tomh009

Gallagher's contract is really the only one that matters. Hoffman is done after the next season, and Armia has only one more--and at $3.4M his contract is not going to sink the team.

And Kovacevic, who has, I think, shown that he is a very credible third-pairing RHD.

My issue is that their OEL buyout has very short-term perspective: they'll have almost $5M of dead cap in 2025-26 and 2026-27. Is their window really that short? Apart from Miller and Myers, their team is pretty young.

With Bear out, too? I think their chances are not much better than the Habs'. They'll be cursing that dead cap for years.

Which is exactly why Vancouver's buyout of OEL seems immensely stupid to me. They are not going to be a playoff team anyway ...

At times. But neither unit was working wel

Montembeault says he prefers an extension to free agency: https://theathletic.com/4611568/2023/06/14/sam-montembeault-wants-extension-canadiens/ “I love being here, I like the group of guys too. I think that the organization is going in the right direction, so I just want to be a part of it.”

I do agree with you. So, the alternative might be to have him in that spot on PP2. Less ice time and less strong supporting cast, but he might still be more effective there. And fetch a better return at trade deadline ...

Suzuki isn't scoring much either (on the man advantage). More seriously, if they can figure out how to improve the power play, Hoffman can (potentially) play a significant role on PP2 and score some more goals than he did last season, even if not as many as at his peak.

Hoffman used to score a lot more, but much of that was on the power play. If our power play can be upgraded from totally inept to at least almost mediocre, Hoffman will be scoring more, too.

I don't think Hughes will want any dead cap in 2024-25, when the Habs get more serious about the playoffs.

Coming back too early is inexcusable, 100% in agreement with that. Hopefully the new team will manage that better.

Yes. But almost certainly some part was because of players NOT playing through injuries, since they were not going to make the playoffs anyway. But how much that contributed, we’ll never know.

Thanks! Seeing the player data for other players would be interesting but not worth $80/year to me. I'll settle for the percentages, then!

Right, I see the breakdown. But is there somewhere where I can see the Jfresh WAR numbers for other D-men? My google efforts fell flat on that.

The numbers look good ... but there are a whole bunch of different WAR models, aren't there? What should I be comparing these to?

Mailloux is RD.

Basu is suggesting that Michkov may fall out of the top 1o.

Just as with new Toronto condos, the buyers expect profit not in terms of annual cash flow but through massive appreciation when it's time to sell.

I'm quite sure that the scouting team's input will be the primary driver. They have their revised team in place, and they'll be counting on those guys to know the prospects. Hughes's personal experience might sway the decision in the case of two equal prospects but I don't think he'll be overriding the scouts if there are better options available.

If the Habs pick him, I predict many spelling challenges on this forum!

That's pretty much what Ates concluded, too. He figured that the Jets would want one of Suzuki, Caufield, Dach, Slafkovsky or 5th, and that the Habs would be unwilling to part with any of those. He's betting on either LAK on NYR as the trade partner.

The view from Murat Ates, the Jets writer at the Athletic is that the two teams probably will not be able to find a deal that works for both teams. His conclusion:

The picks would be from Winnipeg, there is no option to use another team's picks. As discussed above, the offer sheet would be unlikely to be for more than five (or maybe six) years.

Maxim Strbak!