tomh009 Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 51 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: I agree that the D is our main problem (although suckage from key veterans at FW has been a serious issue this season). Before making big moves, I would at least first try some decent configurations on D. STOP WITH THE CHIAROT-WEBER PAIRING for starters. It's not working. I think so, too. Ducharme has a roster to work with but has not yet had any time to do so. It's not time yet for any panic trades. Coaching and pairing changes can surely improve the D situation. How much, and whether it's enough, remains to be seen. Beyond that, Bergevin went all in with Petry and Edmundson in the offseason, and is fully committed to Weber, so I'm not so sure he would be open to doing a 180 and moving completely away from the current D philosophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 << nm >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 3 hours ago, GHT120 said: Since its Hockey30, I decided it isn't really a rumour (couldn't find corroboration, maybe from a radio interview) https://hockey30.com/nouvelles/tanner-pearson-a-montreal-selon-friedman/ Pearson is a pending UFA with a $3.75M cap-hit ... looking at cap comparables Tartar for Pearson would free up $1.05M in cap space ... scoring downgrade but maybe more of a physical game Gallagher for Pearson would be a long-term, regret the extension move ... MB would never make it ... Byron for Pearson might require a "plus" from Habs to get rid of the other two years of the deal 1 & 3 are possibilities ... but they don't address the biggest issue IMO, the defence corps If I had to guess, I'd suspect it's from a Sportsnet 650 interview from a few days ago where Pearson's name came up briefly. I have a different player in mind than you. If the Habs were to acquire Pearson, seemingly the idea would be to reunite him with Toffoli. But Toffoli is primarily playing LW this season, the same spot as Pearson. The only way it makes sense then is to move Toffoli back to the right side which means a RW needs to go. What about Armia ($2.6M cap hit) in a rental for rental move? The money's a bit tricky to navigate (either Vancouver has to retain a chunk or wait until closer to April 12th) but you take a shot at rekindling some chemistry from the LA days and actually allow Toffoli to go back to his natural position. The winger combos on the top three lines are then Tatar/Gallagher, Drouin/Anderson, and Pearson/Toffoli with everyone in their natural positions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 2 minutes ago, dlbalr said: If I had to guess, I'd suspect it's from a Sportsnet 650 interview from a few days ago where Pearson's name came up briefly. I have a different player in mind than you. If the Habs were to acquire Pearson, seemingly the idea would be to reunite him with Toffoli. But Toffoli is primarily playing LW this season, the same spot as Pearson. The only way it makes sense then is to move Toffoli back to the right side which means a RW needs to go. What about Armia ($2.6M cap hit) in a rental for rental move? The money's a bit tricky to navigate (either Vancouver has to retain a chunk or wait until closer to April 12th) but you take a shot at rekindling some chemistry from the LA days and actually allow Toffoli to go back to his natural position. The winger combos on the top three lines are then Tatar/Gallagher, Drouin/Anderson, and Pearson/Toffoli with everyone in their natural positions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 3 hours ago, GHT120 said: Since its Hockey30, I decided it isn't really a rumour (couldn't find corroboration, maybe from a radio interview) https://hockey30.com/nouvelles/tanner-pearson-a-montreal-selon-friedman/ Pearson is a pending UFA with a $3.75M cap-hit ... looking at cap comparables Tartar for Pearson would free up $1.05M in cap space ... scoring downgrade but maybe more of a physical game Gallagher for Pearson would be a long-term, regret the extension move ... MB would never make it ... Byron for Pearson might require a "plus" from Habs to get rid of the other two years of the deal 1 & 3 are possibilities ... but they don't address the biggest issue IMO, the defence corps Of the last four seasons, Tanner Pearson has had one decent one and even that decent campaign was not as good as Tatar or Gallagher. Not interested in #1 or #2 at all.... #3 I'd do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 5 hours ago, Habsfan89 said: Are you crazy way over payment Caufield is going to be a great goal scorer in this league wouldn't trade him. I would try and get a 1st and 2nd round pick for Tatar and a 1st and 2nd round pick for danault at then deadline try and trade Byron, so we can have great cap space going Into free agency. Then at the draft we would have the draft picks to trade for a elite player. We need to build around our future top line of Caufield/Suzuki/Anderson The one thing we lack is a real game breaker. That elite player that can put a team on his back and win games and even playoff series. Suzuki and Caufield are going to both be great, neither are on Eichel’s level. The valuation on my part might be nonsense and it has been exposed as too much by others. Im looking for a way to bring an elite forward here. Ive also scoured my mind looking for a way to bring Horvat here 🤔 If Buffalo is looking to deal Eichel I would love to make it work but his salary alone makes it very difficult Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 I can’t resist jumping in here to say that we don’t know that Caulfield is going to be great. If I had a dime for every prospect we spoke about this way, I’d be on a beach in comfortable retirement somewhere. I’m not sure why all the interest in Tanner Pearson. A nice enough player, but a third liner, really. He doesn’t address any need this group has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 42 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: I can’t resist jumping in here to say that we don’t know that Caulfield is going to be great. If I had a dime for every prospect we spoke about this way, I’d be on a beach in comfortable retirement somewhere. I’m not sure why all the interest in Tanner Pearson. A nice enough player, but a third liner, really. He doesn’t address any need this group has. Yeah to have a real proven game changer on the Habs would be amazing. Guys like Eichel aren’t available often and obviously aren’t cheap. If Buffalo and Vancouver are looking to sell, we should be looking. I have looked at both teams for a D man too but I don’t see an available upgrade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 4 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said: Yeah to have a real proven game changer on the Habs would be amazing. Guys like Eichel aren’t available often and obviously aren’t cheap. If Buffalo and Vancouver are looking to sell, we should be looking. I have looked at both teams for a D man too but I don’t see an available upgrade Nate Schmidt has been a disaster in Van - but he was a quality puck-moving defenceman for Vegas. I wonder if he’d be available, and if so, at what price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: I can’t resist jumping in here to say that we don’t know that Caulfield is going to be great. If I had a dime for every prospect we spoke about this way, I’d be on a beach in comfortable retirement somewhere. I’m not sure why all the interest in Tanner Pearson. A nice enough player, but a third liner, really. He doesn’t address any need this group has. Agree, we don't know Caulfield will be great at the NHL level, we sure hope so. I don't get the interest in Pearson, we need a top 4 defenceman and nobody is giving those away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 58 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: Nate Schmidt has been a disaster in Van - but he was a quality puck-moving defenceman for Vegas. I wonder if he’d be available, and if so, at what price? The same thing happened to Colin Miller when he left Vegas, went to Buffalo, and became borderline unplayable. That gives me some pause with Schmidt - is he that good or was he that good in that system and isn't elsewhere? 11 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: I don't get the interest in Pearson, we need a top 4 defenceman and nobody is giving those away. Pearson's name came up from a link on the previous page where the Habs were supposedly interested (I never listened to the interview to try to verify it was actually said). The discussion/proposals were based off that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 49 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: Nate Schmidt has been a disaster in Van - but he was a quality puck-moving defenceman for Vegas. I wonder if he’d be available, and if so, at what price? Schmidt's contract (4 more years @ $5.95M) makes a deal difficult ... to make the $$$ work, Chiarot ($3.5 and a need to make room on the blueline) and Byron ($3.4) would be the logical pieces cap-wise, sending out $6.9 ... Van might be tempted cap-wise as it frees up Chiarot's cap-hit after next season and Byron's the season, when Schmidt would still have two more years ... but it locks the Habs defence into four $3.5M or more contracts that run at least through the next three seasons ... that could be a cap issue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan89 Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 3 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: I can’t resist jumping in here to say that we don’t know that Caulfield is going to be great. If I had a dime for every prospect we spoke about this way, I’d be on a beach in comfortable retirement somewhere. I’m not sure why all the interest in Tanner Pearson. A nice enough player, but a third liner, really. He doesn’t address any need this group has. I disagree with you on Caulfield you need to watch him play more, we're not talking about a McCarron type prospect here. Caulfield will be a 25+ goal scorer per year type of guy in this league. You don't want to trade him or you will regret it after. I had mentioned that if we can get a 1st and 2nd for Tatar which I think we can and a 1st and 2nd for Danault which we can we will have what it takes to pull off a trade for an elite player. Now let's talk Buffalo, their problem is they have players on bad contracts. Skinner, OKPOSO, long term bad contracts then Hall,REINHART contracts up next year. Buffalo needs goaltending bad so if they do trade EICHEL a goaltender and a top center would be going back their way in any trade. So I don't see us as a fit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 4 minutes ago, Habsfan89 said: I disagree with you on Caulfield you need to watch him play more, we're not talking about a McCarron type prospect here. Caulfield will be a 25+ goal scorer per year type of guy in this league. You don't want to trade him or you will regret it after. I had mentioned that if we can get a 1st and 2nd for Tatar which I think we can and a 1st and 2nd for Danault which we can we will have what it takes to pull off a trade for an elite player. Now let's talk Buffalo, their problem is they have players on bad contracts. Skinner, OKPOSO, long term bad contracts then Hall,REINHART contracts up next year. Buffalo needs goaltending bad so if they do trade EICHEL a goaltender and a top center would be going back their way in any trade. So I don't see us as a fit Price for Eichel really works for me 🤩 Unless we are out of playoffs I don’t see Tatar or Danault leaving this year unless part of an upgrade package Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 1 minute ago, Habsfan89 said: ... I had mentioned that if we can get a 1st and 2nd for Tatar which I think we can and a 1st and 2nd for Danault which we can we will have what it takes to pull off a trade for an elite player ... The challenge will be that unless the trade is in the Scotia-North Division (gotta get them their money's worth) trades will be difficult because of the "lost games" due to the 14-day self-isolation/quarabntine ... that will IMO reduce what teams in the US are willing to offer and this reduce the "pressure" on Scotia-North Division (twice in one post ... I should charge them) team offers as there will be fewer bidders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 3 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said: Price for Eichel really works for me 🤩 Unless we are out of playoffs I don’t see Tatar or Danault leaving this year unless part of an upgrade package I would have to consider it too (for a split second before saying yes) ... but is Carey a big enough wing fan to waive his NMC-NTC for The City of Good Neighbors/The City of Light/The City of No Illusions/The Nickel City/The Queen City ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 11 minutes ago, Habsfan89 said: I had mentioned that if we can get a 1st and 2nd for Tatar which I think we can and a 1st and 2nd for Danault which we can we will have what it takes to pull off a trade for an elite player. Which contending teams can afford Tatar? If the Habs were selling (at this point, they're not) and there were a bunch of contenders that had cap room, then getting a 1st would be possible. But there are a total of six teams in the league that can currently take on Tatar's cap hit and four of them look like sellers. Another is Florida, a team on a strict budget. The other is Los Angeles who is interested in adding a player under team control, not a rental. With that in mind, they couldn't get a second-rounder alone for Tatar right now. This is not a normal trade market where half a dozen contending teams could be willing to part with a top pick to add someone. Most of those teams can't afford anyone, let alone one with a fairly high cap hit. You can't get a big return without a bidding war and there aren't enough buyers with cap room to create the bidding war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 32 minutes ago, Habsfan89 said: I disagree with you on Caulfield you need to watch him play more, we're not talking about a McCarron type prospect here. Caulfield will be a 25+ goal scorer per year type of guy in this league. You don't want to trade him or you will regret it after. I don’t want to hijack this thread, BUT: first of all, I have neither a negative nor a positive opinion about Caulfield. I certainly *hope* he becomes the kind of impact sniper people are hoping for. What I will say is that similarly upbeat “this kid can’t miss” analyses have been offered on this board for prospects like Galchenyuk, Kostitsyn, Komisarek, Higgins, Perezhogin, and Kotkaniemi. My attitude with prospects is always the same: I’ll believe it when I see it, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbhatt Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 7 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said: I don’t want to hijack this thread, BUT: first of all, I have neither a negative nor a positive opinion about Caulfield. I certainly *hope* he becomes the kind of impact sniper people are hoping for. What I will say is that similarly upbeat “this kid can’t miss” analyses have been offered on this board for prospects like Galchenyuk, Kostitsyn, Komisarek, Higgins, Perezhogin, and Kotkaniemi. My attitude with prospects is always the same: I’ll believe it when I see it, thanks. True. I think Caufield needs to get a little meatier before we throw him into the deep end of the pool. If he gets just a bit more deceptively solid in the way Marchand is, and is as savvy about avoiding hits (and taking them properly when he does get caught), he will have a great chance to succeed at the NHL level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Here’s the first TSN Trade Bait board of the season, which always seeks to blend a player’s prominence with his likelihood of a deal: 1. Mattias Ekholm 2. David Savard 3. Tony DeAngelo 4. Brandon Montour 5. Taylor Hall 6. Mikael Granlund 7. Bobby Ryan 8. Jake Virtanen 9. Sam Bennett 10.Tanner Pearson 11. Luke Glendening 12. Vince Dunn 13. Eric Staal 14. Marc Staal 15. Ryan Dzingel Lots of interesting names ... some more for possibly next season than now ... the names that jump out to me are: EKHOLM: Would be an upgrade on defence ... pair with Weber? ... likely Chiarot going for salary cap purposes ... question is what else does it take RYAN: Veteran ... cheap contract ... would currently be in the Habs top 6 goal scorers up front ... right-shot who plays both wings ... GLENDENNING: 56.1% on faceoffs this season ... 54.9% over the last 6 seasons ... decent contract ($1.8 million) ... classic veteran 4C DUNN: pending RFA with a manageable cap hit ... better puck-mover that Chiarot and Edmundson so overall upgrade to the D ... STAAL: Big body centre ... consistent 50%-ish on faceoffs ... veteran 4C if he would be happy in that role ... possible 3C if needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 The only name that seems an upgrade for me is Dunn, based on the praise of him in this forum I’ll pass on all the other trade baits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Stall for cheap We could use a vet centre as insurance. Evans to Laval/taxi until next year. I would love an upgrade on LD too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted March 3, 2021 Author Share Posted March 3, 2021 I could see the Habs having some interest in Staal (if they decide to give Kotkaniemi another stint in Laval) and Glendening given their faceoff/PK struggles. Having said that, they're not going to have much cap space to work with so both are probably too expensive for what they'll be able to do. I don't think the Habs have any interest in Dunn at all, especially for the 1st-round pick asking price. He's one of those players whose analytics rate him more favourably than teams actually do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Elliotte Friedman: Sabres are ‘wide open' for business amid rough season - Sportsnet.ca With only Hall & Skinner having NMCs, and Okposo and Stall having M-NTCs, there are lots of possibilities ... and even those guys might want out considering that Buffalo is "battling" Ottawa and Detroit for worst in the league. Reinhart having a breakout season (36g/82gm pace) and being a pending RFA would be very interesting, but expensive ... and Stall as a 4C would be terrific, allowing more use of the 4th line and I am certain he could handle time on LW in the top 9 if needed ... those potential deals would mean also having to move out contracts as well as picks/prospects ... logically Tartar, Danault, Lehkonen and Armia would be the cap-balancing options, undoubtedly also with some sort of plus(s) ... with "good enough" plus(s) even Byron might be moveable ... not suggesting any of those players should/must/etc. be traded, but deals for players of substance will require cap space to be moved out. *************************** At the same time I saw Friedman's news about the Sabres, I heard a report that some NHL players have already managed to receive their Covid vaccination(s); expect it will be easier in the US than Canada ... wonder how that impacts Canada's cross-border quarantine? If it reduces/eliminates the quarantine period that could have a major impact on the trade deadline. I have submitted a question to Global Affairs Canada and will share if/when I get a response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Tatar, Danault and Armia are all UFAs at the end of the season, making them rentals and reducing their trade value. On the other hand, moving them would make this year's playoff run substantially more challenging. Having been vaccinated does not eliminate the quarantine requirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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