2024-25 Montreal Canadiens discussion thread

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

8 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

25% would probably be fine for the Habs.

 

That's what I am thinking. If Columbus retained 25-30% then the costs to acquire him wouldn't be as great. With no retention I don't see how Waddell thinks he would get anything for Laine. He's close to negative value with that contract. 

[DON]

4 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

That's what I am thinking. If Columbus retained 25-30% then the costs to acquire him wouldn't be as great. With no retention I don't see how Waddell thinks he would get anything for Laine. He's close to negative value with that contract. 

Why is he being traded?

Wadell just wants to clear salary? Or Laine also wants out?

[Prime Minister Koivu]

4 minutes ago, DON said:

Why is he being traded?

Wadell just wants to clear salary? Or Laine also wants out?

Laine asked for a trade

 

Habs could get no retention and pay very little - Do it Kent

[Commandant]

10 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Laine asked for a trade

 

Habs could get no retention and pay very little - Do it Kent

 

Id want my doctors to look at his shoulder.  As we saw with caufield, this type of injury takes a full year before the shot is at the same level pre injury.

 

So we are going to pay 8.7 million for 2 years and get a sniper, whose best asset will only be at 100% half way through the deal?

 

The more i see these things, the more i think McGroarty is the way to go.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

10 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Habs could get no retention and pay very little - Do it Kent

 

It would cost them almost nothing but that is a big contract to take on whole and would really limit Hughes flexibility over the next couple years. I would much rather the Habs give up some picks which they have a lot of and have Columbus retain something. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 minute ago, Commandant said:

The more i see these things, the more i think McGroarty is the way to go.

 

That would be my preference too, he won't be cheap but I think he fits perfectly into the rebuild. I am sure there have been discussions but I think Winnipeg would rather wait a year than make a mediocre deal. 

[tomh009]

13 minutes ago, Commandant said:

The more i see these things, the more i think McGroarty is the way to go.

All depends on what Winnipeg is willing to do. A trade with Columbus looks to be easier to close.

[Commandant]

3 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

All depends on what Winnipeg is willing to do. A trade with Columbus looks to be easier to close.

 

Its the shoulder surgery.  If hes like Caufield and he doesnt have his normal.shot til 12-18 months after the surgery that means the majority (if not all) of the 24-25 season will be at less than his best.

 

I think he can rebound fine beyond that, but while his shot is diminished hes not that valuable a player.  Thats the main thing that makes him valuable.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

17 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

Id want my doctors to look at his shoulder.  As we saw with caufield, this type of injury takes a full year before the shot is at the same level pre injury.

 

So we are going to pay 8.7 million for 2 years and get a sniper, whose best asset will only be at 100% half way through the deal?

 

The more i see these things, the more i think McGroarty is the way to go.

 

17 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

It would cost them almost nothing but that is a big contract to take on whole and would really limit Hughes flexibility over the next couple years. I would much rather the Habs give up some picks which they have a lot of and have Columbus retain something. 

It seems like a small risk to me because it’s only two years. The actual cap hit isn’t a big deal to me because we have room and we have money coming off the books in 25/26. 
 

If Laine craps out then we lose a small asset and move on. 
 

I'm not against another solution such as McGroarty but Laine seems easy to me

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

16 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

Its the shoulder surgery.  If hes like Caufield and he doesnt have his normal.shot til 12-18 months after the surgery that means the majority (if not all) of the 24-25 season will be at less than his best.

 

I think he can rebound fine beyond that, but while his shot is diminished hes not that valuable a player.  Thats the main thing that makes him valuable.

 

A depressing thought. Somehow it seems typical of the Habs’ luck to get a ‘big name’ on a short-term deal, only to have his signature quality be compromised by injury.

 

I love the idea of Laine, but it’s a lot less appealing if we’re going to watch him be a 20-goal, 50-point nonentity for a year, then hope he fully recovers (amidst all the pressure of a disappointed Montreal fanbase) for the second season of his time with us.

[GHT120]

16 minutes ago, Commandant said:

Its the shoulder surgery.  If hes like Caufield and he doesnt have his normal.shot til 12-18 months after the surgery that means the majority (if not all) of the 24-25 season will be at less than his best.

 

I think he can rebound fine beyond that, but while his shot is diminished hes not that valuable a player.  Thats the main thing that makes him valuable.

Might it make a difference which shoulder had the operation ... Caufield is a RH-shot and had surgery on his right-shoulder ... Laine is also a RH-shot, but the video in the below Twitter post (annoying soundtrack, cute puppy) shows that his surgery was on his left shoulder ... also, Waddell has said "it was more of a cleanup. They didn't think it was anything too serious" ... combined, that may make it a different situation than Caulfield.

 

 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

44 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

Might it make a difference which shoulder had the operation ... Caufield is a RH-shot and had surgery on his right-shoulder ... Laine is also a RH-shot, but the video in the below Twitter post (annoying soundtrack, cute puppy) shows that his surgery was on his left shoulder ... also, Waddell has said "it was more of a cleanup. They didn't think it was anything too serious" ... combined, that may make it a different situation than Caulfield.

 

 

 

Nice research there - thanks

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 hour ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

It seems like a small risk to me because it’s only two years. The actual cap hit isn’t a big deal to me because we have room and we have money coming off the books in 25/26. 
 

 

The cap hit is a big deal to me because it limits other opportunities that may come up. For me there are too many question marks with Laine to use up 8.7M in cap space for 2 years. Cap space needs to be used wisely not just because you have it. I am very confident Hughes will not use up 8.7M in cap space for 2 years on Laine. Hughes has been very shrewd so far in using cap space, I expect that to continue.  Patience young grasshopper. 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

12 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

The cap hit is a big deal to me because it limits other opportunities that may come up. For me there are too many question marks with Laine to use up 8.7M in cap space for 2 years. Cap space needs to be used wisely not just because you have it. I am very confident Hughes will not use up 8.7M in cap space for 2 years on Laine. Hughes has been very shrewd so far in using cap space, I expect that to continue.  Patience young grasshopper. 

I can’t discount your point of view because there is truth to what you say. 
 

Hughes could be a cap mule this season for example. After all Monahan worked out exceptionally well for us. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

2 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Hughes could be a cap mule this season for example. After all Monahan worked out exceptionally well for us. 

 

Monahan is an example of great asset management.  Great use of cap space, getting 2 x 1st round picks plus the use of Monahan who played well for us. Lets see how Michael Hage turns out. 

 

There hasn't been one move that Hughes has made that has given me cause for concern. I am confident he will use the cap space when the time is right. 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Laine is a risk and McGroarty would be a risk too (cost more assets to acquire). Laine’s risk comes with legitimate possibility to be a massive reward - adding a 40 goal player would be huge. 
 

Laine could also crap out 

[tomh009]

2 hours ago, Commandant said:

Its the shoulder surgery.  If hes like Caufield and he doesnt have his normal.shot til 12-18 months after the surgery that means the majority (if not all) of the 24-25 season will be at less than his best.

 

I think he can rebound fine beyond that, but while his shot is diminished hes not that valuable a player.  Thats the main thing that makes him valuable.

Agreed. I do expect Habs (and other teams) are doing their medical homework.

 

But if the shoulder is not up to par, that could be part of the reason why teams are asking CBJ to retain 50%.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

5 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

But if the shoulder is not up to par, that could be part of the reason why teams are asking CBJ to retain 50%.

 

And the fact that most teams don't have 8.7M in cap space. 

[Commandant]

2 hours ago, GHT120 said:

Might it make a difference which shoulder had the operation ... Caufield is a RH-shot and had surgery on his right-shoulder ... Laine is also a RH-shot, but the video in the below Twitter post (annoying soundtrack, cute puppy) shows that his surgery was on his left shoulder ... also, Waddell has said "it was more of a cleanup. They didn't think it was anything too serious" ... combined, that may make it a different situation than Caulfield.

 

 

 

Possible.  But like i said, i would want my doctors doing a.full exam before a trade 

[Commandant]

2 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

 

It seems like a small risk to me because it’s only two years. The actual cap hit isn’t a big deal to me because we have room and we have money coming off the books in 25/26. 
 

If Laine craps out then we lose a small asset and move on. 
 

I'm not against another solution such as McGroarty but Laine seems easy to me

 

I dont see over 17 mill in cap space (over two years) as a small risk. Still even if they retain 25% its still over  12 mill.

 

If its the original monahan deal thats different but thats also an example of.what you can use that kinda space for (or a ufa next summer).

[GHT120]

6 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

Possible.  But like i said, i would want my doctors doing a.full exam before a trade 

Completely agree ... wasn't trying to suggest otherwise ... was just suggesting Caufield may not be a predictor for Laine's recovery.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

12 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

I dont see over 17 mill in cap space (over two years) as a small risk. Still even if they retain 25% its still over  12 mill.

 

If its the original monahan deal thats different but thats also an example of.what you can use that kinda space for (or a ufa next summer).

If the guy goes right back to 40 goals a season then Laine is a great piece for cup contention and he is young still. 
 

If he craps out then we wasted two years of available cap space. 
 

If the Habs had cap trouble then it wouldn’t be in discussion but available cap space seems reasonable to risk to me. 
 

At the end of the day I trust Hughes to address the top 6 forward problem one way or another. I don’t care if it’s Laine 

[tomh009]

Of course, there is also $17M of cash involved. 😊

[hab29RETIRED]

4 hours ago, tomh009 said:

25% would probably be fine for the Habs.

If we don't have to give up much, I think we should be able to take on the full 100% for the two year period. It would be worth it if he can maintain the close to a PPG rate he has averaged, to see how Dach does with a legit high end winger. If he works out he would also take a bit of the pressure off Demidov when he comes over next year, by providing the insulation of another scoring threat on the line.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

9 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

If the guy goes right back to 40 goals a season then Laine is a great piece for cup contention and he is young still. 

Laine scored 40 goals once in his career, a long time ago. That is a lot to hope for.