2026-27 NHL discussion thread

[Prime Minister Koivu]

11 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

Id take him for the right price as a number 2 C.

The Evans thing makes me dislike the man but he would be a good fit on the second line - a big, skilled centre with jam

 

Winnipeg has many needs that Montreal could fill. If they are losing Hellbucks perhaps a package of

 

Dobes, Reinbacher, Kapanen, pick for Scheifelle 🤷‍♂️

[GHT120]

50 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

The Evans thing makes me dislike the man but he would be a good fit on the second line - a big, skilled centre with jam

 

Winnipeg has many needs that Montreal could fill. If they are losing Hellbucks perhaps a package of

 

Dobes, Reinbacher, Kapanen, pick for Scheifelle 🤷‍♂️

 

For a team with expectations of being a PLAYOFF team (i.e. as sure as sure can be thing) that would be a huge gamble ... if Fowler isn't ready to be the #1 Dobeš became last season it fills a hole at 2C by creating one in goal ... besides, I expect the Jets would heavily pursue the 3.5 years younger Fowler ... besides, don't think HuGo want to trade either goalie until at least next summer and they have more a better handle on them both.

[tomh009]

1 hour ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Dobes, Reinbacher, Kapanen, pick for Scheifelle 🤷‍♂️

 

That's a lot for a guy who is 33 now and under contract for five more years. And I can't see them trading Dobes right now. While goalies are voodoo, he has demonstrated that he is lower risk than Fowler. And then there is the gap at RD that we would be creating ...

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Dobes “feels” like Halak to me. A good goalie that will have a NHL career but had flaws to his game. 
 

Dobes made big progress with rebounds but he still showed problems in the playoffs - as good as Dobes was his rebound control will be a problem for him career long IMO. 
 

Scheifelle will have significant interest if he becomes available. 
 

Perhaps Jets take Montembault instead but I doubt it. 
 

Perhaps we can give Guhle instead of Reinbacher 🤷‍♂️

[dlbalr]

Cale Makar gets 8 years, $20.4M per season on an extension.  That's only $400K below the league maximum but the Avs get the eighth year, something they were really pushing for.  It seemed like he and Hughes were waiting each other out to see who signed first for benchmarking purposes but I have a hard time thinking Hughes will match that, especially if he's only seeking a short-term deal.

[hab29RETIRED]

14 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Dobes “feels” like Halak to me. A good goalie that will have a NHL career but had flaws to his game. 
 

Dobes made big progress with rebounds but he still showed problems in the playoffs - as good as Dobes was his rebound control will be a problem for him career long IMO. 
 

Scheifelle will have significant interest if he becomes available. 
 

Perhaps Jets take Montembault instead but I doubt it. 
 

Perhaps we can give Guhle instead of Reinbacher 🤷‍♂️

Dobes makes the same type of mistakes without the puck that Hasek did. Similar in having an unorthodox style. Just as emotional and competitive and combative in the net as Hasek. I sure the hell wouldn’t move him until we know Fowler is closer to being a Brodeur than a Trevor Kidd.

 

No way in hell would I move Dobes, Reinbacher and Kapanan for a guy who probably has two years left as being a top 6 centre. Kapanan, Monty and a b level prospect is the most if give up.

 

even with Kapanan, we don’t know yet if he had a fluke Kjell Dahlin type of rookie year, with inflated totals that were a result of who he played with and/or an abnormally high shooting percentage, or if he simply ran out of gas becuase he isn’t used to the number of games played yet. Unlike Dahlin, Kapanan looks like he will ba a solid player defensively and may have Lundell type upside. Just needs to improve conditioning and get stronger.

 

id love to have Scheifele while we wait on Hage, but he’s not a guy I’d move that many pieces for. I wouldn’t even want to move Guhle for him.

 

if we are moving top prospects, high picks, or young players that could be part of the core, it needs to be for slam dunk, long term parts of the core - not stop gap players.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

6 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

Dobes makes the same type of mistakes without the puck that Hasek did. Similar in having an unorthodox style. Just as emotional and competitive and combative in the net as Hasek. I sure the hell wouldn’t move him until we know Fowler is closer to being a Brodeur than a Trevor Kidd.

 

No way in hell would I move Dobes, Reinbacher and Kapanan for a guy who probably has two years left as being a top 6 centre. Kapanan, Monty and a b level prospect is the most if give up.

 

even with Kapanan, we don’t know yet if he had a fluke Kjell Dahlin type of rookie year, with inflated totals that were a result of who he played with and/or an abnormally high shooting percentage, or if he simply ran out of gas becuase he isn’t used to the number of games played yet. Unlike Dahlin, Kapanan looks like he will ba a solid player defensively and may have Lundell type upside. Just needs to improve conditioning and get stronger.

 

id love to have Scheifele while we wait on Hage, but he’s not a guy I’d move that many pieces for. I wouldn’t even want to move Guhle for him.

 

if we are moving top prospects, high picks, or young players that could be part of the core, it needs to be for slam dunk, long term parts of the core - not stop gap players.

You may end up being right about all this. However this certainly feels like Price vs Halak to me. 
 

I personally think that Montreal is competing right now. The Carolina series exposed the holes in our talent that we all knew we had. 
 

Would Sheifelle have pushed us past Carolina? Perhaps…if Dobson was 100% as well. 
 

I don’t know what a good offer from Montreal is but Sheifelle will generate tons of interest

[GHT120]

10 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

Kapanan, Monty and a b level prospect is the most if give up.

 

A big chunk of the value of "B" level prospect may well be the price to move Montembeault right now, so basically Kapanen for a proven Top 6 centre whose last 4 seasons were 42-25-39-36 goals

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Scheifle is a beast, the perfect add for us, but he won't come cheap. The dilemma is he is 33. We'd be asked to sell a major part of the farm for a guy who has maybe 3-4 years to give, at most. If I'm the Jets I want Hage back. And the market for C is so starved, Winnipeg will probably get a return equivalent to Hage from some contender hot to win right now.

 

Plus this assumes the Jets are going to full rebuild. That would be the sensible play, but it all depends on the whims of the owner, so who knows.

 

As for Dobes - the key to him is his incredible mental toughness and resilience. You can't bottle that, you can't teach it. I would be very, very careful about moving him; that is an elusive and absolutely elite quality that I've seen in very few young G. In that specific respect - and only that - he resembles a young Patrick Roy. Don't bet against guys like that.

 

 

 

 

[dlbalr]

10 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

No way in hell would I move Dobes, Reinbacher and Kapanan for a guy who probably has two years left as being a top 6 centre. Kapanan, Monty and a b level prospect is the most if give up.

 

Scheifele had 103 points last season.  103.  No team in their right mind would trade a top-line 100-point centre for that package.  Yes, he's older (33), but he's not going from 103 points to 40 over two years; the dropoff from 33 to 35 is nowhere near that drastic for top-line players.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

7 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

 

Scheifele had 103 points last season.  103.  No team in their right mind would trade a top-line 100-point centre for that package.  Yes, he's older (33), but he's not going from 103 points to 40 over two years; the dropoff from 33 to 35 is nowhere near that drastic for top-line players.

 

100%. If you want Scheifele, you pay through the nose. That's all there is to it.

[GHT120]

And of course all this talk depends on Scheifele waiving his NMC

[DON]

Is there a rumour Hughes is interested in him?

[dlbalr]

50 minutes ago, DON said:

Is there a rumour Hughes is interested in him?

 

No, just speculation that if they wind up moving Hellebuyck, it could trigger some sort of rebuild.  Then, in that scenario, Scheifele could, in theory, become an option.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

And of course all this talk depends on Scheifele waiving his NMC

 

It's quite a chain of inferences:

 

1. Winnipeg decides to rebuild

2. Scheifele agrees to waive his MNC to go to Montreal

3. Winnipeg will accept less than Hage as part of a return AND that return will beat what other teams offer

 

I'm not even sure (1) will happen, let alone the others.

 

Scheifle would be an absolutely perfect acquisition, though, hence all the chatter.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

It's quite a chain of inferences:

 

1. Winnipeg decides to rebuild

2. Scheifele agrees to waive his MNC to go to Montreal

3. Winnipeg will accept less than Hage as part of a return AND that return will beat what other teams offer

 

I'm not even sure (1) will happen, let alone the others.

 

Scheifle would be an absolutely perfect acquisition, though, hence all the chatter.

 

Agree with all your points.  If Winnipeg decided to put him on the market there would be a heck of a lot of interest.  The cost would be steep as it should be. If Winnipeg is thinking rebuild (not sure they are) then now would be a perfect time to trade him as his market value will never be higher coming off a 103 pt. season. 

[DON]

Hopefully Habs are, or are becoming more of a preferred destination and not on as many no trade lists.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

1 hour ago, DON said:

Hopefully Habs are, or are becoming more of a preferred destination and not on as many no trade lists.

 

I think we are. Look at Dobson. 

 

Still, there will always be a certain percentage of players who want to play in the USA, or in the sunbelt specifically, or just in lower-pressure markets than la belle province. 

[tomh009]

20 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

Agree with all your points.  If Winnipeg decided to put him on the market there would be a heck of a lot of interest.  The cost would be steep as it should be. If Winnipeg is thinking rebuild (not sure they are) then now would be a perfect time to trade him as his market value will never be higher coming off a 103 pt. season. 

 

Should the Jets embark on a rebuild, I think Vilardi would be a more realistic target for the Habs.

[Commandant]

Kyle Connor is another possibility if we go wing instead of centre.  (Vilardi is also more a wing than a C)

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

39 minutes ago, Commandant said:

Kyle Connor is another possibility if we go wing instead of centre.  (Vilardi is also more a wing than a C)

Good call. HuGo seem quite prepared to go with the 'donut' model for Line 2 - i.e., two stud W and a dodgy C. While Connor isn't the 'power forward' they ideally want, it's pretty hard to turn up your nose at talent like that.

 

I think the preoccupation with size, a power game, and at least some ability to play C, plus a younger age point, means that Vilardi will actually be the guy HuGo target. Assuming that Winnipeg starts a fire sale.  

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 hour ago, tomh009 said:

 

Should the Jets embark on a rebuild, I think Vilardi would be a more realistic target for the Habs.

 

If the Jets are doing a rebuild then they may want to hang on to Vilardi since he is younger unless they are blown away with an offer. My only concern with Vilardi has been injury issues BUT he did play 82 games last year so maybe he has turned a corner. Maybe there is hope for Dach. 

[tomh009]

6 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

If the Jets are doing a rebuild then they may want to hang on to Vilardi since he is younger unless they are blown away with an offer. 

 

Maybe yes. But he's 27 (an Conner is 29) and if Winnipeg goes for a full rebuild, they won't be contending for 5+ years, by which time Vilardi will be on the downslope, so not an ideal fit for a full rebuild timeline.

 

Perfetti is 23, so he would be a good fit for them to keep for that timeline. Suzuki was 22 when the Habs embarked on their rebuild, and Caufield 20. Vilardi 's age is comparable to Matheson back in 2021.

 

Anyway...we don't even know yet whether Hellebuyck is going to be traded, let alone whether the Jets will embark on a rebuild.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

That should be the final nail in the trade speculation coffin

[illWill]

4 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

That should be the final nail in the trade speculation coffin

 

 

 

Good, like the player, hated the reported ask to acquire said player. We have all the time in the world to wait for the right situation to happen, whether it is through a trade when another player becomes available or through internal development.