Forget About Richards

[GoHabs2002]

If I was Gainey, I would send in a notice of interest for Lecalvalier and what I'd offer is this:

Perezhogin, Abby and Ribs (and our first rounder if need be) for Vinny.

Clears at least 2 million for the team in cap space and Montreal gets that size, speed and language most want down the middle.

[InsaneHABSfan]

I'd be pissed off if Aebischer was traded to the Lightning for one of those guys.

I'd be even more pissed off because it would've meant we could've had one.

Lecavalier, Richards>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Turgeon

As one AVS fan to another, Forget About It! Colorado is a deal making team and rebuilds on a whim. As long as the Sakic line can be retained don't need any of the Tampa forwards.

I know there are many here that probably don't like Jose but at least Colorado has a good goalie, not bad(not great) blueline, and some impressive forwards. I wait to see what Bob Gainey does with Montreal as much as I wait for GM ?????? in Colorado to see what that person does.

Sometimes I think the offseason is as much fun as the real season due to all this speculation....

[Tony]

If I was Gainey, I would send in a notice of interest for Lecalvalier and what I'd offer is this:

Perezhogin, Abby and Ribs (and our first rounder if need be) for Vinny.

Clears at least 2 million for the team in cap space and Montreal gets that size, speed and language most want down the middle.

I would not make that deal for a bunch of reasons.

First off, I would keep Abby and Huet. Why would I keep Abby? Abby is the missing gap between the Habs goalie transition from Huet and Aebischer to Danis and Price. Aebischer isn't young but his age is good enough to solidify the Habs depth in this position until Danis and Price are NHL ready. Yes, Danis is in many levels NHL ready. The only thing that can assure this is to give him more NHL playing time but meanwhile since that won't happen with Aebischer and Huet, some AHL ice time won't hurt for now.

Second point, if Lecavalier gets traded to Montreal count me super pissed off. He always comes off as an arrogant person who's full of himself. He might be talented but the Habs don't need that in their dressing room. They're a young team who needs to play as a team and grow. Lecavalier said that his dream is to play in the Habs, he could of had that chance if he had signed a one year deal last season but I guess Feaster's monster contract offer made Vinny's decisions real easy.

[BTH]

After guys like Iginla, Forsberg, Foote, Thornton, Leetch and Modano all got in the 4-6 mil range, I find it hard to believe Richards would've gotten the max offer. What has he done? One Conn Smythe year? Look where that got Gigeure. How more overrated could a player be? Plus he's an asshole off the ice too.

If you're tlaking about Richards - he's a Lady Byng winner (for sportsmanship) and has been nominated again this year. He's known for having a great personality, or so I've heard.

If you meant Giggy, then I agree. He is a bit of a hothead.

[jetsniper]

I meant Richards.

Telling 10 year old kids to **** off is what every athlete should do, I guess.

[Komisarek the Cruncher]

I would not make that deal for a bunch of reasons.

First off, I would keep Abby and Huet. Why would I keep Abby? Abby is the missing gap between the Habs goalie transition from Huet and Aebischer to Danis and Price. Aebischer isn't young but his age is good enough to solidify the Habs depth in this position until Danis and Price are NHL ready. Yes, Danis is in many levels NHL ready. The only thing that can assure this is to give him more NHL playing time but meanwhile since that won't happen with Aebischer and Huet, some AHL ice time won't hurt for now.

Second point, if Lecavalier gets traded to Montreal count me super pissed off. He always comes off as an arrogant person who's full of himself. He might be talented but the Habs don't need that in their dressing room. They're a young team who needs to play as a team and grow. Lecavalier said that his dream is to play in the Habs, he could of had that chance if he had signed a one year deal last season but I guess Feaster's monster contract offer made Vinny's decisions real easy.

Upgrading our center from Ribs to Lecavalier is a no brainer....

There are no interesting UFA centers this summer and probably for a while...why....because the good ones are a rare commodity and their teams want to retain them. Lecavalier might not be the best center for us, but he is one of the best and if we can get our hands on a top center like him, I think that getting him is not even debatable. Besides, he always plays great in Montreal....

Plus, he's a big skilled center who can hit, fight score and pass....hum....sounds a lot like what we are looking for...name me 3 other centers like him that might be remotly available...good luck with that.

[Tony]

Jason Arnott

Mark Bell

Mike Comrie

Robert Lang (not so much on the fighting, hitting a not bad)

David Legwand

Ryan Malone

Joe Sakic

Marc Savard (not so much on the hitting and fighting)

On another note, Feaster said he can't offord Kubina since he is seeking about 4 million a season. He also said that he will obtain a goalie via trade.

Edited May 24, 2006 by Tony

[jetsniper]

He said remotely available.

Take Sakic out.

[Tony]

I know Sakic isn't remotely available but he wants money and will he get it. (yes he will, will take some number crunching)

Hence why I put him there

[jetsniper]

I was hoping for Foppa deal too until Richards went and screwed everything up.

[Komisarek the Cruncher]

Jason Arnott

Mark Bell

Mike Comrie

Robert Lang (not so much on the fighting, hitting a not bad)

David Legwand

Ryan Malone

Joe Sakic

Marc Savard (not so much on the hitting and fighting)

On another note, Feaster said he can't offord Kubina since he is seeking about 4 million a season. He also said that he will obtain a goalie via trade.

Arnott = OK I agree, but not as talented (his best season = Lecavalier's worst)

Bell = Not even close to Lecavalier's talent, next

Comrie = Joke, the guy is small and far from being as talented, next

Lang = Old (36) and on the downhill, does not hit and offensive production far from Lecavalier's,next

Legwand = ???, not even worth discussing this 40pts a year player, next

Malone = another 40pts a year player, next

Sakic = Old and small, but I would take him, but not available, next

Savard = small and a big risk..what will he do without Kovalchuk?, next

Nice try, but like I said, try and name 3, you only named one (Arnott) that comes close to bringing what Lecavalier does, and even that, he's not as good. Arnott was the only guy I could think of when I wrote to name me 3 guys, there are no others, and BTW, Arnott could fall back to 40 pts next year and is far from being close to Lecavalier. Lecavalier is still just 26 and sky is the limit for this guys talent. Even as a slacker, he manages to score 30 and rack up 75 pts, now who would refuse such a player in their right mind.

[MAK]

On another note, Feaster said he can't offord Kubina since he is seeking about 4 million a season. He also said that he will obtain a goalie via trade.

reading between the lines:

feaster will trade st-louis(and a second round pick as a bait) for nabokov or giguere

so the cap would stay the same and the goalie situation would be solved

anaheim could use st louis since to help selanne

Edited May 24, 2006 by marky_and_komi

[Komisarek the Cruncher]

reading between the lines:

feaster will trade st-louis(and a second round pick as a bait) for nabokov or giguere

so the cap would stay the same and the goalie situation would be solved

anaheim could use st louis since to help selanne

Problem is that nobody wants a 32 year old player who scored 60 pts in the new NHL (while playing with Richards) that still has 5 years at 5.5M$/year left on his contract.

More important, he has a no trade clause. If somebody goes from the big three, it will be Lecavalier. He will attract attention and doesn't have a no trade clause, but none of them wll be traded.

TB will be a joke next year with 10 guys being paid $500,000...now this is what I call depth. Especially that the 4 teams in the semi-finals are proving that depth is better then a few superstars surrounded by AHLers...

[Tony]

Arnott = OK I agree, but not as talented (his best season = Lecavalier's worst)

Bell = Not even close to Lecavalier's talent, next

Comrie = Joke, the guy is small and far from being as talented, next

Lang = Old (36) and on the downhill, does not hit and offensive production far from Lecavalier's,next

Legwand = ???, not even worth discussing this 40pts a year player, next

Malone = another 40pts a year player, next

Sakic = Old and small, but I would take him, but not available, next

Savard = small and a big risk..what will he do without Kovalchuk?, next

Nice try, but like I said, try and name 3, you only named one (Arnott) that comes close to bringing what Lecavalier does, and even that, he's not as good. Arnott was the only guy I could think of when I wrote to name me 3 guys, there are no others, and BTW, Arnott could fall back to 40 pts next year and is far from being close to Lecavalier. Lecavalier is still just 26 and sky is the limit for this guys talent. Even as a slacker, he manages to score 30 and rack up 75 pts, now who would refuse such a player in their right mind.

Well, the ones I named have a legit shot of playing for the Habs next season. If I were go to crazy and name superstars like Lecavalier that have flat out no shot of being traded to Montreal here's a nice list for you.

Patrice Bergeron

Brad Boyes

Sidney Crosby

Pavel Datsyuk

Sergei Fedorov

Peter Forsberg

Ryan Getzlaf

Scott Gomez

Michal Handzus

Olli Jokinen

Evgeni Malkin

Patrick Marleau

Mike Modano

Jason Spezza

Eric Staal

Henrik Zetterberg

[Komisarek the Cruncher]

Well, the ones I named have a legit shot of playing for the Habs next season. If I were go to crazy and name superstars like Lecavalier that have flat out no shot of being traded to Montreal here's a nice list for you.

Patrice Bergeron

Brad Boyes

Sidney Crosby

Pavel Datsyuk

Sergei Fedorov

Peter Forsberg

Ryan Getzlaf

Scott Gomez

Michal Handzus

Olli Jokinen

Evgeni Malkin

Patrick Marleau

Mike Modano

Jason Spezza

Eric Staal

Henrik Zetterberg

Thank you for proving my point. In my first post, I said that we would be crazy to pass up on Lecavalier (if he was available) because there are no top centers available. So yes that deal of Perezhogin, Abby and Ribs + 1st round for Lecavalier would be great unlike what you said...which was the post you replied to. I never said that Lecavalier was available this summer. I would make that same deal for most of the players you listed above, but the post was about Lecavalier.

Besides, I said to name centers that were remotly available that potentialy can bring to a team what Lecavalier can bring. Stick to the conversation man. I never ask for a list of top centers period.

And yes Lecavalier is remotly available, unlike what you think. Maybe not for us, but teams have a remote chance at him. Wait until Feaster realizes that he can't trade St-Louis, he can't get a good goalie who's not too expensive and Lecavalier will become remotly available for the right offer. Fortunatly for us, we have that good cheap goalie they need in Abby, but unfortunatly for us, we don't have a good young cheap center to offer with him to replace Lecavalier. Ribs doesn't cut it in my opinion. Maybe Pleckanec. But then I would not include the 1st round...that would be only if they take Ribs instead.

[smon]

^

Bit of a stretch to include Brad Boyes and Michal Handzus on a list as superstars, no?

I think Lecavalier isn't going anywhere at all. Neither are St-Louis or Richards. The Lightning are indeed going to move a forward in an attempt to get a goaltender, but it's going to be Fredrik Modin or Ruslan Fedotenko. Modin probably has the best value. He did notch 31 goals last year, but he pulled a disappearing act in the playoffs, surprising because he has 20pts in the Cup winning playoffs of 03'04.

Which goaltender they acquire will depend on which team likes these players, imo, it's as simple as that. The possibilities could definitely include Nabokov, Giguere, Detroit's Manny Legace (management isnt convinced he's the answer in net, and are looking for a new goalie) and yes, David Aebischer.

It would be nice to keep Aebischer, but the cap hit (he'd want at least 1.9M), and the fact that he says he wants to play at least 50 games next yr, make it unlikely.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

I nearly fell out of my chair, 7.8 million for Brad Richards........

I think they must be in the trade market. No way can they afford to sign all the players they need plus a contender calibre goaltender with the contracts they have.

I really can't believe it, 7.8 million is crazy. Way too much money tied up in 3 players on that team.

[Tony]

And yes Lecavalier is remotly available, unlike what you think. Maybe not for us, but teams have a remote chance at him. Wait until Feaster realizes that he can't trade St-Louis, he can't get a good goalie who's not too expensive and Lecavalier will become remotly available for the right offer. Fortunatly for us, we have that good cheap goalie they need in Abby, but unfortunatly for us, we don't have a good young cheap center to offer with him to replace Lecavalier. Ribs doesn't cut it in my opinion. Maybe Pleckanec. But then I would not include the 1st round...that would be only if they take Ribs instead.

Tampa would be taking like 5 steps back if they were to trade Lecavalier. You kept emphasizing how much of a skilled player he is and how hard it would be to replace him. It's those same reasons why Feaster won't likely deal this guy.

Marty has a no-trade clause. Why? Well because Marty probably knew that the franchise was built around Richards and Lecavalier and that he was just their complement.

If Feaster will move someone of the three, which is most likely Marty, he'll find a way. Either way, first he'll find a way to keep all three. If not, moving one of them is his solution.

Sadly, this is the line where fans like us or even insiders can't venture in, what's in a general manager's mind. Who knows. All we can pretty much do is wait to see what happens.

edit: typo

Edited May 25, 2006 by Tony

[Komisarek the Cruncher]

Tampa would be taking like 5 steps back if they were to trade Lecavalier. You kept emphasizing how much of a skilled player he is and how hard it would be to replace him. It's those same reasons why Feaster won't likely deal this guy.

Marty has a no-trade clause. Why? Well because Marty probably knew that the franchise was built around Richards and Lecavalier and that he was just their complement.

If Feaster will move someone of the three, which is most likely Marty, he'll find a way. Either way, first he'll find a way to keep all three. If not, moving one of them is his solution.

Sadly, this is the line where fans like us or even insiders can't venture in, what's in a general manager's mind. Who knows. All we can pretty much do is wait to see what happens.

edit: typo

Agreed, but what we can agree on is that if they keep all three, TB is going nowhere next year. They won't have the cash to sign or acquire a good goalie and they will have to get rid of a few good players (Kubina, Prospal, Fedotenko, etc).

If I was Feaster, I would trade Lecavalier (St-Louis first, but I doubt anybody will be interested - old, overpaid, and only 60 pts while playing with Richards) for a good goalie and a good center. TB would be a better team. Hey, let them keep all three, it's one team less to worry about next year. They have 34M$ tied up in 13 players so far for next year (including Andreychuck who retired but they have to pay is salary). They won't even be able to make a qualifying offer to most of their Group II RFA to retain them, because they would bust the cap.

TB and Feaster are a joke. He might be good at recognizing talent but the guy can't work under a cap system.

^

Bit of a stretch to include Brad Boyes and Michal Handzus on a list as superstars, no?

I think Lecavalier isn't going anywhere at all. Neither are St-Louis or Richards. The Lightning are indeed going to move a forward in an attempt to get a goaltender, but it's going to be Fredrik Modin or Ruslan Fedotenko. Modin probably has the best value. He did notch 31 goals last year, but he pulled a disappearing act in the playoffs, surprising because he has 20pts in the Cup winning playoffs of 03'04.

Which goaltender they acquire will depend on which team likes these players, imo, it's as simple as that. The possibilities could definitely include Nabokov, Giguere, Detroit's Manny Legace (management isnt convinced he's the answer in net, and are looking for a new goalie) and yes, David Aebischer.

It would be nice to keep Aebischer, but the cap hit (he'd want at least 1.9M), and the fact that he says he wants to play at least 50 games next yr, make it unlikely.

They can't take on a Guigere or Nabokhov salary without trading either Richards, Lecavalier or St-Louis. If they really want to keep all three, they can only afford a 2 to 3M$ goalie, top, and that is still with getting rid of a few players. They also need D, Kubina will not be back and they already had D problems when Kubina was there.

I can't wait to see what Feaster will do this summer. I don't expect much, his hands are tied and all the GMs know this.

[smon]

Modin's at 2.204 million. So I think they could easily afford a guy like Legace or Aebsicher if they moved him.

That said, you're right, Feaster's backed up against a corner and everyone knows it.

[kaos]

Tampa Bay will hold onto Richards, Lecavalier and St. Louis. MOstly because St. Louis is untradeable right now.

I believe they are operating under the assumption that the Salary Cap will continue to rise over the next 5 years as theNHL becomes more popular, especially with the new rules that all guys like Richards, Lecavalier and St. Louis to thrive.

Next year the cap will rise again and Tampa will have millions more to spend, or have cushion under the cap.

Thats what Tampa is hoping for. They may have to suffer this year, but next year and the year after will yield millions more under the cap to play with

[MAK]

the cap won't go too high because the players union will against it..the higher the cap goes, the more money the guys have to leave in the escrow. what I heard is some of the players aren't too pleased with the fact the cap will raise this summer

[Komisarek the Cruncher]

Tampa Bay will hold onto Richards, Lecavalier and St. Louis. MOstly because St. Louis is untradeable right now.

I believe they are operating under the assumption that the Salary Cap will continue to rise over the next 5 years as theNHL becomes more popular, especially with the new rules that all guys like Richards, Lecavalier and St. Louis to thrive.

Next year the cap will rise again and Tampa will have millions more to spend, or have cushion under the cap.

Thats what Tampa is hoping for. They may have to suffer this year, but next year and the year after will yield millions more under the cap to play with

With TV contracts already signed for the next few years and arenas mostly filed this year (won't increase much in the next few years), I don't see where they will find new revenues. I think that the cap will settle around 45-47M$ in the next few years.