HabsFinn

Lifelong fan of Les Canadiens. Defensive defenseman enthusiast. Linguist/teacher by trade.

English/français/suomi/svenska.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

Final repost of my analytical wishlist for the 2025–26 season. Updating monthly.

• From bottom-3 defensive team to bottom-10 defensive team on 5v5.
• From bottom-5 PP chance creators to avg.
• From bottom-7 PK chance reductors to avg-ish.
• Less penalties taken.
#GoHabsGo

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@SlafCaufZukes

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

Defensive highlights?

In the middle of the day?

Oh brother.

[NHL @NHL]

Safe to say Nick Suzuki's elite defensive prowess helped earned him the Selke Trophy! 😤 #NHLAwards

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

Pori vs. Pöytyä (yes, that's a real place) >>> Carolina vs. Vegas

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

It is time for the pesäpallo season.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

Not overly impressed by Aatos Koivu's card this year.

A lot of shooting, not so much of good looks. Decent passing accuracy, but not too many passes. Not too engaged and struggling in constests. 2nd-worst raw Corsi share among TPS forwards with at least 30 gp. #GoHabsGo #HCTPS

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@JFreshHockey Lasse Boelius.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@1VANDEMIDOV He certainly would've felt like home in the Hurricanes series.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

Šmits also had some nice micros/advanced stats in a hard role.

Especially when you take into account that his team had a 41% Corsi share at even strength, so his own raw 5v5 CF% of 44% looks bad relative to league (shown here), but not relative to team. #Liiga #Jukurit

[Patrick Bacon @TopDownHockey]

Alberts Smits is a defenseman whose draft-year scoring rate in Liiga was higher than Juraj Slafkovsky’s.

He would be a pretty solid selection pretty much anywhere in the draft.

https://t.co/8Myty478gA

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

Data from https://t.co/WBCX42wqpx, among D-men with at least 30 gp

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

Career RAPM chart provided by @HockeySkytte.

It's free!

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

Seemingly Brendan Gallagher's career as a #GoHabsGo is coming to an end.😥

One of the most underrated offensive playdrivers of his generation is SECOND all time (since 07–08) in career individual xGoals per 60 at 5v5 and t-64th in actual goals at 5v5 among players with 200 gp.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

It is time for the pesäpallo season.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@CabernetFrk This is of course exaggeration, but the results in the last 3 games all over team are statistically so bad, that going with something ridiculous like Xhekaj–Engström Struble–Reinbacher / Del Gaizo–Clurman shouldn't even be making the stats much worse.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

If we're being honest, every #GoHabsGo defender is getting eaten alive by the Hurricanes, just in different styles.

And the potential replacement guy (Xhekaj) had 27% Corsi share, 22% shot share, 36% xGoal share and 25% chance share in his 2 regular season games vs. the Canes.

[Montreal Hockey Now @MTLhockeynow]

@Maurostwitta Carrier is getting eaten alive by the Hurricanes though.

Tough assignment, mind you, but the numbers are incredibly rough.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@JFreshHockey Cinema.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@ShutdownLine It felt like the Guhle–Carrier pairing spent the whole game 3 putting out dumpster fires in their own end and didn't have any exits with possession.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@P__Airoldi Agree, but this made the viz a little easier to read.😅

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@MTLhockeynow Not quality-wise.

Matheson, for example, has worse xGF%, Dobson has similar to Carrier, and both of them have worse xGA/60 than him.

And no player is even close to Carrier in D-zone starts. Matheson is 2nd and has 15 fewer than him.

72's minutes aren't comparable in any way.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@MTLhockeynow Sure, but you might be underselling a guy who had a fairly positive first 2 games in the Carolina series.

[HabsFinn @HabsFinn]

@paqdaddy @the_habitant "Barely did anything" might be a reach, as he led the team in all situations ixG, had 3 primary assists and did a lot of other important stuff as well.
https://t.co/Q96vraG6Ca

[Corey Sznajder @ShutdownLine]

Individual stats, it's the Mitch Marner series. Leads VGK players in chance production at 5v5 and he has dominated on special teams. Also their best player on entries & exits.