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Here's the thing. We will get a good trade deadline return for him. 1st round pick, decent prospect. Maybe a decent roster player too. Now if we moved him at the draft, and he accepted an extension, we would have got more. And if we moved him with some years left, we would have got significantly more. So I don't think we will get just scraps, but nowhere near what we would have hoped once we knew we had a consistent 30 goal winger on a bargain.

I didn't say 'nothing.' I just think it makes sense that return would be higher the more years Max had on that crazy cheap deal. Also...Rick Nash was RICK NASH. One of those guys with the 'superstar' brand even though he wasn't. Rep goes a long way with too many GMs. I have a feeling that MaxPac is not as highly regarded despite being in the same class as Nash. So far in the rumours around him, he always seems to be down the teams' priority list ('they're waiting to see what happens with Karlsson...or with Kovalchuk...or with Kane...or so and so...before moving on Pacioretty,' etc.). Perhaps I'm being too pessimistic. But to return to the main point, I don't see how we get more value for him as a rental than as a multi-year player (unless his value was depressed by his performance last year, and he corrects this with a monster season this year).

Generally, teams will want a trade agreed on before granting a negotiation window. You don't necessarily want a blanket window where teams can quietly use it to make overtures about next year's free agency that could turn around and hurt Montreal's leverage. (That's not being moronic as H29 suggests, just proper business sense...) For example, the Habs open up the window and Florida (a team it's believed he'd like to play for) comes and in says they'll give him x for x number of years but they don't have the payroll room to trade for him in 2018-19. Pacioretty agrees to the deal in principle and turns around and tells the Habs and anyone else interested that he's no longer interested in pursuing an extension. In doing so, the Habs just lost one of the few things going for them - a pure rental isn't going to garner as much in return as someone that has the willingness to extend. Therefore, they won't grant the window until a deal is firmly agreed upon pending the acquiring team agreeing on an extension.

I'm going to go with my gut and say this trade can't be true, because it would actually prove Bergevin is capable of very good hockey decisions, and I am not comfortable with falling into that trap presently.

That I’m looking to add another piece, or, we think that we have some young players who are ready to take the next step, - like most competent GM’s would way and have said in the past. but than MB, being a moron - actually is delusional in believing in hat hes making the righ moves. Kinda like the Subban, Sergechev and Galchenyuk deals.

Because they are MORONS. I said this would happen 2 years ago after the Subban trade. They should have traded him the following summer. I had said at the time that Max would be looking to recoup his lost earnings from being underpaid and a lot of people here said that’s not the way it works - past contracts have no bearing to his future deal. In Max’s mind it definitely does. It as obvious that the moron MB still thought the team was a contender from his incredibly idiotic contention that he thought the habs defence were better with his horrible Alzner pickup and letting Markov walk. Given that he didn’t move max when he should have when the team collapsed by the end of the year following the Subban trade and were absolute crap in the playoffs that year while watching Subban go to the finals (which intaelf should have led Molson to fire MB if. Himself had a brain), MB should have given him 3 options at least two weeks prior to the draft: 1) sign long term deal for 8 year for $5.5m (with mainly bonus money and lockout protection and no NtC clauses for the last 4 year of the deal). 2) 3 year deal for $7.5M heavy on bonus and lockout protection, but no NTC or NMC. 3) at least 2 to 3 weeks prior to the draft, tell him they don’t want to resign him and ask him where he is wants to go, see if those teams have assets that would have been a fit for Montreal and allow his agent to negotiate a contract. From a habs standpoint, I doubt if options 2 or 3 were viable because it was obvious that MB felt max was part of a he attitude proble, rather than the crap, slow, late 90’s roster with a lack of skill he put together. I doubt if the first two were options for Max, because he clearly wants to recoup lost earning son his team friendly current deal and wants full term. That only left option 3, but MB is too much of a moron to have realized that and Molson is a bigger moron for not firing his turd of a GM. now not only did we get a horrible return for galchenyuk, we also will get 10 cents on this he dollar for Macs. Another great summer for MB after trading his best prospect last year for another winger - who sucked last year at centre.