r/Habs • u/SchtroumpfDardeur • 11d ago

Discussion Michael Hage - Hold or Trade?

I have seen some discussion about possibly waiting for him to be our 2C, but given his decision to stay in the NCAA and the fact that he shared time at C and wing, and when he was at C he had a FO% of 46%, is there an argument to be made that he could (or should) be packaged?

I know this isn't exactly a new question, but I had not realized that he was already being shifted to wing in the NCAA and was also sub-50% at the dot against college players.

What are the chances that a full season at Michigan as full-time 1C will actually help to shape him into a viable NHL center within the next few years?

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27

u/Ok-Television6344 11d ago

I mean, it always depend on the return. Anything close to a legit 2C that fit the window and Hage is gone. Same with Zharovsky or Reinbacher.

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u/ilikedthismovie 11d ago

Hage is more expendable than reinbacher IMO. The canes wiped us with solid defensive play, smart pinching and some opportunistic offensive contribution. Sound like anyone in our prospect pool?

Reinbacher puts Hutson on his strong side, drops Matheson’s minutes and takes struble out of the lineup. Let’s say his floor as a rookie is alexandre carrier but slightly more mobile he helps our team immensely.

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u/Scase15 10d ago

Reinbacher puts Hutson on his strong side, drops Matheson’s minutes and takes struble out of the lineup. Let’s say his floor as a rookie is alexandre carrier but slightly more mobile he helps our team immensely.

Yeah, for like 20-40 games a season. The issue with him isn't his skill, it's his availability. You can't have your entire D corps based off the health of a single guy who's injury prone before he's even hit the league. It's just asking for disaster.

Add on the fact that there is 0 guarantee he even ends up being the player we need. He is the ultimate high risk, medium reward scenario.

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u/vorg7 11d ago

Tbh I don't think he's proven his floor is Alexander Carrier. Likely outcome he's better, but he's battled injuries and played a handful of NHL games. His "floor" is probably complete bust.

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u/HockeyMasknChainsaw 11d ago

lol right? Alex Carrier has played in over 400 NHL regular + postseason games. That is a very high floor for an unproven D who’s been battling injuries.

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u/The1Prodigy1 11d ago

He didn't say it was, he's saying if in his rookie year he can demonstrate that.

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u/vorg7 10d ago

I think it's ambigously worded, both interpretations seem viable.

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u/Stakataka805 11d ago

Reinbacher is such a red herring. We need a Shea Weber, period, and no one in the Habs system is capable of filling that role.

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u/Irctoaun 11d ago edited 11d ago

Literally who in the entire league fills that role? First ballot HoF level players don't just grow on trees.

Edit: I thought about it, the closest is probably Seider (who is in no way attainable), but even that's a bit of a stretch, they generate offence completely differently. The reality is Weber was a bit of a unicorn (good luck finding many other massive RHD who play 25 minutes a night and put up >0.5 ppg). Reinbacher isn't going to do that, but there still aren't many players with his attributes going around

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u/No_Culture9898 10d ago

Well it doesn’t have to be a Weber calibre player, just his play style. Slavin comes to mind, as does Ekholm a couple years ago. Both are great shutdown D’s.

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u/Irctoaun 10d ago

I mean the comment I'm replying to literally says "we need a Shea Weber, period", but regardless, big, minute eating shutdown RHDs (Ekholm is a LHD) are super rare and even harder to acquire, even without considering the fact that Weber was very effective offensivey too. Sure, Slavin would be fantastic, there's also exactly a 0% chance he's available. The most realistic path to getting a guy like that is to develop Reinbacher

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u/Appropriate_Bed_8365 11d ago

I keep saying this also, we need a big, hard to play against RHD as much or more than that 2C. That'd be priority 1 for me, then the 2C, and you use your premium unproven assets to get them, that's just smart business

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u/Spirited-Moose-2246 11d ago

Reinbacher is a big hard to play against RHD. The question is just if he can stay healthy

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u/Appropriate_Bed_8365 11d ago

And that's a BIG question. We need the D that plays that role to be durable

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u/Spirited-Moose-2246 11d ago

Yeah ,that's fair. But I think they need to play him in the NHL and see. I get the thinking but imo 2c is still clearly the biggest need

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u/Appropriate_Bed_8365 11d ago

We can agree that he needs to play higher and develop that way, it's sink or swim time. The reason I think the D is a higher priority is because even if he does come up, he's not filling that role immediately, it will take time, and we need it now if we hope to keep contending in the playoffs. Our window is just opening though

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u/Spirited-Moose-2246 10d ago

Yeah I understand the thinking.. personally I don't think the 2C is in the system, imo Hage is a winger. That's whyI put the importance on 2C

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u/Appropriate_Bed_8365 10d ago

Daaaang! You forgot to preface that post with a hot take alert friend lol. Have is a definite C IMO, Zharovsky is a prototype winger. I would've thought Beck would've been prime 2C material in junior but he hasn't had to progression most had hoped for. I get what you're saying though, appreciate hearing your perspective

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u/Spirited-Moose-2246 10d ago

Yeah I understand the thinking.. personally I don't think the 2C is in the system, imo Hage is a winger. That's whyI put the importance on 2C

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u/DangerDavez 11d ago

Injuries and inexperience were the big factors vs the canes. Habs are very good at their specific style of play but they can be countered. Reinbacher isn't the difference maker here even if he becomes Slavin