Proposal: Knies to the Canadiens almost happened. (Sports net article )

[Lafleurs Guy]

Power winger is most defnitely not a bigger need than a RHD and 2C is far and away the much bigger need, blowing 4 good assets on like our 3rd need is terrible asset management.

RHD can be filled by RB and Engstrom. Time to bring both up.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Marek says it was Pickford.

And if that’s true then I’m extremely thankful it didn’t happen. That’s too much.

 

[OnTheRun]

If it was just Pagnotta I would agree that it's just BS. But Friedman did confirm he heard the same thing. So at a minimum we know Pagnotta isn't just making it up and there is somebody in the know who is saying this was the trade.

That doesn't mean the rumour is 100% true though since the source might be wrong/lying, but Friedman wouldn't have backed it up if it was coming from some crackpot. As an example, if Treliving is the source of this leak, he might be leaking this to make himself look good, and if he's doing that then it's not much of a step to think he might be exaggerating the return. There was that Tampa GM who kept changing the supposed return of the Lecavalier trade to the Habs that got nixed based on who on the Habs were having a good season, this smells a bit like that.

3 1sts and a B prospect is an overpayment, but it's not exactly a crazy one, and might very well have been worth doing for us.

There's a line between the media really wanting theirs story to be "real" versus wanting theirs story to be the "truth" or at close it can be from the truth.


This story has been on the wrong side of the line since day 1. And it has been milked to death then some.

 

[Runner77]

Marek says it was Pickford.

Legend of this story just keeps on growing.

 

[Frank Drebin]

The lecavalier rumor of our generation

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Legend of this story just keeps on growing.

What does Marek know? And the odds are Leafs asked for that and Hughes refuses.

 

[Maliki2]

Way to much to give up for him. Glad it didn't work out.

 

[The Great Weal]

RHD can be filled by RB and Engstrom.

Based on what? They’ve proven nothing and have to first surpass Xhekaj/Struble first. I’m not talking about a bottom pairing dman, we need a legit proven top 4 dman in place of Carrier, guy got caved in all year besides the Tampa series

 

[Gandalf The Habs Fan]

While I would have welcomed Knies with open arms, I'm not a strong advocate for giving away all those assets within our division. We might regret it sooner than we think if we made such a trade.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

Power winger is most defnitely not a bigger need than a RHD and 2C is far and away the much bigger need, blowing 4 good assets on like our 3rd need is terrible asset management.

The beauty of that Knies trade was it didn't touch Hage or Reinbacher.

That leaves the Habs with a lot of options. You either roll the dice and see if Hage and RB can develop into those guys or you use them in trades to bring in a 2C and RHD.

You'd still have other pieces on the roster and in Laval to use as trade bait too. Guhle, Kapanen, Engstrom, Dach, Beck, Struble, Xhekaj, Dobes/Fowler.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Based on what? They’ve proven nothing and have to first surpass Xhekaj/Struble first. I’m not talking about a bottom pairing dman, we need a legit proven top 4 dman in place of Carrier, guy got caved in all year besides the Tampa series

I’d put them both in. We can always make a trade.

 

[InglewoodJack]

Remember how convinced this board was that Alexander Avtsin was going to be a superstar?

I was here during those days, and that was more reflective of who we actually had in the farm back then. Pretty sure this was our top 10 from 2010:
Bleacher Report ranks these guys as our top 10, and IIRC, we were lower on Avtsin than this:
P.K. Subban
Lars Eller
Louis Leblanc
Danny Kristo
Aaron Palushaj
Yannick Weber
Alexander Avtsin
Ben Maxwell
Jarred Tinordi
Joonas Nättinen

After PK, I don't think anyone believed any of these guys was a sure shot- Eller was touted, but Leblanc was projected as a middle 6 C, Kristo a 2nd line centre, and the same for most of those guys. Avtsin was really the only guy on that list who had any potential of becoming a high end offensive player, I think he had some sort of Ovechkin comparables pre-draft. I mean, there was a time when Ben Maxwell was seen as one of the surest shots to be an NHL regular out of all our prospects. That's crazy.

Anyways, I'd like to see Zharovsky make our team before we let him go, but I think if Pickford sweetens a deal for a player who can make us better now, you make that deal with no second thought. The probabilities that Pickford makes the NHL, is good, and is above ~replacement level during our window is probably < 30%. Hage, I like more, but with him going back to school, I'm not sure if he's part of a cup run in the next 3 seasons.

 

[Adam Michaels]

I would have been fine paying that for Knies. But maybe it's better it didn't happen as it would make it a better deal if it's for a 2C. Of course it depends which 2C that is. If it's Robert Thomas, yes. If it's Mason McTavish, it won't need to be as steep.

I'd be surprised if this Knies deal is done this off-season, now that there is a new management and having the 1st OA pick could help them more immediately. So they might not be as willing to move Knies.

 

[KevSkillz4]

I really like Matthew Knies but if Simon Snake Boisvert have right on Zharovsky and said that he can become the 2nd or 3rd best forward on Habs team... so basically, he can become better than Slafkovsky and Slafkovsky is a little better than Knies in my eyes (at same age no doubt and he have more offensive talent in him than Knies).

So you really want to trade Zharovsky who have potential to become something really close to Demidov?!

That's crazy to think that you are maybe going to trade a player who have huge talent like Demidov.

 

[GoodKiwi]

Can someone please catch me up? Was was the rumoured return?

 

[Hockey Lifer]

Can someone please catch me up? Was was the rumoured return?

Zharovsky, Pickford and 2 1st round picks for Matthew Knies.

 

[HFFO]

I really like Matthew Knies but if Simon Snake Boisvert have right on Zharovsky and said that he can become the 2nd or 3rd best forward on Habs team... so basically, he can become better than Slafkovsky and Slafkovsky is a little better than Knies in my eyes (at same age no doubt and he have more offensive talent in him than Knies).

So you really want to trade Zharovsky who have potential to become something really close to Demidov?!

That's crazy to think that you are maybe going to trade a player who have huge talent like Demidov.

Spoiler: the odds of that are pretty low.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

Btw Chris Johnston also said tonight that the rumors out there about the trade are close to what he heard too. Said it's pretty clear that Montreal and Toronto had serious talks about Knies, so did Buffalo.

 

[JianYang]

Zharovsky, Pickford and 2 1st round picks for Matthew Knies.

Theres shit being flung a bunch of directions now but the original report from pagnotta did not say anything about Pickford. Instead, it said "prospect".

Apparently marek is the one that piled on later and mentioned Pickford.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

The rumored return could be a haul for Toronto or could just be magic beans

2 late 1sts likely 20% chance of being anything

Pickford maybe becomes Mike Green - good player but not a need for us or tops out as AHL Superstar and WJC John Slaney

Z is promising but does he really fill our need better than Knies would?

Knies would free up Slaf for the 2nd line, that would be huge

And we aren't waiting 3-4 years to see what the picks/prospects become

All depends on what other moves Hughes has planned

 

[Ell Curry]

The beauty of that Knies trade was it didn't touch Hage or Reinbacher.

That leaves the Habs with a lot of options. You either roll the dice and see if Hage and RB can develop into those guys or you use them in trades to bring in a 2C and RHD.

You'd still have other pieces on the roster and in Laval to use as trade bait too. Guhle, Kapanen, Engstrom, Dach, Beck, Struble, Xhekaj, Dobes/Fowler.

I think Hage going back to Michigan and being able to play on the wing means we're more likely to rent an older 2C or I guess go after someone who might end up as 3C worst case or even a good middle six winger(thinking like a Mav Bourque, McTavish or another "maybe he's a 2C" guy I guess?).

Dobson-Carrier-Reinbacher feels like it will get a chance, and Engstrom has played there.

Whereas 2C for game 1, I have no idea. It's probably Evans. I think Newhook is better on the wing. That's just not enough offence from that spot, unless we add another star winger and Evans or Kapanen or someone else can live off their work.

 

[Runner77]

The rumored return could be a haul for Toronto or could just be magic beans

2 late 1sts likely 20% chance of being anything

Pickford maybe becomes Mike Green - good player but not a need for us or tops out as AHL Superstar and WJC John Slaney

Z is promising but does he really fill our need better than Knies would?

Knies would free up Slaf for the 2nd line, that would be huge

And we aren't waiting 3-4 years to see what the picks/prospects become

All depends on what other moves Hughes has planned

It’s about opportunity cost now.

What 2C could those same assets garner now or must the Habs add? Assuming there is any truth to the Knies rumor, if those assets were in play once, it gives an indication that they might be again. Or a reasonable facsimile.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

I think Hage going back to Michigan and being able to play on the wing means we're more likely to rent an older 2C or I guess go after someone who might end up as 3C worst case or even a good middle six winger(thinking like a Mav Bourque, McTavish or another "maybe he's a 2C" guy I guess?).

Dobson-Carrier-Reinbacher feels like it will get a chance, and Engstrom has played there.

Whereas 2C for game 1, I have no idea. It's probably Evans. I think Newhook is better on the wing. That's just not enough offence from that spot, unless we add another star winger and Evans or Kapanen or someone else can live off their work.

I think you meant going back to be 1C in Michigan

 

[Ell Curry]

I think you meant going back to be 1C in Michigan

I mean if we get a 2C of any kind, we could play something like this for Hage's first few years at least anyways:

Caufield-Suzuki-Demidov
Hage-2C-Slafkovsky

or even give Hage the same 3rd line scorer role Carolina gave Ehlers, who is also a puck carrying zone entry guy:

Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky
Newhook-2C-Demidov
Hage-Evans-Bolduc

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

It’s about opportunity cost now.

What 2C could those same assets garner now or must the Habs add? Assuming there is any truth to the Knies rumor, if those assets were in play once, it gives an indication that they might be again. Or a reasonable facsimile.

It's refereshing to know our GM has the stones to make a big deal and not just sit back and say trades are hard.

I expect fans will be uncomfortable at this approach as we've had a 30 year love affair with prospects potential but looking back >90% of them missed while we remained mediocre with the big club.

Just watched a podcast with Pronger and he basically says the rumored return is not nearly enough for a player like Knies. Compared him to Tim Wilson not even entering his prime yet, how many of them are in the league and even better available?

Z is likely Demidov, do we need 2 of them? This is one of those Huberdeau for Tkachuk deals