Habs Fan in Edmonton

NO NO NO!

I think that is exactly the plan. They will need guys coming up on ELC's so they can pay the raises that guys like Suzuki/Caulfield will get.

I don't expect any more big changes on defense either. They have a pretty good pool of defense prospects (Guhle, Struble, Harris, Norlinder, Brooks, don't really consider Romanov a prospect anymore). I don't think any of them will be ready this year but certainly in a couple years. We likely take a step backward on defense this year until some of these guys are ready.

Including Suzuki or Caulfield would almost assuredly get the deal done however those are two pieces I am keeping. I would rather not do a deal if it meant giving up one of those two plus plus. Certainly their market value really shot up during the playoffs, for good reason.

That is a realistic offer but only for a healthy Eichel. I would make that trade.

I would agree, I couldn't see Arturri signing a longer term deal after his bad regular season. Hard to determine what his worth is on a longer term deal, a lot of things to like, excellent skater, great attitude, hard worker, good checker and penalty killer, too bad his hands of stone prevent him from being so much more.

I would think so. Those 2 are the future. Young, talented, great attitudes plus their cap hits are pretty good right now.

It's always about the cost and of course the cap hit but Eichel is elite and only 24 so worth exploring the cost. A 1-2 punch at centre of Suzuki and Eichel for the next 8-10 years would be about as good as it gets. I would much rather have Eichel at 10M/year than Tavares at 11M/year. There aren't many players worth a cap hit of 10M/year but he is one of them.

I haven't read any of those posts but I guess it provides a different perspective on life in the NHL. I am a big believer in free speech (why I always try to be respectful of different view points) so she is certainly entitled to post on social media and people are certainly entitled to follow those posts if they wish or not. It's not a big deal.

To even get the conversation started with Buffalo for Eichel you are looking at KK, (one of Romanov or Guhle) and a 1st round pick. I think that's a minimum. Young dominant centres are hard to come by and they aren't cheap. This is all assuming Eichel is 100% healthy, if not then stay away.

Not a snowball's chance in hell does Buffalo make that trade. Yeah a big WOW if it does. You don't get a young dominant centre by giving up a 3rd line (but useful) player, an undependable winger and likely a late first round pick.

Also don't forget Drouin as "comeback player of the year". Things are looking great indeed!!

Plus Schmidt is a LD which they don't need nearly as much. An excellent skater though and would be an upgrade in the puck moving department.

I think it will take more than that. I would do that trade in a hearbeat for a healthy Eichel although they would need to fit in his salary.

I think paying $950,000/year for a guy who has basically averaged 14-15 goals/year and plays both ends of the ice is pretty good value. I like this signing.