GHT120

I think GMs, coaches and fans have been saying that about him since he was drafted ... maybe even before ... at 28 I think he has transitioned from "all-that-potential" to "disappointment" ... unless the expectation/standard for him is only 15 goals per 82 games.

Soon to be 25 (March 17th) ... pending RFA ... he is at most a salary/contract balancing inclusion that fans of his new team can pray will fulfill his unrealized potential ... I recall when he was "hot stuff" and supposed to be Crosby's winger.

OR ... perhaps ... that is just his nature ... ***NOT*** that I am in any way disregarding the decisions and development with young players under MB.

Is it not related to the 10% cap ceiling overage allowed in the offseason (teams must be compliant before their first game of the next season) ... as you say it is not substantial ... Weber would give up to $785,714 in extra offseason cap space for cap-strapped teams that could be useful.

Only time will tell.

Not just an injury ... he is one return to the norm away from being overpaid if H&G, or another GM, buys into this season.

And, likely, one less landing sport for Petry ...

Great analysis ... and, in addition, option 2 it would be expensive (players/picks/prospects) in order to convince a team to take the contract as there is really no benefit for them to do it (they could just keep the replacement player without going into LTIR) ... so even more reason it is unlikely ... are the Habs THAT desperate?

No guarantee he will have the same value next season ... he will be a full season removed from a good playoff performance ... and ... no guarantee he will again be playing 27% over his career (up to this season) pts/game average ... also ... this being his best offensive season makes an overpayment needed to re-sign him very possible. BTW = his agent's number is CHA-CH-CHING 😉 😊

To fully understand, I looked at the CBA I (below is re-formatted) 10.1 - Unrestricted Free Agents (c)(i) - Group 6 Free Agents ... Means any Player: - who is age 25 or older ✅ - who has completed three (3) or more professional seasons, ✅ - whose SPC has expired and: (i) in the case of a Player other than a goaltender, has played less than 80 NHL Games ... ????? Hence:

"Groundhog Day" returns and the possibility of Bedard or Michkov next summer disappears ... IMO the reward for the pain of this season is not just this coming draft but the opportunity potentially/hopefully to have top 7 picks (or better) in consecutive drafts since 1980 (Wickenheiser) 1981 (Mark Hunter).

Or both

TSN and Sportsnet PRAYING nothing happens until deadline day.

But only ONE is a bit of a surprise ... JP played 22:09 last game. OR Totally unsubstantiated conspiracy theory ... there is a pending trade and H&G decided it was OK for him to practice if it was non-contact ... 😉

Jeff Petry is wearing a no-contact jersey at practice. He's day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Jake Evans, Paul Byron, Joel Edmundson, Jonathan Drouin and Christian Dvorak are also practicing with no-contact jerseys. Jake Allen is back at practice as well. https://twitter.com/CanadiensMTL/status/1500963218239467522?s=20&t=4kxq4_E-S1T4TW-ds4pWcg

Personally, trading Toffoli pretty much convinced me it is a rebuild ... not a tear-down rebuild, but a substantial rebuild.

He was willing to fight ... but not so successful in this case

Unless another team hires Mike Milbury, not certain anybody could get a good return until Dvorak gets back on the ice and produces at least to the level he did in the desert.

Entirely my bad on Power ... apologies

Well ... Owen power decided to return to U of Michigan this season 😉 😊 And who knows whether Yakupov, or even Lafreniere, would have benefited from another year in junior ... BUT ... I completely agree that it would be VERY unusual for a #1 over-all pick not to make the jump ... I just hope that if it is the Habs with that pick they do it because the player is ready and not because they feel they must.

I totally agree ... unless Dvorak gets back in the line-up for an extended period this season and plays as we had hoped entering the season there is not even any real value in trading him ... especially as 22/23 is likely to be another "top 10 draft lottery" seasons ... he needs a chance to show whether he could/should be part of the medium/long-term plans, and at very least rebuild his value.

I think very few if any think it is a guarantee ... after decades of mostly "anything can happen" they are just overly anxious to chase elite talent ... MY issue with some "tanquistes" is that there is no sense in tanking just to get the chance at the/a top pick ... Galchenyuk and KK are perfect examples ... this season is not IMO a tank (by my definition that is pre-planned) ... it is just a terrible season ... not certain there are any "franchise/generational" players in the 2022 draft to make this pain truly worthwhile ... but there seem to be in 2023 ... which is why I don't want this to be a quick re-tool ... there needs to be structured rebuild rather than a Hoffman/Dvorak/Savard/etc. patch job ... and I don't think you necessarily disagree.

The difference strikes me that the hockey development work is very "micro", developing specific skills ... while player development is more "macro" as it focuses on the overall development of the player, which includes things beyond specific skills.

Even a broken clock is correct twice a day?

6th most faceoffs on the 'Yotes ... so not a BIG chance So a potential 1C in Laval?