LeBrun: Habs planning on being aggressive in free agency this year

[belair]

Unless it's not as bad as originally thought..

It is.

 

[Habs Halifax]

The habs rebuild is measured in dog years. So it's been 7 years now which is plenty

That's Bergevin's dog year narrative. We will see with Gorton/Hughes/MSL. Bergevin never acquired an extra 1st in 12 years and tried to rebuild via making trades and depth signings.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

i dont believe it at all,of course will have to sign ufas to fill holes but wont be big players on long term contracts

only one i see signing would be Letang who could help rookies but thats it,hes won hes cups maybe wants to comeback home to retire

 

[Drew311]

Yes, rebuild through free agency. You don't want a high pick in the 2023 draft, it's rubbish.

This is the old Brian Burke way of thinking when he got to Toronto. "The fans won't tolerate a full rebuild" he said, and then went on to trade for Kessel and sign Komisarek, et. al.

I'm pretty sure if the Habs are up at the podium in 2023 calling Bedard's name the fans would be perfectly fine with a full rebuild.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

Planning to be back in the SCF next season!!!

 

[Beauner]

I’m not sure what Pittsburgh management will do. Especially with new ownership. But I would prioritize Letang over Malkin, as long as Letang’s ask wasn’t huge, which? It maybe. And Malkin has been my favorite player in the league since his rookie year. But Letang is just more important to the Pens as a whole right now than Malkin if it came down to a ether or situation. In the end I think they both stay. But just spinning hypotheticals.

Question I am wondering about. Do both Malkin and Letang stay in Pittsburg?

H.


Malkin continually talks about wanting to stay here and apparently is willing to take a lot less to do so. I don't think he leaves. Heck, I don't think Sid will let him. Only way Letang leaves is if he has some long-held desire to play in Montreal, or they throw absolutely stupid money at him. I'm sure Pittsburgh will give him a fair offer, and I see no real reason why he wouldn't take it.

 

[Gaston Gingras]

I hope Montreal doesn't take that road.

 

[dukeofjive]

Why, this team needs a full rebuild and to suck for a few years to fill up the cupboard with good young players.

 

[Theodore450]

Why, this team needs a full rebuild and to suck for a few years to fill up the cupboard with good young players.

No they don’t

 

[SensFactor]

Habs should get Kadri. Wasn't he a huge Habs fan growing up?

 

[Runner77]

Gorton signed Adam Fox and Panarin.

Forsberg good fit here

Gorton had nothing to do with them. Panarin and Fox both wanted to sign with the Rangers. You could have put a chipmunk as GM and they would have still signed.

 

[DatDude44]

Question….why?

 

[Beezeral]

this would be a mistake.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Why would Gorton sell good players at the trade deadline, then turn around and buy different good players a few months later? It makes no sense and I don't see that happening. A mid-tier UFA or two is fine, but I'll bet he won't bother with the high-end contracts.

The Habs are doing the right thing by sinking as low as possible; let's hope they let the process play out.

I think the idea is that they don't need to do this in order (draft then UFA). If there's a player they believe will go on the market and they believe that player will be a good fit long-term, there's no reason to wait around on that player in the name of losing a couple more games. They know they won't contend anyways.

Of course, Chara is the greatest UFA signing of all-time, but people seem to forget that the Bruins still stunk the first year after he signed. And then stinking the season before didn't prevent them from signing him.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Gorton had nothing to do with them. Panarin and Fox both wanted to sign with the Rangers. You could have put a chipmunk as GM and they would have still signed.

Its pretty clear based on LeBrun's comments that Gorton and Hughes are going to target high profile players that want to sign in Montreal. Whether they're successful or not is another story.

 

[admiralcadillac]

this would be a mistake.

Signing free agents you can trade is a mistake? Didn’t know getting free assets was a mistake.

 

[covfefe]

It's interesting that this comes as a surprise to most. Gorton ran the same playbook in New York; simultaneously aggressive in FA and the trade market while the team skidded to four consecutive top 10 picks.

Voila, now they're good. I'm cool w/ it.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

I don't see Gaudreau being happy in Montreal. He would get ran out of town with the expectations the organization would put on him.

 

[MettleMcOiler]

Claude Giroux for Vet experience, 2 years $4,500,000 per
Filip Forsberg to upgrade their top six, 8 years 8,500,000 per
John Klingberg to Shore of defence 6 years 7,900,000 per
Marc-andre Fleury to Stabalize net 2 years 5,000,000 per

 

[Dan Kelly]

I don't see Gaudreau being happy in Montreal. He would get ran out of town with the expectations the organization would put on him.

If he didn't get at least 100 points as expected he would be !

 

[Habs Halifax]

Why, this team needs a full rebuild and to suck for a few years to fill up the cupboard with good young players.

I don't think the Habs new management is going to get obsessive with one style of rebuild/reset. You're not entirely wrong but a lot of how the Habs look in 3 years depends on what the 17-21 draft picks do (5-10 range in draft power with lots of good development) and what we do in this next 2/3 drafts. Things can change quickly but I do have my concerns cause usually you get stars by drafting (and hitting) in the top 5 for a few drafts.

The area of concern is are we a bubble team again or a legit contender? We will see and I do think Gorton/Hughes/MSL have a plan and it's fluid from season to season.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Claude Giroux for Vet experience, 2 years $4,500,000 per
Filip Forsberg to upgrade their top six, 8 years 8,500,000 per
John Klingberg to Shore of defence 6 years 7,900,000 per
Marc-andre Fleury to Stabalize net 2 years 5,000,000 per

Now open up the cap space.

 

[abo9]

I hope Montreal doesn't take that road.

wait, you dont want a redo of the gionta/gomez/canmaleri days?

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I think they should just work with a young core going forward. Do a slow and non-tank-like rebuild.

But, it is looking like they're doing good enough to not land Shane Wright. Was hoping they'd get Shane Wright too.

 

[dukeofjive]

No they don’t

Lol and why would that be?