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It would be a hell of a time to offer sheet Draisaitl

This team suddenly went from very Russian to not so much Russian. Radulov, Sergachev, Emelin and now Markov gone. I hate seeing Markov gone but at least we don't have to see him in another NHL Jersey. It will be very interesting now to see how that cap space will be used. I think the defense isn't great but it's fine as it is and if somehow an 8 million dollar center fell from the sky this team would be dangerous.

What I've gathered from Schlemko's stats is that if he plays at least 20 games, he will definitely score 1 goal.

Wow...look out Nashville Predators, there is a new blueline powerhouse in town

That's more than I thought he'd be offered. I had him around $4.25-$4.5 million with no bonuses as what his market value should be. Yes, he's more productive than Petry but 38 years old is 38 years old. That age alone will scare off a lot of suitors which would significantly hurt his market price.

In terms of getting offense from the defenceman, there is a ton to suggest it will be worse. None of the LHD has the offensive track record of Andrei Markov. Streit only matched the offense Nathan Beaulieu brought last year. Alzner is not an offensive Dman. Schlemko has a little offence, but just a little. Jerabek is an unproven rookie. Where is the offense.

Commandant's post was more about how many top pair dmen whe have rather than how many top pair LD we have. Having 1 top pair, 2 second pair and 4-5 third pair dmen doesn't make our defense average. i would rank our defence between 18th and 22nd in the league, personally.

If I didn't care what you guys think I wouldn't be posting on this board; hearing your thoughts are what makes this forum fun I'm all for you supporting MB, I'm just also interested in hearing why. It's not a worth while discussion if you blindly assert "good move" each and every time with no reason. Who knows, you might actually change my mind if you have a good point!

theres more then one way to move the puck up the ice... and most times skating it out isn't always the best option! for example weber makes quick decisions with the puck and pushes the puck forward through simple high percentage passing not necessarily the home run breakaway pass, alzner and benn are very similar, they all seem to move the puck quickly forward through passing rather skating. this is an effective way to get the puck out as long as the forwards are responsible and not releasing on there defensive responsibilities to early. markov for example was an extremely good passer, but this late in his career moving the puck by way of skating was hardly his forte. petry is our best skater, but he's hardly the only guy able to efficiently move the puck forward and transition to offence. the habs have a ways to go and i'm intrigued to see how this team finally takes shape... friedman recently reported his belief that MB is dreaming big at the moment bigger then most of us suspect!

That's like saying a team missing a top line left winger can't be an above average team. The statement is about the defense as a whole, not who slots in where. If they had Weber, Doughty and Burns playing RHD, but had no top line LHD could they still be above average? At the very least the Habs have an average defense as it stands

Boy, reading Markov's interview responses is painful. He loves the Habs and could not imagine playing for any other team. He wanted to return from day one and was nervous about free agency. He emphatically was willing to take a one-year deal. He was 10 games shy of 1000 and regrets that. All this expressed in tones without resentment or anger, just disappointment. Obviously MB has a plan to spend that cap space in a way that will improve the team more than adding this 40-point d-man who bleeds Habs red would. Right? Obviously.

I said something similar in Markov's thread but the reason I was silent in response to this is because it immediately made me think, half seriously, that I should have purchased a Markov jersey as he may have soon filled at least one of those bills when it comes to the NHL. I was just hoping that it wouldn't be the case. As time wears on I'm sure my desire will wane, but I really wouldn't mind showing up to a Habs game in Anaheim or LA all the while sporting a Markov jersey. At the same time, I'm still looking forward to receiving my Weber jersey in the mail

I could see it. Not likely but not quite rebuild material either. As others have said, it's all on Price. Plekanec regression, Byron progression. Gallagher regression, Danault progression. Sort of balanced there, but a good season by a key player, step up by a young gun, A solid signing and strong deadline move could change things dramatically. The core is descent. With the exception of Centre. A lot of things can happen in a season. My gut says no, they are not good enough to make the final. That is based mostly on health. Last year the team was pretty healthy and they couldn't score. As I said. I am willing to wait one more season. He hasn't blown me away with brilliance, nor has he enraged me with stupidity. I don't like the Subban trade. But I love Weber. I hated letting Rad go, but Drouin is great, and the cost and term for Rad was high. For me its a bit of a rollercoaster. I want him fired. Then I don't. Then I don't care. haha

If it flops, his time will have run out and it will be time to fire him before any more damage is done. Right now I am in the fire MB, or don't, or meh... bandwagon. One more flop season and he needs to go.

Than signing an old timer who cant play top minutes anymore, but wants top pairing $$? You are not thinking straight, that a $6m+ forward wont upgrade the team overall. Would I love to have Markov back and finish his career as a Hab, but not at a pricy two year deal and given lack of all star talent up front gotta pick your poison. Sweet Jesus, haven't heard anything but "Bergevin better sign a god damn top six centre or should be tarred and feathered" all off-season. So you don't think that possibly is and was the plan all along and not a declining 2nd pairing d-man, no disrespect to him intended? Obviously no other NHL team was banging down his door to sign him, does that say anything about what he wanted or his value to GMs in the NHL?

I would have preferred signing Markov and upgrading our offense. The amount we've spent on defense even without Markov signed can be spun in a negative way as well and isn't necessarily a defense of why we shouldn't have signed Markov. It could be more along the lines of why did we sign (some of) those other players? This off season we lost Beaulieu, Emelin, Sergachev and now Markov. In addition, we shouldn't have to wait until our very last move to upgrade the offense. If this move allows us room to acquire two more players then it's a good thing but if all it does is allow us to sign a Jagr or Vanek up front, then it's a wash at best. We can pick the better of two evils but we did still need help both up front as well as on the back end. Our defense hasn't been an issue, but we've had Markov for the past 15 years and legitimately replaced him with no one. Unless Schlemko really is something else, Streit IS the closest thing to his replacement. Yes, we need to wait and see what happens. Of course this is just speculation, but I think it came down to two men and their pride and by the end of it, Markov would have been the only one willing to bend and it was probably too much bending needed and he had to stick up for himself. After his comments, that's the way I view it. Nothing against Bergevin as I say it, I just think that Markov already "bent" a little in saying that he would accept a 1 year deal but then Bergevin would have been like alright but it now has to be for this x$ amount since it took so long, and we made other moves in the meantime.

No, in response to this.

It wasn't? Sure looked like it. Let me make this clear to all posters moving forward as evidently it's not to everyone already: Personal attacks are bad enough but anything with a sexual reference, implicitly implied or explicitly stated, is categorically and unequivocally unacceptable.

Good luck with that. I think that would of put Habs #1 in d-spending and eat up about 43% of cap on defense. Would you rather pay him, or upgrade forward group? I assume Bergevin is going for a forward instead?

Unfortunately my friend, the sky does little but bring annoyances such as Rain and Snow, Bergevin is going to have to work hard to make good use of his cap space, and he is going to have to work even harder to fix whatever is left of his image as a GM. The only reason to be so stingy with the cap this off-season is if you know you had a grand slam move that would require cap room to allow for it. At this point anything less than such a move would just seal the deal on this offseason as being a bust, you know me, and my history of posting here, i'm a guy who tries balance optimism and objectivity in every discussion. Bergevin has left himself no room to breathe unless he pulls off something rather brilliant with his 8+ million. Quite frankly right now I sorta feel like Darth Vader, Force Choking Bergevin, while he frantically tries to show me his plans to build the Death Star so I can release him.

Don't worry, the losing streak the team is on...oh wait, the season dosent start for 2 months. No matter, continue with the sky is falling theme, is quite amusing.

Who cares...same as Radulov. Bergy screwed up again in the eyes of many, no matter if makes any sense or not.

But for how much?

nope more like drouin.

Cart before horse sir.

Must be nice to have inside scoop on free agent discussions. Any more insider stuff you can share?

Anyway, after that, I'm not sure if I really wanted him back. https://www.facebook.com/CompleteHockeyNews/videos/1289050797888447/

990 games. You don't leave at 990 games for any simple reason. Not even money. Doubt we will ever hear the full story. You were one of my favourites to wear the CH, General.

There is nothing to suggest it would be worse. It's not blind faith, as i said, Price carries this team period. The old crew wasn't doing anything. Time for some changes. Would i have liked a top LD to play with Weber, of course but they don't have one. CJ is making his team, we will see what happens

A team can't realistically be expected to be stacked everywhere in a salary cap world. Adding an elite center to the existing forward group would put them among the best in the league, the goalie is arguably the best, and the defense is above average. Seems like a great team to me. Now acquiring said elite center without subtracting anything from the lineup is another topic.

Bit of a sad end to an outstanding NHL career. Godspeed, General. With Saku Koivu, the finest Hab of a bleak era. In his prime, he was an underrated master. I said in another thread that Bergevin seems to be an outlier among GMs in (apparently) not valuing transition or offence from the back end. All he wants are defensive guys who can clear the zone reliably; the vision seems to be that it's up to forwards to move the puck through the neutral zone. This is completely contrary to the direction in which the league is going, and seems positively antediluvian in its backwards-looking old-school mindset. Most Cup winners since Bobby Orr have had elite puck-moving defencemen. Either he is a bizarre reactionary or some sort of visionary genius who sees something no one else does. I would not be surprised if he's hoarding cap room with Tavares in mind. But that brilliant plan will probably fail to pan out. Too 'tough,' just like evey other aspect of his job.

He should go join PK and emelin in Nashville

This feels like a huge gut-punch....I hate Bergevin more today than I did yesterday.

And all Robinson did in LAK was be a Norris finalist.

He says he was willing to sign for 1 year. Bergevin is ####ing stupid.

So your response to me talking about the Habs bad offseason is to tell me it's the offseason...?

He's looking to build a team of grunts like himself is the blue line. He was a loser as a player and is proving to be a loser as a gm. you look at Calgary's GM who was gifted Gioridono and Brodie. Around them he added Hamilton, harmonic and stone. All on good contracts. He inherited a much bigger mess. MB started with subban, Markov, Emelin (back when Emelin was still effective), and he's turned it into Weber, alzner, petry and schlemko. all on bad contracts. Webers would be good if he wasn't signed until into his 40's. alzner who has a home in Calgary wasn't even considered by the flames as a UFA, as they choose to move assets for Hamonic. the flames despite being run by Burke are building a modern team. MB is building the Brian Burke maple leafs.