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

[Spring in Fialta]

He literally said it was for his mental health. Sounds like you have just as much inability to accept that as he does inability to handle the pressure market of Columbus, Ohio

The man is depressed in a market that doesn’t even know what time games are on and they need a cannon at 250 decibels to wake people up after a goal and you want him in Montreal where reporters will whine about what clothes he wears

'Mental health' is vast. It doesn't mean it has to do with the market of Columbus or substance abuse.

You're talking out of your ass and it's pathetic. That's without getting into the fact that the point of the program is TO GET BETTER.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

I expect that Laine will exit the assistance program when there is a deal in place and not before. He'll use as leverage to get traded.

Teams can't discuss or trade anyone during the assistance program . He has to get the clearance from the doctors who are not associated to the team in question. The day we hear that Laine as left the program , the rumours will start then.

 

[le_sean]

'Mental health' is vast. It doesn't mean it has to do with the market of Columbus or substance abuse.

You're talking out of your ass and it's pathetic. That's without getting into the fact that the point of the program is TO GET BETTER.

It’s vast and it’s stupid to bring a player with those issues into the worst market imaginable.

Yeah he can get better. I hope he does. But it just means he’s prone to this stuff in the future. Imagine once he starts getting hurt again or floating like he always does. He’ll get ripped apart.

$9m for a guy who hasn’t played more than 68 games since 2018 and is currently needing help just to play the game he loves. Sounds like really intelligent management.

 

[sampollock]

Until Demidov takes over the team, the Habs seem to be built to be scoring by committee rather than top-heavy like FLA that also has legendary-tier goaltending. Normal teams don't win the Stanley Cup... very good ones do.

2024: Winners FLA had a 56 goal scoring two-way player and a total 3 PPG players this season (the Habs have had 0 PPG players in 16 years). 6th highest scoring Evan Rodrigues' 39 (in 80) was supplemented by the addition of Tarasenko and his 14 (in 19) btw. GM Zito knew he needed more firepower.

2023: Winners VGK had PPG Jack Eichel and their 6th most productive forward was Mark Stone with 38 (in 43), 5th was Karlsson 53 (in 82), 7th was Kessel with 36 (in 82), but 8th was Roy with 30 (in 65)
2022: Winners COL, their 5th highest scoring forward was Landeskog with 59 (in 51), 6th highest scoring forward Nichushkin had 52 (in 62), 7th Newhook had 33 (in 71) (they found him underproductive and traded him for picks later to the Habs), 8th Compher had 33 (in 70).
2022: Out of curiosity I took a look at TBL... Not including Paul who they got at the deadline, their 5th highest scoring forward Palat got 49 (in 77), 6th Cirelli got 43 (in 76), 7th Colton got 39 (in 79) and 8th was Perry who got 40 (in 82)

So yeah, I maintain having a 30pt 6th highest scoring forward and no c. 90pt top-line forwards is a bad spread. FLA only got by with legendary goaltending in the first place. If Demidov becomes a big beast that's awesome but a 30pt 6th forward is nevertheless likely to be insufficient if we don't have another legendary goaltender to make up for the lack of scoring depth.

In summary: we need more scoring depth than we currently have.

Yes Habs
Need more scoring

 

[B1g B1rd]

In our present situation, I'd take 2 years of Laine before McGroarty. Next year, Demidov will be there + we will most probably pick another top 10 prospect. Let's also see where Roy, Hage and Beck will be at... Not sure McG would even be in the top 6. And we can trade Laine at the 2026 TDL for something interesting if he plays well.

We need growth on results, its an important part of building a winning culture and more confidence. So we need someone now who can help us get those betters results. Imo, Laine is an affordable solution depending of cost and his willingness to play for us/be part of the team.

 

[sampollock]

Laine step up and join the ch

 

[BLONG7]

Laine step up and join the ch

Could this be why............Hughes has been quiet? Waiting?

 

[Draft]

Demidov-Suzuki-Slafkovsky
Caufield-Dach-Newhook
(Roy)

I think we need some grit.

 

[WG]

Yeah there's basically no way you trade for Laine without first talking to him and figuring out whether it's going to be a healthy environment for him or not.

For sure MTL can be a problem when it comes to pressure and mental health, but on the plus side he wouldn't be coming in as a star/saviour which is much different from the Drouin situation. On top of which the support network is probably better now, MSL as coach makes a difference, Armia being around probably helps, the teams star players bringing a positive atmosphere instead of the bullying he faced in Winnipeg. There's plenty of reasons to think it would work here, but again it's dependent on having a conversation with him and figuring things out.

No probably about it. Current regime pays attention to these details (ex. the performance coach who helped Armia was hired in 2023). They would no doubt do their due diligence and put supports in place if Laine were brought in.

Count me as in favor of adding him for reasons already stated.

 

[Zilo44]

Aren’t we doing a Bergevin right now (i.e not spend to the cap in 2024?). If so and Laine comes cheap, go for it. He can’t be worse than cap space for 2024.

Which then puts you, at worst, with an anchor contract for next year when lots pf salaries will be cleared.

 

[Saundies]

In regards to Laine, Nick Suzuki is going to give 0 craps about bringing in a guy that makes more money than him, especially if the Habs weren't the team who signed him to that contract in the first place. If he did, I'd worry about him as our captain.

The whole "building an internal salary structure" thing is just savvy agent talk from Hughes trying to keep negotiations low. You have to look the guy in the eyes and explain why you deserve to make more money than Suzuki. A lot of guys won't be able to do that.

If Demigod ends up being Kucherov 2.0 he will blow that number away.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

I don't mind acquiring depending on the price, but what is it with this constant grass is greener, our stuff is never as good as other people's stuff nonsense?

It has nothing to do with that. It's just facts. In the two seasons before the last one, Laine scored at a ppg or near ppg rate.

We're talking about a player who was a 44-goals-70-points player as a teenager in the NHL. He's extremely talented. Saying he could be our best forward is not throwing shade at what we currently have.

In regards to Laine, Nick Suzuki is going to give 0 craps about bringing in a guy that makes more money than him, especially if the Habs weren't the team who signed him to that contract in the first place. If he did, I'd worry about him as our captain.

The whole "building an internal salary structure" thing is just savvy agent talk from Hughes trying to keep negotiations low. You have to look the guy in the eyes and explain why you deserve to make more money than Suzuki. A lot of guys won't be able to do that.

If Demigod ends up being Kucherov 2.0 he will blow that number away.

If we get Laine, Suzuki will probably be the happiest guy in the room. He's made it known that he wants the habs to start competing, and Laine would help with that.

 

[vokiel]

Laine step up and join the ch

Is he off the program yet?

 

[26Mats]

One team that is reportedly interested [in Arthur Kaliyev] is the Montreal Canadiens. THN writer Adam Proteau suggested the Canadiens as a potential destination for Kaliyev and it makes sense.

As Proteau says in his article, Montreal is still in the early stages of its rebuild and has the room to give Kaliyev a real shot at a significant role.

Kaliyev can certainly play a top-9 role and maybe even a top-6 role if he impresses in training camp.” - Via The Hockey News

IF HuGo like Kaliyev, and notice I say IF, then it would seem to make sense for us to trade one of our surplus D for him (Harris, Struble or Barron).

 

[26Mats]

All this Laine talk gives me urticaire caliss.

No more reclamation project or negative valued player.

The guy got burned out in Winnipeg and CLB but you guys want him in MTL LOL

For sure I'd take a flyer on him if the price is right and if his attitude seems right. People do grow up and aren't the same as their early twenties in their later 20s and early 30s sometimes.

 

[Bacchus1]

It is conserning how many games Laine has missed over the last 5 years.

He also hasn’t played a ton of playoff games, so it is hard to know if he has the knack.

His first few seasons were epic, and he scored in bunches, so I see the attraction. I just haven’t followed his career enough to know if his shortcomings are excusable or a result of lack of something.

 

[MeanMugging91]

I personally think a tight positive team might just be what he needs. His time in winnipeg he was surrounded by sour vets and I can't see Columbus a team going no where being much better. I'm sure Hughes will do his due diligence and make the proper call. He's a he'll of a player when he's in the right head space.

 

[ReHabs]

It's the stated goal from management for this upcoming season.

And McGroaty with his 0 NHL games addresses the "problem" of not having a proven top-6?

Josh Roy's 24gp doesn't address 'the problem' either, nor Dach's missing of 97% of the season. Hence why it's an attractive bet to bring aboard a highly rated prospect with intangibles and playoff-style qualities if the price is palatable. Not to swap any of them out but to add another challenger to the mix since we know Anderson and Gallagher are for sure not challenging for a top6 role. Now, what's a palatable price? I wish I knew.

Assuming Roy, Dach, Newhook, and Slaf's final 50 game paces are actually representative of what they'll produce this year then yes our top-6 is decent to good depending on whether we are talking about making the playoffs vs contending. But you can't complain about how that it's unproven and then also claim that the answer is McGroarty and his 0 NHL points is just dumb. And longer term Demidov is almost assuredly going to push someone out of the top-6, so comparing McGroarty to the worst of Roy, Dach, Newhook is pointless. And I do like McGroarty and for the right price would be happy to add him, but I'm not sure I would bet on him being the best or 2nd best out of those three because all 4 have lots of potential and lots of ways to dissapoint.

Who's complaining? Not me. Commenting that our bad top6 is bad is not a complaint, it's a fact: we have a bad top6 in the present. Insisting that our rebuilding team has a top6 that's too good to disrupt is objectionable. We're in a rebuilding period and a half of our top6 players have never hit even 45pts in a season and the other half of the top6 have never hit 80pts in a season -- it would be irrational to decline adding challengers to our weak top6 just to keep a spot warm for Joshua Roy on the 2nd line.

I never said prospect McGroarty or Laine is the answer to anything -- there are no answers, we're in a transition period and adding potentially useful profiles to the forward corps is perfectly normal.

It is conserning how many games Laine has missed over the last 5 years.

He also hasn’t played a ton of playoff games, so it is hard to know if he has the knack.

His first few seasons were epic, and he scored in bunches, so I see the attraction. I just haven’t followed his career enough to know if his shortcomings are excusable or a result of lack of something.

Well these concerns are why he's 1) available and 2) rumoured to be cheap to acquire in terms of trade assets.

 

[morhilane]

Well these concerns are why he's 1) available and 2) rumoured to be cheap to acquire in terms of trade assets.

For 1), Laine asked for a trade and 2) it is because of his cap hit, all his injuries and now mental health issues. Teams don't want to pay big for damaged goods.

 

[B1g B1rd]

For 1), Laine asked for a trade and 2) it is because of his cap hit, all his injuries and now mental health issues. Teams don't want to pay big for damaged goods.

What would you give for him?

 

[jrom]

With Pascal Vincent signed in the Org I doubt Laine is wiling to come to MTL (assuming there is Hab’s interest in the first place).

 

[morhilane]

What would you give for him?

I personally wouldn't trade for him. He needs to go to a club where he won't be asked to be the main goal scorer and that's not the Habs.

 

[Sterling Archer]

With Pascal Vincent signed in the Org I doubt Laine is wiling to come to MTL (assuming there is Hab’s interest in the first place).

I don't think Laine would be too worried about being demoted to Laval.

 

[jrom]

I don't think Laine would be too worried about being demoted to Laval.

If he tought Vincent was an ass but was the choice of HuGo, he may be weary about joining the Habs (he’s never gonna go the AHL).

 

[DiglettDangles]

If he tought Vincent was an ass but was the choice of HuGo, he may be weary about joining the Habs (he’s never gonna go the AHL).