto in CANADA