Been pretty busy and didn't get much time to play so I just didn't do the write up for the last while(I usually play a few games, do scouting, slowly get through seasons really). Team struggled anyways for what I haven't written up, so not a crazy amount of content but we got a top 5 pick to recap, a decent draft, disgruntled star getting a fresh start elsewhere, some new faces, more mediocre regular season results, and promising prospect growth. We got us a Pablo and a Spike, just some world class hockey names. Gonna be a fun one.
We are now in the 2027/2028 Regular Season at present time but I'll briefly touch on the failure that was 2026/2027 .
2026/2027 Recap
We finished in the bottom 3 of the league, coaching change and some depth moves did not fix any issues. Nothing really explains it, we had a solid lineup which was similar to 2025/2026 end of season with some minor growth here and there. Third line and goaltending was the easily detectable issue, though. Some bad morale on 4-5 guys by the end of the bad season and Suzuki was the only one to drop in overall but his was significant. 86 overall as a 1st line forward, and our 1st line was the only thing working that entire season. Rough times in Montreal after 2026/2027.
Finishing in the bottom 3 we fell to the 4th pick in the 2027 draft. 5 of the top 6 prospects were defenseman with a single sniper ranked about 3rd overall. We wanted to move up to ensure we get the forward as we have two elite D-man already in Semyonov and Nilsson and some other solid D developing in Heard, Langfeld, Hamara, etc.
Trades were made to move around in the draft and I unfortunately don't have all of the details from these but there was nothing major. Minor moves while retaining noteworthy prospects and roster players.
2027 Draft Notables:
1st rnd #3: RW Pablo MacIntyre SNP USA MElite 77ovr 18yo 5'10" 172
Your typical elite sniper with top-tier skating/shooting. Sufficient awareness and puck skills. Defense/physicality obviously weak points now. Will be signed to play top 6/9 in Laval after recording 51G and 109P in 68GP in USA. We hope he can be a 1st line talent in a few years, hopefully NHL ready after 1 year in AHL.
1st rnd #27: LW Riley Rankin SNP WHL LElite 65 ovr 18yo 5'9" 169
A small sniper with a really broken skillset (superstar abilities though), recorded 45G 102P in 67GP in Spokane, so great value at end of first round. World class shooting and skating(minus agility), great defensive awareness and stick checks but awful offensive instincts. Abysmal puck handling/passing
2nd rnd #35: LW Blake Primeau PLY OHL LElite 63ovr 18yo 5'9" 171
Another small winger, this time hitting on a really well-built prospect. Superstar playmaking/puck control abilities, dangling is his zone ability. Had a quiet season for Guelph (37P in 63GP) but has the complete package to be a top-6 winger in NHL in 3-4 years.
2nd rnd #52: G Torsten Backstrom HYB Liiga MStarter 75ovr 19yo 6'1" 189
Plays aggressive and loves to keep puck in play. Just an overall well built goaltender, should be able to make it to the NHL at some point.
6th rnd #167: LW Chandler Komisarek PWF OHL LElite 71ovr 19yo 6'2" 192
Might be our steal of the draft. Passed over in his draft year now playing in his D+1 year, recorded 34P in 67GP. No idea how he is back here in the 6th. Has a well built skillset and size, likely tops out as a middle-six winger. Already high 70 skating is a great sign for a PWF like Komisarek.
7th rnd #200: LW Richard Mojzis PLY Czechia LElite 61ovr 19yo 5'10" 184
Another overager, long term project. Skating is actually not bad already, terrible physical/defense.
2027 Offseason
Let Drouin walk in free agency, his morale was low and struggled on 3rd line, demoted to 4th line and struggled there too with whole team. We expect our young depth to continue to fill out our bottom six moving forward.
Let Hintz walk as well he stuck out like a sore thumb in the top six as a bad fit.
Signed LW Clayton Keller (2 x 9.075) 88 ovr PLY 29yo
Under PPG last year for Arizona.
Signed RW Vlad Tarasenko (1 x 8.85) 87 ovr SNP 36yo
PPG last year in Philadelphia. 36 years old but we are hoping to get a top-6 sniper out of him.
Top six addition and we rely on youth to step in to bigger roles.
2027/2028 Regular Season
In the offseason we had to begin to consider moving Nick Suzuki after he dropped to an 86 after our poor performance in 2026/2027. Sometimes these players bounce back so I wanted to give it a fresh start with new coaches and some new depth/faces and if the team struggles we'll pull the trigger on a Suzuki deal. It took about 10 games and I think we went 2-8-0 or something along those lines. It was the easiest solution to making a change, although the likely issue is that our team relies too heavily on young talent.
To MIN...
C Nick Suzuki 86ovr (2 x 8.19)
G Justus Annunen 83ovr (2 x 0.9)
(I think I threw in a minor prospect as well. LTop6F or something similar, low tier)
From MIN...
C Marco Rossi 90ovr (2 x 8.25)
G Jesper Wallstedt 85ovr (2 x 4.6)
We have no concerns for cap space (still looking at 7-8mil available). Spent a little time hunting down the right deal and this was about as good as it was going to get for what we needed to do.
Minnesota in a similar boat (I think they were actually below us in standings), so these players had lost a lot of value, similarly to Suzuki who was more then both. Annunen a really affordable backup option but was struggling for us obviously. Our starter Kai Barkov, despite being signed to a 7 x 5.925 still, has really struggled too and can't be the main guy on his own with a backup like Annunen. Overall we get a slightly younger center for the first line (comparable contracts) in a swap and an upgrade in goal, hopefully taking pressure off of Barkov without giving up any other assets.
Where we are at now in 2027/2028:
MTL (26-27-4) sits in 5th in the Atlantic, about 6 points back of a wild card spot. Not expecting to make a big push for the playoffs really so it is likely some moves will be made at 2028 Deadline. Tons of assets that I am happy sitting with here. If we were in the wild card spot now I'd make a splash but honestly I'd rather look to sell Tarasenko/Dumba both expiring 34yo+ vets. There are no character issues in the room yet, we've traditionally achieved high 70's for locker room chemistry apart from 2026/2027, so I'm looking to keep this young group together as best as possible.
May need to ship out some youth next year and experiment with more experienced players.
Pan (A) 91 - Rossi 90 - Tarasenko 86
Keller 88 - Dvorak (A) 89 - Caufield 87
Kaigorodov 83 - Markkanen 84 - Goldobin 83
Evans 82 - Morrisonn 80 - Kaminsky 82
Nilsson 89 - Semyonov 88
Hamara 83 - Dumba (A) 84
Guhle 82 - Heard 80
Edler 81/Wozniewski 80/ Farrell 78
Wallstedt 85 - Barkov 83
A lot of young defenseman that we want to be giving ice time to so our hands are tied a bit. RD OFD Spike Heard taken in the 2025 draft has shot up our depth charts, after posting 49GP 8G 31P +23 for Laval this year so far. He is a 21yo MElite potential that has no right being in AHL anymore. The team may look to move on from Swiss LD/RD Wozniewski, 23yo MTop4D potential, as Edler has zone/superstar ability and is a really solid built third pairing defender with size and speed we'd like to keep long term. Guhle as well looking like a super solid bottom pairing PK defenseman long term. Many options moving forward on D.
Wingers Kaigorodov/Goldobin shot up as LElite forward prospects from Russia who both earned a spot on the third line out of camp. We've been rotating our bottom six though, as they have been struggling at times.
LD Nilsson exceptional growth so far to an 89 overall has solidified our back end. Hamara stepped into top 4 role as well.
Barkov struggles continue in net with him signed long term.
Little pipeline update here let's go with U23 and we'll rank by trade value, not just current skill level.
Updated Prospects before 2027/2028 Trade Deadline:
1. Zach Pan 91 ovr 22yo MElite
2. Pavel Semyonov 88ovr 22yo MElite
3. Jesper Nilsson 89ovr 20yo MElite
4. Pablo MacIntyre 79ovr 18yo MElite
5. Hannu Markkanen 84ovr 23yo LElite
6. Spike Heard 80ovr 21yo MElite
7. Par Sylvegard 76ovr 21yo MElite
8. Gene Langfeld 72ovr 22yo MElite
9. Tomas Hamara 83ovr 23yo MTop4D
10. Brett Schneider 75ovr 20yo LElite
I personally am excited for offensive left shot RD Spike Heard. Skyrocketed from a 54ovr 2nd round pick project in 2025 to an 80ovr offensive spark plug now in January of 2028. Only being dragged down by some 77-78 physical stats, otherwise all other stats are mid-high 80s (87+ puck skills and skating across the board, 90 passing 90 offensive awareness). Heard should become a great offensive talent for us that can play top 4 minutes in another year/two.
For the prospect enthusiasts: we have a steal in LW Komisarek from 2027 draft 6th round. He is sitting at an absurd pace of 52G and 104P in 44GP with a +12 rating for Hamilton in the OHL prior to the 2027/2028 trade deadline. Sitting at a 74ovr as a 19yo LElite player, expect the power forward to be making an impact in the NHL sooner rather then later. Probably next year but if not will be a top 6 winger in Laval. Really strange but exciting prospect, being an overager PWF with great skating in the 6th round.
This more or less covers it all up to 2027/2028 Trade Deadline. We are not a playoff team, so I may sell an expiring player for any return. Tarasenko dropped to 86 but has 23G 46P in 57GP on a (1 x 8.8). Matt Dumba at 84ovr 33yo is on an expiring deal as well (1 x 5.58).
NHL Coaches:
Head (B-) Forwards
Assoc (B-) Dman
Ast (C) General
Goal (C-) Goalie
We will be holding on to this coaching team next season as well and re evaluate then as we already brought on a new team after 2026/2027 embarrassment. We've turned it around relatively since Suzuki deal so the team has been making improvements.
Sorta committed to the youth here but I'm willing to make moves for experience for next season. Still unsure though. Eyes on moving a young center in Morrisonn or Kaminsky maybe for third line vet? I'm willing to move on from Hamara and Dumba this offseason or sooner, maybe acquire an 85+ top 4 pillar for next year to hopefully be paired with a top 4 ready Spike Heard? Hamara is a decent top 4 defender today but I see more offensive upside in Heard down the road, something we somewhat lack in our two star Dman on first pairing.
I hope to have more time moving forward to get detailed write ups done while going through the sim. Cheers, enjoy!
Upcoming: 2027/2028 Trade Deadline and End of Season