Early trade deadline thoughts

[Habs27]

It's been a very long season, but we could turn it into a positive if we use the position we are in to our advantage. We have cap space and some decent rental players, nothing spectacular but decent. For starters I would have liked to see the Habs pick up yip off waivers just to fill in the third line once everything is said and done. I can see us dishing campoli gill and moen for a third or fourth rounders or equivalent prospects. Nokelainen and kaberle can definitely go aswell if we find the right trade but I think our biggest value will come from kostitsyn especially if we eat some salary in return. Not huge returns but will help restock the prospect cupboard.

This is my first post so let me know what you think

[lafrous10]

It's been a very long season, but we could turn it into a positive if we use the position we are in to our advantage. We have cap space and some decent rental players, nothing spectacular but decent. For starters I would have liked to see the Habs pick up yip off waivers just to fill in the third line once everything is said and done. I can see us dishing campoli gill and moen for a third or fourth rounders or equivalent prospects. Nokelainen and kaberle can definitely go aswell if we find the right trade but I think our biggest value will come from kostitsyn especially if we eat some salary in return. Not huge returns but will help restock the prospect cupboard.

This is my first post so let me know what you think

I think you're right but the first thing we need is a capable management.We don't need a total rebuild as some suggest but we have some real deadwood and like you said,some rentals that could net us alot of draft picks.Darsche,Gomez,Blunden and Campoli all have to go and be upgraded.They are not NHL players.Markovs contract needs to be addressed,and then the UFA deadline dumps.

[skinnydog]

I think you're right but the first thing we need is a capable management.We don't need a total rebuild as some suggest but we have some real deadwood and like you said,some rentals that could net us alot of draft picks.Darsche,Gomez,Blunden and Campoli all have to go and be upgraded.They are not NHL players.Markovs contract needs to be addressed,and then the UFA deadline dumps.

I am as disappointed with Gomez as anybody, but to say he is not an NHL player is ridiculous at best. Since his return he has been pretty solid, hustles, winning battles on the boards, and carries the puck through the neutral zone better than anyone on the team. Its his contract..its hideous.

[Davehab]

I think that PG will be allowed to make some small changes at the deadline. just dumping of some players for picks. I believe that we are going to have to wait for the draft day to see anything bigger. Probly by then it will no longer be PG in charge, and we will have a completely new direction for the organization.

If we get a top five pick expect it to be traded away...

[hankhab]

Gomez is certainly still a NHL player, he's just paid way too much. Blunden is a capable 4th liner, hustles, hits, does what he can, nothing wrong with that. Darche and Campoli are pretty much useless .

[hab29RETIRED]

I think we need to move the following:

-Moen (2nd rounder)

-Gill (2nd rounder)

-Campoli (3rd rounder - personally I wouldn't even be willing to give up a bag of pucks for him, but GM's have shown willingness to trade for garbage).

-Kaberle (2nd rounder - yes, i get the number of pp points he has, but I'm sick of one dimensional dman like MAB, Gill and Kaberle) I also wonder if we put together a package that includes Kaberle or weber to get paajarvi, they are desperate for dman and need more veterns to balance the amount of youth they have. Maybe Bourque and a dman like Kaberle or weber for Paajarvi and a pick??

-Weber or Diaz (3rd rounder - my gut tells me to hang on to Weber and see what a new coach can do, but I think he has more value then Diaz - I still think he can develop into a rafalski type dman, if we could package Weber with someone else for a high end prospect, I'd be more inclined to move him).

-Darche - whatever we can get, if anyting at all

-Gomez - I don't think he can be moved at the deadline, but I really think he may be a good fit in Edmonton, given their young players and Gomez's falling salary vs. his cap hit (not sure if Edmonton is on his no move list).

Unfortunatley we have already moved Cammy who IMO was the biggest trading chip we had and packaged with a young dman like Weber or Gill, I think he could have brought us the young centre prospect we need. having said that, i'd even be willing to try and move Rene Bourque by packaging him with someon like Kaberle (Sutter signed him in Calgary and LA needs PP help).

As i've said since last spring about who i'd keep:

-AK46 -sign long-term.

-DD - convert to winger, i think we can resign him this summer, rather then wait until he is a UFA.

-White - I think he is RFA again - resign

-Eller - resign either long term (if cheap), or at the longest, up to at least 1 or 2 years before he is due to be a UFA.

[lafrous10]

Gomez is certainly still a NHL player, he's just paid way too much. Blunden is a capable 4th liner, hustles, hits, does what he can, nothing wrong with that. Darche and Campoli are pretty much useless .

You're right about Gomez,but Blunden is a younger Darsche.He could have had a pair of goals last night with Gomez' setups. There are many 4th liners who can pot 10+ goals.