Post-Game Talk: Trade Deadline Day: March 7, 2025: Montreal stands pat

[canucklover123]

Habs don’t need more draft picks. They need good vets to backbone this team and keep chemistry.

Agreed , but draft capital can help swing a deal when we are consistently competing. That being said I also understand we likely would have gotten squat in value. Savard I thought could have gotten something draft pick wise

 

[dinodebino]

I believe him now! Next year is a big one! Everything good will happen in the future!

Ya ok. Should have listened better to his press scrums last summer. You wouldn’t be going nuts about this.

Les gences ici ont l’écoute sélective.

 

[austin316]

Agreed , but draft capital can help swing a deal when we are consistently competing. That being said I also understand we likely would have gotten squat in value. Savard I thought could have gotten something draft pick wise

we have 11 picks in the first three rounds of the next two drafts. Not sure how much more draft capital we can get? It’s time to start using it to our advantage.

 

[ReHabs]

Ya ok. Should have listened better to his press scrums last summer. You wouldn’t be going nuts about this.

Who’s going nuts? I *know* next year is going to be the good one. Don’t you have faith?

 

[HomaridII]

Very curious to know who where the players they tried to get that were not available.

This is just a guess, maybe one was Pastrnak?

 

[dinodebino]

Who’s going nuts? I *know* next year is going to be the good one. Don’t you have faith?

K.

 

[OnTheRun]

It may well be on the owner as well given the rumors of his meddling & bare bones approach...

But for a team that views itself as a contender? Zero excuse to fumble the deadline because they got too busy with 1 particular move.

It's not an excuse in itself, they have to own it but it's just the reality of the day, as the words imply you operate on a deadline. It's just a bad time to get involved in a complicated trade, hence why most teams shy away from it if they are not forced into it.

 

[The Great Weal]

That's a wild thing to say publicly. Basically saying how you can't multitask which is kinda important for a GM managing millions of dollars.

 

[Vachon23]

This is just a guess, maybe one was Pastrnak?

Don’t think so they are looking for center

 

[Runner77]

Suzuki killing the rebuild

Coulda been a Lexus, but no.

@sheed36 ‘s joke stash has been compromised!

 

[the valiant effort]

Glad Tulsky is out here cratering hockey teams instead of blowing up chem labs

 

[Miller Time]

It's not an excuse in itself, they have to own it but it's just the reality of the day, as the words imply you operate on a deadline. It's just a bad time to get involved in a complicated trade, hence why most teams shy away from it if they are not forced into it.

Totally get it...

But we're also talking about highly paid executives dealing with a very predictable and firm deadline, and a player decision they were well positioned to prepare for. To not be prepared to execute on the other roster decisions with well mapped out contingencies is inexcusable. "It's hard" is not a reasonable fall back imo

 

[Runner77]

Dundon doesn't pay for 'call waiting' so they couldn't afford to talk to anyone else while Rantanen was being finalized.

Dundon is the de facto GM. That’s what happens when an owner won’t delegate.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Nobody is mad about not getting Cozens , no help for a push no help to replace beck on the second line even if it was a cap dump for the rest of the season

Called the no man's land

I was one here to want Cozens and I find they had him at cheap price. But Hughes didn't want to pay the price, hope he was right and I was wrong.

 

[Beendair Donedat]

Kind of disappointed that we didn’t get in on Cozens, as the Sabres basically gave him away, and I think he will thrive once he gets out of the toxic Buffalo environment.

But really that’s the only move I felt would improve our team in the short and long term that was a fit.

One thing I was shocked about was that Hughes didn’t use his one retention spot to weaponize some cap space to acquire some “free” assets, acting as a broker for a few of the cash strapped clubs. He’s done that several times now already and it would seem like an easy enough move to make if he knew he wasn’t making any trades.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Hughes refused to sell Armia and Savard but you think he's going to trade better players in a more important year for picks and prospects?

Well, for one, I did say IF Rainmaker replaces Matheson, and IF Laine is not seen as a good fit. You can ignore conditions all you want, but you're still ommiting them.

You're also precluding Habs will make the playoffs when they could easily have an off-year with too many injuries, but yeah go ahead and reduce away if it can raise your ire. Maybe go buy a punching bag?

 

[dinodebino]

That's a wild thing to say publicly. Basically saying how you can't multitask which is kinda important for a GM managing millions of dollars.

He ain’t Kevin Costner.

 

[Steve Shutt]

One thing I was shocked about was that Hughes didn’t use his one retention spot to weaponize some cap space to acquire some “free” assets, acting as a broker for a few of the cash strapped clubs. He’s done that several times now already and it would seem like an easy enough move to make if he knew he wasn’t making any trades.

He wanted to keep one retention slot available last year to be used at the draft. Seems consistent with past thinking

 

[Miller Time]

Kind of disappointed that we didn’t get in on Cozens, as the Sabres basically gave him away, and I think he will thrive once he gets out of the toxic Buffalo environment.

But really that’s the only move I felt would improve our team in the short and long term that was a fit.

One thing I was shocked about was that Hughes didn’t use his one retention spot to weaponize some cap space to acquire some “free” assets, acting as a broker for a few of the cash strapped clubs. He’s done that several times now already and it would seem like an easy enough move to make if he knew he wasn’t making any trades.

When do the retention spots roll over?

If it's July 1st, maybe he wanted to keep it to have that option should a draft related trade involve shipping out Gally or Anderson with retention

 

[Miller Time]

When do the retention spots roll over?

If it's July 1st, maybe he wanted to keep it to have that option should a draft related trade involve shipping out Gally or Anderson with retention

Lol thanks for the confirmation @Steve Shutt

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

And how many of this picks will play in the nhl?

Drafting is so overrated...

You pick 10 players and your lucky if 2 of them become nhl regular.

At least Habs have picks that/or will play in the nhl. There was a time no Habs picks played nhl or very very few, in the 90's-2000's. Teams that won the SC like Detroit and NJ had players from their drafts, they were part of their core. They just added some players to complete their roster and they were successful.

 

[GrandBison]

That's a wild thing to say publicly. Basically saying how you can't multitask which is kinda important for a GM managing millions of dollars.

They are probably short on "useless" staff

 

[Vachon23]

Kind of disappointed that we didn’t get in on Cozens, as the Sabres basically gave him away, and I think he will thrive once he gets out of the toxic Buffalo environment.

But really that’s the only move I felt would improve our team in the short and long term that was a fit.

One thing I was shocked about was that Hughes didn’t use his one retention spot to weaponize some cap space to acquire some “free” assets, acting as a broker for a few of the cash strapped clubs. He’s done that several times now already and it would seem like an easy enough move to make if he knew he wasn’t making any trades.

We didn’t had a Josh Norris to trade for

 

[OnTheRun]

Totally get it...

But we're also talking about highly paid executives dealing with a very predictable and firm deadline, and a player decision they were well positioned to prepare for. To not be prepared to execute on the other roster decisions with well mapped out contingencies is inexcusable. "It's hard" is not a reasonable fall back imo

It's likely the other deals he wanted to explore were reliant of the return in assets and the cap space he would get from the Rantanen trade. It's not like navigated this with brilliance, he just fell for the classic TDL trap, he ended up getting bogged down in the trade that would have opened other options.

 

[Miller Time]

It's likely the other deals he wanted to explore were reliant of the return in assets and the cap space he would get from the Rantanen trade. It's not like navigated this with brilliance, he just fell for the classic TDL trap, he ended up getting bogged down in the trade that would have opened other options.

Hence contingency plans