If EP came to Montreal, he'd likely become the second center in the playoffs and thus he'd play against weaker competition than he did in Vancouver as the first center. I don't know but maybe that would be enough to help.
He played 2nd line center behind Miller in the playoffs last season and s*** the bed......like all over the bed , floor and up the walls lol.
You do not pay a quitter like him 11.6 million to be sheltered at the most important time of the season only to still have him quit. Who knows, maybe last season was not indicative of how he will perform in future playoffs as he showed well in his sophomore season but that was six years ago and he seems to be a very different person now hat he got paid. If he was making 7-8 M like the rest of our young core then I might consider it but 11.6 is a crippling debt to carry in the salary cap world.
Dach is being written off very prematurely and we still have Suzuki, Demidov, Hage Beck and Kapanen who are all capable of being a top six center along with the sudden surge in Evans game. There is no need to take such a huge risk on highly paid enigma on a long term contract like Pettersson has.
IMO we mostly have the necessary top six ingredients in the system and should be looking to solidify the right side of the D and become bigger and more aggressive in the bottom six. Don't get me wrong, if we can land a legitimate top of the roster center who profiles as a playoff performer we should do our due diligence but Pettersson at this moment is not that guy.
If both Dach and Slaf get their sh*t together we are going to begin to roll here. I am very confident that Slaf will be fine and am more optimistic than most on Dach but I do acknowledge that he may not work out due to his apparent lackadaisical manner and questionable commitment to nutrition/training.
