HF Habs: Trade Proposal Thread #89: 2024-2025 season part II

[Deebs]

What does our herd say if we trade Evans for a 1st and use that 1st to acquire Zegras (1st and B prospect). We put our faith in Newhook as our 3C?

I posted a Zegras value thread on the main boards. Curious to see what the Ducks and other fans say about him now.

Zegras sucks

 

[Guy Larose]

This isn't true. They clearly said the current season success doesn't change their plan.

This means no rental this year.

Well, yes and no. I mean if the rental is a 3rd or 4th, etc, I doubt he balks at that. If it's for a 1st or top prospect, then no.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Zegras sucks

Doesn't suck but he is soft! I do wonder what MSL can do for him though. No doubt in my mind that Hughes talked with the Ducks about Zegras and it's possible they re visit it.

Well, yes and no. I mean if the rental is a 3rd or 4th, etc, I doubt he balks at that. If it's for a 1st or top prospect, then no.

That's kind of how I see it too. Hughes did mentioned the amount of picks we have and also how deep our pool is. If someone is out there that Hughes feels will help us (even a rental) and the cost is one 3rd rounder, it's very possible he makes that move and we shouldn't complain about it too much.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Stop with Zegras.

He sucks. He's soft. He's Drouin part 2.

We have no spot for him now and we certainly won't have a spot for him later.

Stop it. Just. Stop. It.

 

[ReHabs]

Evans is the biggest question mark. Pending UFA and if he is asking for a lot, what do we do? Let him play it out while we go as far as we can or trade him?

What to do with Evans is the big question mark yes. To be honest, it is a good problem to have.

 

[DAChampion]

If the Habs weren’t in the dogfight for a playoff spot, I reckon there would be interest in Josh Anderson on top of the interest in Evans and Armia.

It’s not a problem per se and it’s nothing to get wound up over but it would’ve been nice to see what haul we could bring in for them all. I didn’t think this season had a deep playoff run as its destiny… but they’ve been playing as well as I could remember the Habs play to be honest. So who knows.

But if the Habs were a 12th place team, that would mean their roster is playing badly, and thus by extension there would probably be no demand for Evans, Armia, etc.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I keep hearing how the Leafs think Y Gourde is a perfect fit for them. They don't have a 1st but they have a 2nd and 3rd.

A good move from the Habs could be to trade Evans for a late 1st and use one of our 2nd or 3rd's to get Gourde and screw the Leafs over. haha. Sign Gourde to a 2 year deal at a low AAV (lower than what Evans is asking for). Age 33-35 seasons and a solid stop gap for when Hage, Kapanen, Beck might be ready for 3C.

Heineman / Gourde / Newhook. Decent line with two guys who can share the center role. I hope you are paying attention Evans. Habs are not going to give you the max bloated deal

 

[BergevinBurner]

Stop with Zegras.

He sucks. He's soft. He's Drouin part 2.

We have no spot for him now and we certainly won't have a spot for him later.

Stop it. Just. Stop. It.

I won't argue that he's soft and has sucked lately, but if I had the option of him or Dach at 2C I'm probably leaning Zegras. Neither guy can win faceoffs or play defense to save their lives, but at least Zegras has shown the offensive upside.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I won't argue that he's soft and has sucked lately, but if I had the option of him or Dach at 2C I'm probably leaning Zegras. Neither guy can win faceoffs or play defense to save their lives, but at least Zegras has shown the offensive upside.

Dach's size and physical game is way more worthwhile than Zegras.

There is no way a team serious about winning a cup would downgrade those elements to bring in Zegras.

 

[BergevinBurner]

Dach's size and physical game is way more worthwhile than Zegras.

There is no way a team serious about winning a cup would downgrade those elements to bring in Zegras.

He's not some physical juggernaut, if he doesn't get his offense going with regularity then I'd take a 60 point guy that doesn't hit over him for a playoff run easily.

 

[WeThreeKings]

He's not some physical juggernaut, if he doesn't get his offense going with regularity then I'd take a 60 point guy that doesn't hit over him for a playoff run easily.

He's about as much of a 60 pt guy as Petr Prucha was a 30 goal scorer.

 

[Treb]

On the flip side, this also means they should sell according to plan.

Not really because they also said that phase was done. They're not selling just to sell.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Dach's size and physical game is way more worthwhile than Zegras.

There is no way a team serious about winning a cup would downgrade those elements to bring in Zegras.

Caufield needed some work to be more than a one dimensional goal scorer.

Zegras looks like he needs a massive amount and given how the Habs are playing and where they want to be, they can't afford to give time to Zegras to figure it out, screw up defensively/fall into old habits, etc.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I won't argue that he's soft and has sucked lately, but if I had the option of him or Dach at 2C I'm probably leaning Zegras. Neither guy can win faceoffs or play defense to save their lives, but at least Zegras has shown the offensive upside.

I still like Dach's ability to improve. We got to allow him to grow his game and have a strong 2nd half. He's been much better lately. I was just pondering what Hughes might do if he realizes that we won't sign Evans because he is asking for two much. Two names that comes to my mind are Zegras or Gourde.

Zegras: We use the late 1st we get for Evans (lets say we get the 25-32 1st), add Roy and maybe that is enough. I would then play Zegras with Newhook and Heineman. See what MSL can do to get Zegras producing.

Gourde: Take the late 1st from Evans and that makes three 1st rounders we can try to trade down to get a grade A in the next draft. Or use it for a bigger fish on the trade market. Gourde probably cost a 2nd or 3rd rounder. Play him the same way I showed with Zegras (3rd line with Newhook and Heineman). Yes Gourde is 33 but I would be open to a 1 or 2 year deal at an AAV less than what Evans gets. A stop gap piece to buy us time to evaluate Hage, Kapanen, Beck

What do you do if Evans says 5x $4.5M or he goes to UFA and at the same time, we do get the 25-32 range 1st offered for him? How do you manage it?

 

[417]

Malkin seems broken… Dach seems like he was never assembled right!

I wouldn’t seek Malkin either but it was an interesting exercise.

Fair...for me, anyone who we'd be spending a lot of salary dollars on, has to be part of the equation moving forward.

Dach has had his ups and downs with the Habs, his downs have been mostly related to injuries. But he's also not making 9M a year, it's not really an issue for me.

 

[Saundies]

I still like Dach's ability to improve. We got to allow him to grow his game and have a strong 2nd half. He's been much better lately. I was just pondering what Hughes might do if he realizes that we won't sign Evans because he is asking for two much. Two names that comes to my mind are Zegras or Gourde.

Zegras: We use the late 1st we get for Evans (lets say we get the 25-32 1st), add Roy and maybe that is enough. I would then play Zegras with Newhook and Heineman. See what MSL can do to get Zegras producing.

Gourde: Take the late 1st from Evans and that makes three 1st rounders we can try to trade down to get a grade A in the next draft. Or use it for a bigger fish on the trade market. Gourde probably cost a 2nd or 3rd rounder. Play him the same way I showed with Zegras (3rd line with Newhook and Heineman). Yes Gourde is 33 but I would be open to a 1 or 2 year deal at an AAV less than what Evans gets. A stop gap piece to buy us time to evaluate Hage, Kapanen, Beck

What do you do if Evans says 5x $4.5M or he goes to UFA and at the same time, we do get the 25-32 range 1st offered for him? How do you manage it?

Two options (I know what I would do):

1) Keep him. He's your rental.

2) Get the first, and package it with something else to get another C for the foreseeable future. I like O'Reilly (2 year contract, stopgap until Hage/Back takes the spot) but Nashville may not want to re-tool/rebuild so quickly. (I would do this one)

Trading Evans is a blow to the lads that love him in the room, but word around the NHL is that O'Reilly is really respected and brings a lot.

 

[417]

I keep hearing how the Leafs think Y Gourde is a perfect fit for them. They don't have a 1st but they have a 2nd and 3rd.

A good move from the Habs could be to trade Evans for a late 1st and use one of our 2nd or 3rd's to get Gourde and screw the Leafs over. haha. Sign Gourde to a 2 year deal at a low AAV (lower than what Evans is asking for). Age 33-35 seasons and a solid stop gap for when Hage, Kapanen, Beck might be ready for 3C.

Heineman / Gourde / Newhook. Decent line with two guys who can share the center role. I hope you are paying attention Evans. Habs are not going to give you the max bloated deal

Seems like we'd be screwing ourselves over more than anything with this plan lol.

You know whose a perfect stopgap for Hage/Kapanen/Beck?

Jake Evans.

 

[Saundies]

Seems like we'd be screwing ourselves over more than anything with this plan lol.

You know whose a perfect stopgap for Hage/Kapanen/Beck?

Jake Evans.

It depends on how you view this year for Evans.. Is this him? Has he taken a step and is now this player full time? Or is it another case of a superhuman-contract-year.

The former, he's probably worth what he's asking. The latter he's definitely not and signing him for long term at that is not great.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Two options (I know what I would do):

1) Keep him. He's your rental.

2) Get the first, and package it with something else to get another C for the foreseeable future. I like O'Reilly (2 year contract, stopgap until Hage/Back takes the spot) but Nashville may not want to re-tool/rebuild so quickly. (I would do this one)

Trading Evans is a blow to the lads that love him in the room, but word around the NHL is that O'Reilly is really respected and brings a lot.

1) Very possible Evans is our rental and he walks. We will see. I can certainly see Evans finish the year with the Habs and we allow his agent to talk to other teams prior to July 1st so they understand the market. Possible extention right before July 1st or the Habs explore other options. Good news is we have Newhook. Not an ideal 3C like Evans but can do the job.

2) I'd be open to ROR but the asking price scares me. He's going to get a lot of attention and that will drive the price up. Age range left is 34-36. Not sure I like that. The other layers to it is 2C or 3C... pretty sure he wants to remain a 2C. He didn't stay with the Leafs and I think it's because he prefers not to be in a hot market.

I'm not sure how much gas ROR will have from 34-36. He does have a lot of milage

 

[Habs Halifax]

Seems like we'd be screwing ourselves over more than anything with this plan lol.

You know whose a perfect stopgap for Hage/Kapanen/Beck?

Jake Evans.

I don't see adding a 1st and Gourde playing 3C screws us over. Trigger words like "Screw" us over is exaggeration and that usually means it's not a good point to use with your disagreement. You missed the question. What do you do if Evans is asking for too much. Don't comprehend this like I want him traded and I'm desperate for Gourde.

What are your stop gaps if Evans asks for too much and we have to let him walk or trade him for the late 1st?

 

[417]

It depends on how you view this year for Evans.. Is this him? Has he taken a step and is now this player full time? Or is it another case of a superhuman-contract-year.

The former, he's probably worth what he's asking. The latter he's definitely not and signing him for long term at that is not great.

Even if this is his peak, and it likely is...I don't see how that's a problem. Yanni Gourde is older and likely to command an even bigger salary than Evans will this offseason.

There's no one in Laval who is going to step in and do what Jake Evans does for this team, next year or even the year after that, all due respect to Owen Beck.

Jake Evans isn't going to break the bank, he's a 3C in the NHL quite easily, if the Habs can get him signed in the 3.5-4.5M range, it's a no brainer.

 

[Andy]

If we're not going to "overpay" Evans, only to "overpay" a replacement on the market, it's best to just give Evans what he wants.

 

[Saundies]

1) Very possible Evans is our rental and he walks. We will see.

2) I'd be open to ROR but the asking price scares me. He's going to get a lot of attention and that will drive the price up. Age range left is 34-36. Not sure I like that. The other layers to it is 2C or 3C... pretty sure he wants to remain a 2C. He didn't stay with the Leafs and I think it's because he prefers not to be in a hot market.

This market in general is shaping up to be not great for teams not selling so I hear you on that.

I don't think O'Reilly's problem was with the Leafs market, I think it was Keefe's coaching/culture. We have notoriously great room vibes and he'd fit in well.

For hockey, I think he'd do whatever we needed him to do. The best part about his game is that he fills in offensively while also being great defensively. Sending him out in OT to win a draw or with 2 minutes left will not be egregious like it is right now with Dvorak. If Dach regresses or gets hurt, we'd have depth to fill in.

 

[Habs Halifax]

This market in general is shaping up to be not great for teams not selling so I hear you on that.

I don't think O'Reilly's problem was with the Leafs market, I think it was Keefe's coaching/culture. We have notoriously great room vibes and he'd fit in well.

For hockey, I think he'd do whatever we needed him to do. The best part about his game is that he fills in offensively while also being great defensively. Sending him out in OT to win a draw or with 2 minutes left will not be egregious like it is right now with Dvorak. If Dach regresses or gets hurt, we'd have depth to fill in.

I'm actually surprised that ROR does not have any NTC conditions.

 

[iago]

I still like Dach's ability to improve. We got to allow him to grow his game and have a strong 2nd half. He's been much better lately. I was just pondering what Hughes might do if he realizes that we won't sign Evans because he is asking for two much. Two names that comes to my mind are Zegras or Gourde.

Zegras: We use the late 1st we get for Evans (lets say we get the 25-32 1st), add Roy and maybe that is enough. I would then play Zegras with Newhook and Heineman. See what MSL can do to get Zegras producing.

Gourde: Take the late 1st from Evans and that makes three 1st rounders we can try to trade down to get a grade A in the next draft. Or use it for a bigger fish on the trade market. Gourde probably cost a 2nd or 3rd rounder. Play him the same way I showed with Zegras (3rd line with Newhook and Heineman). Yes Gourde is 33 but I would be open to a 1 or 2 year deal at an AAV less than what Evans gets. A stop gap piece to buy us time to evaluate Hage, Kapanen, Beck

What do you do if Evans says 5x $4.5M or he goes to UFA and at the same time, we do get the 25-32 range 1st offered for him? How do you manage it?

Nobody is going to part with any 1st rounder for Evans - nor probably not a 2nd either.