Permanent Rumour Thread

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

16 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

 

I think he's willing to use a retention slot on him next year if it comes to it.  If they need to retain on Monahan to maximize his return, they have to hold that final slot for him.  Next year, that one would be off the books as would Edmundson's, making it more palatable to retain on Allen at that time.  It's not necessarily worth taking a small return on a retained Allen if it lowers the return for Monahan as at full price, there are contenders that couldn't afford him.  But if they retain on Monahan now and retain on Allen in the offseason, they get the best of both worlds potentially.

 

Agree with your analysis. Not worth using a retention slot on Allen if the return is mediocre, save it for the return on Monahan where the potential return is bigger. They will likely have to take back a contract (hopefully expiring) if they want to trade both. 

[GHT120]

32 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

I think he's willing to use a retention slot on him next year if it comes to it.  If they need to retain on Monahan to maximize his return, they have to hold that final slot for him.  Next year, that one would be off the books as would Edmundson's, making it more palatable to retain on Allen at that time.  It's not necessarily worth taking a small return on a retained Allen if it lowers the return for Monahan as at full price, there are contenders that couldn't afford him.  But if they retain on Monahan now and retain on Allen in the offseason, they get the best of both worlds potentially.

Agree ... taking back a contract could "re-balance" the roster but it is definitely not worth using the last retention slot.

[tomh009]

Taking a contract back is another option, though ... might work for some teams, not for others.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

3 hours ago, dlbalr said:

 

I think he's willing to use a retention slot on him next year if it comes to it.  If they need to retain on Monahan to maximize his return, they have to hold that final slot for him.  Next year, that one would be off the books as would Edmundson's, making it more palatable to retain on Allen at that time.  It's not necessarily worth taking a small return on a retained Allen if it lowers the return for Monahan as at full price, there are contenders that couldn't afford him.  But if they retain on Monahan now and retain on Allen in the offseason, they get the best of both worlds potentially.

Great analysis Brian. 
 

[tomh009]

So, if the Rangers really need a C, what would Hughes be able to extract for Monahan?

[GHT120]

11 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

So, if the Rangers really need a C, what would Hughes be able to extract for Monahan?

 

I expect:

• Lafreniere's name to be mentioned, but no way the NYRs trade their 5th leading scorer
• Kakko is another name that will come up, but not enough IMO
• Gabriel Perreault is likely to be the other name discussed

If Hughes could somehow find a way to get Kakko and Perreault that would be great, IMO ... don't expect he could, but it would be terrific.

[dlbalr]

44 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

If Hughes could somehow find a way to get Kakko and Perreault that would be great, IMO ... don't expect he could, but it would be terrific.

 

I don't think they'd get either one of those let alone both. 

 

One name I wonder if they'd inquire about is Adam Sykora.  Late 2nd rounder last year (I had him a bit higher than that), profiles as a energetic two-way player that I think could be a really nice complement on a future third line with Beck that could defend, score a bit, and play with some energy.  He's 19 but already playing as a regular in the minors so he might only be a year or so away from being NHL-ready.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Kakko, wow. If you’d told me three years ago that this is where his stock would be, I’d have been shocked.

 

You know HuGo love that profile of player - “22-year-old-with-pedigree-whose-team-has-given-up-on-him” - and wouldn’t Gorton have been involved in drafting him? I would not be surprised AT ALL if they make a play for him in some way or other.

[GHT120]

Well, they are familiar with David Savard ...... BUT

One would think Pagnotta would be aware so perhaps they are looking to upgrade their 4/5 defence position ... based on TOI Fleury has only been a 6/7D this season ... but I doubt TBL want Savard's AAV or extra season to do so.

[TurdBurglar]

Pagnotta has also said it’s believed Montreal was offered a young NHL forward with second-line potential that was a former 1st round pick for Xhekaj.

 

No more details were given.

 

[GHT120]

33 minutes ago, TurdBurglar said:

Pagnotta has also said it’s believed Montreal was offered a young NHL forward with second-line potential that was a former 1st round pick for Xhekaj.

 

No more details were given.

The $64.000 Question on that rumour for me was "second-line potential" when drafted, or now?

 

 

[dlbalr]

53 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

One would think Pagnotta would be aware so perhaps they are looking to upgrade their 4/5 defence position ... based on TOI Fleury has only been a 6/7D this season ... but I doubt TBL want Savard's AAV or extra season to do so.

 

Tampa's money is extremely limited once Sergachev is activated after the break (they'll have to send Martinsen-Lilleberg down just to make the cap room to so; Fleury is already off LTIR).  Basically, they will be in tough to add someone making the league minimum.  Even if Montreal held back 50%, I'm not sure they could make the money work.

 

I expect Tampa is looking to upgrade on one of Fleury/de Haan, hoping that a team will eat 50% and take Fleury back.  That's a limited pool to work with.  It wouldn't shock me if they had interest in Kovacevic though.

[TurdBurglar]

1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

The $64.000 Question on that rumour for me was "second-line potential" when drafted, or now?

 

 

My assumption from the statement would be potential now, as he said it was a young forward.  Since Montreal is refusing to trade him, they obviously see more potential in Xhekaj than a bottom pair defensemen.

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, TurdBurglar said:

My assumption from the statement would be potential now, as he said it was a young forward.  Since Montreal is refusing to trade him, they obviously see more potential in Xhekaj than a bottom pair defensemen.

"Hughes was offered a former first-round pick who hasn't lived up to their potential" doesn't make much of a rumour.

[dlbalr]

A Ranger reporter's comments on the Monahan speculation:

 

Quote

Sean Monahan, Canadiens: An ideal fit in the mold of Henrique, but people briefed on the situation have been saying for weeks what Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday night: There is no love lost between former Rangers GM Jeff Gorton, now the top Montreal executive, and Drury. There’s also the matter of Gorton having hired two of the longtime Rangers employees Drury has fired, scouting director Nick Bobrov and medical trainer Jim Ramsay. A person who talks to the Canadiens regularly said Montreal’s front office has believed for a while now that there’s no chance Drury even reaches out to Canadiens GM Kent Hughes. Perhaps that changes, but indications are both sides are looking elsewhere.

 

Renaud Lavoie also noted the other day that the two front offices don't appear to be on good terms.  It sure seems like there's some hostility there which certainly could impact this situation.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

It seems stupid for two teams to refuse to deal with each other out of personal animus. But I’m not naive enough to deny that this is likely a factor that will muck up a deal between two teams that seem very well-suited to help each other out. Ego, thy name is hockey executive.

[tomh009]

1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

It seems stupid for two teams to refuse to deal with each other out of personal animus. But I’m not naive enough to deny that this is likely a factor that will muck up a deal between two teams that seem very well-suited to help each other out. Ego, thy name is hockey executive.

Quite. happens in other kinds of businesses, too, and it's far from rare. And some exec egos go far enough that they need to send rockets into space ...

[Commandant]

2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

It seems stupid for two teams to refuse to deal with each other out of personal animus. But I’m not naive enough to deny that this is likely a factor that will muck up a deal between two teams that seem very well-suited to help each other out. Ego, thy name is hockey executive.

 

 

I agree... and I'll add that I  the reason for the animus is that Gorton hired two people Drury fired, its even dumber.  You fired them, so you must think they suck, why do you care if someone else hires them?

[JoeLassister]

9 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

 

I agree... and I'll add that I  the reason for the animus is that Gorton hired two people Drury fired, its even dumber.  You fired them, so you must think they suck, why do you care if someone else hires them?

My thoughts exactly. 

What I take from this story, if it's true, is that Drury is a little cry baby. 

If you don't have enough confidence in your own thought process and decision making skills that you're gonna be mad at another GM for hiring people you recently fired, probably believing that this hiring makes you look stupid in the eyes of other GMs around the league, then you should quit this job.  It's not for you.

[DON]

11 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

 

I agree... and I'll add that I  the reason for the animus is that Gorton hired two people Drury fired, its even dumber.  You fired them, so you must think they suck, why do you care if someone else hires them?

Not fired cause suck, but maybe because both were part of why Gorton-Drury didnt see eye-to-eye?

I dunno...

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, DON said:

Not fired cause suck, but maybe because both were part of why Gorton-Drury didnt see eye-to-eye?

I dunno...

Perhaps ... even if they were fired because Drury felt they were hard-core Gorton loyalists who would undermine him, fired is fired.

[Commandant]

It doesnt matter why they were fired, i mean does Drury expect them to never work again?

[Prime Minister Koivu]

It is possible that we trade Monahan to a third team for a return we like and then that team flip Monahan to the Rags. Seems petty by Drury but hey people can be petty. 
 

My only angst about it all is that Monahan needs to stay healthy until he is traded so hopefully that happens soon. 

[tomh009]

The trade could happen at any time. As soon as someone makes the right offer to Hughes ...

[alfredoh2009]

On 1/24/2024 at 1:32 PM, alfredoh2009 said:

 

 

 

 

Do not expect Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote to return to the NHL after being charged. The NHL is likely to place them on paid leave pending the disposition of the case. Depending on how the case resolves, the NHL could then discipline the players.

— Eric Macramalla (@EricMacramalla) January 30, 2024