As a Habs fan, Sabres top 4 defensemen is insane. I also think JJ Peterka & Cozens are Sabres best forwards. Im not a Sabres Fan but it would be great to see them in playoffs. Y'all fans deserve it big time.
Personally, I think you guys are focusing far too much on the idea of a "franchise player". What has Toronto won so far in having "franchise players" in Matthews, Marner and Nylander? It's more important to have incredibly solid pieces in play in order to create a solid core with depth. If you look at how Vegas built their cup winning team, again, it was solid depth through and through. During their cup winning seasin, no player on Vegas scored more than 28 goals. But as a team, their secondary and tertiary scoring was very important. Montreal will most definitely surpass Buffalo this season. What Montreal has needed was more scoring, which they've added. With Demidov coming in next year, there's no doubt Montreal will be in the hunt for a playoff spot. Don't forget how many 1 goal games Montreal lost last year. With a little more scoring, it all looks different.
You're probably wrong on Hutson. He was absolutely stunning in some of the things he did against Detroit and showed a ton of confidence. He did exactly the same things he did in college (I watched a lot of his games) , bascially coming in as advertized. He was, offensively at least, one of the top 3 players on the ice in his 2 games. His comparable is absolutely Quinn Hughes, the only difference is his skating isn't quite as fast or as smooth with his slightly choppy stride (he is fast though), but he can shift directions like no other player I've ever seen. Very quick mind, hands and feet. The only doubt I have about his performance is that he just exited from college at 20 years old, so he was fresh compared to NHLers at the end of a season grind.
Habs fan here, good podcast. I was expecting more hate from you guys but you were pretty balanced with your takes. I think the Atlantic is easily the best division in the NHL. No team is bereft of hope unlike SJ, Chi, CBJ, etc. The place I believe the Sabres are clearly ahead of the Habs is on D with Dahlin, Power and Byram in your top 4. However, I believe the Canadiens have the better prospect pool in all 3 phases. The key will be if those prospects take the step expected of them as a group. Go Habs Go
I agree with most but the Sabres have the top prospect pool in hockey especially the forwards, and we have Devon mother f**** Levi baby ahaha he is a star goalie in the making
@@dxrknus We’re gonna have to agree to disagree about who has the better prospect pool. I understand why you would say this but I believe Demidov>Benson, Hutson and Reinbacher>Strbak and Johnson, and perhaps most controversially Fowler>Levi. You probably respectfully disagree so I guess we’re just gonna have to watch this play out over time. Go Habs Go.
Good to see that non of you have actually seen Hutson play or how he toyed with Detroit at the end of last season. Detroit was chasing play off hockey, not dead games. He is different level. You will know in a few months. For Slaf - he will play on the top 6 now with good players for a full season. That is what happened last year.
Laine will florish in Montreal under Marty’s leadership. They have the best support system in the league over there while keeping the players accountable. Perfect environment for him. Excited to see how everything unfolds.
First of all, nice video, really enjoyed your exterior take on how the habs are doing. You guys' opinions were more unbiased than I imagined they would be! In my opinion, if you guys can maybe throw Suzuki in the franchise player category but you're not too sure about the rest, then you're in for hell of a nightmare as a fan of a team that's in the Atlantic division. I think Demidov, Hutson and Slafkovsky will all be above Suzuki in that Category. From what they're showing intelligence wise, they will grow just as fast as Suzuki did, no doubt about it. Especially in such a good organization and environment for developping young players. They're a real team, acting like one, happy to play alongside their teammates and it shows when you watch the games. Their culture and mindset just seem unshakable at the moment and I don't think it's gonns change any time soon. Also, Kent Hughes and his team draft and trade for the human behind the player, that's how they KNOW they'll most likely turn out as they expect. That goes the same for Laine. Go watch the Montreal Canadiens channel's last video on the draft. You'll see what kind of men compose this managing group and what kind of questions they ask to the kids who aspire to enter the team. After they're on the team, Marty drives them, steers them in the right path. He teaches them how to focus on the prize, on what they've always wanted. The rest will be history.
Our bottom 6 unfortunately is filled with remnants of disaster contracts left by Bergevin. It'll take a couple years to rid ourselves of those contracts. We do have quite a few prospects coming up in the next 1 to 3 years who should fill out that bottom 6 and 1 or 2 who could be top 6 and push others down. We still have some growing to do and some tweaks to make and some contracts to get rid of. We aren't catching up to your sabres for a couple years don't worry lol
Caufield 26 goals in 46 games, Thats a 45 goal pace for the season. Last year 28 and thats after coming off of a major season ending shoulder surgery that takes 12 to 18 months to fully recover from. He is also only 23 years old and still a couple years before hitting his peak years. Caufield will be a 35 to 45 goal guy, Hitting the 40+ mark atleast few times in his career. Goaltender Jacob Fowler will be better then anyone that either team has. Hutson has elite talent, Ive heard many pro scouts around the league say even though he is a defenseman Hutson skill is so elite that he could play on a 1st or 2nd forward line and not look outta place. Sabers have been rebuilding for 10 years, While Montreal has only been at it for 3 years. Biggest question mark for the Canadiens will be can they stay healthy, They have had horrible luck the last 3 seasons
It’s funny how every fanbase (Habs included) thinks so little of other teams. Caufield absolutely showed he could score, even in the playoffs. Last year was just a down year in terms of goals. Slafkovsky showed he will be a franchise player. Demidov will too, probably. Suzuki is an amazing complete 1st center, and Dach showed his huge potential since he’s a Canadien. And the defense is stacked.
The 2nd for Harris is worth it. Throwinb Laine in to try and get him going again is an amazing throw in. With Price contract going on LTR they will have 8+ million cap space available. Watch for Dvorak or Savard getting traded.
I'm a habs fan, and honestly the laine move is really low risk-high reward. they have the cap space that's just sleeping there, so might as well use it. they take his contract and get a 2nd and just have to give up harris who I liked, but had no real place for him in the future and we might have lost him for almost nothing if we waited. the contract is only 2 years and if it doesn't work out we can probably trade him next year. if it doesn't work out, we still don't really lose much. if it does work out, in a better environnment than what was happening in columbus, he could really be a 2nd sniper to help caufield, a threat on the pp, and just a overall more complete top 6. For the franchise player, I think demidov could be one, and the others can all get better together when the team will compete. I do like the chemistry in that group and the culture the management established, so I believe they could win and go far in the playoffs in the future against team that are on paper better than them. I agree that caufield might be overrated by the fans but he got better overall last year except scoring, which I'm pretty confident he scores over 35 this year. It's honestly interesting to see another point of view from people not biased, but at the same time, I don't have all the knowledge on the sabres and you don't have all the knowledge on montreal to compare each player so that leaves some players overrated and underrated fron both sides😂.
When comparing these teams and what they have in the system, I’d take the Habs over 10/10 times. Habs fans may be too high on some players but I’d argue that you guys are far too low on some.
Hutson is going to be special, his moves at top speed, his edges, just a treat. They will be smart to protect him with easy minutes to start, maybe a lot of PP time to get acclimated to the bigs. There's a young goalie named Fowler in the pipeline drafted 2 years ago who is likely the future starter. He was a star in the NCAA, compared to Levi, never quits on a play and posted best stats in years at BC. To quote THN: He was sensational as a freshman, going 32-6-1 with a 2.14 goals-against-average, . 926 save percentage and three shutouts, breaking the NCAA record for wins by a first-year player.
@@TheSabreReport TBH I didn't look at Levi's stats. My grammar could have been better, I meant to say Fowler has been compared to Levi, last year especially it was mentioned ad nauseum. Not a college game watcher so I can only go by what Elite Prospects, etc have to say.
I have watched the habs a fair amount last year. The young guys there in the second half improved much. Laine will score points, its what he does. Montreal is truly better than what people think. I am concerned they will over take us
you guys are comparing Hutson to Bryson... 49 points in 38 games in his DY+2 vs 28 in 42 games in the same year. Have yall looked at how he plays at all
@@TheSabreReport "Could be a Bryson 2.0" on top of comparing them for a couple minutes. Lane Hutson's frame is the new age of defensemen get with the program
''He is no Owen Power'' 🤣 you guys had me dead 🤣 35 point is his peak, If you guys were a bigger market he would be talked about as a ''lackluster'' 1st overall with those disastrous numbers, Luke Hughes was picked 4th overall the same years and just had a 47 points season, Moritz Seider picked at 6th overall never dipped under 40 points. Now I'm not saying that he won't bounce back but in this context they were saying immediate impact, this is no immediate impact player
When Eichel/Reinhart were traded they essentially hit the reset button. They had been trying to (unsuccessfully) win games prior to then, so we consider it a new rebuild
I think you guys are underestimating some of the Canadiens players. When you say "the numbers speak for themselves" about Caufield, what does that mean? He had 26 goals in 46 games two years ago. Last year his goal rate was down but his points were up. I think his shoulder injury from two years ago still affected his shot last year. But, no, he is not just a second line winger. And the comment about the Laine trade being odd because they aren't ready to contend yet - he's only 26 and he was available now. As for the pressure in Montreal, that is just what Laine needs, I think. He loves the spotlight. People know that he's a risk, but we gave up so little for him and his contract is only for two years. This could be the steal of the year. Finally, I assume you misspoke when you referred to Dach's "lingering injuries." He has had a lot of injuries but you don't know that they are lingering. We'll find out when the season starts.
The addition of Laine is only 2 years... it's a zero risk... maximum reward... the off-season was about signing slafkovsky ghule to extensions... Canadiens had the most 1 goal lost games last year of any NHL team so adding a game breaker like Laine with Dach who was injured all last year... Additions should be Laine, Dach and Lane Hutson ... The rebuild is also about a winning culture not just bottom feeding non-stop... it's why I think you guys in Buffalo will actually be better this upcoming year with a new old coach in lindy ruff who brings a winning culture but also why your opinions are so off base on anything Montreal... So used to watching buffalo sucking that you think every rebuild needs to be like yours. Montreal strength is amazing character and chemistry... Our division is insane and makes for amazing hockey... Buffalo is one of the cheaper tickets intown and i love goimg to Montreal vs Buffalo games you guys have an exciting team just don't be surprised if when you watch Montreal play you guys your like wow ...
They brought nothing... are you kidding me ? they brought a DYNASTY Caufield was -24 before st-louis now he's -4 . Laine is -10. what do you think it wil happen ? Laine will be -5 at the most. The only good center Laine played was in 2016 Sebastian Aho... Sheifele wanted nothing to do with Laine because of his girlfriend Blake Wheeler(the poor guy felt threatend by laine on RW) Dach is plying with Laine 110% and for the first time in SEVEN years Laine will have a good center. if Dach gets hurt (knock on wood a healthy 82 games season me want) we can shuffle around and place newhook center instead of on the wing. Jake evans can be good too he resemble Mathieu Perrault? I think I never followed winnipeg who was the center with Laine and ehler on the other wing.
Sabres will never win a cup since sabres are the reject child of ny. Just like they will never win a superbowl and will ever be remembered as the biggest chockers in nfl history
Demidov is gonna be that franchise player
As a Habs fan, Sabres top 4 defensemen is insane. I also think JJ Peterka & Cozens are Sabres best forwards. Im not a Sabres Fan but it would be great to see them in playoffs. Y'all fans deserve it big time.
MTL is not over the cap. Price is 10.5 on LTIR
12 years rebuild vs 3 years insane
Personally, I think you guys are focusing far too much on the idea of a "franchise player". What has Toronto won so far in having "franchise players" in Matthews, Marner and Nylander? It's more important to have incredibly solid pieces in play in order to create a solid core with depth. If you look at how Vegas built their cup winning team, again, it was solid depth through and through. During their cup winning seasin, no player on Vegas scored more than 28 goals. But as a team, their secondary and tertiary scoring was very important. Montreal will most definitely surpass Buffalo this season. What Montreal has needed was more scoring, which they've added. With Demidov coming in next year, there's no doubt Montreal will be in the hunt for a playoff spot. Don't forget how many 1 goal games Montreal lost last year. With a little more scoring, it all looks different.
Yeah they need more goals. Laine and Demidov will help a lot.
Well said
Even with Dach healthy half of those games lost by 1goals could have been wins
Not to mention players like beck and Hage in the comping years.... Then the defense of Hutson, Reinbacher, and mailioux...
Kirby Dach and Lane Hutson didn’t play for the Habs last year, they should be considered additions to the lineup
Kirby Dach is an injury prone 3c lane Hutson is an extremely small defenseman going into his rookie year neither are major additions.
@@billsfan1443 additional by definition is adding something that wasn’t there before. Are you debating their existence?
You're probably wrong on Hutson. He was absolutely stunning in some of the things he did against Detroit and showed a ton of confidence. He did exactly the same things he did in college (I watched a lot of his games) , bascially coming in as advertized. He was, offensively at least, one of the top 3 players on the ice in his 2 games. His comparable is absolutely Quinn Hughes, the only difference is his skating isn't quite as fast or as smooth with his slightly choppy stride (he is fast though), but he can shift directions like no other player I've ever seen. Very quick mind, hands and feet. The only doubt I have about his performance is that he just exited from college at 20 years old, so he was fresh compared to NHLers at the end of a season grind.
Hutson will be a superstar in the NHL, not scared one bit.
And Detroit was really motivated to win that game, they needed the victory to get into the playoffs. Hutson just dominated still.
Habs fan here, good podcast. I was expecting more hate from you guys but you were pretty balanced with your takes. I think the Atlantic is easily the best division in the NHL. No team is bereft of hope unlike SJ, Chi, CBJ, etc. The place I believe the Sabres are clearly ahead of the Habs is on D with Dahlin, Power and Byram in your top 4. However, I believe the Canadiens have the better prospect pool in all 3 phases. The key will be if those prospects take the step expected of them as a group. Go Habs Go
I agree with most but the Sabres have the top prospect pool in hockey especially the forwards, and we have Devon mother f**** Levi baby ahaha he is a star goalie in the making
@@dxrknus We’re gonna have to agree to disagree about who has the better prospect pool. I understand why you would say this but I believe Demidov>Benson, Hutson and Reinbacher>Strbak and Johnson, and perhaps most controversially Fowler>Levi. You probably respectfully disagree so I guess we’re just gonna have to watch this play out over time. Go Habs Go.
Good to see that non of you have actually seen Hutson play or how he toyed with Detroit at the end of last season. Detroit was chasing play off hockey, not dead games. He is different level.
You will know in a few months.
For Slaf - he will play on the top 6 now with good players for a full season. That is what happened last year.
Laine will florish in Montreal under Marty’s leadership. They have the best support system in the league over there while keeping the players accountable. Perfect environment for him. Excited to see how everything unfolds.
First of all, nice video, really enjoyed your exterior take on how the habs are doing. You guys' opinions were more unbiased than I imagined they would be!
In my opinion, if you guys can maybe throw Suzuki in the franchise player category but you're not too sure about the rest, then you're in for hell of a nightmare as a fan of a team that's in the Atlantic division.
I think Demidov, Hutson and Slafkovsky will all be above Suzuki in that Category.
From what they're showing intelligence wise, they will grow just as fast as Suzuki did, no doubt about it. Especially in such a good organization and environment for developping young players.
They're a real team, acting like one, happy to play alongside their teammates and it shows when you watch the games. Their culture and mindset just seem unshakable at the moment and I don't think it's gonns change any time soon.
Also, Kent Hughes and his team draft and trade for the human behind the player, that's how they KNOW they'll most likely turn out as they expect. That goes the same for Laine. Go watch the Montreal Canadiens channel's last video on the draft. You'll see what kind of men compose this managing group and what kind of questions they ask to the kids who aspire to enter the team.
After they're on the team, Marty drives them, steers them in the right path. He teaches them how to focus on the prize, on what they've always wanted. The rest will be history.
Nice pod! Play off push for the habs will be nxt year when Damidov will be in the lineup
Our bottom 6 unfortunately is filled with remnants of disaster contracts left by Bergevin. It'll take a couple years to rid ourselves of those contracts. We do have quite a few prospects coming up in the next 1 to 3 years who should fill out that bottom 6 and 1 or 2 who could be top 6 and push others down. We still have some growing to do and some tweaks to make and some contracts to get rid of. We aren't catching up to your sabres for a couple years don't worry lol
Caufield 26 goals in 46 games, Thats a 45 goal pace for the season. Last year 28 and thats after coming off of a major season ending shoulder surgery that takes 12 to 18 months to fully recover from. He is also only 23 years old and still a couple years before hitting his peak years. Caufield will be a 35 to 45 goal guy, Hitting the 40+ mark atleast few times in his career. Goaltender Jacob Fowler will be better then anyone that either team has. Hutson has elite talent, Ive heard many pro scouts around the league say even though he is a defenseman Hutson skill is so elite that he could play on a 1st or 2nd forward line and not look outta place. Sabers have been rebuilding for 10 years, While Montreal has only been at it for 3 years. Biggest question mark for the Canadiens will be can they stay healthy, They have had horrible luck the last 3 seasons
It’s funny how every fanbase (Habs included) thinks so little of other teams. Caufield absolutely showed he could score, even in the playoffs. Last year was just a down year in terms of goals. Slafkovsky showed he will be a franchise player. Demidov will too, probably. Suzuki is an amazing complete 1st center, and Dach showed his huge potential since he’s a Canadien. And the defense is stacked.
The 2nd for Harris is worth it. Throwinb Laine in to try and get him going again is an amazing throw in. With Price contract going on LTR they will have 8+ million cap space available. Watch for Dvorak or Savard getting traded.
watching this as a habs fan, i fully expect them to be ahead of sabers in the standing
I'm a habs fan, and honestly the laine move is really low risk-high reward. they have the cap space that's just sleeping there, so might as well use it. they take his contract and get a 2nd and just have to give up harris who I liked, but had no real place for him in the future and we might have lost him for almost nothing if we waited. the contract is only 2 years and if it doesn't work out we can probably trade him next year. if it doesn't work out, we still don't really lose much. if it does work out, in a better environnment than what was happening in columbus, he could really be a 2nd sniper to help caufield, a threat on the pp, and just a overall more complete top 6. For the franchise player, I think demidov could be one, and the others can all get better together when the team will compete. I do like the chemistry in that group and the culture the management established, so I believe they could win and go far in the playoffs in the future against team that are on paper better than them. I agree that caufield might be overrated by the fans but he got better overall last year except scoring, which I'm pretty confident he scores over 35 this year. It's honestly interesting to see another point of view from people not biased, but at the same time, I don't have all the knowledge on the sabres and you don't have all the knowledge on montreal to compare each player so that leaves some players overrated and underrated fron both sides😂.
When comparing these teams and what they have in the system, I’d take the Habs over 10/10 times. Habs fans may be too high on some players but I’d argue that you guys are far too low on some.
2025-2026 Top 6 Montreal :
1. Cole Caufield - Nick Susuki - Juraj Slafkovsky
2. Patrik Laine - Kiby Dach - Ivan Demidov
Hutson is going to be special, his moves at top speed, his edges, just a treat. They will be smart to protect him with easy minutes to start, maybe a lot of PP time to get acclimated to the bigs. There's a young goalie named Fowler in the pipeline drafted 2 years ago who is likely the future starter. He was a star in the NCAA, compared to Levi, never quits on a play and posted best stats in years at BC. To quote THN:
He was sensational as a freshman, going 32-6-1 with a 2.14 goals-against-average, . 926 save percentage and three shutouts, breaking the NCAA record for wins by a first-year player.
Respectfully, I think you need to take another look at Devon Levi's NCAA stats lol
@@TheSabreReport TBH I didn't look at Levi's stats. My grammar could have been better, I meant to say Fowler has been compared to Levi, last year especially it was mentioned ad nauseum. Not a college game watcher so I can only go by what Elite Prospects, etc have to say.
I have watched the habs a fair amount last year. The young guys there in the second half improved much. Laine will score points, its what he does. Montreal is truly better than what people think. I am concerned they will over take us
Great pod...
Damn, I just checked the buffalo stats sheet... Mike Matheson would have been the top point producer...
When Price goes on l t r montreal's gonna have a ton of extra money
you guys are comparing Hutson to Bryson... 49 points in 38 games in his DY+2 vs 28 in 42 games in the same year. Have yall looked at how he plays at all
“Bryson is no Lane Hutson” was stated. We were just comparing their physical profiles
@@TheSabreReport "Could be a Bryson 2.0" on top of comparing them for a couple minutes. Lane Hutson's frame is the new age of defensemen get with the program
Damn see you on the ice boys🤣
Slafkovsky 33 points in the last 37 games...
''He is no Owen Power'' 🤣 you guys had me dead 🤣 35 point is his peak, If you guys were a bigger market he would be talked about as a ''lackluster'' 1st overall with those disastrous numbers, Luke Hughes was picked 4th overall the same years and just had a 47 points season, Moritz Seider picked at 6th overall never dipped under 40 points. Now I'm not saying that he won't bounce back but in this context they were saying immediate impact, this is no immediate impact player
Buffalo started their rebuild 3 years ago? I can't remember when they weren't rebuilding.
When Eichel/Reinhart were traded they essentially hit the reset button. They had been trying to (unsuccessfully) win games prior to then, so we consider it a new rebuild
I think you guys are underestimating some of the Canadiens players. When you say "the numbers speak for themselves" about Caufield, what does that mean? He had 26 goals in 46 games two years ago. Last year his goal rate was down but his points were up. I think his shoulder injury from two years ago still affected his shot last year. But, no, he is not just a second line winger. And the comment about the Laine trade being odd because they aren't ready to contend yet - he's only 26 and he was available now. As for the pressure in Montreal, that is just what Laine needs, I think. He loves the spotlight. People know that he's a risk, but we gave up so little for him and his contract is only for two years. This could be the steal of the year. Finally, I assume you misspoke when you referred to Dach's "lingering injuries." He has had a lot of injuries but you don't know that they are lingering. We'll find out when the season starts.
You forget Mailloux and Rienbacher in defense
The addition of Laine is only 2 years... it's a zero risk... maximum reward... the off-season was about signing slafkovsky ghule to extensions... Canadiens had the most 1 goal lost games last year of any NHL team so adding a game breaker like Laine with Dach who was injured all last year... Additions should be Laine, Dach and Lane Hutson ... The rebuild is also about a winning culture not just bottom feeding non-stop... it's why I think you guys in Buffalo will actually be better this upcoming year with a new old coach in lindy ruff who brings a winning culture but also why your opinions are so off base on anything Montreal... So used to watching buffalo sucking that you think every rebuild needs to be like yours. Montreal strength is amazing character and chemistry... Our division is insane and makes for amazing hockey... Buffalo is one of the cheaper tickets intown and i love goimg to Montreal vs Buffalo games you guys have an exciting team just don't be surprised if when you watch Montreal play you guys your like wow ...
I suppose giving marchessault 5 years in FA wouldve been better use of their money? Not how a proper rebuild is done guys
They brought nothing... are you kidding me ? they brought a DYNASTY Caufield was -24 before st-louis now he's -4 . Laine is -10. what do you think it wil happen ? Laine will be -5 at the most. The only good center Laine played was in 2016 Sebastian Aho... Sheifele wanted nothing to do with Laine because of his girlfriend Blake Wheeler(the poor guy felt threatend by laine on RW) Dach is plying with Laine 110% and for the first time in SEVEN years Laine will have a good center. if Dach gets hurt (knock on wood a healthy 82 games season me want) we can shuffle around and place newhook center instead of on the wing. Jake evans can be good too he resemble Mathieu Perrault? I think I never followed winnipeg who was the center with Laine and ehler on the other wing.
Sabres will never win a cup since sabres are the reject child of ny. Just like they will never win a superbowl and will ever be remembered as the biggest chockers in nfl history
soo many pointless hockey voices on the internet.