I was never on board trading Lehks but this was one of those "trade them while they have high value" + Colorado really wanted him. I bet the mgmt would rather trade Drouin, Hoffman, Armia but unfortunately they have zero value.
Lehkonen would’ve been his usual 30 point self with us
He was worth keeping unless we got a very good return, and that we did.
I agree, but it's funny that Dvorak who is younger than Lehkonen and SIGNED for 3 more years is often considered too "old" for our alleged window, yet Lehkonen was likely going to want more than 3 years for an extension. We have a surplus of forwards and shortage of RHD prospects so the trade was a positive toward balance, but of course whether it is a coup or not depends on whether Barron can become at least a top-4 D.
Without Barron, the habs have 1 RD in the prospect pool.
To be fair, Eller’s departure was just stupid given where we were at the time. They also traded him to make room for a bum like Andrew Shaw and his awful contract. I can see why certain fans had a hard time letting go of that. Lehkonen simply wasn’t a fit anymore. It’s much easier to move on without any regrets. You don’t sign expensive role players when you’re rebuilding unless you’re a team just looking to just reach the cap floor which we aren’t. Somehow former management managed to make us one of the most expensive basement dwellers in NHL history.
