Where will we stand

[Zowpeb]

Just curious about where everyone thinks we'll stand to start the season.

The new cap means much lower salaries for UFA's.

There apparently will also be a one time offer for GM's to release high salary contracts outright and not have their salary affect the salary cap.

Will we release anyone? Will we be positioned well to sign some UFA's within the cap structure?

Just curious what everyone thinks...

[GoHabs2002]

I can't see us picking up Brisebois' 3.42M option (after rollback). The thing I don't know, with the $1M buyout of is option year, will that also be rollbacked by 24%?

I would like for the team to resign him to a 1 year deal plus a team option, not more than $2m/year, tho...but if you include the buyout, it'll still give him $3M, so it probably wouldn't be worth not picking up the option).

Without Brisebois, it gives us a 14.7M payroll of 11 players:

Zednick Bonk Sundstrom

Perezhogin Begin Higgins

Komisarek Souray

Hainsey Rivet

Huet

Assuming we'll probably be aiming for a $32M payroll; that leaves about $17M for 12 players, including our RFA's:

Bulis, Dagenais, Hossa, Koivu, Theodore, Ryder, Ribeiro, Markov, Plekanek, Ward

We could buyout Sundstrom, freeing up 988 thousand, but with only a one-year deal, I wouldn't.

Let's go with some guestimations q-offer of 100% assumption:

Bulis (rollbacked q-offer: 1.026: new salary: 1.25M

Dagenais (rollback q-offer: .38M: new salary: .45M

Hossa: Released

Koivu: (rollback q-offer: 3.42M: new salary: 3.75M

Markov: (rollback q-offer: 1.368M: new salary: 1.5M

Plekanek: rollback q-offer: .532M: new salary: .65M

Ryder: no new q-offer: new salary: .75M

Theodore: rollback q-offer: 4.56: new salary: 4.75M

Ward: rollback q-offer: .608: new salary: .7M

Updated Payroll: 28.5M ($4M remaining)

Zednick Koivu Perezhogin

Dagenais Ribiero Ryder

Bulis Bonk Plekanek

Higgins Begin Ward

Sundstrom

Markov Rivet

Komisarek Souray

Hainsey

Theodore

Huet

We need another defensmen, definitely. Hamrlik, Niinimaa, one that will go for about 2-2.5M. Then maybe we can pick up a forward to with Koivu and Zednik, but with only 2-2.5M left to spend, it won't be Kovelov, Demitra, or any of those. Maybe Kariya...

[Finlay12]

That dont seem too bad just to start, because things will be confusing for a while with all the contracts and rollback and getting what you need while staying under the cap. One thing I dont like is the Kariya idea. It would not be good at all in my opinion. Montreal don't need anymore small people. They need someone for on that line like a Gary Roberts or someone big to open up some room.

But some nice thinking guys!!

[Fanpuck33_]

I think Patrice will accept a lower contract if the option isn't picked up. The guy has been with the Habs his entire career and is the last guy left on the team who has won a Cup with the team. I hope he will be a habs his entire career. He's had his ups and downs, but I think it's important to keep him around. If he's stayed around this long, I think he'll want to stay.

[puck7x]

Originally posted by GoHabs2002

Updated Payroll: 28.5M ($4M remaining)

I've heard the cap is at 36 million. So we'd have roughly 8 million left to work with. That could get us 2 quality players, one D and one F.

[Dalhabs]

I dont wanna release Hossa yet. He still might be a great player.

[bombTHEice]

Will be guys like Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Adam Foote, Adrian Aucoin, Roman Hamrlik, Markus Näslund, Miro Satan UFA's this summer or are they still RFA's?

If they're available, I'd like to have a guy like Adrian Aucoin or Adam Foote with the team, though it will be tough to get one of them.

The same goes to the remaining UFA forwards but here I'm pretty optimistic that we can sign a guy like Kovalev.

[Edited on 26-6-05 by HABS Fan Nr.1]

[Psycing]

Out of those guys, we gotta hope that one of them wants to play for the Habs. Montreal has an interesting and great history, so hopefully that can play to our advantage... if money isn't totally available.

[GoHabs2002]

I've heard the cap is at 36 million. So we'd have roughly 8 million left to work with. That could get us 2 quality players, one D and one F.

Ya, but I'm assuming the Habs won't spend to the cap...considering there might be a dollar for dollar tax at the half way mark (29M), going to the cap would really mean spending 43M on payroll (36M salary + 7M in tax)...so I really don't think the Habs will spend to the cap at the start of the season, maybe as we get near the trade deadline.

[puck7x]

Originally posted by GoHabs2002

I've heard the cap is at 36 million. So we'd have roughly 8 million left to work with. That could get us 2 quality players, one D and one F.

Ya, but I'm assuming the Habs won't spend to the cap...considering there might be a dollar for dollar tax at the half way mark (29M), going to the cap would really mean spending 43M on payroll (36M salary + 7M in tax)...so I really don't think the Habs will spend to the cap at the start of the season, maybe as we get near the trade deadline.

Well, the past few years the habs payroll has been at or above 40 million. So its very possible that we will spent to the cap limit under the new system. Yes, in the last system the habs were just trying to stay competitive, and had to spend that much... And yes, they were losing "a bit" of money in a few of those seasons. So who knows... If make the playoffs and win a few rounds each year we'll definitely be spending to the cap limit, thats for sure.