No we can't do this...
This will cut the
@sampollock post count in half lol, just joking Sammy.
In all seriousness - YES, acquire the man.
Why? He has more points than Suzuki this year, and has played in 7 fewer games, and we all agree that Suzuki is our best all around forward. If you can add a guy, who would automatically become your de Facto top forward and top Center then you do it... Yesterday. Especially considering all of the context that surrounds PLD and his desire to play for the Habs, his contract situation and Montreal's ability to leverage Winnipeg in a deal, and our own need. Not to mention, we haven't had a true number one center in almost 3 decades.
Size - PLD adds it, he's a 6'3, 220 lb man and he isn't shy about playing physical. He uses his frame effectively and we desperately need some size/grit in our forward group. We have far too many wallflowers and small/scrappy guys that never win enough battles to make a difference when games get physical. I've yet to see a team win a cup that didn't have a Big talented center playing big minutes offensively and defensively.
Takes the burden off of Suzuki/Caufield - We are a one line team. If that line isn't scoring, than the Montreal Canadiens aren't scoring. Cole Caufield is tied for second in overall points still, and he's only played 46 games!!! Dach is third in points and he's played 55! It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.... You put PLD in there, and all of a sudden, now there's two lines to worry about, two groups that can burn you in different ways. That means you can't load up only against one, matchups get easier because we are deeper. Suzuki becomes more of a threat. Caufield gets more open ice. It's a domino effect, in a positive way. Imagine having TWO good lines? A 1A and a 1B? It is possible, even for the Habs in this post modern dystopian lack of offensive capability era.
And can you imagine what kind of a team we'd have if we somehow won the lottery for Bedard or ended up with a guy like Adam Fantilli?
PLD isn't going to make this team a cup contender overnight, there will still be some pieces needed to be acquired either through trade or the draft, but he certainly helps expedite the rebuild by filling a major hole in our current roster composition. For once, we are in the driver's seat when it comes to a player wanting to be here, and I don't think we should waste the opportunity. I'd rather have a known quantity and top notch young player in PLD at 25 (and in his prime), than some magic beans and a hope and a prayer that some player we draft somehow is able to become as good as PLD in a few years time.
Just my 0.02$
