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Joel Armia and Steve Mason for Simon Bourque


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1 hour ago, The Saint said:

I like the recent direction but am still skeptical of this mgmt team.  This has been an offseason of positive change so far, and moves showing an actual plan for long term improvement.  I like that.  Like I said though, skeptical.  

 

Hope is rising however ever and I have come to realize I would be totally fine with a full rebuild.  I don't believe they will, but for me personally this is a major shift in my thinking.   I am a 46 year old Habs fan who still has (kinda vague and romantic) memories of the 70's glory days so the strategy of rebuilding isn't something I've ever really gotten behind, until now.

 

So I guess knowing that is how I feel, all of these positive moves, as long as they remain wins, however small, are leading the team in a much better direction.

 

Great avatar!

 

I'm not so sure that optimism is warranted. Remember, the defining hockey move so far was Galy for Domi, a trade that has received general ridicule. And while I too am gratified that management cleaned house, there is absolutely no way a dope like Lefebvre should have been left in place for six years in the first place. If some of the new hires have poor results, do they too get six years of befouling the nest - ? 

 

For me, to the extent that there is real hope, it lies in this: the thought that Bergevin has learned from his mistakes and that his 'second act' as GM will be much better than his first. But I'll need a lot more evidence than this trade, or some very belated personnel changes, to see that thought as more than an appealing fantasy. I hope you're right, though.

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Armia is great and I’m very happy Bergevin is acquiring assets thru cap space. Give Joel some quality ice time and he will flourish. 

I don’t think that MB is Finnished making moves. ??

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So rather than pursue Stasney tomorrow, they help Winnipeg clear space to sign him? And all we get is an overpaid goalie and Joel Armia? 

 

I guess I'm in the minority on this one, not that I'm not used to that. 

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Armia was a guy that liked quite a bit in his draft year.  He hasn't done as well as I thought he would in the NHL, but I still like this pick up.  Mason is an interesting one as well.  I hope they hang on to him to be honest.   He's one of those goalies that has a good/solid season, followed by a bad season and then a good/solid season again.  There could be some trade options for him out there.

 

Buffalo - Ullmark is the only NHL experienced goaltender signed in Buffalo right now.  Lehner was not qualified and Johnson is a UFA.

Calgary - Could be looking for an upgrade over Rittich.

Carolina - Darling is the only NHL caliber goaltender under contract in Carolina right now.

Dallas - Only has Bishop and Landon Bow under contract as of now.  Desrosiers is an RFA.

Detroit - Jimmy Howard is the only NHL goaltender under contract.  Not sure if they plan on playing Rybar as the backup?

Los Angeles - Could be looking for an upgrade over Campbell or Budaj.

Minnesota - Could be looking for an upgrade over Stalock.

Islanders - Could be looking for a platoon goaltender to play with Greiss.  I'm thinking they're looking for a legit starter though.

Rangers - Lundqvist and Mazenec are the only two NHL experienced goalies under contract.  Mason would be an upgrade over Mazenec.

Pittsburgh - Not sure if Mason would be an upgrade at the backup position or not.  DeSmith did alright and Jarry is challenging him.  Mason would bring more experience though.

St. Louis - Hutton is a UFA and will likely look for a starting job somewhere.  Binnington is an RFA and the only other goaltender with NHL experience (He played 1 game).

Washington - Copley (2 NHL GP) is slated as the backup.  Maybe the Caps look for a bit more experience to defend their title.

 

There are quite a few notable goaltenders in free agency as well.  Most of them have either lost their starting jobs or have not been up to the task.  They're in a similar position to Mason.  Some of these teams will clearly fill the holes through free agency and some will go with youngsters.  However there could be some teams that are interested in a cap retained Mason as a backup.

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4 minutes ago, illWill said:

So rather than pursue Stasney tomorrow, they help Winnipeg clear space to sign him? And all we get is an overpaid goalie and Joel Armia? 

 

I guess I'm in the minority on this one, not that I'm not used to that. 

Don’t think any UFA centres wanted to come to MTL. We have to use the cap space in other ways. JK and Poehling will be 1 and 2 hopefully next season, maybe we’ll get lucky in lotto and they will be 2 and 3.

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6 minutes ago, illWill said:

So rather than pursue Stasney tomorrow, they help Winnipeg clear space to sign him? And all we get is an overpaid goalie and Joel Armia? 

 

I guess I'm in the minority on this one, not that I'm not used to that. 

 

With the interview period Montreal probably was already told there was no shot at Statsny.  When you look at the rest of the free agents there weren't that many that are appealing and instead of sitting on $8m+ in cap like last year they decided to use it.  They basically got Armia and 2 draft picks for cap space(they wouldn't be able to use) and Simon Bourque.

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12 minutes ago, illWill said:

So rather than pursue Stasney tomorrow, they help Winnipeg clear space to sign him? And all we get is an overpaid goalie and Joel Armia? 

 

I guess I'm in the minority on this one, not that I'm not used to that. 

That's one way to look at it for sure.  We are helping other teams retain players that we can use.  On the bright side though, Bergevin will not be overpaying (cap wise) for Stastny.  He was set up for a big pay day (1st line center money for a 2nd line center at best).  The other thing to consider is that Stastny may not have wanted to sign with the Habs.  Does anyone know if the Habs interviewed anyone from the free agent pool during the interview period?  Perhaps Stastny told the Habs no right off the bat.  So instead of letting another team (possibly the Bruins who are trying to get Tavares) get him, they're helping Winnipeg keep him.

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5 minutes ago, John B said:

That's one way to look at it for sure.  We are helping other teams retain players that we can use.  On the bright side though, Bergevin will not be overpaying (cap wise) for Stastny.  He was set up for a big pay day (1st line center money for a 2nd line center at best).  The other thing to consider is that Stastny may not have wanted to sign with the Habs.  Does anyone know if the Habs interviewed anyone from the free agent pool during the interview period?  Perhaps Stastny told the Habs no right off the bat.  So instead of letting another team (possibly the Bruins who are trying to get Tavares) get him, they're helping Winnipeg keep him.

 

I guess it depends what the deal with Stastny will end up being, I didn't want to overpay him too much. But I definitely want some semblance of a hockey player that can play center. 

 

Is getting Armia fair value though compared to other cap dumps? I remember the Hawks giving up Terravainen and I'm sure there are other examples. 

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14 minutes ago, illWill said:

 

I guess it depends what the deal with Stastny will end up being, I didn't want to overpay him too much. But I definitely want some semblance of a hockey player that can play center. 

 

Is getting Armia fair value though compared to other cap dumps? I remember the Hawks giving up Terravainen and I'm sure there are other examples. 

You're right it definitely depends on what kind of contract Stastny signs.  However, it's hard to know if he would have signed the same contract with the Habs or some other team.  He might have wanted more or different terms.  If he resigns with Winnipeg, he's resigning with a good playoff team.  He might be willing to make compromises to stay with them that he would not be willing to make with the Habs.

 

As far as value for taking Mason's contract goes, I would have wanted more.  At least a 2nd or 3rd rounder over the 4th.  Mason is completely useless to the Habs because the Habs already have depth in the crease.  They got Armia and a couple picks (4th and 7th).  Armia has probably hit his ceiling in the NHL.  There could be a slight uptick in his production depending on how he is used by Julien.  He has some skill.  I always thought that he would be a top 6 guy in the NHL, but it never happened.  He'll be entering his 5th NHL season (he only played 1 game in his first).  I guess we'll see if he has hit his ceiling next year.

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1 hour ago, nihilz said:

Lehkonen Kotkaniemi Ylonen Ikonen & Armia. Sudden shift from Russian to Finnish..

Maybe we're trying to sign the Finnish coach? Lets get all his players so he will want to coach here lol

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26 minutes ago, illWill said:

So rather than pursue Stasney tomorrow, they help Winnipeg clear space to sign him? And all we get is an overpaid goalie and Joel Armia? 

 

I guess I'm in the minority on this one, not that I'm not used to that. 

 

It's a re-tool move, a surprisingly smart one too, I am hoping the trend continues, Armia is a young 3rd line player with size and speed, a nice touch around the net. He is very likely going to jump De La Rose, and McCarron, in terms of roster usefulness and will give Shaw a run for his money if he doesn't find a way to become the player he was in Chicago.

 

All in all, we gain young assets and picks, we actually use the cap space, they likely have inside track info that we will not be getting a shot at any top centers in this FA market. We have to keep trading cap space for picks and youth, ship out expiring contracts for assets. All while keeping our eyes and ears open for opportunity to pick up good players we will need to have in our ranks for when the re-tool is complete, not rushing into anything unless the situation is optimal. I am not opposed to seeing us sign guys like De Haan or trade for O'Rielly as long as it doesn't deplete us entirely of the assets we need to properly re-tool. Players like that will still be good in a couple of years, and that is the key, that the players you acquire at the beginning or during the re-tool, remain good, so when the players you were waiting to develop flood into the team at the end of the re-tool, it is primed for exponential growth.

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33 minutes ago, illWill said:

 

I guess it depends what the deal with Stastny will end up being, I didn't want to overpay him too much. But I definitely want some semblance of a hockey player that can play center. 

 

Is getting Armia fair value though compared to other cap dumps? I remember the Hawks giving up Terravainen and I'm sure there are other examples. 

 

Chicago was a little more desperate in clearing cap space than Winnipeg was right now.  They got back a 2nd and a 7th round pick though most people were kind of surprised they had to give up Teravainen.

 

All habs gave up was Bourque and got back Armia (3rd line NHLer, former 1st rounder), a 4th round pick, and a 7th round pick I wouldn't just ignore those picks. 

 

I'm not a big MB fan but he definitely reached out to a lot of the free agents, he's known as someone that is constantly working the phones and is always active.  Keep in mind as well if Statsny signs with Winnipeg that same deal probably wasn't available to Montreal.  It's easy to say I wish Montreal signed x player for the amount they signed but have to remember it's a two way street.

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