This would certainly be a tanking job. But if you're going through all the trouble of being garbage, why keep Hoffman, Drouin and Dadonov around? You won't get much for them, but surely Geoff Molson would prefer to keep his $15M. Why not have a lineup of Pitlicks and Pezzettas?

Hoffman creates more turnovers than anyone, he's garbage defensively so we need to keep him

Drouin is bad defensively as well and he will be injured soon and he won't play

Dadonov is good, a good season from him and with retaining half his salary, we could get a solid pick

Whenever Drouin gets injured, Pitlick move up and Pezzetta jumps in

I'd take Michkov over Fantilli

You're right, they are not worth much, but I think that's why you have to make them look good this year, to increase their value before trade deadline.



What about the fact that he is a Russian under contract with the KHL until 2026?

Pretty sure Subbanator knows about this but still think he is superior than Fantilli, it's his opinion
If Fantilli didnt have the seize he got, I would wait for Michkov but Fantilli could be as good and he's a big boy already (MTL wants to get bigger with Dach and Slafkovsky)

The Habs won't be contenders from him being drafted till then and he will likely be a very good player right out the gate. That means he enters a team on the rise and likely brings the playoff window with him still on an ELC. Could make their window as playoff contenders longer

Yeah, I was genuinely curious about what he thought of that fact.

I wonder if it's worth picking Michkov over Fantili it we have to wait till 2027 before he can play with us. I feel like it's beyond the sweet spot for when want to ice the best team. I might be wrong... But dang 2027 is far away.
And like you I think we want to get big so Fantili would also be my pick. (as of right now)

I guess a question to ask would be: when do you guys thing the habs will be contenders?

Bedard then Fanitlli, bottom 3 most likely going to be ARZ, CHI then MTL if Price doesnt play. Michkov would be perfect for CHI as they can wait and tank for a few more years. if we end up 1st oa its def bedard, if we end up 2 then fantilli and chi gets michkov. we could try and get some pieces that are needed. top 6 would be ready by then. Slaf-Suzuki-Caufield Roy-Fantilli-Mesar. could try and get PLD and sign him on a 6 year deal around 7-8mil. its the defense and goalie (hopefully primeau ready by then) that needs a bit of tweaking by then.

Contenders ? **** that means we are a good team in the league, than maybe 2028-2029

Roy Mesar ? More like Slaf-Suzuki-Caufield PLD(via UFA)-Dach-Anderson for now. If we end up with a top 5 pick in 2023 that will change a lot, but we can't expect Farrell Roy Mesar to be top 6 forwards yet

probably in 3-4 years if everything goes right. some D prospect graduate and become regulars, forwards we already have a couple that are ready (caufield-suzuki-ylonen?) and primeau probably going to find his game by then. maybe could trade for PLD or a top RD and add a goalie to be a tandem with Primeau.

in my comment, it was like 3 years away, so, 2024-2025 Roy might be ready this year or next year, not against the idea of PLD via ufa, Mesar could be the 3rd rw or anderson slows down and mesar takes his spot as he could be ready by 2023-2024. top 9 could be slaf-suzuki-caufield PLD-fantilli-anderson/mesar roy-dach-mesar/anderson. pretty nice top 9 tbh, its the defense and goaltending that might need some tweaking.

Roy was an healthy scratch in the AHL playoffs but might be NHL ready ? He will play another year in the Q, after he will start in the AHL for probably 1-2 seasons at least
Mesar was drafted were Poehling was drafted, and look at Poehling now. He was 22 yo and still didnt have a spot on the top 9 so no reason that Mesar would be top 9 ready at 20 yo

2028-2029 is more likely, Gulhe-Barron will be 25ish yo, Suzuki and Caufield Dach are going to be in their prime with Slafkovsky and hopefully a top 5 pick in 2023. One of Farrell Roy Mesar should hit, hopefully. Heineman Ylonen Beck could be solid bottom sixers
We are far away to be good with Gallagher and Armia anchor contract and we need defense badly
I hope Primeau turns out good too

I feel that both might be top 9 by 2024-2025, Mesar, unlike Poehling, is used to playing against men, Roy, might start in laval when eligible but if he's clearly dominating the ahl, he's most likely going to end up in the nhl. the top 3 in the 2023 draft are most likely ready due to the fact that they are generational, but michkov is in russia til 2026 i think, but fantilli has the frame to be nhl ready. Farell is probably the odd man out, but im pretty sure that by then two of roy-farell-mesar are going to be ready.

One thing to keep in mind is that if MTL maintain status quo, they will be a better team than they were last year. Habs led the league last year in "man games" lost due to injuries. Logically, just having a healthier roster will have the Habs finishing higher in the standings....

If you really want to tank... Jake Allen NEEDS to go, Price will also need to go back on LTIR, and guys like Armia, Hoffman, Drouin, and Dvorak all need to be shipped out ASAP (if any one of them has a bounce back season and puts up good numbers, that will mean more wins).

Not to mention you still want the young core to continue to get better (Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, Harris, Guhle, Barron, etc.) Anyone of them steps up their game (which we want).....means more wins


So MTL could get a perfect storm of a healthy roster, bounce back years from Vets, and the current youth core continuing to improve....Habs could be right back to being a middle of the pack team...

High chance Price is done tbh, S. White said he would be ready but, he also said the same thing last year, and how many games did Price play last year?

MTL could be better than CHI SEA ANA SJS ARI NJD PHI but that's pretty it
But I agree Jake Allen steal too many games

So let's say hypothetically Habs finish 8th last. That gives them a 6% chance at Bedard, and a 6.4% chance at the #2 pick (most likely Fantilli of Michkov)..... Not great odds...