Confirmed with Link: Tanner Pearson and 3rd (2025) Traded to Montreal for Casey DeSmith

[sampollock]

Tanner does seem excited about coming...
Shock I guess

 

[Rapala]

The Petry trade was fine

Some posters just can’t evaluate the value of a players

It did have an element of upside potential had Petry played with us until TDL but it became obvious that was never going to happen. Looking at the trade moving him back out in it's own box was just another example of cherry picking.

 

[JC Superstar]

Yet Hughes was MUCH more patient when Petry's previous request to be moved was made, and even though the Petry family's circumstances then were FAR more heartbreaking compared to 'family inconvenience' now. That patience helped the team, by the way, which is Hughes' job.

So in the past month, we went from having

Petry 2 years at 4.688M​

deSmith 1 year at 1.800M​

which are both decent contracts for their production

to now having the ridiculous burdens of:

Pearson plus deadspace for $5.594 this year​

deadspace of $2.344M next year​

2024-25 retention slot burned​

​

...... but it's all good because we got a late 4th and a 3rd, both in 2025, for these 5 steps backwards?

Seriously?

I realize you don't like the gravy, but what do you think of the meat?

 

[Captain Mountain]

I wouldn’t go that far. But a rebuilding team that isn’t bad enough to pick 1st and is up against the cap because of a bunch of useless players that have zero value doesn’t give me much confidence right now.

Montreal picked 1st in 2022, were bad enough to pick 1st in 2023 (pretty much the only reason they weren't worse was Montembault's play) and unless multiple young pieces taking significant steps forward, are likely bad enough to pick 1st this season too.

I don't quite get fans who overrate this roster and are upset because they're overrating the roster.

 

[YukonCornelius 5thOA]

Yeah but the Petry trade was seperate and sucked.

 

[JC Superstar]

Montreal picked 1st in 2022, were bad enough to pick 1st in 2023 (pretty much the only reason they weren't worse was Montembault's play) and unless multiple young pieces taking significant steps forward, are likely bad enough to pick 1st this season too.

I don't quite get fans who overrate this roster and are upset because they're overrating the roster.

Looking at the roster, I think the Habs could finish as high as 22nd. But because they are playing in the NATO division, they will be cast in the russian character and might end up 28th again.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Yeah...
Much better had he sat quietly all summer and kept Hoffman & Pitlick.

Who needs a 2nd, 3rd, 4th round pick, AHL tested prospect, cheap RFA dman and a cheaper UFA vet forward depth anyways

I'm starting from the post Hoffman deal (Pitlick is a red herring, he had no cap impact).

 

[BaseballCoach]

You left out, we got a 2nd and got rid of Hoffman and Pitlick................everyone wanted that contract and Hoff gone...........and, the season has not even started......he has 26-27 bodies to deal with and we will probably have 22-23 on the team.
Some play checkers, and some play chess............agree or disagree.

I'm actually a fairly strong chess player.

And we did nothing for bodies. Pitlick was irrelevant and Pearson has replaced Hoffman, same term.

 

[Skip Bayless]

Tanner does seem excited about coming...
Shock I guess

I think MSL's coaching and team management style is making waves around the league.

 

[Miller Time]

I'm starting from the post Hoffman deal (Pitlick is a red herring, he had no cap impact).

Lol
That's still a terrible assessment, even with the ridiculously selective reasoning.

Hoffman turning into
2, 3, 4th Rd picks
Lindstrom, Legare
Pearson
Petry's retention

Is STILL a great asset return.


Enjoy the cherries

 

[Captain Mountain]

I'm starting from the post Hoffman deal (Pitlick is a red herring, he had no cap impact).

...why? Every trade made after the Hoffman deal are completely reliant on it.

And even then, what's the problem? The Habs added a 3rd and 4th using cap space they had and aren't/weren't going to use.

 

[BaseballCoach]

I realize you don't like the gravy, but what do you think of the meat?

I liked the meat (2022 trade) and the gravy acquired in 2023, but don't like that the gravy was then replaced with more expensive, worse tasting gravy, and am not willing to say but it's ok because the meat (Matheson) was good.

Lol
That's still a terrible assessment, even with the ridiculously selective reasoning.

Hoffman turning into
2, 3, 4th Rd picks
Lindstrom, Legare
Pearson
Petry's retention

Is STILL a great asset return.


Enjoy the cherries

I respect your opinion. For me, Lindstrom is slight negative value, Légaré is a plug, Pearson is significant negative value, no better than Hoffman was,

I think we were better off with the 2nd, Petry and deSmith, and Légaré.

But I am ready to move on to see how Primeau and Allen, Pearson and Armia are managed next.

...why? Every trade made after the Hoffman deal are completely reliant on it.

And even then, what's the problem? The Habs added a 3rd and 4th using cap space they had and aren't/weren't going to use.

If we get cap compliant anyway, it's good.

If we have to lose someone we did not want to lose due to the bigger cap hit Pearson brings, that would be disappointing.

 

[Miller Time]

I respect your opinion. For me, Lindstrom is slight negative value, Légaré is a plug, Pearson is significant negative value, no better than Hoffman was,

I think we were better off with the 2nd, Petry and deSmith, and Légaré.

But I am ready to move on to see how Primeau and Allen are managed next.

I don't get the cherry picking/video game lens to evaluating the merits of the decisions.

Context matters.
Human beings matter.
Overall direction & asset management effectiveness matters.

Your take seems overly narrow on scope, hence why it falls flat.

Not sure how you reconcile your arguments , they seem very inconsistent and/or not reflective of the evidence available...

- " Lindstrom has slight negative value" yet Pitlick is a "red herring". Lindstrom's cap impact is less than Pitlick's if with the club & likewise neutral if sent down, while also being slightly cheaper.

- Pearson is a much better fit for our immediate roster needs & culture, at 1.3m less cost than Hoff.

- Legare is a 2019 prospect established as an AHL pro (better than many 3rd round picks manage). I doubt he's ever a regular roster player as well, but presumably he was added intentionally by our side (no real reason for pens to discard him), so it stands to reason our pro scouting saw some value there, even if only in Laval.


Keeping DeSmith would've made Primeau harder to retain, not easier. And demoting him to get AHL meant either losing him for nothing or dealing with a disgruntled vet (not the end of the world, but getting an asset back while avoiding that is a net positive).


Big picture, there's little grounds to fault how the management handled the Hoffman & Pitlick contracts on the books at season end. We are further ahead than we were asset-wise, immediate roster -wise & culture-wise. Your critique falls flat even with the narrow framing.

If we do 1/2 as well in navigating Allen & Primeau, that would be great. Reality is that Primeau may well be lost to waivers (as many middling mid-20s AHL goalies are) & unless Allen has a big resurgence, it'll cost to move his contract and there's really no need for that. He's an expensive backup for 2 seasons that we can afford and that adds value behind the scenes.

 

[le_sean]

That 3rd round might not be use to draft a player either but hey......it's not like Hutson was close of being a 3rd rounder......and Adam Engstrom is looking pretty good right now and this year our 3rd was Fowler

That’s a great example “we don’t miss on 3rd rounders, look at this 2nd rounder we took”. Engstrom and Fowler are not NHLers yet. Again, it’s not a bad trade but it doesn’t move the needle much. Average hurt player on a poor contract and you get a 3rd rounder. It’s not exactly exciting. Do something with these assets, make a bold move. It’s time to stop playing safe at some point.

 

[BLONG7]

I'm actually a fairly strong chess player.

And we did nothing for bodies. Pitlick was irrelevant and Pearson has replaced Hoffman, same term.

Hughes was left a ton of irrelevant.............as in chess, one move is all about the next, and so on.

I get why it's hard to be patient....as a team we have sucked a$$ since 2017.
Back in 2012 I personally gave Bergevin 3 years to show his stuff, without saying much at all.
I will do the same with these guys at this moment, and we are 1.5 years into what they are building.

The big difference, Bergevin thought he could plug holes............and he did somewhat, and then it all went to dog$hit.................These guys are not plugging holes at this point, they are building a team.

We are going in the right direction......

 

[Captain Mountain]

If we get cap compliant anyway, it's good.

If we have to lose someone we did not want to lose due to the bigger cap hit Pearson brings, that would be disappointing.

Again, why? The math is pretty clear. Even if we assume that HuGo won't waive Pearson or Armia (which is possible, but not an assumption anyone should make):

-Montreal is just over 6 mil over the cap with 28 players (roster +IR)

1) Add Primeau (29 Players, 7.068 mil over)
2) Send Reinbacher to Europe (28 Players, 6.118 mil over)
3) Send RHP, Barron, Harris, Xhekaj, Guhle down (23 players, 1.252 mil over)
4) Waive Wideman and Lindstrom (21 players, under the cap)
5) Season starts, Price goes on LTIR (20 players, WELL under the cap with LTIR Pool)
6) Put Dvorak on IR, call up RHP, Harris, Guhle and Barron/Xhekaj (23 players, under the cap)

-Roster is something like (not a projection):

RHP-Suzuki-Anderson
Monahan-Dach-Caufield
Slafkovsky-Newhook-Gallagher
Pearson-Evans-Armia/Ylonen
Armia/Ylonen, Pez

Matheson-Savard
Guhle-Barron/Xhekaj
Harris-Kovacevic

Montembault
Allen
Primeau

You can shift guys around (as long as Slafkovsky doesn't go down) depending on training camp battle outcomes, but there are multiple paths to getting the roster in order without losing anyone you'd not want to lose. Its hard to see how they'd lose anyone they wouldn't want to lose unless another player's play makes it so that risking losing a player on waivers becomes an acceptable risk AND management would refuse to waive Pearson or Armia.

 

[BLONG7]

I don't get the cherry picking/video game lens to evaluating the merits of the decisions.

Context matters.
Human beings matter.
Overall direction & asset management effectiveness matters.

Your take seems overly narrow on scope, hence why it falls flat.

Not sure how you reconcile your arguments , they seem very inconsistent and/or not reflective of the evidence available...

- " Lindstrom has slight negative value" yet Pitlick is a "red herring". Lindstrom's cap impact is less than Pitlick's if with the club & likewise neutral if sent down, while also being slightly cheaper.

- Pearson is a much better fit for our immediate roster needs & culture, at 1.3m less cost than Hoff.

- Legare is a 2019 prospect established as an AHL pro (better than many 3rd round picks manage). I doubt he's ever a regular roster player as well, but presumably he was added intentionally by our side (no real reason for pens to discard him), so it stands to reason our pro scouting saw some value there, even if only in Laval.


Keeping DeSmith would've made Primeau harder to retain, not easier. And demoting him to get AHL meant either losing him for nothing or dealing with a disgruntled vet (not the end of the world, but getting an asset back while avoiding that is a net positive).


Big picture, there's little grounds to fault how the management handled the Hoffman & Pitlick contracts on the books at season end. We are further ahead than we were asset-wise, immediate roster -wise & culture-wise. Your critique falls flat even with the narrow framing.

If we do 1/2 as well in navigating Allen & Primeau, that would be great. Reality is that Primeau may well be lost to waivers (as many middling mid-20s AHL goalies are) & unless Allen has a big resurgence, it'll cost to move his contract and there's really no need for that. He's an expensive backup for 2 seasons that we can afford and that adds value behind the scenes.

The big thing for me, is we can see the plan and the type of team they are trying to build.
Some disagree, I feel they are going in the right direction, and the only move I thought was weird from Hughes was the Allen extension at a million dollar raise..............crazy how they gave him more money, and felt they didn't need to do that at all.

Better team on the ice, while stockpiling draft picks............the word sustainable is becoming relevant.

 

[Stive Morgan]

Just like Toffoli, Pearson's a guy I always had a feeling would be a Hab someday.

 

[Kwikwi]

Ok trade.
Pearson is taking a spot
Van was in caphell we helped then a lot. Hugues was gentle on them.
DeSmith is not a throw in

We win a late pick
and the non drama of triplet goalies.

 

[Redux91]

Do something with these assets, make a bold move. It’s time to stop playing safe at some point.

They obviously will, just not right now

If you look at the horde of 2025 assets + overflow of D prospects
Pretty sure theyre planning to make some sort of big splash summer 2024
Scoring winger hopefully.

No rush right now, AND may get more assets tbis TDL.
It's allllll good baby

 

[bsl]

Could be another trade still to go. And why are 2025 draft picks moving and not 2024 picks? Are only 2025 picks being offered or is Hughes after 2025 picks?

I think he might be after 2025 picks. A lot can change in 2 years and some gms are too dumb or desperate to know it.

 

[BaseballCoach]

I don't get the cherry picking/video game lens to evaluating the merits of the decisions.

Context matters.
Human beings matter.
Overall direction & asset management effectiveness matters.

Your take seems overly narrow on scope, hence why it falls flat.

Not sure how you reconcile your arguments , they seem very inconsistent and/or not reflective of the evidence available...

- " Lindstrom has slight negative value" yet Pitlick is a "red herring". Lindstrom's cap impact is less than Pitlick's if with the club & likewise neutral if sent down, while also being slightly cheaper.

No contradiction. Pitlick is also slight negative value. Since it's not my chequebook, the slight negative value is unimportant in both cases.

- Pearson is a much better fit for our immediate roster needs & culture, at 1.3m less cost than Hoff.

OK. But if true, it means the benefit of Ylonen getting playing time may be lost, in favour of a guy who is UFA next summer as well.

- Legare is a 2019 prospect established as an AHL pro (better than many 3rd round picks manage). I doubt he's ever a regular roster player as well, but presumably he was added intentionally by our side (no real reason for pens to discard him), so it stands to reason our pro scouting saw some value there, even if only in Laval.

Won't quarrel with you. Long shot no better than other picks who are not developing well. I am not one of those who thinks that because he plays in Quebec, he will suddenly be a star.

Keeping DeSmith would've made Primeau harder to retain, not easier. And demoting him to get AHL meant either losing him for nothing or dealing with a disgruntled vet (not the end of the world, but getting an asset back while avoiding that is a net positive).

It was possible to retain all of them, if one veteran cleared waivers and one of the three extra spots went to a goalie.

Big picture, there's little grounds to fault how the management handled the Hoffman & Pitlick contracts on the books at season end. We are further ahead than we were asset-wise, immediate roster -wise & culture-wise. Your critique falls flat even with the narrow framing.

No, not immediate roster-wise. We gave up the chance at a defenceman good in transition for two years that would help us win games, while giving more breathing room to develop Barron, Mailloux and Reinbacher. I get that tankers were not excited by that, and am wondering if Hughes is moving toward a tanking position.

I must add that all 7 Canadian teams do not make purposely uneven trades to move every guy who wished they played in the US instead of Canada.

We are no longer talking about severe COVID restrictions and the Petrys' child with special needs, when ironically Hughes was way more patient without it ruining the Habs reputation!

If we do 1/2 as well in navigating Allen & Primeau, that would be great. Reality is that Primeau may well be lost to waivers (as many middling mid-20s AHL goalies are) & unless Allen has a big resurgence, it'll cost to move his contract and there's really no need for that. He's an expensive backup for 2 seasons that we can afford and that adds value behind the scenes.

We should keep Primeau for at least one more year, even if that means running with three goalies on the 23 man roster (which we can easily afford post compliance deadline and Price going on LTIR). We don't even have to waive Allen if we are willing to waive Pearson, Armia or Evans.

 

[Ezpz]

Can we please trade Armia. I don't think I can watch him for two more years. He's not even that bad he just takes up a roster spot when we're trying to develop a bunch of guys.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I'm not huge on Ylonen and I don't really get it either......we have like 15 Ylonen on this team coming up and unless he's get heads and shoulder above Slafkovsky, RHP, Heineman, Roy and Farrell.....he's gone anyway.

Agreed. Ylonen had decent development but he's a middle 6F at best. Probably bottom 6F in the end. It's a big season for him and does he get claimed if put on waivers? 50/50 chance but thinking we are looking at top 6F is the problem. It's just not accurate. If Ylonen had top 6F potential, he would have shown it by now.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Can we please trade Armia. I don't think I can watch him for two more years. He's not even that bad he just takes up a roster spot when we're trying to develop a bunch of guys.

Flawed. Armia takes up a depth spot and you think that is blocking a young guy from developing? Like the young guy is going to develop well playing 10 min a game in a 4th line role? It doesn't add up.

We are too desperate to trade guys like Armia. Are you prepared to trade a 2nd rounder or more in order to offload Armia? It is a flat cap bud. Pay attention.

I doubt Armia blocks Slaf, RHP, Newhook. Maybe he affects Ylonen but that will depend on how Ylonen plays in the coming preseason games. For someone like Ylonen, performance matters.

What would you rather? Armia in a depth role or someone like Roy, Heineman, Farrell in a depth role?

Patch quote from when he was developing and close to NHL: If I can't make top 6 in the NHL, I want to play top 6 in the AHL.