dlbalr

Mailloux was in so thankfully, Sevigny didn't have to play. 1-0 Laval after 1 with Roy tipping home a Lindstrom point shot in the last minute of the period. That was their best period of the series by far...which isn't saying much.

There might be one other lineup change, sounds like Mailloux is a true game-time decision.

I think most teams will view him as a one-year option. That would allow for a contract to have some bonuses - say $3.5M in base, $1.5M in bonuses based on GP and potential playoff appearances. It sounds like Ottawa is going to make a push to keep him over the next week or so with the belief that they'll get something done.

For the record, I reported this exact thing last night - https://www.habsworld.net/2025/06/habs-relinquish-rights-to-joe-vrbetic/ There's a specific CBA clause that allows the Habs to keep Miller a little longer.

I think the days of Lindstrom being viewed as an NHL option are numbered. He had to take a PTO last summer and got cut from Anaheim, the team he last played for, then didn't get a sniff from anyone else which is what got him back to Montreal in the first place on a deal that he knew would land him in the minors. I like him in Laval and if he wanted another two-way deal to play this role again, I'd do that. But 31 other teams don't see him as NHL-calibre so I doubt the Habs do either. I can't see Barre-Boulet taking an AHL deal as a high-scoring AHL player. He's going to want to go somewhere where he has a shot at NHL playing time. If that doesn't happen, then he'll want the highest two-way salary possible but that will still be on an NHL pact. Farrell has done enough to get an NHL deal from someone so there's no reason to think he'd take a Laval-only contract. Harvey-Pinard should get a two-way deal somewhere as well. Gignac would be a maybe while Simoneau's a bit of a coin flip as if he wasn't qualified, I think there's at least chance he'd get an NHL two-way deal somewhere too.

He wants to be a centre and has said before he sees himself as one. Carolina disagreed and Colorado never really gave him the chance as they put him up with MacKinnon right away.

I think this about sums it up right now:

I'm not sure why Colorado would look to move the player that was the centrepiece of the return for Rantanen. I expect their plan this summer will be to explore signing him to an extension. If the Avs are making moves to open up cap space (and I suspect they'll try to), they're not trading their second-best forward to do it. Think more higher-paid mid-tier players like Josh Manson and Ross Colton.

Assuming there's a team willing to trade down in that situation, of course. The frequency of that happening is much less than people think it is. Very few teams are willing to do this, especially with top picks.

No Dauphin for this one which is unfortunate. He hasn't been practicing for a while so clearly, something is up. 1-0 Charlotte after 1. Barre-Boulet had the best chance for Laval on a breakaway but hit the post. Also, a heads-up, there won't be a postgame piece on the main site today.

Given that Wild management doesn't seem to be too high on Rossi (which is a bit of a red flag), I don't think the acquisition cost would be quite as high as Horvat's. I think it'd be one of Montreal's firsts plus a something and off-hand, I'm not quite sure what the something would be.

The Di Marco post you referenced has widely been debunked already. There is no reason to think that Minnesota would accept a late first-round pick for him.

Their GM said a few weeks extending him was their top priority. So no, he's not available at this time.

That was an ugly period after a first where they weren't half bad. My concern is that we're heading for another period where Laval throws some tantrums and racks up the penalty minutes which seems to be their go-to approach when they're losing big. The referee from the fiasco in the one loss against Rochester is one of the refs tonight which probably played a role in Xhekaj getting the misconduct party started in the second.

In what role? As a 3C you're hoping for 50 games from, sure. But given this illness he's working back from and his dip in production before then, it's hard to trust that he could be a legitimate full-season 2C.

He confirmed today he is looking to sign somewhere for next season.

Imagine, an RG.org report that turned out to be false. Who could have seen that coming?

Here's the thing - Montreal would be surrendering an unprotected first-round pick. This is a team that missed the playoffs three straight years and narrowly squeaked in this season. It's not out of the realm of possibility that they miss next year - a couple of youngsters struggle, the team deals with more injuries, etc. The trade offer would have to be quite substantial to pass on an unprotected pick from a bubble team, probably more than what McLeod (or others around that same level of skill) is really worth. That 2026 first-rounder would carry a lot of trade value on its own as there are teams that would gamble that the Habs will be a lottery team again next year. When it comes to offer sheets, I would stay away from any level of compensation that involves a first-round pick. This team is not one player away from being a guaranteed playoff team next season so now is not the time to push that particular lever at that level. Now, if there's someone in the second-round tier (or third-round, or no compensation) that they feel strongly about and there's a chance that it works, that's a whole other story. Swinging and missing on that level isn't going to hurt much. Swinging and missing with an unprotected first could really come back to bite them.

It's a pretty different comparison between the two. With de la Rose, he was touted as a top checker whose offence might amount to something decent and if he did, he'd be a good 3C. With Kapanen, he's more of a jack of all trades type of player, no elite skill but no glaring weaknesses either. As long as those skills all remain a little above average, he should be a decent NHL player one day.

If they put Gallagher on the trade block, teams would still be asking for assets to take on the contract or looking to offload a similarly bad contract to match the money. Last year helped his value, sure, but he still doesn't have positive trade value.

A fair contract for McLeod would probably be a one-year prove-it deal. He had a really good second half this season but it's also worth noting his previous career high in points was 30. Did he just have a hot streak? I pegged his next contract at something more than double his $2.1M qualifying offer. I've seen $5.5M out there and I don't think it makes much sense for them to do that on a long-term deal given his history. I could see $4.5M on a one-year deal that keeps him RFA-eligible and with Buffalo needing to sign others, it makes sense for them to stay short-term here to make it easier to afford Byram/Peterka. The magic number in an offer sheet scenario is probably somewhere in the $4.68M to $7.02M range, the 1st and 3rd level of compensation. At the low end, they match but anywhere past the midpoint, I think they'd let him walk. Of course, that means giving $6M or so to a player who has only passed 30 points once and giving up an unprotected 1st and a 3rd to do so. That does not make a lot of sense me to as a viable strategy. In a trade scenario, they probably would want a 3C, considering they gave up a pretty good prospect to get him. Kirby Dach isn't that, neither is Alex Newhook, and Jake Evans isn't at the same level as McLeod so I don't think there's a viable trade fit from the Habs, just as there wasn't when Buffalo moved Dylan Cozens, a player Montreal was interested in but Buffalo insisted on a similar C in the deal.

If nothing else, Tulsky isn't afraid to take chances on rentals after getting Guentzel the year before as well but did pretty well salvaging the Rantanen trade in the end. That core should look a lot different next year. They have over $28M in cap space to play with and they've been a cap-spending team as of late. There's enough for them to splurge on a big free agent/trade addition or two and supplement the secondary scoring as well.

It's actually four more years, he's only one year into that five-year deal he got.

Vincent Sevigny has been recalled from Trois-Rivieres, giving Laval a seventh defenceman. Wotherspoon is week-to-week and won't be ready to start the series while Trudeau is awaiting test results but early indications are not good. Meanwhile, up front, Arseneau has been cleared to return.

I agree with that, my thought was Primeau odds/Fowler possibly getting the evens again.