Habs went to the finals with Danault as 2C.
Many teams with "better" 2C's did not.
You don't need a better player at the position to succeed. (Though it's nice to have)

And in a normal year they wouldn’t have made the playoffs.

Speculative and debatable.
Part of the habs issue last season was teams being able to familarize and adapt because they meet so often. Julien was out-coached and Ducharme took time to make adjustments. In a normal year, they aren't worn down by a grueling schedule due to covid pauses either.

Anyway, this is Boston discussion. All I'm trying to say is Haula is a serviceable 2C and at least warrants a look before dismissing the whole team simply because of it.

They were 18th in the league in terms of point percentage playing in the softest division in the league. Not really sure how up for debate it is.

I know they will give Coyle, Folingo, Haula and probably Studnicka a chance before an external move, but I do agree with McAvoy73. Im not a huge fan of this roster on paper, obviously chemistry can change that. Theres plenty of variables that are out of our control and can change our opinions from right now but currently I think they're a worse team than last year. They're downgrading on goaltending (obviously with Tuukka having a significant injury that's expected) and they lost a key piece to their core in Krejci that has played a major role for this lineup the past 15 years. To think they can seamlessly replace both of those holes and be as competitive as last year I think is unjustifiable at this moment. The bottom 6 will probably/hopefully be a bit better. The defense to me remains the same. Maybe a smidge better just because Forbort has more NHL experience over Lauzon. They'll likely be a playoff team when the 1st line carries the weight per usual and maybe win a round with this current line up. In the end its not good enough imo.

Add: I also think Ullmark could be solid for us. Think its a ballsy signing by Sweeney and it could go either way

I already covered it in that post ...

And they were in that area or worse the last few seasons. It’s just what the habs are.

So your argument about whether Haula can cover 2C boils down to "Habs suck". Okay.

My argument for why the bruins roster looks poor because of the 2C is based on their 2C. You’re the one that brought danault, and then the habs into this. Not me.

It was relevant to the point. You can be successful without a 60 point 2C. You can make it to the SCF even if your 2C only puts up 4 points(?) In 20 playoff games.

The weaker division, regular season point totals, and performance in previous years, are irrelevant.

No it’s very very relevant. It goes to the question, have the habs been successful, or did they just go on a miracle run for a month. All evidence points to the latter. I don’t think the habs have had success over the last three seasons.

My point all along in making this post (and two other combination posts) is that there are so many variables in the line combinations that you just never know. The Habs proved that as did the Leafs in their exit. On paper (at the beginning of the season) a lot of hockey journalists heralded Montreal as the most improved team in the off-season. They changed their tune halfway through the season and then changed back after the Vegas/Habs series. The same group of writers had the Leafs also getting at least to round two. But since everyone is entitled to an opinion and freedom of speech (to a certain extent) there will always be counter-arguments based on previous stats, injury history, personal effects etc. Thanks for your input!

I think Hall-Coyle-Smith is 2nd line, with 3rd of DeBrusk, Haula- Foligno

Studnika and Vaak, among others, have every opportunity to improve and enter that middle 6 as well. I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of signing both Reilly and Forbert to 3 year deals.

You have to be good to be lucky. Ups and downs are part of every team's season. They deserve some credit, especially for shutting down top opposition players, which their 2C was an integral part of. They played well when it mattered.

They do deserve some credit for the way they played in the playoffs. No question. That month doesn’t erase the last few years though.

As for the need to be good to be lucky….ya, or you need a divisional realignment due to a global pandemic, to a division where 4/7 teams make the playoffs, enabling a team with a pretty crappy record to get in.

Again, you're bringing up mitigating factors which might have helped the Habs and ignoring the mitigating factors that hurt them.

Like a bunched schedule? Practically every team had that. You’re just ignoring reality at this point.

It is when you havn't even seen 1 game with this roster let alone the advanced analytics of 1 season with this roster

Well i don’t care about analytics, at all.

If you were the starting center for this team, and i was the starting goalie, it would be really fair to say that the roster stinks. That’s a hyperbolic example, but we’re allowed to make judgments at this point in the season.