Habinator33

You have to keep in mind when the contract was handed out as well. Simmonds got his 6 years 3.975 AAV 3 years ago, Pacioretty got his 6 year 4.5 AAV 3 years ago, TJ Oshie got 5 years 4.175 AAV 4 years ago. The caps back then were 9-13m different from what it is today. Those same guys today as well as Galchenyuk next year would be looking for what Forsberg just cashed in 6x6.

Shaw 6 year deal the AAV hasn't been released yet.

I would love Stamkos, Okposo, or Lucic. I don't think any of those 3 have any interest in Montreal even if we overpay. Stamkos because of market, Okposo because I think he wants to stay in states, and Lucic because I think he wants to be on west coast. I say that Backes and Ladd get really bad contracts and Bergevin balks at both. I think he'll end up signing one of Boedker, Hudler, Brouwer. Then he will go bargain bin shopping and see if he can get another vet on a cap friendly deal.

Whatever he ends up getting it definitely shouldn't be higher than the 6 year 3.75 AAV that Gallagher got.

I agree we tend to have way too many 3rd and 4th liners. I agree we need legit top 6 forwards probably 2 of them and I'm not including Shaw in that. I disagree with your assessment of Andrew Shaw however. He can in fact score goals he has 70 career and is only 24 years old. He's not your typical 3rd/4th liner that is lucky to score 5. He also has the ability to throw goalies and defensemen off their game which we don't have much of. As for Therrien he'll definitely love this guy, a grinder that can actually play hockey is like his wet dream. The main downside to Shaw is that he is going to be overpaid for his role unless MB can convince his agent that he isn't worth more than Gallagher's contract. As for the Eller part I actually really like the trade, I like having the picks in 2017 and 2018 they will hopefully come in handy the next 2 years at the trade deadline. I don't mind tinkering and improving the defense and the bottom 6 but this whole offseason hinges on MBs ability to find a top 6 forward. Please no more band-aids.

He's going to use the time to talk to pending UFAs to gauge their interest in Montreal!

I like the draft pick a lot, I do in fact like what Shaw brings to the team, but I'll wait until after the free agency period begins to praise or criticize this offseason.

He's not NHL ready by Therrien standards so expect him back in Juniors.

Georges Laraque ✔ @GeorgesLaraque Someone around the Oilers organization just confirmed to me that the Canadiens asked for Draisaitl and the 4 pick for Subban!

Unless we go way off the board I predict I'll be happy with whoever we end up getting. If I had to pick a favorite it'd probably be Keller.

Subban is not going anywhere, this is all made up blown up stuff by the media. These guys need fans to go to their websites, read their articles, follow them on twitter, etc to keep their jobs. What better way to do that then put up rumors about one of the games biggest personalities in one of the biggest markets. It might be a poor example but ever notice how Eklund constantly mentions Montreal, he's just trying to draw parts of the large fan base to his site. Let's be honest and look at MB's track record with Montreal. Do you really think he's making a big time risky play trading Subban? He's done nothing but low risk moves. This is like someone going from dipping their toe in the kiddie pool to diving into shark infested waters with no in between.

I was just about to post something very similar. I'd add Erik Cole to list of desirable free agents we were able to sign. Yes, he fell apart in year 2 but he was a legit player when we signed him. To add to the undesirable part: - Until Price broke out we have been pretty much a bubble team since Roy left. Guys look to see if they have a legit shot at a cup during their contract. - We haven't really had a coaching staff that drew players in - Wingers will tend to lean towards a team that has a real no 1 center they can play alongside. Other than that as you said the pool has shrunk which has led to some horrible contracts being handed out (supply/demand). Some of the guys we've liked have gotten horrible contracts that would've ended up hurting. Lastly, I think this is the best market we've had in years. There are plenty of solid UFAs, a very good draft, and there are a few decent trade names out there. I'd be in shock if he doesn't add at least 1 and more likely 2 top 6 forwards.

I'd honestly be shocked if he didn't add at least one legit top 6 forward or two 2nd line wingers. Just stay away from his typical bargain bin 1-2 year players and players teams are desperate to get rid of for the wrong reasons. It seems to be a good free agency class, good draft class, and there are some decent trade names out there. In their own words "No excuses" this year.

To this point it's tough to complain about what Bergevin has done in this current offseason. Honestly I don't think the team needs to do anything *drastic. After cooling down after that disaster of a season looking at the roster it's really not that bad. We now have a legit top line, our defense is decent, we still have a great goalie, and we have plenty of players to build a quality bottom 6 from. The main issue to me is the 2nd line we need 2 wingers If he can pull that off we'll be back in the playoffs. There should be no excuses this year the free agency market is pretty good, we are in good draft position, and we have enough cap space/maneuverability to make things happen. Really the main issue last year was all the injuries, the way the coaching staff handled the roster post injuries, and the power play. I think Muller along with some decent signings should improve those areas. *just a fyi my version of drastic is trading away a core player namely pacioretty, gallagher, galchenyuk, subban, and price.

Yea, this is just him playing the percentages. If Montreal makes a big move he just says look at me if they don't he'll just say the normal well it fell through at the last minute.

I'm really hoping we sign Okposo has always been one of my favorite Islanders and I still think there's even more potential in his game. I met him like 8 years ago in a golf outing and he won longest drive was absolutely crushing the ball. Funny thing is it was like his 2nd time playing golf.

Pretty much sums it up. Lost price, lost gallagher at a bad time, there were a series of games where we were playing good but just couldn't catch the breaks, bad coaching decisions, lack of any sort of shakeup during the massive slump, petry not 100% and then his season ended, etc.

Yea, I thought in that 1st period Matteau was about 50/50 in terms of good shift/bad shift. He looked out of place on the defensive end a few times but boy does he look strong on his skates.

Yea, figured if we had something else in the works would've heard that Bergevin delayed presser by 30 minutes or so.

Has there been an official announcement that we are done yet? Sounds like there's a big backlog of deals happening.

I don't want to defend Bergevin because he's made his fair share of mistakes especially this season and with some of the contract extensions he's handed out over the years. This recent trade though is not a mistake it was a smart move especially given the value other players are getting. I'm also not going to get bent out of shape if he doesn't do anything else at the deadline. He does however need to be very active at the draft and free agency to fix this top 6. The fact though is you mention Eller, Emelin, and Plekanec but truth is we're actually playing pretty good right now with where they are in the lineup. The main culprit in my eyes is Desharnais and you didn't mention him. Not to hate on him but he's just too trusted by the coaching staff and just isn't good enough to warrant the ice time and line mates he gets. Ideally i'd like to see Desharnais and Emelin replaced going into next season and would be disappointed if both are back and only Eller is moved.

Considering todays trades thus far the value MB got back for Weise and Fleischmann is pretty good. Prices seem to all of a sudden be dropping.

I like the deal I didn't really think Fleischmann had much value he was struggling for a long period of time. As for Weise I thought his max value was a 2nd round pick. We basically got a guy that looks like he should be an NHL regular in the bottom 6 and a 2nd round pick so overall I'd say we made out pretty good. I don't mind the bringing in another bottom 6 player since we just traded away 2 of them. Hopefully we can improve the bottom 6 while lowering the aav of the bottom 6. We can then actually reallocate funds to the top 6 and maybe bring in some real offensive threats.

I think only Weise and Fleischmann get traded for picks and that's it. You might even see some weird AHL swap but I am not expecting any veterans under contract to be dealt until at least draft.

It's believed multiple teams came calling asking about him in the past few weeks. Guys that can provide offense on the PK are a pretty good asset to have. I don't mind having a combined 4th line valued around 3 million as long as we start allocating more money to the top 6(for players that are worth it too). As for the calgary flames fan video a majority of flames fans were not happy we claimed him and some were even hoping they would sign him back in the off season as a UFA.