Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 18 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said: Failed to get top-4 LD: agree we will probably hear him say later today that the asking price was too high or that no top-4 LD was available. Either way, I prefer he didn't sell the farm for a top-4 LD it is not like we are BOS/TBL/WSH betting the farm for a legit shot at the cup Agreed, there wasn't a trade out there that was going to make the Habs a serious contender. Their defence isn't good enough and they don't get enough production from the centre ice position. That's hard to fix in one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 1 hour ago, Prime Minister Koivu said: D depth is great Maybe a partner for Weber until Chairot gets back? I wouldn't. Gustafsson is a complete liability 5v5. He's good on the PP, but that is it for him. he's an insurance policy, nothing more. You can see what the league thinks of him based on the price the Habs paid... 7th and he's 50% retained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 1 hour ago, dlbalr said: I don't think he cracks Montreal's top six right now unless they're really frustrated with Kulak (who I think is the 7th D now when they are fully healthy). It looks like his career average is close to 0.5 points/game, or maybe 0.4 if you discount the one outlier season. How the heck did the Flyers decide that he was worth $3M? Healthy scratch for the Flyers at times this year but the same is true for Gostisbehere. Let's see how he fits into the Habs' system, assuming he gets ice time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 34 minutes ago, GHT120 said: He was playing Romanov level (3rd pairing) minutes on defence for the team with the second worst GAA in the NHL ... some of that may be related to goaltending but not entirely ... not a CV for top 4 minutes on a team hoping to maintain a playoff spot ... IMO He was also a healthy scratch lately (and not to maintain trade value). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 30 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: Yeah - there is a difference between "moving the needle" and making a good, risk-free, minor hockey move. MB's deadline moves have been good. But they don't move the needle. MB has failed to add a top-4 puck-moving LD. The hope now is that plugging the hole in the bottom-pairing LD position will help to solidify the back end just enough to make a difference. Not a single top 4 Puck Moving LHD moved at the deadline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trizzak Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 30 minutes ago, dlbalr said: It puts one more layer between having to watch Leskinen look like a deer in the headlights with the puck on his stick. That's something. In all seriousness, it's cheap depth and at least brings a different dimension to the table. Nothing to get excited about but they at least have eight NHL defencemen when everyone's healthy. Another way to get that Leskinen layer is to get someone better than your current regular LD and push everyone down a pairing. I had hoped the bar was a bit higher than "better than Leskinen." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 2 minutes ago, Commandant said: You can see what the league thinks of him based on the price the Habs paid... 7th and he's 50% retained. His RFA contract was a more reasonable $1.2M. The $3M makes no sense at all, so no wonder the Flyers had to retain salary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 1 minute ago, Trizzak said: Another way to get that Leskinen layer is to get someone better than your current regular LD and push everyone down a pairing. I had hoped the bar was a bit higher than "better than Leskinen." Ok, but which LD did you want? Who actually was traded in the last few weeks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 4 minutes ago, Commandant said: Ok, but which LD did you want? Who actually was traded in the last few weeks? Who is to say who could have been traded if the Habs were willing to pay the right price ... many believe that Caps overpaid for Mantha, and the Leafs for Foligno ... but both teams saw what they wanted and went and got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 Just now, GHT120 said: Who is to say who could have been traded if the Habs were willing to pay the right price ... consensus seems to be that Caps overpaid for Mantha, and the Leafs for Foligno ... but both teams saw what they wanted and went and got it. This was not the time for the Habs to overpay, they are not a serious contender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 1 minute ago, GHT120 said: Who is to say who could have been traded if the Habs were willing to pay the right price ... consensus seems to be that Caps overpaid for Mantha, and the Leafs for Foligno ... but both teams saw what they wanted and went and got it. If all of the buying NHL teams (most of whom can use another top 4 Dman) weren't willing to pay the price for the LHD, you can see the asking price was an overpay. We aren't the first place Leafs, or the Capitals recently removed from a cup win. We aren't in position to overpay for 1 player. We aren't one player away. I'm fine with Gustafsson, we got an insurance policy for cheap, but if he's used in the top 4 something has gone seriously wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trizzak Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 5 minutes ago, Commandant said: Ok, but which LD did you want? Who actually was traded in the last few weeks? I've already acknowledged the market wasn't there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 5 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: This was not the time for the Habs to overpay, they are not a serious contender. And by the time it is (they are) what will the core have left in the tank? From the current roster, the Habs have a little over $16 million in cap space for next season with Tartar, Danault, Lehkonen, Stall, KK, Perry and a 7D to re-sign or replace ... so not likely to have any big moves to significantly improve ... to advance towards being a serious contender, it will depend on KK, Suzuki and Romanov improving faster than Weber and Price slide, just like this season ... hoping for Herculean efforts in the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 1 minute ago, GHT120 said: And by the time it is (they are) what will the core have left in the tank? From the current roster, the Habs have a little over $16 million in cap space for next season with Tartar, Danault, Lehkonen, Stall, KK, Perry and a 7D to re-sign or replace ... so not likely to have any big moves to significantly improve ... to advance towards being a serious contender, it will depend on KK, Suzuki and Romanov improving faster than Weber and Price slide, just like this season ... hoping for Herculean efforts in the playoffs. They need to build a new core. They aren't good enough and there wasn't a trade out there that was going to make them a serious contender. They need a top 4 defenceman and more production at centre ice. Mathews has 31 goals, Montreal's 4 centres combined have 18 (Suzuki, KK, Evans and Danault). All their shortcomings weren't going to get fixed today. Suzuki and KK needed to improve quicker, they haven't. What would you have done today to fix all their problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 50 minutes ago, Commandant said: I wouldn't. Gustafsson is a complete liability 5v5. He's good on the PP, but that is it for him. he's an insurance policy, nothing more. You can see what the league thinks of him based on the price the Habs paid... 7th and he's 50% retained. I also thought he could be a #4 Looking at his stats, it looks like Mike Reilly is better than him and Mike would not crack the Habs top 4 But Gustafsson is better than Mete. I guess he is the one that replaces Mete and Merril is the one that can share games with Kulak once Chiarot is healthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 Just FYI, for when and if they do suit up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted April 12, 2021 Author Share Posted April 12, 2021 1 hour ago, tomh009 said: It looks like his career average is close to 0.5 points/game, or maybe 0.4 if you discount the one outlier season. How the heck did the Flyers decide that he was worth $3M? He still had 29 points last year and you have to pay for offensive production for d-men on the open market. I looked at my projections from a summer ago for PHR (we all submit contract projections for UFAs), I had him at $3.5M (which was the lowest number). The perception going into free agency was that he'd have a bounce-back year and if he was to play at a 35-40 point pace or so (a reasonable bet), it'd be a value deal. It clearly hasn't happened although I don't think Philly was an ideal fit from the beginning. I don't think Montreal is either as I don't see a path to much playing time when everyone's healthy. 15 minutes ago, DON said: Just FYI, for when and if they do suit up I wouldn't put an if in front of Merrill. I'm pretty confident in saying he's a regular for the rest of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 3 hours ago, Commandant said: Gustafsson is a complete liability 5v5. He's good on the PP, but that is it for him. he's an insurance policy, nothing more. You can see what the league thinks of him based on the price the Habs paid... 7th and he's 50% retained. I'm not disagreeing with you or anyone else but I am sorta surprised that nobody has really said anything that is overly positive about him. Is the PP the only reason they got him? I figured there'd be more than one reason. He isnt good at anything else? 5 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said: Was thinking of offensive help. Gustafson had 60 points not long ago. I found that year to be peculiar, and cant help but wonder why he got double his normal stats that season. I'm thinking the Habs might have an idea on that and got him because they have similar players and hope he can reproduce those stats. Theres usually more to these seemingly small little nothing moves and that often they end up paying off much greater than what would be thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 4 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said: I'm not disagreeing with you or anyone else but I am sorta surprised that nobody has really said anything that is overly positive about him. Is the PP the only reason they got him? I figured there'd be more than one reason. He isnt good at anything else? I found that year to be peculiar, and cant help but wonder why he got double his normal stats that season. I'm thinking the Habs might have an idea on that and got him because they have similar players and hope he can reproduce those stats. Theres usually more to these seemingly small little nothing moves and that often they end up paying off much greater than what would be thought. They got him at 50% of the salary, for a 7th round pick 15 months from now. If he had more positives, he wouldn't have been so cheap. I think he's insurance. Thats about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 1 minute ago, Commandant said: They got him at 50% of the salary, for a 7th round pick 15 months from now. If he had more positives, he wouldn't have been so cheap. I think he's insurance. Thats about it. Kind of like Frolik, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Just now, tomh009 said: Kind of like Frolik, no? Yeah thats a good comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 8 minutes ago, Commandant said: They got him at 50% of the salary, for a 7th round pick 15 months from now. If he had more positives, he wouldn't have been so cheap. I think he's insurance. Thats about it. You're comment about more positives equals a higher price makes sense. However, most comments make it sound like it was completely pointless in getting him so I have a hard time believing that its just an insurance move. i.e. picking up somebody that sucks just in case you need a guy that sucks. That doesnt really make sense by itself, now think they waived Mete to fit him in. Any chance you have the top dmen for 3-3? Is he in the top 5? 🤣 Do the Habs have players with similar styles as his linemates from the 60 pt year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 1 minute ago, Sir_Boagalott said: You're comment about more positives equals a higher price makes sense. However, most comments make it sound like it was completely pointless in getting him so I have a hard time believing that its just an insurance move. i.e. picking up somebody that sucks just in case you need a guy that sucks. That doesnt really make sense by itself, now think they waived Mete to fit him in. Any chance you have the top dmen for 3-3? Is he in the top 5? 🤣 Do the Habs have players with similar styles as his linemates from the 60 pt year? I think it's a case where they're desperate for help, but are not delusional enough to mortgage the future for this season, so they pay a cheap price to give him a few games to see if he can mesh with the team and revive the 60 point guy instead of the guy who could barely crack the lineup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 14 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said: ... Any chance you have the top dmen for 3-3? Is he in the top 5? Not top 5 IMO ... might be good for 3-on-3 if you could change the game roster before O/T starts ... problem is he has to play, or at least sit on the bench, for the first 60 minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Hes a taller version of Marc Andre Bergeron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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