Have things changed? Should we consider trading Huet

[REV-G]

About a month ago someone suggested we should package Huet with Ryder and maybe a prospect in order to get a sniper or a first line centre, something like that. The point that many of us jumped on was that we should not trade Huet under any circumstances because he is our starting goalie and they aren't that available or easy to pick up. Last year Huet started strong but even before he was injured he was beginning to fade. Lately I wonder if that trend is beginning to show up again. So I wonder if the thought of trading Huet shoud be reconsidered. There are six reasons why I'm beginning to wonder if this is now an option. 1. The emerging consistent & mature play of Carey Price. 2. The not-so-great play of Huet in a few games lately, which could be a repeat of last year. Has Huet really proved he can be a 1st string goalie for a full season? 3. Our need for a top line centre/sniper and how this would impact our team. 4. The Sheldon Sourey factor. We didn't get anything for him because we held onto him too long. We can't let this happen again. 5. The availability of two seemingly good quality backups in Halak and Danis. Plus the fact that Halak may not be willing to sit in the minors and instead of losing him to a team in Europe or not gettin much for him in a trade, maybe he should be our backup in the NHL. He did pretty good when we needed him towards the end of last season. 6. The growing serious problem some teams have becasue they don't have a genuine 1st string goalie. I wouldn't pull the trigger on a trade just yet, but if this trend continues, maybe beginning to kick a few ties and quietly seeing what might be available now will put us in a postion to get someone of real value after Christmas. In other words, begin the secret negotiations now and if it seems right then make the trade a month or two from now. This wouldn't have been an option for me a month ago but I'm beginning to wonder if that's becoming more of a real option. Maybe the next month will really give us the answer.

[simonus]

even if Huet becomes a de facto backup, I think the presence of a relatively known quality makes Price's job a bit easier. To date, he has not had to be "the man" in Montreal. I know that the kid is supposed to have dry ice in his veins, but it can't hurt to keep some amount of pressure off him while he continues to adjust to the NHL. I didn't get to see the Bruins game, but from what I hear (and by looking at the stat sheet), Price didn't play a top-5 goalie game. Now Huet has been far from perfect, and my assessment of current tandem situation might change after another 5-10 Price starts, but for now I think Huet is an important part of the team.

[Habsfan]

About a month ago someone suggested we should package Huet with Ryder and maybe a prospect in order to get a sniper or a first line centre, something like that. The point that many of us jumped on was that we should not trade Huet under any circumstances because he is our starting goalie and they aren't that available or easy to pick up. Last year Huet started strong but even before he was injured he was beginning to fade. Lately I wonder if that trend is beginning to show up again. So I wonder if the thought of trading Huet shoud be reconsidered. There are six reasons why I'm beginning to wonder if this is now an option. 1. The emerging consistent & mature play of Carey Price. 2. The not-so-great play of Huet in a few games lately, which could be a repeat of last year. Has Huet really proved he can be a 1st string goalie for a full season? 3. Our need for a top line centre/sniper and how this would impact our team. 4. The Sheldon Sourey factor. We didn't get anything for him because we held onto him too long. We can't let this happen again. 5. The availability of two seemingly good quality backups in Halak and Danis. Plus the fact that Halak may not be willing to sit in the minors and instead of losing him to a team in Europe or not gettin much for him in a trade, maybe he should be our backup in the NHL. He did pretty good when we needed him towards the end of last season. 6. The growing serious problem some teams have becasue they don't have a genuine 1st string goalie. I wouldn't pull the trigger on a trade just yet, but if this trend continues, maybe beginning to kick a few ties and quietly seeing what might be available now will put us in a postion to get someone of real value after Christmas. In other words, begin the secret negotiations now and if it seems right then make the trade a month or two from now. This wouldn't have been an option for me a month ago but I'm beginning to wonder if that's becoming more of a real option. Maybe the next month will really give us the answer.

The problem with what you are suggesting is that the Habs probably can't get much in return for huet and Ryder. Remember, they are both UFA's at the end of the season. I keep repeating the same example, but it's a good example to give. What did Bob gainey have to give up to acquire Kovalev?? Not much! Teams don't give much for UFa's and we certainly shouldn't expect to receive a first line centre for either of Huet or Ryder.

If bob ever plans on trading Huet, i'd wait till february. First I'd try sign him to a 3 year deal (at about 3.5 million$ per year) and If Huet Accepts, then you can shop him around. There will be teams out there who will be real desperate come january or february for some solid goaltending, and that's when they will be willing to give up more to get some.

But unless Huet accepts a deal from Gainey, we will not get much in return for him!

Edited November 19, 2007 by Habsfan

[PMAC]

About a month ago someone suggested we should package Huet with Ryder and maybe a prospect in order to get a sniper or a first line centre, something like that. The point that many of us jumped on was that we should not trade Huet under any circumstances because he is our starting goalie and they aren't that available or easy to pick up. Last year Huet started strong but even before he was injured he was beginning to fade. Lately I wonder if that trend is beginning to show up again. So I wonder if the thought of trading Huet shoud be reconsidered. There are six reasons why I'm beginning to wonder if this is now an option. 1. The emerging consistent & mature play of Carey Price. 2. The not-so-great play of Huet in a few games lately, which could be a repeat of last year. Has Huet really proved he can be a 1st string goalie for a full season? 3. Our need for a top line centre/sniper and how this would impact our team. 4. The Sheldon Sourey factor. We didn't get anything for him because we held onto him too long. We can't let this happen again. 5. The availability of two seemingly good quality backups in Halak and Danis. Plus the fact that Halak may not be willing to sit in the minors and instead of losing him to a team in Europe or not gettin much for him in a trade, maybe he should be our backup in the NHL. He did pretty good when we needed him towards the end of last season. 6. The growing serious problem some teams have becasue they don't have a genuine 1st string goalie. I wouldn't pull the trigger on a trade just yet, but if this trend continues, maybe beginning to kick a few ties and quietly seeing what might be available now will put us in a postion to get someone of real value after Christmas. In other words, begin the secret negotiations now and if it seems right then make the trade a month or two from now. This wouldn't have been an option for me a month ago but I'm beginning to wonder if that's becoming more of a real option. Maybe the next month will really give us the answer.

Not yet.

1. No offense to Price, but he has to play some more games before I'm comfortable with him as #1

2. Irrelevant. Price's last outing wasnt stellar either

3. We're # 4 in the conference and playing well. The need for a top Centre sniper/centre is not urgent while the team is going this well and a change might even be counter-productive.

4. We didnt get anything for Shelly because Bob didnt want to trade him.

5. This is the only one of your rationale that I agree with at this point

6. Yes I agree. As I said, not yet. I think that the trade will not happen until very near the deadline if at all. If I were Bob I might be happier signing Huet for another year and trading Halak for a pick/ prospects. However, the key to sucess in the salary capped NHL is good, young and cheap and that means Huet's days in the CH are most likely numbered

[markierung]

i think we shoud wait. Ryder's value right now is probably at nothing. Also, i wouldn't throw price into the fire just yet. At least wait untill the trade deadline gets closer

[ShortHanded]

Not yet.

1. No offense to Price, but he has to play some more games before I'm comfortable with him as #1

2. Irrelevant. Price's last outing wasnt stellar either

3. We're # 4 in the conference and playing well. The need for a top Centre sniper/centre is not urgent while the team is going this well and a change might even be counter-productive.

4. We didnt get anything for Shelly because Bob didnt want to trade him.

5. This is the only one of your rationale that I agree with at this point

6. Yes I agree. As I said, not yet. I think that the trade will not happen until very near the deadline if at all. If I were Bob I might be happier signing Huet for another year and trading Halak for a pick/ prospects. However, the key to sucess in the salary capped NHL is good, young and cheap and that means Huet's days in the CH are most likely numbered

sure, if you're bob. but if you're huet do you sign a one year deal with a team that's gonna give you less and less playing time and turn you into a back up next year, or do you sign a longer term, big bucks deal and cash in on your ufa status this year... I DOUBT BG can convince huet to sign a one year deal...

[Habsfan]

or do you sign a longer term, big bucks deal and cash in on your ufa status this year... I DOUBT BG can convince huet to sign a one year deal...

shorthanded is right. i doubt huet will accept anything less than a 3 year deal worth at least 10 million$!

[Habitforming]

Price looks good right now, but in the next month or so teams are going to know how to beat him.

This happens with every goalie to hit the NHL. Halak did the same thing last year and when they started to figure him out Huet was in for the last game anyway.

Trading Huet this season is a huge gamble with long odds of paying off.

On a better note:

http://www.tsn.ca/fantasy_news/feature/?fid=548

[saskhab]

shorthanded is right. i doubt huet will accept anything less than a 3 year deal worth at least 10 million$!

I'd be shocked if he accepted something as low as $10m over 3 years. Look at the Gerber and Fernandez contracts. Now, add a couple million on top of those. That's Huet's UFA value. $10m over 3 is lower than Gerber and Fernandez.

However, another injury could seriously derail Huet's value. On CBC they said one of his main goals this year is to remain healthy. Easy to see why, an injury might cost him several million bucks.

This is probably Huet's last chance to cash in. He's been underpaid his entire stint as a habs, so IMO expecting any bit of a discount/compromise on his behalf would be pretty much an insult to Christobal. He deserves to start and make millions.

We're having too good of a year to switch our goalies. Maybe, and I stress maybe, if Price takes over starting duties at the deadline and we're pretty much secure as a playoff team (similar positioning to where we are now, for instance), we pull a Biron like trade for a 2nd rounder or something and let him try and catch on with a non-playoff team that needs a new goalie. But that's a small maybe. I'd be perfectly comfortable keeping him as a backup through the playoffs and letting him walk as a UFA.

If Ryder doesn't really break through and have a big year, we can make an evaluation at the end of the year on him (if he isn't a drag on his linemates). Only if he is a drag on the team would I consider moving him, or if it was a deal we couldn't refuse. Even if he has a sub-par year, that just might bring his value down enough to the point where we can sign him for a fairly decent rate. Who knows.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I don't know if you've noticed but Anaheim put Bryzhylov (sp?) on waivers. This is a G who was considered a legitimate #1A and even stole the job from Giguere at key moments. Presumably, Brian Burke - one of the league's better GMs - was unable to find a single interesting trade offer for this good goalie.

That should tell us something about what Gainey is likely to get back for Huet. Yes, Huet could be packaged. But the example above suggests that he's not going to add huge value to such a package.

Besides, Gainey is the sort of guy who hates to put all his eggs in one basket. I think that he will try to sign Huet for a contract of moderate length (2-3 seasons) at a cost that will be justifiable, should Huet indeed lose the #1 job to Price.

[SAKS-AVENUE]

Very important thing right now is to remain calm and patient. Keep Huet in goal, his numbers are good and he has been playing well. Hopefully Ryder starts to score soon(and in bunches). Later in the year when teams fall back in the standings there will be fire sales, and teams on the brink might feel Ryder or Huet will put them over the edge. We must wait for this type of climate if we are to get a good return. For now we should just smile and be happy that we're not desperate and winning games.

Now I would be really happy for two more things.

1. We kick the snot out of the Sens tonight.

2. If some of you posters could stop using the word "STUD" to describe hockey players. It's creepy.

[brobin]

Huet's value is not much right now (not do to him, but that is a fact, see Anaheim).

Where Huet COULD have max value is at the trading deadline if a team feels they really need better goaltending to make the run for the cup. If we are happy going with Price (or are out of it), then imo that is when we will get max value. How much value that is depends on how desperate other teams are and how good Huet has played. If Huet is still in the top 5 of the goalie rankings, he will get a minimum of a high pick. If we package him up, he might even attract a decent prospect.

At this point, I like the Price / Huet tandem. They have both been good for us and I believe they are compatible goalies. They help each other, get along with each other, and push each other to be their best. I believe he is making Price a better goalie. (based on interviews and comments from Habs I have seen or heard).

[Habsfan84]

I say get rid of Huet for a little something in return and rely on Price and Halak. Danis has also played good.

[BTH]

We should not trade Huet at any point this season. If he walks away, so be it, we'll have Halak as a capable backup.

[SAKS-AVENUE]

We should not trade Huet at any point this season. If he walks away, so be it, we'll have Halak as a capable backup.

Why would you just let him walk? He is an all star goalie that would surely fetch a good return, even if it's a draft pick, we still have halak as a back up no matter what. Just letting him walk seems a little foolish don't you think? Did we learn nothing from the whole Souray thing?

[saskhab]

Why would you just let him walk? He is an all star goalie that would surely fetch a good return, even if it's a draft pick, we still have halak as a back up no matter what. Just letting him walk seems a little foolish don't you think? Did we learn nothing from the whole Souray thing?

Did losing Souray for nothing set us back? At this point, I don't think the 2 situations are very comparable anyways.

You've got to be prepared to lose valuable players to free agency if you want to compete. If Huet helps our team win games this year mroe than Halak does, that is a major advantage to keeping Huet from start to finish. Having Huet win games for us after the trade deadline, even as a backup, could be very valuable.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

There's a few possibilities.

1. Keep Huet to the bitter end, then lose him as UFA.

2. Trade Huet, for a draft pick (2nd round, I'd anticipate) or package him with Ryder. But I'm sceptical about this. Given that Huet's value will be moderate at best (or so the Bryzhylyov scenario suggests), and that no one is going to trade us a forward of superior ability to Ryder in exchange for Ryder, what is the point of trading these guys? Does anyone honestly believe this package will give us the #1 C we need, or some other powerhouse forward??? If not, why bother? Why not just sign them?

3. Sign Huet to a contract of moderate length, in anticipation of him continuing to serve as at worst our #1A man. It's worth remembering that Patrick Roy spent several years more or less splitting the duties with Brian Hayward. Since Price will come relatively cheap, why not sign Huet to serve as our Hayward for, say, two seasons?

'2' is the most interesting scenario. I don't think enough fans have thought it through. We hold out for the illusion of some saviour who will arrive via trade, and I just don't think it'll happen. Or if it does, we will have to forego players of greater value than Ryder and Huet. I think Option 3 is the one Gainey would prefer, and the most likely one. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if Ryder is cut loose. I can certainly see the argument that his salary could be better invested in a UFA forward, assuming we could sign one).

Edited November 20, 2007 by The Chicoutimi Cucumber

[saskhab]

There's a few possibilities.

1. Keep Huet to the bitter end, then lose him as UFA.

2. Trade Huet, for a draft pick (2nd round, I'd anticipate) or package him with Ryder. But I'm sceptical about this. Given that Huet's value will be moderate at best (or so the Bryzhylyov scenario suggests), and that no one is going to trade us a forward of superior ability to Ryder in exchange for Ryder, what is the point of trading these guys? Does anyone honestly believe this package will give us the #1 C we need, or some other powerhouse forward??? If not, why bother? Why not just sign them?

3. Sign Huet to a contract of moderate length, in anticipation of him continuing to serve as at worst our #1A man. It's worth remembering that Patrick Roy spent several years more or less splitting the duties with Brian Hayward. Since Price will come relatively cheap, why not sign Huet to serve as our Hayward for, say, two seasons?

'2' is the most interesting scenario. I don't think enough fans have thought it through. We hold out for the illusion of some saviour who will arrive via trade, and I just don't think it'll happen. Or if it does, we will have to forego players of greater value than Ryder and Huet. I think Option 3 is the one Gainey would prefer, and the most likely one. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if Ryder is cut loose).

The problem with 3 is that I don't think it's at all realistic. Price's cap hit for the duration of his rookie contract is $2.2m per season thanks to performance bonuses. If he keeps this pace, I think he'll reach them except for maybe not get enough games in right now. No matter, every year, to start the year at least, we must include the FULL VALUE of the $2.2m in calculating the team's cap hit.

Huet is destined to be signed for at least $4.5m a year on the open market if he stays healthy (Fernandez money), and could easily fetch in excess of $5m per on a 3 year deal. If we want to re-sign Huet, we are looking at a potential cap hit in excess of $7m per year on our goaltending for the next 2+ years. That is very high, and significantly effects the amount we can invest in talent in front of our goaltending.

As far as landing the big name forward goes, the prices based on last year's trade deadline are the most revealing. Neither Atlanta nor Nashville made trades even remotely similar to the propsed Huet/Ryder tandem to get Tkachuk and Forsberg. They were forced to trade a large amount of picks and highly touted prospects as a package for those two rentals.

I'd like to have Huet around for longer, but that simply seems detrimental to icing a competitive team in front of our goalies. If we want a veteran to platoon with Price, we'll have to look elsewhere. Hawyard wasn't an All-Star goalie and was fairly low maintenance. A guy like Chris Osgood would be a candidate. Johan Hedberg is another possibility. They'd come in at $2m or less a year and are potential UFA's.

Or you go with Halak to platoon with Price, if you think both can handle it without an experienced NHL mentor.

Option 1 seems to be the only option I think we realistically have.

[REV-G]

There's a few possibilities.

1. Keep Huet to the bitter end, then lose him as UFA.

2. Trade Huet, for a draft pick (2nd round, I'd anticipate) or package him with Ryder. But I'm sceptical about this. Given that Huet's value will be moderate at best (or so the Bryzhylyov scenario suggests), and that no one is going to trade us a forward of superior ability to Ryder in exchange for Ryder, what is the point of trading these guys? Does anyone honestly believe this package will give us the #1 C we need, or some other powerhouse forward??? If not, why bother? Why not just sign them?

3. Sign Huet to a contract of moderate length, in anticipation of him continuing to serve as at worst our #1A man. It's worth remembering that Patrick Roy spent several years more or less splitting the duties with Brian Hayward. Since Price will come relatively cheap, why not sign Huet to serve as our Hayward for, say, two seasons?

'2' is the most interesting scenario. I don't think enough fans have thought it through. We hold out for the illusion of some saviour who will arrive via trade, and I just don't think it'll happen. Or if it does, we will have to forego players of greater value than Ryder and Huet. I think Option 3 is the one Gainey would prefer, and the most likely one. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if Ryder is cut loose. I can certainly see the argument that his salary could be better invested in a UFA forward, assuming we could sign one).

A few comments. Someone suggested that losing Sourey maybe didn't hurt us that much. In a sense that's true but we should have at least received a fairly high draft pick, if not more, for Sourey than letting him walk. Especially since we didn't even make the playoffs. But hindsight has 20/20 vision. I agree that your number 3 option looks the most reasonable, but I wonder if Huet will agree to something like that when as a UFA he will likly do better. Ryder has been a proven 30 goal scorer and Huet is a proven starter, even an all-star. So there are a few "ifs" I'd like to suggest. "If" Ryder picks up and gets back on track scoring wise and "if" Huet and Price both do well over the next two months then both Ryder and Huet's value will have increased, especially for some teams who feel they're only a few pieces short of making a major splash in the play-offs, and then I think will be the time to pull of a trade. I'd hate, within a year of each other, to lose Sourey, Huet and Ryder for nothing.

[MAK]

if bryzgalov's only way out of anaheim was through waivers, why the hell would huet have more value.

given: he wont be back next year. he wont sign to become a second fiddler on a non contending team.

the problem right now is that not many have goaltending issues. or teams that do can't take another salary.

my guess is if a team like atlanta makes it close to be in the playoffs and want some stability...maybe !!

perhaps near the trade deadline things will change. as long as we dont do another my problem for yours type of trade...

[smon]

There's a few possibilities.

1. Keep Huet to the bitter end, then lose him as UFA.

2. Trade Huet, for a draft pick (2nd round, I'd anticipate) or package him with Ryder. But I'm sceptical about this. Given that Huet's value will be moderate at best (or so the Bryzhylyov scenario suggests), and that no one is going to trade us a forward of superior ability to Ryder in exchange for Ryder, what is the point of trading these guys? Does anyone honestly believe this package will give us the #1 C we need, or some other powerhouse forward??? If not, why bother? Why not just sign them?

3. Sign Huet to a contract of moderate length, in anticipation of him continuing to serve as at worst our #1A man. It's worth remembering that Patrick Roy spent several years more or less splitting the duties with Brian Hayward. Since Price will come relatively cheap, why not sign Huet to serve as our Hayward for, say, two seasons?

'2' is the most interesting scenario. I don't think enough fans have thought it through. We hold out for the illusion of some saviour who will arrive via trade, and I just don't think it'll happen. Or if it does, we will have to forego players of greater value than Ryder and Huet. I think Option 3 is the one Gainey would prefer, and the most likely one. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if Ryder is cut loose. I can certainly see the argument that his salary could be better invested in a UFA forward, assuming we could sign one).

If Huet puts up a good season, sadly, he is as good as gone. He'd be expecting to be the #1, not a veteran mentor to a rising star. That's the kind of good problem that Montreal has - Huet is simply too good of a goaltender to stay in a reduced role or for similar money.

It's worth noting that as you mentioned, goalies have no trade value on the market right now - another good example would be Martin Biron being dealt for a 2nd round pick last year.

Personally, I would prefer re-signing Huet, but I really doubt Gainey will make that cap commitment (and he probably shouldn't from an economic standpoint). The intangible is really Price's play - if he manages to surpass Huet then the team might gamble on him and Halak next year, but if he doesn't, it'll be tough for the team to throw an inexperienced tandem in and expect to compete.

[BTH]

Why would you just let him walk? He is an all star goalie that would surely fetch a good return, even if it's a draft pick, we still have halak as a back up no matter what. Just letting him walk seems a little foolish don't you think? Did we learn nothing from the whole Souray thing?

If we want to make the playoffs and go far once we do we will want to have both Price and Huet with the team. If we lose him for nothing, so be it. If you're serious about winning you don't sell core players at the deadline - what message does that send to the team?

[SAKS-AVENUE]

If we want to make the playoffs and go far once we do we will want to have both Price and Huet with the team. If we lose him for nothing, so be it. If you're serious about winning you don't sell core players at the deadline - what message does that send to the team?

That all depends on who we are going with into the play-offs. If Price takes over at some point this year which I think he will, he will be the goto guy when the play-offs start. We are both just looking at this differently. Last year Gainey was hanging on to Souray in hopes of making the play-offs. We didn't and we lost him. This year I think if the right deal comes up he will deal Huet for play-off help because Price will have the job. I don't doubt that for a second. Price is already creeping in and he's only played a few games. Plus our core is still developing, I really don't think the team would fall apart without Huet nor would it be sending a bad message to the players.

[BTH]

Playoof help is almost always players who are about to become UFA just like Huet. Not only is it very rare for teams to swap rentals, but we would have a tougher time signing those rentals than we will re-signing Huet - so we would still be getting nothing for Huet, we might as well keep him.

But if Huet walks for nothing is it really such a big deal? We may as well keep him and then try to re-sign him on a one-year or two-year contract, but if he's too hard to sign we may as well use Halak instead.

[SAKS-AVENUE]

Playoof help is almost always players who are about to become UFA just like Huet. Not only is it very rare for teams to swap rentals, but we would have a tougher time signing those rentals than we will re-signing Huet - so we would still be getting nothing for Huet, we might as well keep him.

But if Huet walks for nothing is it really such a big deal? We may as well keep him and then try to re-sign him on a one-year or two-year contract, but if he's too hard to sign we may as well use Halak instead.

Play-off help, making the team better, help to make the play-offs , whatever you want to call it. It doesn't matter. I'm not arguing with you and I kinda get what your saying.....but..........We........(THE HABS) finally have a player with some trade value, and we most likely will not be needing him by the end of the season let alone next year and you want to just let him walk? Don't you think he might get us some sort of return that might help us next year or even 2008 draft since it's supposed to be deep? Just letting him walk just so he can warm the bench come play-off time sounds stupid to me. I'm sorry I just don't feel Huet would get us any further then Price could this year and he has value.....Let's get something we need, and we do need a lot of things. Think for one second if Gainey did trade Souray last year o.k. We would be in the exact same boat as we are now except maybe one or two more great players on our bench or a great extra draft pick we all could be bragging about right now.