Slaf is a great young player, and St Louis has done a great job giving him opportunities to succeed. But I'm not even sure I'd move Casey straight up for Slaf, nevermind adding a pick. He's like a defensively responsible Lane Hutson - Hutson will probably be the more productive player, but he takes a lot more risks than Casey.
And before calling me a homer, I had Casey ranked 4th in 2022 before the devils even drafted him.
But I would consider adding a pick to Nemec for Slaf. Something along the lines of:
Nemec
Gritsyuk
2026 1st
for
Slafkovsky
2025 3rd
Obviously Montreal has no reason to move Slaf short of overpayment. Devils likely feel the same way about Nemec.
Yeah. I'm surprised and disappointed. I thought the Habs would be better this year and make some moves towards a playoff spot. They still look like one of the worst teams in the NHL. Not getting nearly enough from the middle of the roster. Anderson, Dach, Matheson, Newhook, Barron, Arima, Savard, Xhakji... not a single one of these guys is having even decent season so far.
Evans, Dvorak and Gallagher are just playing so-so hockey, but not terrible hockey.
Guhle is just solid, but not great.
It's a one line team. And that's it. I like Suzuki, but he's not what I'd want as my 1C. Same with Caufield as a wing... these two are what I'd describe as high-end 2nd liners on better teams.
Slaf is about the only guy on this roster that I see as a potential legit 1st liner. There is nothing close to a top pair defender on this team. Guhle seems like a very good middle pair guy as his ceiling. The idea that Matheson is top pair is preposterous. He's got some nice offensive chops, but his defensive game is a train-wreck.
Probably time to find a better coach.
So let me get this straight.
Casey > Hutson
Casey > Mailloux
Nemec > Mailloux
Nemec > Hutson
* Suzuki shouldn’t be on a first line
* Caufield shouldn’t be on a first line
* Slaf is only a potential first liner if all goes well
* Montreal coach sucks
However, when I look at line-ups I see Mercer and Palat in the Devils top 6. I see Lehkonen as a first liner in Colorado and O’Connor on a 2nd line. I see Rodrigues on a first line and Bennett as a 2C on a cup champion. I see Mikkola and Kulikov on a contender top 4.
Ya’ll have unrealistic expectations as what a top 6 and top 4 should be in a league with a hard cap.
I think from now on I’m just going to blindly agree with all the (always the same) Habs hater takes;
- Hutson is nothing special and doesn’t know how to defend
- Suzuki is a 2C
- Caufield is best suited for the 2nd line
- If all goes well for Slaf, he may or may not become a first liner
- Guhle is just ok. Probably a #4 on a real contender
- There is no alternate universe where Demidov might even become half as good as Michkov
- Savard doesn’t hold any value. Maybe a 4th?
- Evans is a borderline 4C in this league.
- Reinbacher shouldn’t even have been a first round pick. If we’re lucky, he will become an OK #4.
Am I missing anything?