HF Habs: Trade Proposal Thread #85 - Offseason Editon

[Habs 4 Life]

That's the general consensus/easy bet...

I think that if reasonably healthy, they will shock a lot of people and end up competing for wild card spot right to the end & be one of the 1-2 "big surprises" that emmerge every year

I agree, if this team stays healthy for a change I think they can screw a lot of things up. Will they make the playoffs? Probably not, but I don't think we will be fighting for last place!!

 

[Sunfyre]

That's the general consensus/easy bet...

I think that if reasonably healthy, they will shock a lot of people and end up competing for wild card spot right to the end & be one of the 1-2 "big surprises" that emmerge every year

There is max 5 teams making the playoffs from each division. Competing to the very end ( April) would mean that they are ahead of at least 2 teams at that stage. Who do you expect to underperform that much next season?

 

[DiglettDangles]

I'd expect to see some trades over the next year regarding the Habs D. They already have too many and should be adding Hutson and Reinbacher for the end of this year and beginning of next. It'll be interesting to see who stays and who goes and what we can get for them.

I've been looking for teams with an equally unbalanced prospect pool (the other way) that could be good trade partners in the "MTL's D for X's FWD" template.

I think Buffalo is a good potential partner.
On the defensive side, beyond Dahlin and Power, only Samuelsson is decent and Clifton is just okay. The rest is replacement level (x5!). Looking at their drafted prospects, only Ryan Johnson is slightly above no-name status. I was high on Lindgren but his last year was pretty underwhelming, and Strbak is looking at Samuelsson level at best.
On the other hand, their offense is already impressive in the NHL to the point where they can be patient with Quinn/Peterka/Krebs while Tage/Cozens/Tuch/Skinner are leading this group into relevance; even Mittelstadt is finally noticeable.
And yet, in the next 2-3 years they will have the luxury to integrate the likes of Benson, Kulich, and Savoie while figuring out if Rosen/Ostlund/Wahlberg/Poltapov are actually legit.
A win-win trade looks very feasible, especially since we could sparkle the deal with 2 "brothers of" in Tuch and Mittelstadt.

Apart from Buffalo, I see Seattle and St. Louis as slightly unbalanced pools and Nashville always valued D, but nothing jumps out as a clear target to me. My dream is something along the lines of Kulich for Mailloux+... it's just sad this makes me dislike Mesar indirectly.

 

[Andy]

So it seems that Hughes has been quite candidate that he's collecting assets to add another forward to the Suzuki-Caufield-Dach window.

Who presently fits that bill? Youngish, talented forward on a team that might give the up?

William Nylander fits that bill, but he's 27, turning 28 in May. Any other candidates coming to mind? Keller?

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

So it seems that Hughes has been quite candidate that he's collecting assets to add another forward to the Suzuki-Caufield-Dach window.

Who presently fits that bill? Youngish, talented forward on a team that might give the up?

William Nylander fits that bill, but he's 27, turning 28 in May. Any other candidates coming to mind? Keller?

would love them but Nylander and Keller would cost a fortune we're not getting them by offering 1st round pick and B level prospects

i personally wanted to trade our 2023 #5 pick for Keller but apparently it wasnt enough

 

[Sterling Archer]

Not being critical, just don’t see us leapfrogging past any other team in the division next year. The competitive window starts hopefully in the 25-26 season

Plenty of teams each year under perform expectations and other over perform. i can see a team like Boston losing so much talent being quite bad. Tampa has lost some significant depth, Detroit isn't exactly a world beater either. Ottawa and Buffalo should be much better but that's what everyone said last year. Toronto and Florida are a couple of injuries from being middling as well, as Florida showed last year when they barely made the playoffs.

Anything can happen and the season never unfolds how anyone thinks.

So it seems that Hughes has been quite candidate that he's collecting assets to add another forward to the Suzuki-Caufield-Dach window.

Who presently fits that bill? Youngish, talented forward on a team that might give the up?

William Nylander fits that bill, but he's 27, turning 28 in May. Any other candidates coming to mind? Keller?

It sounds like that a move he'll make next offseason given his comment about wanting to get under the cap to start the year. I can't see him pulling off a big move in-season, so next off season makes the most sense to me. Here's a list of the FA's next year to start the "hoping" portion of the year.

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

 

[Miller Time]

There is max 5 teams making the playoffs from each division. Competing to the very end ( April) would mean that they are ahead of at least 2 teams at that stage. Who do you expect to underperform that much next season?

Boston, Buffalo, Detroit & Florida are all rosters that could struggle big time with 1 or 2 key injuries

Ottawa "should" be improved, but remain shaky.

Tampa & Toronto are the only 2 division rosters I'd say have the talent & depth to be playoff locks.

But I honestly think it's less about the teams ahead of us last year underperforming as it is about this group playing well above expectations.

We'll see. Certainly wouldn't be surprised if we finished last again. On paper that's a safe bet.

 

[Andy]

Plenty of teams each year under perform expectations and other over perform. i can see a team like Boston losing so much talent being quite bad. Tampa has lost some significant depth, Detroit isn't exactly a world beater either. Ottawa and Buffalo should be much better but that's what everyone said last year. Toronto and Florida are a couple of injuries from being middling as well, as Florida showed last year when they barely made the playoffs.

Anything can happen and the season never unfolds how anyone thinks.


It sounds like that a move he'll make next offseason given his comment about wanting to get under the cap to start the year. I can't see him pulling off a big move in-season, so next off season makes the most sense to me. Here's a list of the FA's next year to start the "hoping" portion of the year.

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

His comments signaled more of a trade that signing. So I'm curious who they could possibly be targetting out there. Newhook and Dach came out of nowhere.

 

[Miller Time]

So it seems that Hughes has been quite candidate that he's collecting assets to add another forward to the Suzuki-Caufield-Dach window.

Who presently fits that bill? Youngish, talented forward on a team that might give the up?

William Nylander fits that bill, but he's 27, turning 28 in May. Any other candidates coming to mind? Keller?

Kakko (NYR), Turcotte (LAK), Poulin (Pitt) & McMichael (Wash) from the 2019 draft

Whalstrom, Dellandrea, Farabee from 2018

Laf, Byfield, Askarov, Holtz from 2020

 

[Sterling Archer]

His comments signaled more of a trade that signing. So I'm curious who they could possibly be targetting out there. Newhook and Dach came out of nowhere.

Very true, but that could include a trade for a player that isn't going to sign with their club before going into free agency. Nylander, Pesce, D. Toews etc.

 

[salbutera]

Not being critical, just don’t see us leapfrogging past any other team in the division next year. The competitive window starts hopefully in the 25-26 season

The Habs were a near .500 team w Monahan & Savard in the lineup and Matheson not having adjusted.

Unless there’s a repeat of historical games lost due to injury again, don’t see a bottom-10 let alone a bottom-5 finish

 

[Sunfyre]

I've been looking for teams with an equally unbalanced prospect pool (the other way) that could be good trade partners in the "MTL's D for X's FWD" template.

I think Buffalo is a good potential partner.
On the defensive side, beyond Dahlin and Power, only Samuelsson is decent and Clifton is just okay. The rest is replacement level (x5!). Looking at their drafted prospects, only Ryan Johnson is slightly above no-name status. I was high on Lindgren but his last year was pretty underwhelming, and Strbak is looking at Samuelsson level at best.
On the other hand, their offense is already impressive in the NHL to the point where they can be patient with Quinn/Peterka/Krebs while Tage/Cozens/Tuch/Skinner are leading this group into relevance; even Mittelstadt is finally noticeable.
And yet, in the next 2-3 years they will have the luxury to integrate the likes of Benson, Kulich, and Savoie while figuring out if Rosen/Ostlund/Wahlberg/Poltapov are actually legit.
A win-win trade looks very feasible, especially since we could sparkle the deal with 2 "brothers of" in Tuch and Mittelstadt.

Apart from Buffalo, I see Seattle and St. Louis as slightly unbalanced pools and Nashville always valued D, but nothing jumps out as a clear target to me. My dream is something along the lines of Kulich for Mailloux+... it's just sad this makes me dislike Mesar indirectly.

The Habs were a near .500 team w Monahan & Savard in the lineup and Matheson not having adjusted.

Unless there’s a repeat of historical games lost due to injury again, don’t see a bottom-10 let alone a bottom-5 finish

True, as was Chicago and Philly at the start of the season. Don’t get me wrong, would love a fairytale season with no injuries and every young player taking the next step in development but we need to have tampered realistic expectations.

 

[Treb]

True, as was Chicago and Philly at the start of the season. Don’t get me wrong, would love a fairytale season with no injuries and every young player taking the next step in development but we need to have tampered realistic expectations.

I think expecting a bottom-5 again is a little too tampered expectations.

 

[Captain Mountain]

I think expecting a bottom-5 again is a little too tampered expectations.

I'm not expecting it, but its more likely than seriously competing for a playoff spot.

 

[FF de Mars]

I've been looking for teams with an equally unbalanced prospect pool (the other way) that could be good trade partners in the "MTL's D for X's FWD" template.

I think Buffalo is a good potential partner.
On the defensive side, beyond Dahlin and Power, only Samuelsson is decent and Clifton is just okay. The rest is replacement level (x5!). Looking at their drafted prospects, only Ryan Johnson is slightly above no-name status. I was high on Lindgren but his last year was pretty underwhelming, and Strbak is looking at Samuelsson level at best.
On the other hand, their offense is already impressive in the NHL to the point where they can be patient with Quinn/Peterka/Krebs while Tage/Cozens/Tuch/Skinner are leading this group into relevance; even Mittelstadt is finally noticeable.
And yet, in the next 2-3 years they will have the luxury to integrate the likes of Benson, Kulich, and Savoie while figuring out if Rosen/Ostlund/Wahlberg/Poltapov are actually legit.
A win-win trade looks very feasible, especially since we could sparkle the deal with 2 "brothers of" in Tuch and Mittelstadt.

Apart from Buffalo, I see Seattle and St. Louis as slightly unbalanced pools and Nashville always valued D, but nothing jumps out as a clear target to me. My dream is something along the lines of Kulich for Mailloux+... it's just sad this makes me dislike Mesar indirectly.

Maybe it’s the hype but I’d like Savoie from the Sabres and not Kulich.

 

[BargainBinSpecial]

I agree, if this team stays healthy for a change I think they can screw a lot of things up. Will they make the playoffs? Probably not, but I don't think we will be fighting for last place!!

With Petry, chances were pretty high that they managed to sneak in at 8th. Now, that Lindström is here, I doubt they make it.

 

[Habs Halifax]

meh both are worth nothing

DeSmith gonna end up getting waived and Hughes talked about hes pro scouts seing something in Lindstrom so i think he starts the year in Montreal

What's your D pairings if none are packaged with DeSmith in a trade? Who's the 2 guys watching games?

Got to get down to 23 guys and if Price is on the 23 man roster with the plans of placing him on LTIR after the season, that brings us down to 22 guys. Is Dvorak on IR to save a spot? So basically Price takes Dvorak's 23 man roster spot temporarily?

Pezzetta and Wideman are likely waived for AHL.

I'm curious on how it ends up. 2+ weeks and it's close to preseason.

 

[Habs Halifax]

So it seems that Hughes has been quite candidate that he's collecting assets to add another forward to the Suzuki-Caufield-Dach window.

Who presently fits that bill? Youngish, talented forward on a team that might give the up?

William Nylander fits that bill, but he's 27, turning 28 in May. Any other candidates coming to mind? Keller?

Nylander is not signing long term with the Habs unless we open the bank and are willing to pay him $10M+ where other teams offer $9M max. Good forward who can produce but his point totals are bloated with the Leafs top 6 and PP talent. He's more like a 60-75 pts forward who is soft in the playoffs. I pass.

Keller could be an option but that's a tricky trade where you got to give to get. Not that small but certainly not a big forward who moves the physical needle.

I think we will be looking to add that top 6F after we get to see how good Slaf, Newhook, Roy, Farrell are first. We won't put blinders on in the short span and we will consider options when they come but I don't think it's going to be an aggressive premature move.

Monahan is 28 this coming season. What if he has a full season and finally puts the injuries in the past? What can we expect? Someone who can be a power forward winger who can play center and take faceoffs for us? We seen a sniff of that last year when he played with Suzuki/Caufield. How many good years would he have left at age 28 today? 5 years? Not saying this will happen but it could.

 

[DAChampion]

would love them but Nylander and Keller would cost a fortune we're not getting them by offering 1st round pick and B level prospects

That's what star players go for in trades every single year.

And the 1st round picks are often lottery protected.

 

[Habs Halifax]

The Habs were a near .500 team w Monahan & Savard in the lineup and Matheson not having adjusted.

Unless there’s a repeat of historical games lost due to injury again, don’t see a bottom-10 let alone a bottom-5 finish

I agree. It's just unknown at this point. Fans/media play the game on paper. Players play on the ice. It's a new season and if the injuries become normal (manageable) and the youth grows while the vets show up, Habs can cause some damage.

Doubt it's a playoff spot but I do expect us to move up. Our pick in 24 could easily be 10-15 range. Might be 8-12. Something like that. If we finish 5-10 again, that means our youth has stalled IMO.

* Suzuki/Caufield. Enough said
* Monty, Matheson, Monahan, Anderson for full seasons and trending well?
* Dach's growth and playing a full season like he did in the 2nd half last year.
* Guhle, Xhekaj, and RHP's 2nd season.
* Slaf possibly breaking out.
* Gallagher gets to 15-20 goals and 40 pts? It's possible.
* Newhook playing with MSL as his coach.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

That's what star players go for in trades every single year.

And the 1st round picks are often lottery protected.

Maybe Nylander since hes a UFA in a year and asking for 10+/year but Keller with 5 years left at a steal of a contract is worth alot more then a 1st and a B level prospect

 

[Vachon23]

The Habs were a near .500 team w Monahan & Savard in the lineup and Matheson not having adjusted.

Unless there’s a repeat of historical games lost due to injury again, don’t see a bottom-10 let alone a bottom-5 finish

Yes but it’s hard to keep that pace and not sure they would have keep that pace even without the injuries.

Many teams have gold start, but where we difference the good and the bad teams are at the 2nd half of the season where the game become tougher.

Same thing when you evaluate a player that was injured for the 2nd half of the season.

 

[CHfan1]

Yes but it’s hard to keep that pace and not sure they would have keep that pace even without the injuries.

Many teams have gold start, but where we difference the good and the bad teams are at the 2nd half of the season where the game become tougher.

Same thing when you evaluate a player that was injured for the 2nd half of the season.

It also helped the Habs had an easy schedule to start last season. They were 12-11-2 with Monahan in the lineup but only 1 of those 12 wins came against a team that made the playoffs (Toronto in game 1). They only played 8 playoff teams in those 1st 25 games.

 

[Sebastien]

That's what star players go for in trades every single year.

And the 1st round picks are often lottery protected.

Lol no they don't, especially ones like Keller on long term contract wrong

 

[DAChampion]

Lol no they don't, especially ones like Keller on long term contract wrong

Just spout BS while ignoring the long term track record.

Star players recently traded for non-amazing packages:

Erik Karlsson
Pierre Luc Dubois
Jack Eichel
Alex DeBrincat (twice)
Seth Jones
Max Pacioretty
Ryan O'Reilley
Elias Lindholm
Nazeem Kadri
Taylor Hall
Tyler Toffoli
Vincent Trochek
Oliver Ekman Larsson
Bo Horvat
Kevin Fiala

Now, I'm sure you can argue about exception/excuse for every single one of those players - not as good, injured after the trade, cap hit slightly higher, traded in the Atlantic division, 2 years older, etc etc etc.

Or you can look at the big picture, which is that the Habs will not have to give up Dach, Slafkovsky, Mailloux, a 1st and take on a cap dump to acquire a star player.

Reality: Star players are available for a reasonable price. A year from now we might see Hughes acquire a star forward for something like Calgary's first, Logan Mailloux, Joshua Roy, and Joel Armia.