John B
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Posts posted by John B
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Sergachev is a great pick. Good job Bergevin.
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OH this is awesome. Habs better take Sergachev. He is the BPA and should be able to replace Markov a year or two from now.
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It's getting easier for the Habs to make a selection with Keller gone. Only two players left that were consistantly ranked in the top ten this season. I'm betting the Sabres are drafting Sergachev which would leave Nylander for the Habs.
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So dumb. Trade a bottom 6 for 2 second round picks in future drafts, acquire a bottom 6 for this year's two lower second round picks. Shaw is going to be more expensive than Eller when he signs. Very, very dumb.
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Yes, you are correct Stogey. I probably should have mentioned that. I think the same could be said for Keller being compared to Kane. The styles of play are similar, not necessarily the ceilings. I do believe that all 3 will likely be top 6 forwards at the NHL level though. I'd even go so far to say that their ceilings are as first liners, but not star caliber players.
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For me it would be a tough choice. 3 different types of players. Keller is a Patrick Kane type (according to Bob McKenzie), Jost is a Jonathan Toews type (according to Bob McKenzie), and Brown is a poor man's Rick Nash type. I think I would eliminate Brown though. Not enough passion to his game and despite his size he doesn't play with enough physicality. Some say a poor man's Rick Nash, I say a possible Guillaume Latendresse IMO. Keller has an elite skill set which is hard to ignore. I think he'll be better offensively than Jost, however I think Jost has a more complete game. So tough call between those two. For the record, I doubt that either one (Keller or Jost) are as good as Kane or Toews. If they were they would be challenging Matthews for #1 overall and this draft would be more hyped than last year's.
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How are partial NTCs going to work for the expansion draft? Will these players have to be protected the same as players with full NTC/NMCs? Will the player be able to place the new expansion team on their no trade list?
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Unfortunately acquiring players has gotten more complicated with the upcoming expansion team. If the Habs acquire a player with a NMC/NTC or sign a player and give him a NMC/NTC, that player will have to be protected in the expansion draft leaving someone else exposed. Possibly somebody of value to the Habs Cup hopes. I'm sure glad I'm not in Bergevin's shoes having to make these decisions. I wouldn't be surprised if he just signs or trades for 1 second line player and a depth guy or two.
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Thank you for the clarification Commandant.
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$7 mil a year seems steep for Radulov. If the Habs strike out on Okposo, Eriksson, Backes or Ladd, then maybe take a run at Radulov. If that's his demand for a contract I have a feeling that he will not be gone after the first few days of free agency.
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Originally I was in favor of Hartnell coming to Montreal. I even posted a trade proposal of my own earlier this week. After the NHL officially announced that it was expanding I am now concerned about adding Hartnell. He has a NMC which if I understand correctly means that he would have to be on a team's protected list for the expansion draft. I'm not sure he's worth a spot on Montreal's protected list. I did read an article in some publication about the NTC/NMC topic that stated that once a player waives his NTC/NMC that it becomes null and void for the remainder of the contract. However most teams will choose to honor the clause. I don't know how true this is or even where I read this (perhaps I misunderstood what I was reading). Has anyone else heard about this? Maybe somebody can clarify the actual rule for me?
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To Montreal
Scott Hartnell
To Columbus
David Desharnais or Lars Eller or Alexei Emelin
Chicago's second rounder 2018 or one of the two second rounders this year if necessary.
Desharnais saves the Jackets $1.25 mil in cap space this year and then is off the books, whereas Hartnell has 3 more years. The second rounder is the cost of shipping out a bad contract on the Habs end. Eller also saves the Jackets $1.25 mil for the next two seasons, but might be a more useful player to Columbus than Desharnais. Emelin only saves them $650K over the next two seasons and also has one less year of term. The Jackets were rumored to be looking to revamp their blueline which is why I included him.
I think Hartnell would be a good fit on Montreal's 2nd line and even if the final season of his contract is bad, Habs aren't going to find a friendlier contract in the free agent market for the second line. I doubt they find someone for less than $5mil for 3 years that would be more effective than Hartnell. Hartnell's contract also expires at the same time as Pacioretty's, which would give the Habs extra cap space to resign Pacioretty. Also if the Habs were able to move one of Desharnais, Eller, or Emelin as part of the deal they would only eat up $650K to $1.25 mil of their available cap space allowing them to still sign a high profile winger (Okposo, Eriksson, Ladd, take your pick) on July 1st.
Feel free to add or subtract from that trade proposal. I wouldn't trade for Hartnell unless the Habs were unloading a contract the other way. He would eat up too much of Montreal's available cap space to trade just picks and or prospects.
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Rumor has it Scott Hartnell has agreed to waive his NMC. He has 3 more years at $4.75 mil per season and 34 years old. 23 goals/49 points this past season. Anybody think the Habs would have some interest? Should they be interested? Perhaps it could be an opportunity to make a trade and send some salary the other way while acquiring a big, physical second line winger?
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I always supported the idea of a cap. I was really tired of seeing teams with deep pockets buy their problems away. The NHL has made it an even playing field for all teams by adding the cap. What I didn't like was lowering the age of unrestricted free agency. I realize it was a necessity to get the CBA ratified (something had to be given to the players), but it resulted in ridiculous and in some cases underserving term and salaries as teams try to retain their young stars during their primes. That's what is hurting most teams right now. You can blame the GM for overpaying if you want, but what choice does he have when negotiating with a UFA. It's pay me or I walk. GMs have zero leverage.
MolG commented on how wins should be worth more in the regular season. How about we just eliminate 3 point games all together. A win is worth one point. A loss, regardless of when it occurs is worth nothing. There are no more ties in hockey thanks to the shootout and therefore there is no need for an extra point to be awarded.
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I agree about Chychrun. I think his drop has more to do with Sergachev and Juolevi making a stronger push. I don't believe Chychrun got worse, just got passed by the other two. There's also the exposure factor. He's been heavily scouted since his rookie season in the OHL and has been the favorite since his rookie season. Lots of time to poke holes in his game compared to the other two. Especially Sergachev who just had his rookie season in North America. At the end of the day I like all 3 though and wouldn't be disappointed to see any of them get taken 9th by the Habs.
Matthews, Laine, and Puuljujarvi are the top 3 picks no question. Chychrun, Juolevi, and Sergachev and the top 3 defenseman no question (likely will go in the top 9 or 10, that will depend on who Montreal wants at #9). After that you have Tkachuk, Dubois, Nylander, Jost, and Keller to chose from. So basically the Habs are going to get a good prospect at #9 unless they decide to go off the board for the pick. For the record I don't mind Brown or Bean as well, though I agree with MoLG about the holes in Brown's game. The top 12 - 15 players should be top 6 Fs or top 4 Ds.
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Glad Bergevin was able to get a deal done with him.
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Thanks.
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Is there any free sites that rank more than just the first round? Most of the mock drafts I've seen only have the first round. Draftsite.com is the only one that I've seen that does all 7 rounds, but doesn't have player profiles for all prospects.
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I'm not a big fan of the NTC/NMC either, but I understand why players want them. I find that it under minds the whole point of a salary cap which was brought in to help small market teams compete with the bigger market teams. You can't just out spend your opponent and buy a Cup. The problem is a lot of free agents still don't want to sign with small market teams and sometimes accept less money to sign with a big market team or a contender. Furthermore they insist on NTC/NMC which they use to avoid playing for these less fortunate teams as well. How are these small market teams supposed to get better if nobody wants to play for them? What's the point of even keeping them in the league if they are always going to be bottom feeders? Instead of banning NTC/NMC, the NHL could limit the number of NTC/NMC teams can hand out. A lot like how teams can only retain salary on 3 contracts. It would allow for more player movement, and better options for small market teams trying to improve. It would also force GMs to really think about who deserves a NTC/NMC and who doesn't.
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Speaking of Vanek, I read a rumor on the hockey news website that Minnesota might buy him out.
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Perhaps the Habs should be looking at trading for a guy like Scott Hartnell. Big gritty winger that can score 20 goals from the second line and likely wouldn't cost as much as a guy like Eberle or Hall or whatever top liner might be out there. He has 3 years left on his current deal that pays him less than $5mil per season. Meaning his contract expires at the same time as Pacioretty's giving the Habs extra cap space to resign him (Pacioretty that is). Habs might also be able to offload a roster player as part of the deal that would help offset the cost of adding him.
As far as the cap goes. Desharnais, Eller, Emelin, Markov, Mitchell, and Plekanec all have expiring contracts in the next 1 or 2 years which will clear some cap space. Plekanec and Markov are the only ones so far that the Habs would not be able to replace internally. That could change in this year's draft with the 9th overall pick. Parenteau's buy out cap hit also comes off the books after next season. That's a total of just over $25M off the books in the next 2 years.
Bergevin should also consider signing Beaulieu and Galchenyuk to extensions this offseason. Galchenyuk had a 30 goal season, so signing him just got more expensive. Habs could've likely signed him to an 8 year/$6M deal (like Nugent-Hopkins, Duchene, Hall), but that likely isn't going to happen now. Whatever MacKinnon gets is likely going to be the comparison for Galchenyuk. Somewhere around $7M per season. Beaulieu hasn't had the same success yet, so now might be the time to sign him before he does breakout and than Habs have to pay him through the nose. He's probably worth around $4M per right now. Probably not on an 8 year deal, but maybe 4 years?
I'm not sure that this is a possibility, but the Habs should look into signing Shane Doan. I know he's a bit older and on the decline, but I still believe he has a couple 20 goal season left in him. He wouldn't likely sign for more than 2 or even 3 years max given his age, and the cap hit would be pretty reasonable (I would think). He's a character guy (which Bergevin likes). His professionalism and maturity are going to be great assets for the younger guys on this team. He also plays the game with some grit and has some size. The big question is wether or not Doan would be willing to leave Arizona. Perhaps the dismissal of Maloney and the sway of winning a Cup could help the Habs get him. Hartnell and Doan as second liners would go a long way to helping the Habs scoring depth, and their cap hits and term would not be crippling to the future of this team.
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I don't think it's necessary to move up to have a shot at a good forward. If you figure that Matthews, Laine, and Puuljujarvi will be top 3, and with Sergachev, Juolevi, and Chychrun likely being gone by the 9th pick. That leaves Dubois, Tkachuk, and Nylander are the only ones left. Habs would be bound to get 1 of those 3. Even if they don't get 1 of those forwards they would get one of the 3 best dmen in the draft and I'm OK with that too. It's win win. Fill an organizational need with a LHD or a high end forward. If the Habs did feel it necessary to move up to get a certain player, they may only need to move up 1 or 2 spots not necessarily the top 5.
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I think Sergachev has better offensive upside than Chychrun or Juolevi. Also think that there is a good chance that all 3 get taken before the #9 spot. Toronto, Edmonton, Columbus, Buffalo, Vancouver, Calgary and Arizona all chose before the Canadiens so far. All of them have very little in the way of high end defense prospects. Most of them have a lot of young talent up front. Winnipeg might be the only team chosing ahead of the Canadiens that would want a forward more than a defenseman. Columbus might go either way as well.
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Radulov is going to follow the money like he always does. Whoever pays him the most will get his services. I agree with HR that Bergevin likely doesn't want him because of his character.
Mikhail Sergachev 9th Overall
in Habs & Hockey Talk
Posted
This will allow the Habs to let Markov walk after next season to free up cap space.