HF Habs: 2020 Montreal Canadiens Off-Season Thread part 3

[Miller Time]

It's possible.

But last year:

- they beat Sens 3 out of 4 times. Losing their one game in OT.
- they beat the Leafs all 3 times.
- they played Jets twice, won once and lost the other game.
- they lost twice to the Oilers.
- they beat the Flames twice.
- they beat the Canucks once and lost their second game in OT.

They got 24 of a possible 30 points.

A division may end up being different. But Habs do well against the other Canadian teams.

Would be interesting to see how they manage the schedule...

The west-east travel is easier from a performance pov than the east-west, which could be a not-so-insignificant disadvantage, especially with a condensed schedule/multiple trips.

Offseason remains to be seen, but at this stage, Ottawa is the only lineup I'd say we are comfortably better than at this stage.

 

[sheed36]

I hope MB doesn't rush too quickly to use up what available cap space he does have left. There might be some very good bargains to be had later this off season with teams likely trying to move salary out and possibly some teams not qualifying their RFA's and letting them walk according to guys like Dreger and Lebrun. There should be bargains to be had if a team as available cap space.

 

[Miller Time]

I hope MB doesn't rush too quickly to use up what available cap space he does have left. There might be some very good bargains to be had later this off season with teams likely trying to move salary out and possibly some teams not qualifying their RFA's and letting them walk according to guys like Dreger and Lebrun. There should be bargains to be had if a team as available cap space.

Too late for that... With the "space" we have left & the roster spots/RFA's to sign, we don't really have much room to use cap room to be aggressive, unless it's within context of trading key assets

 

[Adam Michaels]

I hope MB doesn't rush too quickly to use up what available cap space he does have left. There might be some very good bargains to be had later this off season with teams likely trying to move salary out and possibly some teams not qualifying their RFA's and letting them walk according to guys like Dreger and Lebrun. There should be bargains to be had if a team as available cap space.

Too late for that... With the "space" we have left & the roster spots/RFA's to sign, we don't really have much room to use cap room to be aggressive, unless it's within context of trading key assets

I personally think MB will look to the trade route more than free agency. At least that's what I believe.

That way, he moves salary out or in the case of Domi, he moves him out instead of using cap space on his contract.

It will also be the easier way to acquire players as free agency isn't always the most fruitful approach.

 

[Miller Time]

I personally think MB will look to the trade route more than free agency. At least that's what I believe.

That way, he moves salary out or in the case of Domi, he moves him out instead of using cap space on his contract.

It will also be the easier way to acquire players as free agency isn't always the most fruitful approach.

Seems likely...

Still a shame he didn't have the foresight or vision to keep that 8M he tied up in a backup goalie & bottom-pairing dman available to broaden the range of trade(s) open to us.

Both those spots could have been filled much later & at a fraction of the cap burden.

 

[The Great Weal]

The same thing is happening with me right now.. I'm also disengaging.

Dude, we need like 2 million to sign 2-3 forwards. You get the 2 million from trading away a dman which has to happen anyways if Pie signs. So ya we would still have close to 10 million. I know you are smart enough to see that.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Dude, we need like 2 million to sign 2-3 forwards. You get the 2 million from trading away a dman which has to happen anyways if Pie signs. So ya we would still have close to 10 million. I know you are smart enough to see that.

You can't even sign 3 players with 2m salary even with the lowest cap contract lol.

 

[Deebs]

I personally think MB will look to the trade route more than free agency. At least that's what I believe.

That way, he moves salary out or in the case of Domi, he moves him out instead of using cap space on his contract.

It will also be the easier way to acquire players as free agency isn't always the most fruitful approach.

With all the picks we have and many teams struggling with the cap, both the league's and internal, the trade route is definitely the best avenue to acquire a big time scorer.

 

[The Great Weal]

You can't even sign 3 players with 2m salary even with the lowest cap contract lol.

You can sign 2 and then bring up Poehling/Vejdemo/Belzille.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Seems likely...

Still a shame he didn't have the foresight or vision to keep that 8M he tied up in a backup goalie & bottom-pairing dman available to broaden the range of trade(s) open to us.

Both those spots could have been filled much later & at a fraction of the cap burden.

I don't mind the two acquisitions or the fact he went and accomplished both of those first.

But he needs to follow it up with significant moves that will address the scoring and size on the wings.

If he doesn't get that done, then I'm with you on wasting those moves.

I'm not at the point to say he shouldn't have done those first. I may get there if they start next season and he doesn't address that.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

You can sign 2 and then bring up Poehling/Vejdemo/Belzille.

Sadly none of those 3 deserves to be in the nhl

 

[The Great Weal]

Sadly none of those 3 deserves to be in the nhl

Well one of them would be the extra forward which Belzille is capable of. Not to mention the D we would have to trade is either Petry, Chiarot or Edmundson, who all make over 2 million so ya we would still have cap space for it. Maybe even more.

 

[WeThreeKings]

So without extending Domi, signing a depth forward at 1m, signing Evans at 1m, signing another depth forward (Hudon) to 1m, signing Mete to 1m.. we have 7.2m in space.

 

[JoelWarlord]

Well one of them would be the extra forward which Belzille is capable of. Not to mention the D we would have to trade is either Petry, Chiarot or Edmundson, who all make over 2 million so ya we would still have cap space for it. Maybe even more.

Having 10M if you trade away a 5.5 or 3.5 million dollar contract while taking no money back is not the same thing as having 10M.

Pointing this out does not mean someone thinks it is a bad idea to trade away Byron or Chiarot or Edmundson or whoever to make space for Pietrangelo.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Well one of them would be the extra forward which Belzille is capable of. Not to mention the D we would have to trade is either Petry, Chiarot or Edmundson, who all make over 2 million so ya we would still have cap space for it. Maybe even more.

yeah for an extra skater should be belzile , Poehling needs icetime in the ahl again....

 

[Miller Time]

I don't mind the two acquisitions or the fact he went and accomplished both of those first.

But he needs to follow it up with significant moves that will address the scoring and size on the wings.

If he doesn't get that done, then I'm with you on wasting those moves.

I'm not at the point to say he shouldn't have done those first. I may get there if they start next season and he doesn't address that.

Lol....
I feel like it's groundhog Day.

This exact refrain seems to be repeated (not necessarily by you) each offseason after similar type roster decisions.

I share your "hope" that there is some kind of actual plan or direction that would justify using up cap & pick assets on non-essential depth moves...

Just don't share the optimism given how his past decision making has played out.

 

[Miller Time]

View attachment 368178

So without extending Domi, signing a depth forward at 1m, signing Evans at 1m, signing another depth forward (Hudon) to 1m, signing Mete to 1m.. we have 7.2m in space.

Domi is 5-6M... Or gets traded likely for a more expensive asset (unless we're going the futures route, which seems unlikely)...

 

[Adam Michaels]

View attachment 368178

So without extending Domi, signing a depth forward at 1m, signing Evans at 1m, signing another depth forward (Hudon) to 1m, signing Mete to 1m.. we have 7.2m in space.

And in the off-season, you can go 10% over the cap. So they can go up to $89.65M. As long as they're cap compliant by the start of the season.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Lol....
I feel like it's groundhog Day.

This exact refrain seems to be repeated (not necessarily by you) each offseason after similar type roster decisions.

I share your "hope" that there is some kind of actual plan or direction that would justify using up cap & pick assets on non-essential depth moves...

Just don't share the optimism given how his past decision making has played out.

Which is why I don't blame posters who don't share that optimism. Because I can't exactly defend previous off-seasons or moves we were hoping for that never came.

But alas, I am always like this every year. I'm always the wait and see guy who is happy with certain moves but never fully satisfied.

 

[WeThreeKings]

And in the off-season, you can go 10% over the cap. So they can go up to $89.65M. As long as they're cap compliant by the start of the season.

They can, but with the pandemic impact.. I can see a lot of teams not wanting to go there, since your field for spreading money around is likely more limited than a normal year.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Thst all canadian division is Gary's -let's save our biggest markets from failling- plan

 

[DAChampion]

The jet lag from an all Canadian division in a condensed schedule could be awful for the players.

 

[Miller Time]

The jet lag from an all Canadian division in a condensed schedule could be awful for the players.

It would need to be extended trips...

Could be some neat scheduling scenarios...
Like a 3 week trip where you play 3-4 games in a row vs same team before heading to the next city
(Assuming it isn't a hub situation where all west games are in one place)

 

[Tighthead]

Sadly none of those 3 deserves to be in the nhl

That hasn’t been an obstacle to cracking the Habs lineup in years.

 

[Habby4Life]

That hasn’t been an obstacle to cracking the Habs lineup in years.

I think the 12 & 13 forwards will be guys UFA’s or via trade. RP isn’t ready and I think everyone has seen enough of Hudon.