Habs Season in Review

[simmer2]

The Habs season started with hope for the playoffs and was icing a fairly competitive team with a good mix of veterans and younger forwards. Unfortunately, as the season went forward, we realized having a 78 OVR goalie was not going to get us into the playoffs with the team we had.
We did inquire about a starting rated goalie, but the price was more than we were willing to give up.

It was decided about half way through the season we would focus on next year and wait for our goalie's ratings to improve rather than trading for a higher rated goalie. The price was just too high for what we were willing to give up.

With a shift towards next year, we focused on moving out some of our more expensive contracts and bringing in younger guys who would have solid ratings next year. We also vastly improved our prospect pool and we feel is one of the stronger pools in the league. With the 7th Overall pick in this year's draft, we will also be drafting a very good prospect to add to our pool.

We expect the offseason to be a busy one as always, and I'm sure our lineup will look quite different from how it looks now. Either way, our core group of guys are looking like this:

Top 8 Forwards

Nash - Getzlaf - Malkin
Eriksson - Koivu - Booth
Raymond - Okposo

Top 5 Defense

Burns - Jackman
Orpik - Schultz
Colaiacovo

Goaltending Tandem

Bryzgalov - Hiller

Our forward corp is one of the strongest in the league in our opinion. We have 4 forwards to passed the 30 goal mark in the NHL, and 6 who exceeded 60 points. Our defense is solid, but nothing exceptional. Our goaltending tandem should be solid next year, and we'll be going with a 1a/1b goalie situation.

Our most marked improvement came in terms of our prospect pool. We have many prospects who have a chance of making their respective teams next year, and we wanted to have a well-rounded prospect pool as a base moving forward.

Top 10 Prospects

1) Tyler Myers
2) John Carlson
3) Artem Anisimov
4) Mattias Tedenby
5) Shawn Matthias
6) Nathan Gerbe
7) Cody Goloubef
8) Aaron Ness
9) Brandon Burlon
10) Shawn Lalonde

Even though we did not make the playoffs this year, we are pleased with the way this team is starting to shape up. With some solid trades and a few UFA acquisitions we feel our team could be a contender next year and, more importantly, for years to come.

[Sylvanfan]

Habs certainly have a good top 8 up front and a capable duo in net. The team was always making moves with the future in mind so it will be interesting to see how it all comes together for you next season and in the coming years. In a league like this with 3 year contracts and the rules in place that we now have you almost need to take a year and overstock your system before you can enjoy a solid run of good teams.

[simmer2]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Habs certainly have a good top 8 up front and a capable duo in net. The team was always making moves with the future in mind so it will be interesting to see how it all comes together for you next season and in the coming years. In a league like this with 3 year contracts and the rules in place that we now have you almost need to take a year and overstock your system before you can enjoy a solid run of good teams.

I agree with you in regards to taking a year to stock the shelves. The Ducks did that last year, stocking up on young guys and building their prospect pool. Now, this year they are in the playoffs.

I really think you just need to pick a direction and stick with it.

[Swayze11]

I really like the Habs team, solid youth and a good prospect pool. I look forward to making a few deals with the Habs in the off season/next season.

[I wanna be like Miikka]

Habs will be a contender next year I think. They have a sick group of forwards and some very good prospects. The only issue that needs addressing is D but considering the cap space Curtis has, I think he'll solve that easily.