HF Habs: Trade Proposal Thread #90: 2024-2025 season part III

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On 32 thoughts Friedman mentioned that, like Boston, Montreal will be looking to add, but only if that player will be with the team for a while, no rentals.
Essentially telling us nothing, since that's not the usual kind of contract that gets traded at the TDL.

Unless he's talking about Hot Dog recipes, we have nothing to get excited about. :laugh:
 
Netting a 2nd / 3rd rounder for Evans / Armia and a 4th rounder for Savard in a weak draft class that lacks depth does absolutely nothing towards developmental growth for 53% this roster that’s part of the long term solution and needs to play & experience high intensity meaningful March / April games
Agree that moving on from a player at the trade deadline is intrinsically linked to the return in a trade. If the asset received does not outweigh the benefits of keeping the player in support of developing youngsters, you definitely keep the player, even if it means not extending their contract and losing them for absolutely nothing at the end of the season.
 
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Agree that moving on from a player at the trade deadline is intrinsically linked to the return in a trade. If the asset received does not outweigh the benefits of keeping the player in support of developing youngsters, you definitely keep the player, even if it means not extending their contract and losing them for absolutely nothing at the end of the season.
Exactly - just view pending UFAs as deadline acquisitions
 
All owners are rich. Some are just cheap bastards. So what if they are in a smaller market and generate less income. The franchise value keeps going up more than any income they make.
Your understanding of wealth doesn't seem to take into account the cost of operations VS revenue for businesses.

Constantly borrowing money against future value is not the standard way to operate, but, yes, investing money in an asset that will raise revenue proportionally is a possibility.

If paying money up front to Raantanen in a given contract structure will assuredly increase revenues, sure, but there are no guarantees of this as there are no guarantees that Raantanen will produce at a given level (his production has already gone down away from McKinnon), much less impressive prior levels, not that he will draw a larger crowd, more sponsors or any other greater revenue stream.

Things can quickly become a bad investment.

Some owners are more risk aversive. That doesn't mean 'cheap bastards' necessarily. Some might be, however, and probably became rich because of that.

Essentially telling us nothing, since that's not the usual kind of contract that gets traded at the TDL.

Unless he's talking about Hot Dog recipes, we have nothing to get excited about. :laugh:
Sometimes you do get contracts like that which do get traded at the deadline. I just think that the premium on those contracts at that time is just higher than in the offseason.
 
And change his name to Shane fright ? Right ?


At a certain point you have to overpay to add a key piece . I am with you on Ben et , especially that his hard style never stop kind of play is perfect for a young team
Exactly very well put but we are currently a 25th place team running a -28 goal differential and we are not at that "certain point."
 
That's because Dach can't win a faceoff and can't play on the defensive side of the puck and adds very little offensively.

Bennett could be better on the draw, but he's taking the most on the Panthers (Barkov injury) and they're a pretty good team.

He averages as much time on the PK as both Newhook and Dach combined ! (Its 4 seconds on average a game)

He brings agitation to his game when neither of the others do.

He's a proven performer in the playoffs.

Can't imagine the Habs go 8 for him, but 7 I can definitely see.

He brings a lot to the game and maybe it's just the Habs aren't good, but Dach and Newhook aren't bringing much to the team in any capacity.
You are describing a less productive Gally when he signed hjs contract (minus the PK) and we all know how that aged.

I'd love Bennett... but you're asking for a Gally 2.0
 
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There is a huge misconception that Montreal does not have good depth players.

In fact, while Gallagher, Anderson and Armia may be paid too much for the role that they play with the team at the moment (depth bottom-6 roles), they actually are quality depth players in those spots.

I would prefer a bigger body than Gallagher in his role, but both Anderson and Armia are fine at somewhere around 3M for Anderson and 2.5M-2.75M for Armia.

With better top-6 players, including the youngsters there with more experience, Anderson and Armia -- even Gallagher -- would be useful depth players.

It's more a question of Cap concerns than the quality of the players, really.

Speed, forechecking, PK skills and the odd goal on the rush from Anderson and puck-possession from Armia in the O-zone and good defensive awareness are both skill sets from these players that come in handy when wearing down opponents and supplying complementary scoring in the playoffs.

Let's be objective about the players on hand, including the value of Evans' strong two-way skills. He may not score regularly at the clip that he did during his pre-Christmas run, but hey is dynamic and drives the play forward even when he doesn't score. That, at least, gives you strong forechecking and time spent in the O-zone rather than your own zone.

Always harder for the opponent to score on you from behind their own blue line.

The issue is well laid out in your post. Not enough from the players in those roles for what you're getting and diminishing returns. I don't want to replace those players and more, with other middling aging vets that can't carry much of a load. I'd rather take the ample cap space, the room that's coming and use it along with other assets to upgrade those positions with better players. They're not bad or anchor players for the most part, but I'd rather bring in players that could/should be top 6 players but have to play on the 3rd line because there are too many bodies. That creates real depth, competition as well as insurance against injuries. It also allows those players on the lower lines to slot better and play against weaker competition on a nightly basis and allows top lines to play with less pressure.

Overall Habs need an overhaul on the depth and talent level of the roster, and there's no better time to start with all the UFA's coming up now. Ditch and upgrade as best you can and that can only help improve the team rather then hanging on to players that will only get worse as time goes on.
 
You are describing a less productive Gally when he signed hjs contract (minus the PK) and we all know how that aged.

I'd love Bennett... but you're asking for a Gally 2.0
How so. An overpaid player as he ages and produces less and less in a physically demanding role?

Maybe, but, IMO, Bennett will still bring more to the table with a diminishing offensive production than Gallagher can. The contract has less chance of becoming an albatross contract, even if it does not remain a full value contract.

Bennett, on a 7-year deal around 7M, that somehow strictly becomes a 3rd line, shutdown C for three years at the tail end of his contract, but gave you solid 2C minutes for the first four years through his 32 years of age, reaching a point where nobody knows how much higher than 113M/114M the Cap ceiling will be by then, won't be handicapping you, either on the ice, or on the team Cap.

Plus, the extra Cap weight on a still important position as a shutdown 3rd line C won't last more than 3 years, maybe less with salary held back in a trade at year 7 of his contract, or through a buyout with a 2.33M Cap implication over two years at that point. An ELC arriving on the roster, at that time, could well offset the 2.33M Cap implication, or the salary held back for only the current year in a trade as a rental.

I honestly don't see a Team Canada Center like Bennett getting less than Suzuki -- even if it appears a bit high for a 50-point C -- as a problem. If we are talking 8M or more, yes, that is a problem for future Cap considerations as youngsters pony up for extensions.

As far as value for that 7-year contract, I believe it will be good, if not excellent. Bennett would perhaps be part of a long playoff hunt in the third year of his contract as a 2C, but surely by the fourth year of his contract, with Hutson being in his fourth and fifth years at the NHL level, Demidov being in his 3RD and 4TH years, Suzuki, Caufield and Guhle being at their peak, plus other youngsters potentially bringing bang for the buck on ELCs at that point (Hage, for example, or a pick from 2025).
 
Damn we have a number of banged up bodies coming out of the break. I wonder if Hughes is getting nervous holding his cards. Having to overplay our best trade chip can't be comfortable.
 

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