Your UFA targets in order of Priority?

[Hins77]

BPA. : 1. Panarin 2. Duchene 3. Anders lee. We need game breaker. We need skills and size. Montreal have to give money. Im just tired to hear berevin tell that UFA dont want to come here. Its not true! His offer is just too low. Im pretty sure about it

 

[Deebs]

I agree, ferland os big, produce and hit, but do you follow him? Loll he is always injured. I don’t want this type of player here

He does have that injury history for sure and is the major blackmark against him. Now is that being injury prone or just poor conditioning? He's always played at least 70 games. Due diligence would definitely be required

 

[Hins77]

He does have that injury history for sure and is the major blackmark against him. Now is that being injury prone or just poor conditioning? He's always played at least 70 games. Due diligence would definitely be required

I had him in my pool and very often, before the game, it was unsure if he could play the game. Im very not sure about him honestly

 

[DangerDave]

I had him in my pool and very often, before the game, it was unsure if he could play the game. Im very not sure about him honestly

Worth the risk. He's often injured but rarely keeps him out long. I'd just give him a few conditioning days here and there and make sure he's primed for the playoffs. Play him with Kotka and Suzuki down the road and profit.

 

[azcanuck]

I'd like to snag Ferland as well. Big, fast scoring winger that is a body snatcher out there. Fits the team's style of play.

Big pass on Edler

It never seems to work out when you overpay a plumber with skills. I'm thinking of that guy who was like that in New Jersey and went to Toronto and fell off the face of the earth. Name cant recall.
But Ferland would be awful to throw big money at.
Panarin would be my only guy I'd throw the money at.

 

[Deebs]

It never seems to work out when you overpay a plumber with skills. I'm thinking of that guy who was like that in New Jersey and went to Toronto and fell off the face of the earth. Name cant recall.
But Ferland would be awful to throw big money at.
Panarin would be my only guy I'd throw the money at.

Not sure Ferland would require big money, definitely not in Panarin range, but nevertheless, point taken

 

[Habs Halifax]

It never seems to work out when you overpay a plumber with skills. I'm thinking of that guy who was like that in New Jersey and went to Toronto and fell off the face of the earth. Name cant recall.
But Ferland would be awful to throw big money at.
Panarin would be my only guy I'd throw the money at.

Clarkson?

 

[azcanuck]

Clarkson?

Exactly. And there are many others too. (look at Lucic, power forwards do not age well either)

These guys cant handle the expectations of the money and often change their style of play to try to earn it.

I like Ferland. But he's going to be overpaid.

 

[S Bah]

Any UFA the Habs sign will be a long term player that needs to be protected for the Seattle draft. Karlsson is signing with Tampa, the worst kept secret in hockey. Panarin already turned the Habs down in favor of Chicago yrs. ago no secret there either. That leaves Duchene(LHC) faceoff ace, speedy playmaking scorer, definitely suits the Habs lineup to a Tee.
Having Domi & Duchene as our 1 & 1A centers, Danault 3rd center. The Habs then have the enviable center problem, Poehling, Kotkaneimi, Weal etc. pushing for full time center roles. Having RW Mike McCarron ready for the PWF position that PWF's Anders Lee(NYI's) & Patrick Maroon(St.Louis Blues) and all NHL Playoff teams covet for their PP units.
Truly it is nice to see the Habs have been developing assets properly, McCarron's 3rd yr. in the AHL injuries have slowed his development, he's more than competent to help the Habs anemic PP. His boardwork, abilities to create room for linemates while creating havoc in front of the net & deflecting shots are NHL calibre. Best part is his shoulder injury has been repaired successfully, he will be a handful for opposing defencemen like Big Buff, come playoff time.( Just my opinion of course, we will see soon enough.) Go Mike Go!!!... Adding Poehling & McCarron to the lineup that had Montrèal finish with 96 points may provide the Habs the added size & special units play necessary to contend for the SC. Jake Evans(RHC) in Laval may also be ready next season, another very capable 200 ft. prospect developed in our system.
The future is very bright for our Habs IMHO.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Exactly. And there are many others too. (look at Lucic, power forwards do not age well either)

These guys cant handle the expectations of the money and often change their style of play to try to earn it.

I like Ferland. But he's going to be overpaid.

Clarkson, Backes, Alzner, Lucic, Komisarek, Beleskey, Neal, to name a few.

I agree 100% with you. We need to be very careful with going after players like this. It has the potential to back fire. Go after skill/skating type players. It has less risk. Karlsson, Panarin, Duchene, Skinner. I'll also add Edler but only on a short term

 

[Habs Halifax]

Any UFA the Habs sign will be a long term player that needs to be protected for the Seattle draft. Karlsson is signing with Tampa, the worst kept secret in hockey. Panarin already turned the Habs down in favor of Chicago yrs. ago no secret there either. That leaves Duchene(LHC) faceoff ace, speedy playmaking scorer, definitely suits the Habs lineup to a Tee.
Having Domi & Duchene as our 1 & 1A centers, Danault 3rd center. The Habs then have the enviable center problem, Poehling, Kotkaneimi, Weal etc. pushing for full time center roles. Having RW Mike McCarron ready for the PWF position that PWF's Anders Lee(NYI's) & Patrick Maroon(St.Louis Blues) and all NHL Playoff teams covet for their PP units.
Truly it is nice to see the Habs have been developing assets properly, McCarron's 3rd yr. in the AHL injuries have slowed his development, he's more than competent to help the Habs anemic PP. His boardwork, abilities to create room for linemates while creating havoc in front of the net & deflecting shots are NHL calibre. Best part is his shoulder injury has been repaired successfully, he will be a handful for opposing defencemen like Big Buff, come playoff time.( Just my opinion of course, we will see soon enough.) Go Mike Go!!!... Adding Poehling & McCarron to the lineup that had Montrèal finish with 96 points may provide the Habs the added size & special units play necessary to contend for the SC. Jake Evans(RHC) in Laval may also be ready next season, another very capable 200 ft. prospect developed in our system.
The future is very bright for our Habs IMHO.

There is no room to sign Karlsson. Massive cap dumping needs to happen to make room for Karlsson.

Lets say they can unload Callahan. That's 8 players to sign with $15.8M in cap space. 8 players include Karlsson and Point? Who else are they moving out that they have to replace on the depth chart? What prospects do they have that fill their holes?

It don't add up. Even if they bridge Point ($5M ish) and they get Karlsson on a team friendly deal ($9M ish), they still have to sign 6 players with $1.8M in cap space. Then who's next that gets dumped? How do they replace the guy they dumped?

 

[lou]

Panarin 7x11.5
Duchene 5x8
Karlsson 7x10.5
Gardiner 4x6
Ferland (Turns 27 Apr 20)
Nelson (Turns 28 Oct 15)
Johansson (Turns 29 Oct 6)

in that order

If Gardner gets booed in Toronto imagine how his poor defensive play will go over with hab fans!!!

 

[HabsMD97]

If Gardner gets booed in Toronto imagine how his poor defensive play will go over with hab fans!!!

Well those same fans were crying for him to come back when he was injured towards the end of the season because of how brutal their defence was without him. He's a lot like Subban where everyone thinks he's bad defensively because he has a brainfart every once in a while, overlooking how well he plays and moves the puck the other 22min he is on the ice

 

[JianYang]

Karlsson looks god awful right now, no way I sign him

Even in his time in Ottawa, he was careless defensively, but his offensive work often compensated for it.

I mean, some of the best assists over the years for habs goals have come off the stick of Karlsson.

Now, he's a bit less mobile, more injury prone (he had a couple very severe injuries in his career already) , and still quite careless. For the money he will get, I dont want to take on that risk.

 

[waitin425]

I don’t think we will get Panarin.

I do think though that Duchene and Gardiner could come here.

I’d put domi on Duchenes wing with Drouin. Triple DDD line

Drouin - Duchene - Domi
Tatar - Kotka - Gally
Lehk - Poehling - Armia

Gardiner - Weber

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Panarin
Karlsson
Gardiner

Gardiner is the one we'd be most likely to get.

Do not want Duchene.

 

[pepperMonkey]

lol... Julien is not that dumb. I'm not saying no to Duchene cause you think Julien will play Danault more. Come on man.. take your "err" and propaganda somewhere else.

What? Do you think signing a UFA turns us into a instant contender or it should? The point is improving the team and Duchene helps. He can play either wing or center, skates well, and his play making and shot is solid. If he is interested in playing for the Habs, we need to engage in contract talks.

It's not often a talent like this (at his age) is interested in Montreal

Propaganda? Hey, I didn't say Julien will play Danault more. Neither did I say Danault would be our 1st C. You were the one who slotted Danualt above Duchene. Sure you may have meant that either can be our 1st C interchangeably but it was you who put Duchene in the 2nd spot. I only responded to what you wrote. Nothing more nothing less. I did not, at any point, say what I believe Julien would do or not do. Made no opinion on that.

I just said that if getting Duchene meant the realization of your proposed scenario then getting Duchene isn't worth it.

We need, at the very least, one real #1C, a top pairing LHD and possibly another top 2 forward. Sure, Duchene would make the team better but even if we get the LHD and another forward, we won't be a contender with Danault and Duchene as our top 2. We would still need that #1C. And if Danualt is indeed a top 2 C then we need a #2 C as well. I would much rather try to get a real #1 C at any costs. If that means we lounge at the bottom so we can draft that C, then so be it. Pay the damn price already. None of this bandaid strategy. We haven't gotten close in over two decades. At this rate we would be waiting another two decades. I rather not wait that long.

 

[hvac412]

There is no room to sign Karlsson. Massive cap dumping needs to happen to make room for Karlsson.

Lets say they can unload Callahan. That's 8 players to sign with $15.8M in cap space. 8 players include Karlsson and Point? Who else are they moving out that they have to replace on the depth chart? What prospects do they have that fill their holes?

It don't add up. Even if they bridge Point ($5M ish) and they get Karlsson on a team friendly deal ($9M ish), they still have to sign 6 players with $1.8M in cap space. Then who's next that gets dumped? How do they replace the guy they dumped?

I don't think there going to even try for him .way overrated just like Mcdonagh.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Do you realize that nobody wants to sign here ? Unless the guy is an healthy scratch in the playoff for 5 million or a 4th line player

Have you seen the winter we had this year ?

Radulov signed with us but we were stupid to sign him for only 1 year

 

[Habs Halifax]

Propaganda? Hey, I didn't say Julien will play Danault more. Neither did I say Danault would be our 1st C. You were the one who slotted Danualt above Duchene. Sure you may have meant that either can be our 1st C interchangeably but it was you who put Duchene in the 2nd spot. I only responded to what you wrote. Nothing more nothing less. I did not, at any point, say what I believe Julien would do or not do. Made no opinion on that.

I just said that if getting Duchene meant the realization of your proposed scenario then getting Duchene isn't worth it.

We need, at the very least, one real #1C, a top pairing LHD and possibly another top 2 forward. Sure, Duchene would make the team better but even if we get the LHD and another forward, we won't be a contender with Danault and Duchene as our top 2. We would still need that #1C. And if Danualt is indeed a top 2 C then we need a #2 C as well. I would much rather try to get a real #1 C at any costs. If that means we lounge at the bottom so we can draft that C, then so be it. Pay the damn price already. None of this bandaid strategy. We haven't gotten close in over two decades. At this rate we would be waiting another two decades. I rather not wait that long.

Danault is not part of the reasons why I want or don't want Duchene. The goal is adding talent and Duchene can play wing as well if we need him to. What? You going to then say Duchene as a winger gets less time than Danault as a center? Who cares. Lets them earn their ice time. Danault gets no credit for what he does for us because people focus on points only. It's not just about points.

I find it hilarious that some are using Danault as reasons not to sign Duchene.

 

[slybel]

We have a chance at Duchene, Edler and perhaps Skinner. Not sure the other big names would sign here.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I don’t think we will get Panarin.

I do think though that Duchene and Gardiner could come here.

I’d put domi on Duchenes wing with Drouin. Triple DDD line

Drouin - Duchene - Domi
Tatar - Kotka - Gally
Lehk - Poehling - Armia

Gardiner - Weber

- Agree with Panarin
- Agree with Duchene
- Do not agree with Gardiner. He is not coming to Montreal unless we are desperate and offer him both term and AAV. I pass. Rather keep Kulak and Mete in the top 4D for another year and then see how good Romanov is. A better option is Edler. We can get him on a shorter term
- I like the 1st line but Domi plays LW and Drouin plays RW (or Shaw is in that spot)
- Poehling is not ready to play a full time center role. Too early

Where is the Danault love? Why not consider Poehling on his wing for his 1st full year? Or play Poehling 4th line center with top 9 depth type wingers in Byron and Lehkonen? Let the bottom 2 lines battle for the 3rd line ice time?

#2a: Domi / Duchene / Shaw
#2b: Drouin / Danault / Gallagher
#3a: Tatar / Poehling / Byron
#3b: Lehkonen / Kotkaniemi / Armia
Weal, Peca, Deslauriers

Mete / Weber
Kulak / Petry
Benn / Juulsen
Folin, Reilly

Price
Lindgren

Brook, Suzuki, Romanov, Primeau, Evans, Fleury knocking on the door

 

[Habs Halifax]

We have a chance at Duchene, Edler and perhaps Skinner. Not sure the other big names would sign here.

I think Duchene and Edler yes. Not sure about Skinner. Another Ontario boy who likely wears Leafs pajamas. Duchene is from Ontario as well but I keep hearing he cheered for the Habs growing up. No idea how much truth there is to this.

The more and more I think about it, I think Duchene or Edler. And I'm starting to think Edler on a 2 or 3 year term with a high AAV fits the most. Call him the bridge for Romanov.

- Edler would be the bridge to Romanov
- Petry (or Weber) would be the bridge to Brook

2 or 3 years is the magical term.

19/20 Season:
Mete (21) / Weber (34)
Edler (33) / Petry (31)
Kulak (25) / Juulsen (22)
* Benn, Reilly, Folin

22/23 Season:
Mete (23) / Weber (36) or Petry (33)
Romanov (21) / Brook (22)
Kulak (27) / Juulsen (24)
* Fleury (22), Harris (21)

 

[slybel]

I think Duchene and Edler yes. Not sure about Skinner. Another Ontario boy who likely wears Leafs pajamas. Duchene is from Ontario as well but I keep hearing he cheered for the Habs growing up. No idea how much truth there is to this.

The more and more I think about it, I think Duchene or Edler. And I'm starting to think Edler on a 2 or 3 year term with a high AAV fits the most. Call him the bridge for Romanov.

- Edler would be the bridge to Romanov
- Petry (or Weber) would be the bridge to Brook

2 or 3 years is the magical term.

He was apparently. Hence his number 9 for the Avs.. So it would be a good fit for him and the Habs. We have the cap.

Skinner would help for the PP. But dreaming of course.

 

[Habs Halifax]

He was apparently. Hence his number 9 for the Avs.. So it would be a good fit for him and the Habs. We have the cap.

Skinner would help for the PP. But dreaming of course.

I think we have $6M - $8M available without putting us in a major cap problem moving forward with the youth and how they can grow and need raises.

If Duchene want's to sign for 7 years at $8M. I'd do it. I think Skinner also fits but I have my doubts he considers Montreal over all the other teams that will be interested. We would have to overpay to make him think about it.