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Habs Season Thread: Offseason 2025

It was San Jose mostly based on getting rid of their worst players. Dom thinks they’re still a bottom feeder

1. San Jose Sharks

Net Rating added: +26

In: Jeff Skinner, Adam Gaudette, Philipp Kurashev, Dmitry Orlov, John Klingberg, Nick Leddy, Alex Nedeljkovic
Out: Nikolai Kovalenko, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Henry Thrun, Alexandar Georgiev
 
Who was ranked 1? Carolina?

Canes were 4th

>>It’s enough to make the Hurricanes one of the league’s most improved teams this summer, which speaks volumes about a team that’s coming off a trip to the conference finals.
 
It was San Jose mostly based on getting rid of their worst players. Dom thinks they’re still a bottom feeder

1. San Jose Sharks

Net Rating added: +26

In: Jeff Skinner, Adam Gaudette, Philipp Kurashev, Dmitry Orlov, John Klingberg, Nick Leddy, Alex Nedeljkovic
Out: Nikolai Kovalenko, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Henry Thrun, Alexandar Georgiev
Seems like a chintzy way to give them no. 1. They also had the most bad players in the league to choose from.
 
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That’s the problem with ordinal ranking… Canes are #4 but they are +9 in his model, way off the Habs +23. Only three teams are above +10, Sharks 26, Habs 23 and Ducks 15.
 
Dom, everyone’s favourite hockey nerd here, has the Habs as the 2nd most improved team this offseason

2. Montreal Canadiens

Net Rating added: +23

In: Zack Bolduc, Noah Dobson
Out: Emil Heineman, Logan Mailloux, David Savard


If you’re a Canadiens fan, it’s time to get excited. Only one team has improved more over the last summer externally and it’s likely that few teams will improve more internally, given the collective age of Montreal’s roster.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the Canadiens will improve over last year’s finish, but it does mean they are far less likely to regress with significantly more substance behind their results.

The big get is Noah Dobson, who has the potential to be Lane Hutson’s Devon Toews. Dobson is a true top-pair defenseman, someone who adds tremendous upside to Montreal’s back end with his puck-moving ability. He’s a substantial get on his own, but the fact that it also means no more David Savard almost doubles the joy. Between the two, it’s a 16-goal swing.

It’s a similar effect in giving up Emil Heineman for Dobson, and then trading for Zack Bolduc soon after. Heineman is a fine bottom-six player on the rise, but Bolduc showed he’s already top-six caliber in his rookie season. What’s exciting about Bolduc is his defensive game, a sorely missing element from Montreal’s forward ranks beyond Nick Suzuki.

If Montreal stood pat this summer, there was a good chance the team would take a step back after taking several steps forward last season. With Dobson and Bolduc in the fold, Montreal looks poised to build on last year’s surprise playoff berth and prove they belong for the long haul.
Poor Dvorak
 
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Caufield Suzuki Slaf
Anderson Evans Gallagher

Are likely set lines. The other two will be blenders.

I suspect the season starts with

Laine Dach Demidov
Bolduc Veleno Newhook

With Bolduc eventually replacing Laine
 
Caufield Suzuki Slaf
Anderson Evans Gallagher

Are likely set lines. The other two will be blenders.

I suspect the season starts with

Laine Dach Demidov
Bolduc Veleno Newhook

With Bolduc eventually replacing Laine
And Laine being traded by the deadline.
 
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