I'm not sure what the Habs aim to do here. What was the point of trading all those assets to get Dach just to stick him on the 4th line with Armia and whoever. And is Jake Evans just not gonna play once Monahan comes back? I'm eager to see how this plays out.

Well I saw the lines on daily face off and I’d just assumed that monahan was just healthy

We arent

MSL system is Suzuki 1st C , Dvorak 3rd C and Evans 4th C
Suzuki had 35 in 37, Dvorak 18 in 22 and Evans 17 in 35
MSL had Pitlick play 2nd C where he got 22 in 35

I think why Monahan was brought in is to play top 6 beside Dach for Faceoff Support
This allows MTL to see if he can be a center as even Danault needed Shaw and Pavelski needed Jumbo Joe
Monahan could end up earning himself MTL as an interested party this summer when he's a UFA if he clicks with Dach.

MSL wont play Dvorak at 3rd either way
Far more likely if not Dach at 2nd C then Monahan will be with Anderson-Dach on his wing
No other upside to bringing in Monahan for a late 2025 1st rounder unless you think Monahan can be sold at the TDL for a decent haul
From a logistic's POV it just seems ideal as Dach had no faceoff support before as Drouin was the only one and i feel he'll be on 3rd with Dvorak (great chemistry) and Gally

If im the GM looking for max pay on my top 3 Forward pending Free Agents

Dadanov-Suzuki-Caufield
Monahan-Dach-Anderson
Drouin-Dvorak-Gally
Hoffman-Evans-Armia
PItlick

Well like I said in another post, you guys got a 1st round pick to take Monahan on. Ik Calgary needed to shed cap but he was overpaid and performed badly long before this off-season. Idk who's gonna give you anything for him unless he freaking explodes.

I'm having a hard time seeing Monahan play LW on the 2nd line tbh. I don't get why you put him there. If anything Dach would play wing.
There's probably gonna be at least 1 more trade before season starts including a forward leaving MTL.

Anyone in the playoffs
I heard word for word the same logic for why Plekanec's wasnt worth a pick at the TDL
They were right as he was having his worst year and after re-signing with MTL the following season was released from his deal for that reason
But because his faceoff ability never declined and he could handle bulk Defensive Zone Faceoffs which are much harder to win
Plekanec's got a 2nd round pick and 2 AHL Prospect MB flipped almost right away for Kulak (who got a sililar return)

I was the first to say " How the F...... did we get that?" and that was when MB was in charge who sucked at any deal not done at the Draft/Summer outside 2 deals in 10 years.
Hughes given how every single player he sold got more then the concensus agreed upon including this trade to take monahan
I think im comfortable trusting him

As for your views on our Coaches System
I dont think it makes sense either but it works , the points dont lie
Suzuki(1C) had 35 in 37 , Dvorak(3rdC) 18 in 22 and Evans had 17 in 35 (4thC)
Who played 2nd C? A Winger named Pitlick and at high volume minutes not just as a placeholder or plug

MSL system isnt what you think
For example Most people assume 1st and 2nd are our offensive lines 5v5
That's actually wrong as MTL use's 1st and 3rd to shutdown top 6 allowing 2nd to overpower 3rd and 4th
its why Lehkonen went out with 9 points in 9 games before the TDL after Pitlick joined his line

MSL see's the pieces he has and plays to their strengths
When he has holes he'll use a Dauphin over a Poehling to plug them as seen last year
Dauphin and Pitlick largely absorbed Byron's role as he'll Start on every line each year before its done(why he lasted so long here he's not simply a 3rd or 4th liner)

He'll try to win but not at the expense of developing his core especially when it comes to Suzuki, Caufield and well Romanov until he was traded.
His system doesnt really have a typical designation like top 6/bottom 6 or 1a /1b & bottom 6,ext
Its more like his aim is 2/3 players on every line are in the positions they should be but that 3rd player usually isnt playing at his level.

Ex: First move as coach by MSL was moving Anderson to LW for the first time in MTL on 1st line with NS/CC going 20pts in 21games and 25pts in 21 games.(caufield exploded)

I know the players got points towards the end and that Caufield exploded. I personally think you should trade Anderson while he has some value.
The backside to all of those stats and whatnot is that you lost. A lot. I think you had a 9-game losing streak towards the end. Just because a team goes all out offense and players getting points doesn't necessarily mean you're making the right moves. Your defense was and still is deplorable and all the scoring in the world isn't gonna save you. I will give you that Montembault did start 30 games for you last season and he shouldn't be near a starting position in the NHL. It was funny and sexy hockey with a ton of goals and me and my partner enjoyed watching the Habs (she's the real fan, not me haha), but it wasn't close to playing winning hockey.

This Monahan trade was a tad bit confusing to me tbh. Pure pick acquiring move ofc i get that and they should load up on picks this year, but at the expense of Dach and Evans potentially getting even less playing time, because someone is gonna have to sacrifice playing time for Monahan, I hope you're aware of that. Maybe they do put him on the wing but if so I wouldn't expect him to play better than what he does as a center. I'm not a an NHL head coach though and probably for good reason so I can really only speculate. 😅

I'm also wondering who's making the playoffs who has 6.3m to spend on Sean freaking Monahan and also give you a pick lmao. Again, unless he explodes ofc. It won't be because of faceoffs either since you're winging him apparently. You also cheekily left out that you retained 50% of Plekanec salary, and that an as equally AHL bound player as Rychel went back to TOR in that Baun guy my friend. 😉

That being said, I am very excited to see how this year plays out of the Habs but mainly for MSL. I think it'll show that last year's points explosion was the result of an offensive playing style and a big boost of confidence due to the HC change and the addition of MSL. (Ducharme was poison btw and I'm genuinely happy that you're free from him!!) But i also expect to see even more development from CC, Suzuki and maybe even some guest appearances from Guhle & Norlinder!
Oh, and if Hughes can do something about that RD and goalie depth. Your LD prospect pool is the most stacked defensive pool I've ever seen btw.