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

[Habs Icing]

KH are you making a deal?

Yeah, he almost closed on a Honda Civic 2007. They just have to sign the papers.

They have all of those today, they’ll still have all of them come end of August/September.

Enjoy the summer man lol

But how do we bitch & moan in the meantime?

 

[ReHabs]

I still see Kent making a move for a winger, or if SKA doesn’t have room for Demidov, we sign him.

It would be a wonderful surprise if Demidov is released from SKA.

 

[Colezuki]

It would be a wonderful surprise if Demidov is released from SKA.

He wouldn't be released, he would have to buy out his contract but yeah. Also welcome back haven't seen you in a while

 

[ReHabs]

He wouldn't be released, he would have to buy out his contract but yeah. Also welcome back haven't seen you in a while

Michkov was loaned to PHI on the condition he plays in the NHL. Demidov cannot be loaned because he's in his final year of his contract in Russia -- and I'm not sure what the timeframes or restrictions of player-led buyouts might be versus team-led buyouts but whatever happens, I hope he's released this summer.

 

[Yanny]

Michkov was loaned to PHI on the condition he plays in the NHL. Demidov cannot be loaned because he's in his final year of his contract in Russia -- and I'm not sure what the timeframes or restrictions of player-led buyouts might be versus team-led buyouts but whatever happens, I hope he's released this summer.

Michkov's contract with SKA has ended; he is not on loan.

 

[ReHabs]

Michkov's contract with SKA has ended; he is not on loan.

Interesting, I understood it differently based on Michkov's release "If I return to the KHL, it is to play for SKA". There are mechanisms to release players -- they could suspend the contract and retain his rights, they could loan him, they could annul his contract, they could unilaterally terminate his contract. It seems like an annulment/mutual termination then.

They could do the same with Demidov.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Michkov's contract with SKA has ended; he is not on loan.

They have an agreement that if he doesn't make the NHL that he goes back to the KHL and is loaned out again

 

[Sterling Archer]

Interesting, I understood it differently based on Michkov's release "If I return to the KHL, it is to play for SKA". There are mechanisms to release players -- they could suspend the contract and retain his rights, they could loan him, they could annul his contract, they could unilaterally terminate his contract. It seems like an annulment/mutual termination then.

They could do the same with Demidov.

I believe that was the situation before Philly bought out the contract outright but I'm not certain of that.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

He was 20 years old in limited minutes in his rookie year. I don't think he's going to be a 32 point player this year. Do you?

Again, I think we'll have a solid top six. You don't? That's cool.

We'll see who's right.

Yep. Bad things can happen. News at eleven. Bad things could happen with McG if we traded for him too.

There's absolutely zero reason to deviate from the plan here. Not now. If injuries happen or players don't produce, then you can re-evaluate.

It's almost certain that not all of these players will pan out. There will be injuries. There will be disapointments. But for you to say there's no forward depth is nonsense. And again, I think we need Barron more than we need McG. We have far more depth up front than we do at RD.

Maybe Barron doesn't pan out. But the potential is there. I don't see the hurry to ditch a 6'2 RD defenseman who can skate. Not for a player who'd slot in at a position we already have an abundance of players at.

Our top 6 is weak if you have Newhook, Roy and Dach in it. This isn’t worth debating. None of the 3 have proven themselves to be top 6 material.

What are we actually arguing here? That they might me? Well, they might not be too.

 

[SwiftyHab]

Our top 6 is weak if you have Newhook, Roy and Dach in it. This isn’t worth debating. None of the 3 have proven themselves to be top 6 material.

What are we actually arguing here? That they might me? Well, they might not be too.

but they might...

 

[BehindTheTimes]

but they might...

Sure, so stop adding players that might have a better chance. I really don’t understand the debate.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Our top 6 is weak if you have Newhook, Roy and Dach in it. This isn’t worth debating. None of the 3 have proven themselves to be top 6 material.

What are we actually arguing here? That they might me? Well, they might not be too.

I don't think so. What does a second line look like for other teams? They aren't superstars. If you're expecting 80 points each then yeah... but that's not how it works.

I think Newhook and Dach should be good for somewhere around 50 points each if they're actually healthy. That's what they paced for before (Dach paced actually closer to 60) and I see no reason why they can't do it now. Roy's a bit of a wildcard because he's so young but I think our second line will be solid. He should be somewhere around 40.

It comes down to health. That's the one thing that can mess everything up.

 

[ReHabs]

I believe that was the situation before Philly bought out the contract outright but I'm not certain of that.

Can PHI even do that? Teams are allowed to do this with other leagues but I'm in the dark with the NHL-KHL relationship and if there's a formal understanding. Sending money to Russia is unfortunately difficult enough as it is under the current world regime, I don't think the Flyers can send money themselves directly to SKA...

 

[Benstheman]

Our top 6 is weak if you have Newhook, Roy and Dach in it. This isn’t worth debating. None of the 3 have proven themselves to be top 6 material.

What are we actually arguing here? That they might me? Well, they might not be too.

Dach is without a doubt a top 6 player. That's not even debatable. The other two? I agree they have to prove it. They are still very young and are not finished products.

 

[salbutera]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1815374250535981181

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Dach is without a doubt a top 6 player. That's not even debatable. The other two? I agree they have to prove it. They are still very young and are not finished products.

Newhook is a second line player. I don't see how he doesn't put up 50 with Dach. I actually think there's some good upside there. And we might wind up seeing him on with Suzuki and Slaf. Won't surprise me if they put CC with Dach as I think that might be a great combo.

Roy's a rookie. But he's a good player and he's not going to torpedo a line. I think we'll see something around 40 points out of him. If it's Dach/Newhook/Roy I think you can count on 140 points cummutively (Dach and Newhook at 50 each and Roy at 40.) That's good for a second line and I think realistic.

Sidenote: Newhook's season was pretty interesting. He was just getting hot when his injury happened. Had 9 points in 13. Then he came back and played reasonably well and then caught fire at the end of the year. 12 points in his last 13. He's still only 23 and he's got blazing speed. I'm pretty comfortable saying he's a top six guy who can hit 50 points.

 

[417]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1815374250535981181

The margins aren't that big between non-playoff teams and almost-playoff teams/bubble teams.

Unless the Habs are again rocking with Jake Evans as their #2C for most of the year, or suffer another rash of untimely injuries. They'll be in the mix with a few other bubble playoff teams. In fact, even with all of that, they might still have been had they not gone into sell mode last year.

 

[Tyson]

The margins aren't that big between non-playoff teams and almost-playoff teams/bubble teams.

Unless the Habs are again rocking with Jake Evans as their #2C for most of the year, or suffer another rash of untimely injuries. They'll be in the mix with a few other bubble playoff teams. In fact, even with all of that, they might still have been had they not gone into sell mode last year.

It's contingent on a few things-
1. Staying healthy
2. Young players taking the next step (organically better)
3. Goaltending

 

[417]

It's contingent on a few things-
1. Staying healthy
2. Young players taking the next step (organically better)
3. Goaltending

Agreed and don't get me wrong, the same can be said for a lot of teams...but that's kind of my point on how the margins not being that big between the playoff hopefuls.

 

[salbutera]

It's contingent on a few things-
1. Staying healthy
2. Young players taking the next step (organically better)
3. Goaltending

The Habs PP will be top-10 IMO w Hutson as QB, and 3-on-3 should be significantly improved which will have a positive combined impact on increased offense

This doesn’t even take into account an acquisition which remains highly probable between now & camp

 

[Bombshell11]

The Habs PP will be top-10 IMO w Hutson as QB, and 3-on-3 should be significantly improved which will have a positive combined impact on increased offense

This doesn’t even take into account an acquisition which remains highly probable between now & camp

I also thought AK would be a 40 goal scorer

Too soon to judge

 

[Mrb1p]

I also thought AK would be a 40 goal scorer

Too soon to judge

Lmao same.

 

[salbutera]

I also thought AK would be a 40 goal scorer

Too soon to judge

Always felt he was a mental midget… which proved accurate

 

[Miller Time]

The margins aren't that big between non-playoff teams and almost-playoff teams/bubble teams.

Unless the Habs are again rocking with Jake Evans as their #2C for most of the year again, or suffer another rash of untimely injuries. They'll be in the mix with a few other bubble playoff teams. In fact, even with all of that, they might still have been had they not gone into sell mode last year.

Yup.

Gally, Anderson & Evans were 4-5-6 in forward ice time for us last season.

If that switches to Dach, Newhook, Roy? (with Slaf, Nick, CC rounding out the top 6), we will be a far more dangerous team and "secondary scoring" will be more of a strength than a weakness.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Yup.

Gally, Anderson & Evans were 4-5-6 in forward ice time for us last season.

If that switches to Dach, Newhook, Roy? (with Slaf, Nick, CC rounding out the top 6), we will be a far more dangerous team and "secondary scoring" will be more of a strength than a weakness.

Eh, if the argument is that nearly everything goes right then Montreal may compete for the playoffs isn't really a great selling point, since I'd argue there isn't a team in the NHL that couldn't make that argument. Maybe San Jose, but that's it.

Montreal was one of the worst teams offensively AND defensively last season. And its unreasonable to expect rapid and consistent organic growth. And notwithstanding the bad injuries they had to deal with last season, it wasn't like 2021-2023 when they were the most injured team in the NHL.

Next season isn't about making the playoffs or even contending the playoffs. Its about trying to play meaningful games and having more young players lay claim to roles on the roster or demonstrating growth that they could lead there. 2025-2026 is the season Montreal will start pushing for the playoffs and beyond - once they start graduating their blue chip prospects on a more permanent basis and guys get more experience.