E.L. wrote:
I totally understand wanting to move on from the current general manager this offseason, but I'm also worried about the Habs doing that thing they always do and once again refusing to do a proper rebuild in favour of short term fixes. In this case, I specifically mean not letting Suzuki, Kotkaniemi, Caufield, Romanov develop into the stars we think they can become. It's the only path to success, as slow as it may be.
I worry a new regime involving Roy/Hartley would be all about a short term fix. Bouchard would be a sign of confidence in the young guns he helped mold.
They've done a slow boil for seven years now. I don't think you can abruptly blow it up and try a proper rebuild at this point. Certainly not while the cap remains flat, there's no way to move the contracts that need to be moved without actually paying someone to take them off your hands.
A philosophical change could do wonders, even if it's just one or two years before it comes crashing down. The Avs under Sacco and Sherman had become a staid, lifeless dump-and-chase club and the players expressed just how much they detested it in later interviews. Roy and Sakic were a breath of fresh air--Roy immediately sent the message to start fresh and it worked immediately. Once Erik Johnson had the shackles taken off he became the dynamic offensive force he never could be before in STL or COL under Sacco. Roy recognized there needed to be more offensive punch on the back end so they brought in Andre Benoit and Nick Holden, and while those are not exactly great players, they did what was asked of them. Yes, it wasn't sustainable and things fell apart for Roy later, but for a little while the mere change in philosophy made them a, ahem, Juggernaut. And yes, obviously goaltending did a LOT of the heavy lifting, but it ain't like they were just winning games 1-0 every night. The team looked good--they just failed to build off of it for a number of reasons.
Anyway, you get a guy who actually wants to utilize skill and not just grind teams to a pulp I think you'll see more out of this lineup. Someone who doesn't treat Romanov like an annoying afterthought, someone who doesn't think Ben Chiarot should be a featured defenseman, CERTAINLY not Joel fucking Edmundson. Roy IMO would be the perfect guy because he likes offensive creativity, he's not overly stodgy when it comes to structure, but he also likes old-school defenders who block shots and hit a lot. If there's anyone who could get more out of the present makeup of the team, it's him.