Every since I started posting on HFBoards a lot of the impetus to write bits and bobs about the Habs has been channelled into that discussion forum. It’s a remarkably busy discussion board and it definitely scratches the itch for getting some thoughts across.
Therefore, I made a decision to send out longform pieces to you, my (ever so slowly growing) subscribers, only when the topic is (a) intriguing, (b) has various aspects to analyse, and (c) my nemisis Arpon Basu does a typically shitty job at covering it.
This upcoming season will kick off today with one of the most highly anticipated training camps in memory. We will see reclamation projects (Dadonov, Monahan), the first overall pick (Slafkovsky), a handful of young prospects and ‘tweeners jostle to make their case for the main Habs roster, and a Habs team that will definitively miss superstar net-minder Carey Price. Meanwhile, resisting the ascendance of these prospects are NHL veterans who have a lot to prove and whose egos are bruised, having come off the worst season in Habs history and finishing as the league’s worst team (despite having the highest payroll).
The NHL is changing rapidly: the tight salary cap means many worthwhile players are deemed expendable on a pt/caphit basis, this will be a metric that will be increasingly useful in processing roster moves. Keep an eye on the remaining big contract commitments borne from the ill decisions of the previous administration: J. Anderson, C. Dvorak, D. Savard, J. Edmundson, J. Drouin, J. Allen, P. Byron, B. Gallagher, J. Evans, J. Armia, and M. Hoffman. All are liable to be moved, as could be S. Monahan and E. Dadonov who are both pending UFAs.
It was a busy off-season but the main question remains: can Hughes and Gorton do more than de-construct? Can they build a winner? I want to believe they can. We will follow them closely and scrutinise with care.
Among the new faces: K. Dach is a young centreman who was cut loose by Chicago, J. Slafkovsky is the recent first overall pick, and M. Matheson is the defender the Habs received in exchange for want-away J. Petry. One would assume they’re part of the solution, the Habs spent big to get all of them, so all eyes will be on these three to see if they get on.
Montreal also decided to name Nick Suzuki as its 31st captain in team history. Suzuki is starting a massive contract and now has the pressure of fulfilling his salary bracket with elevated production and to manage the emotional weight of one of the worst rosters in the NHL for the full 82 game, likely loss-filled season.
Meanwhile King Bozo Geoff Molson decided to sell ad-space on the Habs jersey for a paltry 6.3 million CAD a year. That’s a lot less than he is burning on the many bad contracts his protege former GM Marc Beregvin handed out — including nearly 30 million USD to enigmatic and oft-injured winger J. Drouin and 32.5 million USD to the slowing-down grinder B. Gallagher.
We will keep a close on on Molson’s activities now, as his Bozo status remains firmly in place with no sight of leaving.
Coming up next post…
We will look at some narratives of the upcoming season including Gallagher, Slafkovsky, and Kirby Dach and make some predictions and calls.
You had me at “King Bozo Geoff Molson”