HF Habs: Trade Proposal Thread #87: 2024 Season Finale

[Miller Time]

For those of you who are board and want the day to go by quicker... Here is the latest Dubois trade bump. It's been lacking over the last little while.

Gallagher and Anderson for Dubois. This gets me talking but I want retention on Dubois. Not interested in bringing him to the Habs where his AAV is higher than Suzuki. Lower that down to $7M or $7.5M and we got a deal (for me).

* Gallagher (3 years at $6.5M)
* Anderson (3 years at $5.5M)
for
* Dubois (7 years at $8.5M)

If the Kings are willing to retain down to $7M for Dubois, I would be ok retaining 50% on Anderson for 3 years. Makes the salary closer in those first 3 years (for both the Kings and Habs)

This deal has a chance to be good for both teams.
* Gallagher back with Danault
* Anderson on a new team with new energy.
* Dubois finally comes home after the Jets and Kings interfered. Slides into our top 6 and does not have to be a full time center. Plays with good talent and is MSL has him motivated.

This unblocks the Habs bottom 6 depth problem and adds a top 6F MSL can use who is still young. Place Dubois with one of Dach or Suzuki and have him as a power forward winger. Center insurance if one of Suzki or Dach get injured.

We basically save $2.25M in cap space for the next 3 years in this deal. The last 4 years with Dubois are with a much higher cap.

It would be hard to say no...

But only way it happens is if KH, MSL & co. believe in PLD the person. MSL & Torts are close, and I would venture that they'd probe that and several other informal networks to inform their assessment. No way they add him if the perceived reputation of his weak mindset & effort level holds up.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Our own fanbase doesn't even value Matheson, I can only imagine what non-Habs fans think.

I still think that if you remove the name (Mike Matheson) and team (Montreal Canadiens) and just shop his profile (25Mins +, 60+ point, 4.8M for 2 years), there would be a ton of interest and teams would be lining up for that.

In the real world, I don't think GMs have the kind of bias against Matheson as many fans seem to have.

100% agree with you on this. Matheson's defensive flaws are being blown out of proportion and it's the same thing all over again with those disgruntled fans who also say they don't watch the games when we are loosing.

Matheson is not a shut down type but he is elite at puck moving which is rare to acquire in the NHL. He's also on a value contract in the heart of his prime. This has a lot of value for actual NHL GM's.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Our own fanbase doesn't even value Matheson, I can only imagine what non-Habs fans think.

I still think that if you remove the name (Mike Matheson) and team (Montreal Canadiens) and just shop his profile (25Mins +, 60+ point, 4.8M for 2 years), there would be a ton of interest and teams would be lining up for that.

In the real world, I don't think GMs have the kind of bias against Matheson as many fans seem to have.

They don't - the only reason Montreal isn't shopping Matheson is they are aware they are most likely trading Savard this year and they don't want to throw the kids to the wolves. They value having veterans around the young team and the young defense.

Eventually when they feel that Guhle et al have enough NHL experience, that will become less important, but it's still gonna be a blueline with Guhle, Xhekaj, Hutson, Mailloux and Reinbacher in short order. There can't be no Savard AND no Matheson.

 

[Deus ex machina]

You know who I could a deal working with... The Wild.
- Guerin is a GM whom I could see overestimating what Anderson brings
- Wild have 6M$ in cap space, with no big RFA's or UFAs to re-sign + 19 players on the books
- they get 14M$ in cap space back next summer (Parise/Suter buy outs done)

To Wild
Anderson, Strubble

To Mtl
Johansson, '26 Avs 3rd


Swap similarly (un)productive bottom 6 wingers. Anderson is younger & bigger, Johansson a better hockey player but fewer miles left in the tank. Wild take on 3M$ now & two extra years (gambling on Anderson fitting better in their approach), and get Strubble as a sweetener.

Habs free up the future cap space, and add some draft capital down the road... short term we get a vet who better fits the style of play MSL is preaching.

I really don't see the Habs giving up good assets to get rid of contracts at this point. They don't need the cap space.

And i don't think KH is in the business of selling low.
Anderson, at worst, can still play on the 4th line as an energy guy.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Friedman on 32 thoughts.

Says Laine was going to be on the market last year once he came back from injury, but he went into the program. They speculate that a sweetener might have to be attached to Laine. Either retention, or something added.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

I really don't see the Habs giving up good assets to get rid of contracts at this point. They don't need the cap space.

And i don't think KH is in the business of selling low.
Anderson, at worst, can still play on the 4th line as an energy guy.

Exactly. Habs don't need the cap space now and with the cap going up they likely will be able to just let the bad contracts run out or buy them out. And the way HuHo have been able to dump contracts and somehow get assets back if he did want to make moves that needed cap space he will probably be able to do it again.

 

[Hannibal]

Friedman on 32 thoughts.

Says Laine was going to be on the market last year once he came back from injury, but he went into the program. They speculate that a sweetener might have to be attached to Laine. Either retention, or something added.

We have enough negative value’s players on this roster.

Big pass.

 

[Miller Time]

I really don't see the Habs giving up good assets to get rid of contracts at this point. They don't need the cap space.

It's the future cap space, not this season, that's of value.

Johansson is a better hockey player and will give the team more useful minutes, this year, than Anderson would. That delta + the cap space + a 3rd is fair value for Stubble imo. Especially given our depth at D and the reality that we'll likely have to start him in the A unless we move other dmen.

And i don't think KH is in the business of selling low.
Anderson, at worst, can still play on the 4th line as an energy guy.

At worst, or at best? At this point, not sure we'd be selling "low". Anderson was mostly healthy last year. He's a terrible fit for hw the Habs want to play, hard to see him bounce back. 4th line energy guy might well be the best he can be in this situation.
An injury could easily move him into completely un-tradable territory. If there's an opportunity to move him that doesn't involve taking someone else's cap dump, gotta take it imo.

 

[Yoor]

He has asked for a trade.

I think he needs to play in a real hockey market imo...seems like he inner fire has been extinguished. Maybe just maybe playing in a city that has been deemed to have a bit of a Euro feel to it as well as having rabid fans and hockey culture just may spark that fire once more. Of course this is all speculation but since we seem to be a team that likes reclamation projects I see this as a no brainer.

 

[morhilane]

Friedman on 32 thoughts.

Says Laine was going to be on the market last year once he came back from injury, but he went into the program. They speculate that a sweetener might have to be attached to Laine. Either retention, or something added.

So he's a dump now...

If he can't handle CBJ and injuries, he really won't handle MTL. Way more pressure and not much luck with players staying healthy.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Regarding Laine, I think Hughes would have a very good idea of Laine's state and whether he'd make a good buy low opportunity. Given Friedman's comments, it sounds like he wouldn't cost much at all and could be a good risk to take, but I'd defer to Hughes to make that call.

 

[Richiebottles]

Regarding Laine, I think Hughes would have a very good idea of Laine's state and whether he'd make a good buy low opportunity. Given Friedman's comments, it sounds like he wouldn't cost much at all and could be a good risk to take, but I'd defer to Hughes to make that call.

With the cap being what it is, I would bet that CBJ wouldn't want to retain.

So he will have negative value with his cap hit.

A deal around Johnson + Laine would be amazing.

 

[Deus ex machina]

It's the future cap space, not this season, that's of value.

Johansson is a better hockey player and will give the team more useful minutes, this year, than Anderson would. That delta + the cap space + a 3rd is fair value for Stubble imo. Especially given our depth at D and the reality that we'll likely have to start him in the A unless we move other dmen.

It's debatable who's the most useful player at this point. At least, Anderson can still skate and hit.
The longer they keep him, the less costly it will be to get rid of him, if need be. There's really no rush.
Strubble is worth way more than a 3rd. Giving him up for that at this point would be bad. There's no problem with him starting the year in the AHL.

At worst, or at best? At this point, not sure we'd be selling "low". Anderson was mostly healthy last year. He's a terrible fit for hw the Habs want to play, hard to see him bounce back. 4th line energy guy might well be the best he can be in this situation.
An injury could easily move him into completely un-tradable territory. If there's an opportunity to move him that doesn't involve taking someone else's cap dump, gotta take it imo.

At worst.
He's not washed up. It's not like he can't keep up the pace anymore.
If he can regain his confidence and scoring touch, he's a decent middle 6 player.

 

[Yoor]

100% agree with you on this. Matheson's defensive flaws are being blown out of proportion and it's the same thing all over again with those disgruntled fans who also say they don't watch the games when we are loosing.

Matheson is not a shut down type but he is elite at puck moving which is rare to acquire in the NHL. He's also on a value contract in the heart of his prime. This has a lot of value for actual NHL GM's.

agreed. To all the people that want to get rid of Matheson I ask this simple question: Who is going to replace the point production that he brings? Who is going to replace the amount of ice time he plays every game. If you dont have a conclusive answer then you do not move him. People want us to go and get help for the PP I can't imagine what it would look like without a QB like Matheson on the PP. Why do we want to get rid of players that we need on the team to replace him with a rookie that is not ready or simply cannot replace what would be gone if we traded him. I think it would make us a worse team at this current stage of the rebuild.

 

[Habs Halifax]

agreed. To all the people that want to get rid of Matheson I ask this simple question: Who is going to replace the point production that he brings? Who is going to replace the amount of ice time he plays every game. If you dont have a conclusive answer then you do not move him. People want us to go and get help for the PP I can't imagine what it would look like without a QB like Matheson on the PP. Why do we want to get rid of players that we need on the team to replace him with a rookie that is not ready or simply cannot replace what would be gone if we traded him. I think it would make us a worse team at this current stage of the rebuild.

Only way I would trade Matheson is if he landed a Necas type. If it happens, we manage it and hope guys like Hutson can fill the spot.

Do you think Matheson is with the Habs for more than 2 years? His next contract won't be cheap and it will be age 32+. Does he fade like Petry in his mid 30's or not? Difficult to know

What do we do in the next 2 years with Matheson on our roster? Does the transition of moving up the standings with him make our future playoff forecast better?

 

[sampollock]

Stop the Dubois madness. He's trash, his contract sucks and he's trash.

ya not sure why PLD keeps coming, just like the KK talk who cares

 

[Habs Halifax]

Stop the Dubois madness. He's trash, his contract sucks and he's trash.

Don't like it, move on. Telling others to stop is a waste of HF board posting. The 1st line was a bit of humor because the Dubois talks faded a bit.

But yeah, Anderson and Gallagher with retention on Dubois. Sorry but this is not some "stop it" situation. Go take a break and stop telling others to stop. You're not the trade talk police.

ya not sure why PLD keeps coming, just like the KK talk who cares

Save $2.25M in cap space for 3 years and get Dubois who is young. Let me guess, the Dubois at the WC's is not possible right? Kings playing him with 3rd line spread out talent doesn't mean anything right?

Big player who skates well and is physical and young. Who don't want that and especially when you are giving two other bad contracts. no, no, no. Bad idea .

 

[Mrb1p]

Comtois pretty much roasting Zegras and saying he wouldn't work out in Montréal lol. If a teammate sees it...

 

[bsl]

Love Matheson offensive side but he's not good on defensive side.If Canes want him for Necas you take this deal all day long .Hutson will take over for Matheson. Add Zegras and Senneke/Demidov and we are off to the races.

What is with this assumption that hutson can handle the nhl. Everyone has him as a lock. I’ll wait and see.

 

[EveryDay]

Not interested in Laine, we already have Dach who can't seem to stay healthy already.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

Definitely NOT untouchable, but also not someone they should just discard the way I've been seeing in proposals.

The Montreal Canadiens somehow managed to get a 1st, 4th and a C level prospect for Ben Chiarot.

Matheson may not be a Norris trophy level Dman, but to act like he's got negative value, especially when you consider his salary/production, is wild.

Why am I seeing Matheson + + just to acquire a 10th overall pick in this upcoming draft?

Madness bruv

Matheson has more value to the Habs than in a trade. Most other GMs know his point totals are inflated from his minutes played and his time on the PP, therefore won't pay a premium for his production the last two years. If a contending team wants him, it is likely to play on their second D pair and second PP unit and odds are they'd probably be offering a late first rounder which doesn't move the needle on our rebuild.

With a young team, especially on D, having a quality leader like Matheson around our young guys is huge, especially with his ability to eat a lot of ice time so the young guys don't get overwhelmed. With the draft capital spent on our young D, having solid vets like Matheson/Savard along with a D coach in Robidas who had a very solid NHL career is huge for helping these kids reach their potential.

 

[Hannibal]

Comtois pretty much roasting Zegras and saying he wouldn't work out in Montréal lol. If a teammate sees it...

Curious to listen to it! Where did you saw this?

 

[Mrb1p]

Curious to listen to it! Where did you saw this?

Kevin raphael. It's on his Instagram, don't listen to the whole thing it's probably terrible.

 

[Goalfield13]

if Laine comes here, I get this is a tough market, but it is also a knowledgeable one. He won't be coming here to play on the 1st line, and expectations should be tempered. Our main players up front are Caufield, Suzuki and Slafkovsky. Laine can play on the second line. I think we would offer a good spot for him to get his game back.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

Rank these reclamation projects in order of preference on cheap short term deals:
Duclair
Arvidsson
Mantha
Perron
Kane

Rank these bottom six targets in terms of preference:
Blueger
Carrier
Trenin
Martinook
Foegele
Lafferty
Duhaime
Stenlund
Blais

Perron - can put up 50 or so points, won a cup, sounds like a good leader and can provide secondary scoring in our middle six on a very short term deal.
Mantha - I'd give him a Bergevin bargain bin deal for one year. He's frustrating as hell, but he has all the skill and size to be a good player in this league. MSL had Armia looking like he gave a shit for once last year, maybe he can unlock something with Mantha.

Duclair/Arvidsson - on the younger side for UFA, so both likely looking for a bit of term
Kane - no chance he'd come, but if he did he'd be #1

For the bottom six targets, Trenin and Duhaime would be my top two targets, followed by Carrier. I can see Carrier being of interest to Hughes given he was a client of his.