Habtchum*
Guest
That depends on how Tinordi performs. Bergevin won't give away picks if he does not have to.
I feel Bergevin is auditioning people for the role of the 7th D as the playoffs approach. It feels like they decided Kaberle can't be it.
They tested Pateryn, now they test Tinordi. Obviously they won't trade for a player that performs less well than either, so that becomes the baseline.
Personnally, while Pateryn did not wow me, I felt he'd be acceptable as a 7th D during a playoff run (while we admitedly cross our finger that none of the top 6 get injured!). If Tinordi performs even better than Pateryn, then screw it, keep all our picks.
Because that is what is at stake here; are we happy with either Pateryn or Tinordi as 7th D going forward or do we trade (most likely) a 2nd pick to get a marginal improvement?
Me, I'm pick greedy. No matter how good we are doing, we'll be doing better if we keep improving our prospect pool.
Prospect pool is fine, but we should not overestimate its value. Having 10 picks doesn't mean you gonna select all well known and hidden gems. habs have failed a lot over the last decade with lots of their picks. In a very competitive BUSINESS like the NHL, winning, and winning fast is the motto. As much as we can trade one of our numerous picks (not the first rounder, of course), as much as Habs can obtain some more in the future for older, less useful assets. If the habs have a feeling they can go deep in the next Playoffs, they should think about trading one or two second or third rounders to get the guy that might make the difference.