2026-27 NHL discussion thread

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

4 hours ago, illWill said:

 

 

 

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. 

 

Yes and obviously  Hughes is taking a patient approach to finding the right player to fill the 2c role. There is no panic. Perhaps in a couple years there might be if it hasn't been filled. 

[DON]

6 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

Yes and obviously  Hughes is taking a patient approach to finding the right player to fill the 2c role. There is no panic. Perhaps in a couple years there might be if it hasn't been filled. 

But, will see how patient he is if team is really underachieving, Suzuki gets hurt and/or have losses 6 or 7 in a row this fall.

Also likely bit of internal pressure from all the best players who took team-friendly deals to help build a winner.

 

Fingers crossed Kapanen is even better in his 2nd year and he and Demidov really shine early on.🤞

 

Who will be the #5 & 6 d-men?

Reinbacher-Xhekaj

Engstrom-Struble

Guhle-Reinbacher

Carrier-Engstrom

[Prime Minister Koivu]

1 hour ago, DON said:

But, will see how patient he is if team is really underachieving, Suzuki gets hurt and/or have losses 6 or 7 in a row this fall.

Also likely bit of internal pressure from all the best players who took team-friendly deals to help build a winner.

 

Fingers crossed Kapanen is even better in his 2nd year and he and Demidov really shine early on.🤞

 

Who will be the #5 & 6 d-men?

Reinbacher-Xhekaj

Engstrom-Struble

Guhle-Reinbacher

Carrier-Engstrom

If Reinbacher looks ready out of camp then I would put him with Hutson. Let them develop together over the season and if Reinbacher can’t do it then switch it up. 
 

That would leave for 5-6:

 

Guhle

Carrier

Struble

Xhekaj

Engstrom

 

Something has gotta give here 

[BCHabnut]

3 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

If Reinbacher looks ready out of camp then I would put him with Hutson. Let them develop together over the season and if Reinbacher can’t do it then switch it up. 
 

That would leave for 5-6:

 

Guhle

Carrier

Struble

Xhekaj

Engstrom

 

Something has gotta give here 

Hutson Dobson

Matheson Carrier

Guhle Reinbacher 

Engstrom 

 

Xhekaj practice at left wing and ride the pine. Hope he can adapt to forward.

[GHT120]

40 minutes ago, BCHabnut said:

Hutson Dobson

Matheson Carrier

Guhle Reinbacher 

Engstrom 

 

Xhekaj practice at left wing and ride the pine. Hope he can adapt to forward.

 

I like that to START ... hopefully Reinbacher acclimates quickly and can swap with Carrier ... as Engstrom remains waiver exempt I would leave him playing tons in Laval and keep Struble or Xhekaj as the 7D 

[tomh009]

I'm expecting Matheson-Dobson in any case; if Reinbacher cracks the lineup, then Hutson is really the right partner for him to balance the pair. And that would surely leave Guhle-Carrier, at least until there is a trade of some kind.

[GHT120]

11 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

I'm expecting Matheson-Dobson in any case; if Reinbacher cracks the lineup, then Hutson is really the right partner for him to balance the pair. And that would surely leave Guhle-Carrier, at least until there is a trade of some kind.

I think that Carrier-Guhle would be an excellent 3rd pairing ... Carrier is not anything more than a 3rd pairing D, but I think his play was negatively impacted by having to babysit Struble or Xhekaj ... paired with Guhle I believe Carrier can play to his full 3rd D potential and be a solid contributor

[Commandant]

18 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

Yes and obviously  Hughes is taking a patient approach to finding the right player to fill the 2c role. There is no panic. Perhaps in a couple years there might be if it hasn't been filled. 

 

I don't think the price for a top 6 Centre is going to get any cheaper.  I get the hesitation on wanting to pay that for Thomas, but I would have done it.  Yes, it's painful, but thats the price of doing business and getting a player who is at nearly the same level as Nick Suzuki to be our #2C.

 

If we pay less, we aren't getting the same quality of:

 

- 2 way top line capable player,

- with 4 years remaining on his contract at good value, and

- at a prime age where you aren't worried about a decline during that contract.

 

You get what you pay for, so we either pay the price, or we are going to take a downgrade on one or more of those three things above. 

[Commandant]

9 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

If Reinbacher looks ready out of camp then I would put him with Hutson. Let them develop together over the season and if Reinbacher can’t do it then switch it up. 
 

That would leave for 5-6:

 

Guhle

Carrier

Struble

Xhekaj

Engstrom

 

Something has gotta give here 

 

I'm putting Reinbacher with the player best set to mentor him.  I'm also putting together a top pair that we saw some of last year and worked well together. 

 

Hutson Dobson

Matheson Reinbacher

Guhle Carrier

[GHT120]

18 minutes ago, Commandant said:

I get the hesitation on wanting to pay that for Thomas, but I would have done it.

 

There was that pesky NMC that rendered all our hopes, dreams, and discussions moot.

[Commandant]

2 hours ago, GHT120 said:

 

There was that pesky NMC that rendered all our hopes, dreams, and discussions moot.

 

And the fact Im not sure St Louis ever seriously considered trading him.

 

My point more was that we arent getting this quality of centre at that age and with that contract for cheap.  25+ teams should be interested and the bidding would be fierce if he was truly available.

 

When we make the move for the last piece it will hurt.

[Commandant]

The trade I always go back to is the Stars trading Iginla for Nieuwendyk.

 

Did it suck to give up a 19 year old we all knew had loads of potential and became a franchise icon and hall of famer? Yes it was painful 

 

The pain went away when Nieuwendyk won a Cup and Conn Smythe

 

You gotta.give to get and sometimes these things can be win/win.

[Commandant]

So while thomas may have never been available, the cost of waiting for a bargain and not paying the price when the next guy becomes available, is that bargain may never come.

[GHT120]

27 minutes ago, Commandant said:

So while thomas may have never been available, the cost of waiting for a bargain and not paying the price when the next guy becomes available, is that bargain may never come.

 

Agreed ... but I am not certain that HuGo have truly had any opportunity this offseason to grade for a legit #2 centre, let alone a 1B

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

15 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

 

Agreed ... but I am not certain that HuGo have truly had any opportunity this offseason to grade for a legit #2 centre, let alone a 1B

 

We will likely never know who was available and at what price. Maybe Hughes thinks Hage could be the guy and wasn't willing to pay a huge price for a position that might be filled internally. I think we all agree that a 2c is the biggest need and I am sure Hughes has explored every opportunity. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I agree. Acquiring that elusive impact C - or even that top-6, impact W with size - will HURT. It’s going to cost us more than we would prefer to give up. And if and when such a deal goes down, I suspect a lot of fans will denounce it as an ‘overpay.’ 

 

Unlike some, though, I don’t think we can wait forever and burn through Suzuki’s best years. If we haven’t made a major move by the deadline, I’ll be disappointed. Yes, we didn’t look too impressive against CAR and faded as each series ground on (saved by Dobes in consecutive Game 7s), a Semi-Finalist is nothing to sneeze at and standing pat when we have very clearly-defined holes in the roster starts, after a while, to feel like negligence.

 

(We’re not at that point yet, but it’s slowly drawing closer).

 

 

[Commandant]

10 hours ago, GHT120 said:

 

Agreed ... but I am not certain that HuGo have truly had any opportunity this offseason to grade for a legit #2 centre, let alone a 1B

Wasnt a critique of Hugo.  Just a theoretical discussion for here on the price of getting a top line quality C (even if they slot as our #2)

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

12 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Unlike some, though, I don’t think we can wait forever and burn through Suzuki’s best years.

 

 

 

I don't think anybody here thinks we can wait forever. I guess it depends on your definition of forever.  No doubt the window of opportunity is opening up but the right player has to be available. I don't think Hughes is willing to spend a bundle for a marginal improvement at centre but I think he is willing to spend for the right player. 

[dlbalr]

2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

I don't think anybody here thinks we can wait forever. I guess it depends on your definition of forever.  No doubt the window of opportunity is opening up but the right player has to be available. I don't think Hughes is willing to spend a bundle for a marginal improvement at centre but I think he is willing to spend for the right player. 

 

I think you're bang on with that last sentence.  There doesn't seem to be as much interest in the incremental upgrade at this point; their focus seems to be swing big or hold to make sure they have as many assets as possible to eventually take that swing.  Sometimes that works, others it means that in-season incremental moves need to be made (like Danault last year).  I don't expect anything in terms of a big swing so we'll see how this group does to see if they'll have to look for a stop-gap again.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

So Zeev Buium had 26 pts in 76 games last year and is getting an 8 year extension at 9.3M a year. Has the market changed that much in the past year or is Vancouver overpaying?  Kent Hughes is looking more like a genius every day. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

So Zeev Buium had 26 pts in 76 games last year and is getting an 8 year extension at 9.3M a year. Has the market changed that much in the past year or is Vancouver overpaying?  Kent Hughes is looking more like a genius every day. 

 

That is a real gamble. They’re trying to do what Hughes did with Slaf, lock up a kid early before he hits his stride. He is very popular in the room and seems to bring a ton of positive team spirit and energy. Short term, it is obviously an overpay, and also grinds against what I still think is an important principle, i.e., make a kid earn it - although he seems like a motivated guy.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

53 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

That is a real gamble. They’re trying to do what Hughes did with Slaf, lock up a kid early before he hits his stride. He is very popular in the room and seems to bring a ton of positive team spirit and energy. Short term, it is obviously an overpay, and also grinds against what I still think is an important principle, i.e., make a kid earn it - although he seems like a motivated guy.

 

It does seem like a gamble. Hope it works out for them. When the Habs signed Hutson to an extension he had already scored 66 points and won rookie of the year, a lot less risk. It seems like there has been a dramatic escalation in salaries ever since the Carlsson offer sheet. Obviously teams are betting on a continuing rise in the salary cap. 

[GHT120]

5 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

It does seem like a gamble. Hope it works out for them. When the Habs signed Hutson to an extension he had already scored 66 points and won rookie of the year, a lot less risk. It seems like there has been a dramatic escalation in salaries ever since the Carlsson offer sheet. Obviously teams are betting on a continuing rise in the salary cap. 

$104M this season, $113.5M next ... Early estimates for the 2028–29 season project the cap potentially reaching or exceeding $123

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 minute ago, GHT120 said:

$104M this season, $113.5M next ... Early estimates for the 2028–29 season project the cap potentially reaching or exceeding $123

 

And if that turns out then Hughes is going to have a ton of flexibility going forward with all his stars locked up at team friendly contracts. He will be able to be aggressive on the trade/free agent front. 

[DON]

7 hours ago, GHT120 said:

$104M this season, $113.5M next ... Early estimates for the 2028–29 season project the cap potentially reaching or exceeding $123

Whats that old saying, Spend money like a drunken sailor. 

 

Didnt the idiot Canucks do same thing with that Petterrson?