HF Habs: Trade Proposal Thread #88: 2024-25 Season

[Leto]

In the mix means nothing. The red Smarties "were in the mix" nack in the 90ies. Those awful cheese stick in Meli-Mélo "are in the mix". Being "in the mix" could be anywhere between 22nd and 16th. This should have been called progression but got to sell something to the media.

Oddly specific, but relatable.

 

[vokiel]

CC + Mesar + Gallagher (to Vancouver) for: E. Pettersson (plus cap dump to even it out)

cmon Hugo, make it work.

Laine-Petey-Dach after Christmas would look sick.

Next year:

Laine - Petey - Slaf
Demidov - Suzuki - Dach

Vancouver hangs up, unless I missed something.

 

[Habby4Life]

CC + Mesar + Gallagher (to Vancouver) for: E. Pettersson (plus cap dump to even it out)

cmon Hugo, make it work.

Laine-Petey-Dach after Christmas would look sick.

Next year:

Laine - Petey - Slaf
Demidov - Suzuki - Dach

Vancouver hangs up and blocks Hugo’s number.

 

[Runner77]

Why did they expect to be "in the mix" if they expected their 2nd line center wil take half the season to get his bearings?

Because Michou said so.

 

[HabzSauce]

Vancouver hangs up and blocks Hugo’s number.

If I were VAN I'd be trying to get out of that Petey contract ASAP. Looking brutal so far

 

[Toene]

You have a plethora of 1st round picks and prospects. You have to reward the young "vets" like Caufield and Suzuki with some help. Priority imo is to get a mature top-4 RD to stabilize that defense. Reinbacher is a few years away and Barron just doesnt cut it. Mailloux is still young.

Pay the price. It's going to be worth it just for the added motivation and to clearly state that management wants to actually start to win games. Exactly like they did when they got Laine.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Vancouver hangs up, unless I missed something.

You are missing that Petterson has been crap since half way through last season. No interest unless HuGo knows there was/is some sort of njury problem

You have a plethora of 1st round picks and prospects. You have to reward the young "vets" like Caufield and Suzuki with some help. Priority imo is to get a mature top-4 RD to stabilize that defense. Reinbacher is a few years away and Barron just doesnt cut it. Mailloux is still young.

Pay the price. It's going to be worth it just for the added motivation and to clearly state that management wants to actually start to win games. Exactly like they did when they got Laine.

There is no way to get a top 4 RD unless an MB clone sells them for less than they are worth. And again they aren't going to overpay to get another forward. They got Laine cheap and that may be it. They might trade a draft pick close to the trade deadline when they have a good idea where the pick will be.

 

[HuGort]

Habs should offer sheet somebody like Lafreniere. You will get him through his prime years, 23-30. Way more production than giving same money to 30 year old UFA. I doubt Hughes is smart enough to figure it out though.

He will give you size, snarl and 80 points in your top 6. Rangers can't match. If they sign their goalie. They hard against cap now. With increases to those two plus 3 other RFA. In Miller, Tempe and Chyil. Give up a first, second and third. It be late picks. Adding Lafreniere, Demidov and likely Reinbacher next season Habs going to be playoff team. Maybe Beck and Dobes also

 

[Whalers Fan]

Habs should offer sheet somebody like Lafreniere. You will get him through his prime years, 23-30. Way more production than giving same money to 30 year old UFA. I doubt Hughes is smart enough to figure it out though .

He will give you size, snarl and 80 points in your top 6. Rangers can't match. If they sign their goalie. They hard against cap now. With increases to those two plus 3 other RFA. In Miller, Tempe and Chyil. Give up a first, second and third. It be late picks. Adding Lafreniere, Demidov and likely Reinbacher next season Habs going to be playoff team. Maybe Beck and Dobes also

Hughes is smart enough to not give up the four first round draft picks it would take, along with the massive salary cap hit, for the Rangers not to match an offer sheet for Lafreniere.

 

[Intangir]

Habs should offer sheet somebody like Lafreniere. You will get him through his prime years, 23-30. Way more production than giving same money to 30 year old UFA. I doubt Hughes is smart enough to figure it out though.

He will give you size, snarl and 80 points in your top 6. Rangers can't match. If they sign their goalie. They hard against cap now. With increases to those two plus 3 other RFA. In Miller, Tempe and Chyil. Give up a first, second and third. It be late picks. Adding Lafreniere, Demidov and likely Reinbacher next season Habs going to be playoff team. Maybe Beck and Dobes also

Offersheets fail more often than not, and spark unnecessary drama between teams. They also require a lot of draft capital, and the Habs wouldn't be in a position to warrant losing those picks straight after this season.

Then there's also the fact that the Rangers and Lafrenière are trying to get a contract together right now that would pay him somewhere in the 8M$ range for multiple years. So chances are that he doesn't even make it to RFA status.

The final nail in the coffin of this idea would be that the Rangers are actually pretty okay cap-wise to match a REASONABLE offersheet for Lafrenière even if they sign Shesterkin to the close to 12M$ deal that he is reportedly looking for.

Fact of the matter is that with the rising cap it's actually easier now to find teams willing to take salary back for nothing than in the years directly post-Covid, with the flat cap. As proof, look no further than what okay-ish players with a relatively high cap-hit, like Ceci, got in exchange last Summer.

Following that logic, the Rangers could look to trade Jacob Trouba in 2025, on the last year of his current deal, and not have to pay through the nose and maybe actually get something in exchange for him.

They could also elect to keep Trouba and instead let one or both of Reilly Smith and Ryan Lindgren go as UFAs, replace them with cheap depth or prospects graduating form the AHL, and have enough for both Shesterkin's and Lafrenière's new deals.

So yeah, it was fun talking/posting about it but your scenario won't happen.

As far as trades concerning the Montreal Canadiens go, we'll get much more clarity in the next 10-15 games as to what the 2024-2025 season will be like and that will tell our management if/how they should shift their trading strategy and focus.

And as they progress through the season, our players/prospects will show their stuff in various leagues, allowing management to accumulate yet more insight regarding the prospects' likely NHL upside.

So yeah, stand pat for now. Revisit in a couple weeks/months when we have more information basically.

 

[Treb]

Habs should offer sheet somebody like Lafreniere. You will get him through his prime years, 23-30. Way more production than giving same money to 30 year old UFA. I doubt Hughes is smart enough to figure it out though.

He will give you size, snarl and 80 points in your top 6. Rangers can't match. If they sign their goalie. They hard against cap now. With increases to those two plus 3 other RFA. In Miller, Tempe and Chyil. Give up a first, second and third. It be late picks. Adding Lafreniere, Demidov and likely Reinbacher next season Habs going to be playoff team. Maybe Beck and Dobes also

They would 100% match an offer under 9.16M.

 

[Weltschmerz]

They would 100% match an offer under 9.16M.

He won't even make it to RFA.

 

[Treb]

He won't even make it to RFA.

That too, but even in the unlikely event he does it's a moot point.

I would be surprised if he would even consider an OF from Montreal.

If he does, I doubt Montreal would offer enough for NYR not to match.

If they do, we're probably looking at 2 1st, 2nd ,3rd or more likely 4 1st. We're not winger starved enough for that.

As others have said, RD is probably where we should spend assets.

 

[Habs Halifax]

That too, but even in the unlikely event he does it's a moot point.

I would be surprised if he would even consider an OF from Montreal.

If he does, I doubt Montreal would offer enough for NYR not to match.

If they do, we're probably looking at 2 1st, 2nd ,3rd or more likely 4 1st. We're not winger starved enough for that.

As others have said, RD is probably where we should spend assets.

RD and Center IMO.

If Dach is a power forward winger and Kapanen, Beck, Hage are 3C qualities, what is our plan at 2C? Hopefully Demidov. Doesn't that seem the same on our RD side? How good is Reinbacher, Mailloux, Barron? Seems similar to the Center talent we have to me. Lots of guys developing and could be hits but we just don't know.

At the end of the day, we need to keep an eye open for circumstantial trades. Our cap space and assets have us in a very good spot. Just need the right player to become available.

 

[Kosseca]

You have a plethora of 1st round picks and prospects. You have to reward the young "vets" like Caufield and Suzuki with some help. Priority imo is to get a mature top-4 RD to stabilize that defense. Reinbacher is a few years away and Barron just doesnt cut it. Mailloux is still young.

Pay the price. It's going to be worth it just for the added motivation and to clearly state that management wants to actually start to win games. Exactly like they did when they got Laine.

You don't get to reward anyone until they deserve it and right now... they haven't. Have they brought the team on the edge of a playoff spot? nope. This team need more time before assets can be spent on plugging holes.

The problem with the MTL rebuild thus far is: Injury. These have been keeping key pieces of the rebuild away from the lineup and preventing them from properly developing and giving valuable information back to management. Each time you think you are taking two step forward, there are injury making all this taking a step back.

 

[Whalers Fan]

RD and Center IMO.

If Dach is a power forward winger and Kapanen, Beck, Hage are 3C qualities, what is our plan at 2C? Hopefully Demidov. Doesn't that seem the same on our RD side? How good is Reinbacher, Mailloux, Barron? Seems similar to the Center talent we have to me. Lots of guys developing and could be hits but we just don't know.

Hage could very well end up being a 2C. It's just too early to tell, IMO.

 

[SlafySZN]

Hage could very well end up being a 2C. It's just too early to tell, IMO.

Could become a 1st, too.

We’ll see how he develops

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Could become a 1st, too.

We’ll see how he develops

There's a non zero chance he does, IMO. The raw talent is definitely there.

 

[Treb]

RD and Center IMO.

If Dach is a power forward winger and Kapanen, Beck, Hage are 3C qualities, what is our plan at 2C? Hopefully Demidov. Doesn't that seem the same on our RD side? How good is Reinbacher, Mailloux, Barron? Seems similar to the Center talent we have to me. Lots of guys developing and could be hits but we just don't know.

At the end of the day, we need to keep an eye open for circumstantial trades. Our cap space and assets have us in a very good spot. Just need the right player to become available.

The difference is we have Suzuki as the top C.

Currently at RD we have Savard. It's our weakest spot on the roster.

But yes, it's all about the opportunities that arise.

 

[le_sean]

RD and Center IMO.

If Dach is a power forward winger and Kapanen, Beck, Hage are 3C qualities, what is our plan at 2C? Hopefully Demidov. Doesn't that seem the same on our RD side? How good is Reinbacher, Mailloux, Barron? Seems similar to the Center talent we have to me. Lots of guys developing and could be hits but we just don't know.

At the end of the day, we need to keep an eye open for circumstantial trades. Our cap space and assets have us in a very good spot. Just need the right player to become available.

Not sure why you classify Hage as having 3C qualities. He profiles exactly as a 2C should. Nice offensive upside, speed, good size, able to QB a PP because of his puck carrying. He’s an 18 year old freshman leading a great hockey program in scoring. There’s a lot more upside than Beck and Kapanen.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Not sure why you classify Hage as having 3C qualities. He profiles exactly as a 2C should. Nice offensive upside, speed, good size, able to QB a PP because of his puck carrying. He’s an 18 year old freshman leading a great hockey program in scoring. There’s a lot more upside than Beck and Kapanen.

I don't think you comprehended the point well. I like Hage just as much as you do, but the word "IF" has a meaning. The other layer to this is even if Hage reaches 2C level, he's years away and we have a void in the next 2-3 years.

The difference is we have Suzuki as the top C.

Currently at RD we have Savard. It's our weakest spot on the roster.

But yes, it's all about the opportunities that arise.

Yeah, but you need more than Suzuki so both RD and C should be a priority. More weighted towards RD? Sure.

 

[Toene]

You don't get to reward anyone until they deserve it and right now... they haven't. Have they brought the team on the edge of a playoff spot? nope. This team need more time before assets can be spent on plugging holes.

The problem with the MTL rebuild thus far is: Injury. These have been keeping key pieces of the rebuild away from the lineup and preventing them from properly developing and giving valuable information back to management. Each time you think you are taking two step forward, there are injury making all this taking a step back.

Then don't be surprised when CC, Nick and co are burnt out by all the losing and we become the Sabres 2.0.

 

[le_sean]

I don't think you comprehended the point well. I like Hage just as much as you do, but the word "IF" has a meaning. The other layer to this is even if Hage reaches 2C level, he's years away and we have a void in the next 2-3 years.

Yeah thanks, I know what the word "if" means.

 

[Captain Mountain]

You have a plethora of 1st round picks and prospects. You have to reward the young "vets" like Caufield and Suzuki with some help. Priority imo is to get a mature top-4 RD to stabilize that defense. Reinbacher is a few years away and Barron just doesnt cut it. Mailloux is still young.

Pay the price. It's going to be worth it just for the added motivation and to clearly state that management wants to actually start to win games. Exactly like they did when they got Laine.

They did "reward" the "vets" by acquiring Laine, but he's injured.

And frankly, the young vets need to start playing better 5v5. Suzuki has been the worst defensive center in the NHL thus far, he needs to and can be better.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Yeah thanks, I know what the word "if" means.

So to correct you... I didn't "clasify" Hage as just a 3C. I said what if they are. Then what? That was the point.