Monahan: Trade or Extend (assuming a decent season)

[The Gr8 Dane]

With you as GM, absolutely. If you can't conceive of a way to acquire missing element other than drafting top-3 repeatedly for years on end, you're definitely not the person for the job. AND, I genuinely say this with all due respect.

Montreal's GM, Hughes, will need to convince another team to hand over a young, up and coming elite forward for mix of accumulated 1/st and 2nd round picks, a good veteran not part of the team, longer term plans and/or a valuable prospect at a position we are not lacking.

There might be some short term pain with choices needed to be made and a fan favourite being moved, but the objective is to improve theta at all costs. If the sumo the moves does this, Hughes needs to find a way to make it happen.

IMO, he has the cards and will add more to form a winning hand by the 2025 trade deadline and/or offseason with veteran contracts coming than end and Matheson's contract only having one year left after that, two current picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 draft and the ability to add more by then as well.

Montreal will never keep all of Matheson, Guhle, Hutson, Xhekaj, Harris and Struble on the left side of D, nor will it keep all of Reinbacher, Mailloux, Barron, Engstrom (lefty who plays right), Konyushkov and Kovacevic on the right side of D. Unfortunately/fortunately,someofthebetter players (veteran or prospect) will/can be sacrificed because of the Cap reality heading forward. That willleadtovaluable trade assets to package with picks aqndcomplete theforwardgroup with an impact player, maybe two.

It's that, or, as you say, we aren't heading anywhere. How you think it is impossible to acquire talent other than to tank is beyond me, even without considering possible UFA additions in case impact players refuse to sign here at that stage in their careers.

Your view of professional hockey is rather tunnel-visioned, IMO.

Hahaha it starts and ends with elite talent. I'm just saying NOTHING this organisation has done in the past 20 years points to us acquiring it on the trade market.
At first glance sure Hughes seems smarter than the idiot savants Bergevin and Gainey and Timmins. Big woop , selling assets and tanking is the easy part.

But until the elite talent is actually here I will hold my breath.

Organization is either cursed and if they aren't cursed than I don't see why we should be giving anybody the benefit of the doubt even if they sound smart.

We've seen idiots throw away decades before all while we thought they were doing a *decent* job so I wouldn't get my hopes up too much if I was you.

Tanking and acquiring your best players from the lottery is a known way to become a contender. Starts with elite talent

 

[Scriptor]

With you as GM, absolutely. If you can't conceive of a way to acquire missing element other than drafting top-3 repeatedly for years on end, you're definitely not the person for the job. AND, I genuinely say this with all due respect.

Montreal's GM, Hughes, will need to convince another team to hand over a young, up and coming elite forward for mix of accumulated 1/st and 2nd round picks, a good veteran not part of the team, longer term plans and/or a valuable prospect at a position we are not lacking.

There might be some short term pain with choices needed to be made and a fan favourite being moved, but the objective is to improve theta at all costs. If the sumo the moves does this, Hughes needs to find a way to make it happen.

IMO, he has the cards and will add more to form a winning hand by the 2025 trade deadline and/or offseason with veteran contracts coming than end and Matheson's contract only having one year left after that, two current picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 draft and the ability to add more by then as well.

Montreal will never keep all of Matheson, Guhle, Hutson, Xhekaj, Harris and Struble on the left side of D, nor will it keep all of Reinbacher, Mailloux, Barron, Engstrom (lefty who plays right), Konyushkov and Kovacevic on the right side of D. Unfortunately/fortunately,someofthebetter players (veteran or prospect) will/can be sacrificed because of the Cap reality heading forward. That willleadtovaluable trade assets to package with picks aqndcomplete theforwardgroup with an impact player, maybe two.

It's that, or, as you say, we aren't heading anywhere. How you think it is impossible to acquire talent other than to tank is beyond me, even without considering possible UFA additions in case impact players refuse to sign here at that stage in their careers.

Your view of professional hockey is rather tunnel-visioned, IMO.

Exactly how is this funny for you, The Gr8 Dane?

Because your brain is overheating, "Does not compute, does not compute..."

Seriously, you believe Hughes will have no assets to trade that can tangibly improve the team?

Hahaha it starts and ends with elite talent. I'm just saying NOTHING this organisation has done in the past 20 years points to us acquiring it on the trade market.
At first glance sure Hughes seems smarter than the idiot savants Bergevin and Gainey and Timmins. Big woop , selling assets and tanking is the easy part.

But until the elite talent is actually here I will hold my breath.

Organization is either cursed and if they aren't cursed than I don't see why we should be giving anybody the benefit of the doubt even if they sound smart.

Crying in a corner just imagining the worst doesn't sound like fun course of action, nor does it sound like a logical course of action. Evoking curses and such isn't a sound basis either. At least, not a verifiable basis.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I'm just not ready to give them the benefit of the doubt is all. I've seen this team shy away from full blown rebuilds for too long.
Getting your 1C via trade like the Golden Knights happens less often than getting your 1C from the draft

 

[Scriptor]

I'm just not ready to give them the benefit of the doubt is all. I've seen this team shy away from full blown rebuilds for too long.
Getting your 1C via trade like the Golden Knights happens less often than getting your 1C from the draft

Fair to say that 1Cs aren't commonplace, period. Not every draft has a legitimate top line C in the top-15, even.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Fair to say that 1Cs aren't commonplace, period. Not every draft has a legitimate top line C in the top-15, even.

I think we were unlucky last year, had a good chance to snag on of the top 3 C's.

I agree with your assessment that we have tons of assets and we have a window where Hughes can build a very solid team , the base is in place already.

I just hope Hughes and Management are smart enough to use them wisely and until they do , I'm really not ready to wave any pompoms. We have clearly derailed the thread though

 

[Mrb1p]

Let Monahan get out of his 20's in one piece before we start comparing him to Count Pavelski.

That's fair

 

[Scriptor]

I think we were unlucky last year, had a good chance to snag on of the top 3 C's.

I agree with your assessment that we have tons of assets and we have a window where Hughes can build a very solid team , the base is in place already.

I just hope Hughes and Management are smart enough to use them wisely and until they do , I'm really not ready to wave any pompoms. We have clearly derailed the thread though

For sure.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Habs just need a Connor McDavid or a Leon Draisatl

If they don't have that they just need Matthew's or Nylander or Marner or Tavares.

Many cups won.

 

[JianYang]

He has, but he has been much better now than he ever was with the Flames IMO. Hes aging like Pavelski.

Monahan was excellent early in his career. He was once considered a franchise cornerstone.

Pavelski is a high bar. I mean, he's like 38 years old, so he's got 8-9 years on monahan as it is.

 

[Mrb1p]

Monahan was excellent early in his career. He was once considered a franchise cornerstone.

Pavelski is a high bar. I mean, he's like 38 years old, so he's got 8-9 years on monahan as it is.

He produced a lot but he was a passe ger with Gaudreau. Now he drives the play.

 

[HuGort]

Habs just need a Connor McDavid or a Leon Draisatl

If they don't have that they just need Matthew's or Nylander or Marner or Tavares.

Many cups won.

Kane type probably. Someone to play on top line. Make Suzuki and Caufield great. Most those centers, just push Dach out. Some gain but not huge

A Michkov type He's lighting up Russian league at 18. Even Kaprizov didn't do that. Until he was 22.

 

[HuGort]

NHL analyst, Jason York interviewed Monahan before last night telecast between Flames and Habs. Monahan said this past off season was first off season he has been able to focus on training. Past off seasons he had to re-hab. No doubt playing a factor in his fast start to season.

York closed by saying Monahan has had 7 surgeries. But will hit the big contract this off season.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Habs just need a Connor McDavid or a Leon Draisatl

If they don't have that they just need Matthew's or Nylander or Marner or Tavares.

Many cups won.

Totally logical since those players chose to build awful defenses and depth.

 

[montreal]

I would think in a month or so posters will look back at this thread and wonder what the people that didn't want to trade him were watching. This team is likely going to be rebuilding for some time imo.

 

[HuGort]

I would think in a month or so posters will look back at this thread and wonder what the people that didn't want to trade him were watching. This team is likely going to be rebuilding for some time imo.

It's not easy decision. Boils down to what we can get for Monahan. If it's late first alone, 28+, Habs may keep him.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Kane type probably. Someone to play on top line. Make Suzuki and Caufield great. Most those centers, just push Dach out. Some gain but not huge

A Michkov type He's lighting up Russian league at 18. Even Kaprizov didn't do that. Until he was 22.

KHL was probably far stronger when Kaprizov played.

 

[26Mats]

I would think in a month or so posters will look back at this thread and wonder what the people that didn't want to trade him were watching. This team is likely going to be rebuilding for some time imo.

Bottom line for me: I think you can win with Dach - Suzuki - Monahan down the middle, even a 32 year old Monahan as your 3c, if he's healthy.

So that's 3 good pieces to build around. Because, they could be good pieces when we're ready to contend. Plus having 3 good centers is good for the present, as it's good for the young wingers and dmen to develop around good C's.

 

[Scriptor]

Bottom line for me: I think you can win with Dach - Suzuki - Monahan down the middle, even a 32 year old Monahan as your 3c, if he's healthy.

So that's 3 good pieces to build around, plus having 3 good centers is good for the young wingers and dmen to develop around.

I'll preface this by saying that, in all likelihood, Monahan does not finish the year with Montreal and that, once gone, Monahan, worse case scenario for him, will sell himself at a low price to legitimate contenders and never return to play with the Habs.

That said, if Montreal decides to extend him, and he signs a team friendly, three-year deal with the Habs, in 2025-2026, with Armia (3.4M), Dvorak (4.45M), Savard (3.5M), Allen (3.85M) all gone, and Alzner's 833K buyout off the books since 2024-2025, there will be 16M in Cap space to play with just there. Pearson's 3.25M contractile also be off the books to make it 19.25M in new Cap space. Even if that was given to Monahan, for a 3 or 4 year 5.25M contract, there'd be that 16M left over.

With a top-9 C-line of Suzuki (26) - Dach (24) - Monahan (31) and Beck (21) as the 4th line C, Montreal would be sitting rather pretty down the middle.

They'd just need to determine which Cs have chemistry with Caufield, Slafkovsky, Newhook, Roy, Anderson, RHP, Ylonen and whomever Hughes adds to the lineup as an elite winger during the 2025 offseason when he will have loads of quality assets at his disposal to fetch such a winger in a trade, including Matheson, two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks and three 3rd round picks.

Slafkovsky - Dach - Elite winger
Caufield - Suzuki - Roy
Newhook - Monahan - Anderson
RHP - Beck - Ylonen/Heineman

Guhle - Barron
Hutson - Reinbacher
Xhekaj - Mailloux

 

[26Mats]

I'll preface this by saying that, in all likelihood, Monahan does not finish the year with Montreal and that, once gone, Monahan, worse case scenario for him, will sell himself at a low price to legitimate contenders and never return to play with the Habs.

That said, if Montreal decides to extend him, and he signs a team friendly, three-year deal with the Habs, in 2025-2026, with Armia (3.4M), Dvorak (4.45M), Savard (3.5M), Allen (3.85M) all gone, and Alzner's 833K buyout off the books since 2024-2025, there will be 16M in Cap space to play with just there. Pearson's 3.25M contractile also be off the books to make it 19.25M in new Cap space. Even if that was given to Monahan, for a 3 or 4 year 5.25M contract, there'd be that 16M left over.

With a top-9 C-line of Suzuki (26) - Dach (24) - Monahan (31) and Beck (21) as the 4th line C, Montreal would be sitting rather pretty down the middle.

They'd just need to determine which Cs have chemistry with Caufield, Slafkovsky, Newhook, Roy, Anderson, RHP, Ylonen and whomever Hughes adds to the lineup as an elite winger during the 2025 offseason when he will have loads of quality assets at his disposal to fetch such a winger in a trade, including Matheson, two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks and three 3rd round picks.

Slafkovsky - Dach - Elite winger
Caufield - Suzuki - Roy
Newhook - Monahan - Anderson
RHP - Beck - Ylonen/Heineman

Guhle - Barron
Hutson - Reinbacher
Xhekaj - Mailloux

Yes, some of those quality assets we have trade should be some of the surplus D. It will be interesting to see how good Engstrom and Bogdan will be. And how good Hutson will be defensively is one of the biggest question Mark's. Though I think he'll make it as a forward, if not on D.

Plus, for even more csp space, we may see a Gally buyout in summer 2025.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

I'll preface this by saying that, in all likelihood, Monahan does not finish the year with Montreal and that, once gone, Monahan, worse case scenario for him, will sell himself at a low price to legitimate contenders and never return to play with the Habs.

That said, if Montreal decides to extend him, and he signs a team friendly, three-year deal with the Habs, in 2025-2026, with Armia (3.4M), Dvorak (4.45M), Savard (3.5M), Allen (3.85M) all gone, and Alzner's 833K buyout off the books since 2024-2025, there will be 16M in Cap space to play with just there. Pearson's 3.25M contractile also be off the books to make it 19.25M in new Cap space. Even if that was given to Monahan, for a 3 or 4 year 5.25M contract, there'd be that 16M left over.

With a top-9 C-line of Suzuki (26) - Dach (24) - Monahan (31) and Beck (21) as the 4th line C, Montreal would be sitting rather pretty down the middle.

They'd just need to determine which Cs have chemistry with Caufield, Slafkovsky, Newhook, Roy, Anderson, RHP, Ylonen and whomever Hughes adds to the lineup as an elite winger during the 2025 offseason when he will have loads of quality assets at his disposal to fetch such a winger in a trade, including Matheson, two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks and three 3rd round picks.

Slafkovsky - Dach - Elite winger
Caufield - Suzuki - Roy
Newhook - Monahan - Anderson
RHP - Beck - Ylonen/Heineman

Guhle - Barron
Hutson - Reinbacher
Xhekaj - Mailloux

As long as Monahan stays healthy. And hoping Dach is not injury prone but just bad luck this year too.

 

[Scriptor]

Yes, some of those quality assets we have trade should be some of the surplus D. It will be interesting to see how good Engstrom and Bogdan will be. And how good Hutson will be defensively is one of the biggest question Mark's. Though I think he'll make it as a forward, if not on D.

Plus, for even more csp space, we may see a Gally buyout in summer 2025.

That buyout is a horrible buyout, with the Cap hit soaring back up in the second year of the buyout, making it no real savings against the Cap when planning forward.

 

[Scriptor]

As long as Monahan stays healthy. And hoping Dach is not injury prone but just bad luck this year too.

There's a lot of 'if's with the Habs heading forward.

If Monahan can stay healthy...
If Dach can prove he's not cursed and injury prone...
If Slafkovsky matures into at least an impactful top-6 winger...
If Roy's hockey IQ makes him a legitimate top-6 player...
If Hutson's game pans out once at the NHL level...
If Hughes can somehow land that elite winger that fits the young core's timeline...
If Reinbacher becomes a legitimate 1st pairing RHD...
If Mailloux can round out his defensive game enough to play a top-4 role...
If Suzuki can become a PPG Center...
If Caufield can become a regular 40+ goal scorer...
If Hughes can find a genuine starting G...

That said, the cornerstones of the Habs, heading forward, are Suzuki, Caufield, Dach and Guhle. Hughes needs to keep adding to that, whether by other prospects living up or exceeding their projected ceilings, or via the upcoming drafts, trade route and the UFA market.

 

[26Mats]

That buyout is a horrible buyout, with the Cap hit soaring back up in the second year of the buyout, making it no real savings against the Cap when planning forward.

It depends who we will have on the books that will be coming off the books after the 2025-26 season.

The buyout would save 4.75M in cap space for the 2025-26 season and 2.25M in cap space for the 2026-27 season. It would then add 1.75M for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons.

So you can use that 4.75M in summer 2025 if you have 2.5M coming off the books at the end of the 2025-2026 season, all else equal.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

There's a lot of 'if's with the Habs heading forward.

If Monahan can stay healthy...
If Dach can prove he's not cursed and injury prone...
If Slafkovsky matures into at least an impactful top-6 winger...
If Roy's hockey IQ makes him a legitimate top-6 player...
If Hutson's game pans out once at the NHL level...
If Hughes can somehow land that elite winger that fits the young core's timeline...
If Reinbacher becomes a legitimate 1st pairing RHD...
If Mailloux can round out his defensive game enough to play a top-4 role...
If Suzuki can become a PPG Center...
If Caufield can become a regular 40+ goal scorer...
If Hughes can find a genuine starting G...

That said, the cornerstones of the Habs, heading forward, are Suzuki, Caufield, Dach and Guhle. Hughes needs to keep adding to that, whether by other prospects living up or exceeding their projected ceilings, or via the upcoming drafts, trade route and the UFA market.

That get an idea of the future Habs core and line up almost complete, missing one forward at least and a G.

And in the upcoming years still have heavy anchor contracts to end or possible buy outs.
Patience, patience.
In the mean time, I can't stand Gally taking st*pid end of game penalty when the team is fighting well.

 

[WinterLion]

They will need the space to bring up guys. I like Money but we are not ready to sign a guy like him long term. Plus he will want to win.