Around the League: Hockey Is In the Air...

[Daisy Jane]

i really have to wonder if the only thing saving Bergevin's job is that he's french. because that is hands down one of the stupidest things he could have done (this week). why on earth would you put the gun on your own head. He's a UFA next year (right?). Patches flat out said he won't play if he's not the captain. (to which if it were me i'd be like okay, and put him on waivers and he can go ride the bus). and now people will offer him crap because it's like well you don't want him, and he's gonna be free in a year or two.

seessssh.
at least when we were dysfunctional you could see some of the fundamental logic behind the actions even though they were stupid.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Not sure which team is worse off - Ottawa or Montreal

 

[Mess]

Not sure which team is worse off - Ottawa or Montreal

Leafs are the benefactors along with the rest of the Atlantic teams by playing in the easiest Div because of the chaos in Montreal and Ottawa.

4 X games against each team is 16 free points in the standings.

 

[Trapper]

Not sure which team is worse off - Ottawa or Montreal

At present I'd say Ottawa (especially if Karlsson is dealt).
Montreal (while missing Weber and center depth) at least has the possibility Price goes career year mode. Probably unlikely with that D but you never know.
I see both these teams at the bottom of the Atlantic.

 

[ShaneFalco]

I see both these teams at the bottom of the Atlantic.

For the foreseeable future

 

[taurine330]

Would be more fun if Ottawa and Montreal were good when we're good aswell... Oh well.

 

[Ari91]

I honestly don't know what the Habs are doing and just as easily as this rumour could be completely false because it's a slow day and they need something to talk about, it could also be entirely true because Bergevin seems stupid enough to needlessly expose his poker hand. It's one thing for every GM to assume that your captain will unlikely re-sign in a year or two, but to hand that information to them only makes it harder to negotiate a fair trade back for the Habs. Given that Bergevin is easily at the top of the list of GMs that constantly complain about how hard it is to be a GM and make deals, he's the last guy in the league that should voluntarily handicap any leverage (real or perceived) he's got.

What his is plan anyway? I saw a headline where he mentioned something about the Habs being competitive this year, or he could have been referring to them being competitive in trying to make deals. I'm not sure, but their current roster leaves me confused to what direction they're going in.

 

[Stephen]

What's everyone's appetite for extending an offer sheet to Andrei Vasilevskiy in a couple of years? Try to steal Tampa's goalie and blow up their cap.

 

[I Believe]

I never paid much attention to Karlsson last year but man, surprised he still put up 62 points in 71 games.
On that team with those forwards. Had a down year too apparently.

Crazy how good his offence is.

 

[Walshy7]

At present I'd say Ottawa (especially if Karlsson is dealt).
Montreal (while missing Weber and center depth) at least has the possibility Price goes career year mode. Probably unlikely with that D but you never know.
I see both these teams at the bottom of the Atlantic.

just like the titanic! hopefully never to be heard or seen from again

 

[Leaf Rocket]

At this pace it's never going to be done.

well its a tough deal but damn i just want it done so people aren't holding their breaths for other trades that potentially might be on the rise.

 

[Menzinger]

What's everyone's appetite for extending an offer sheet to Andrei Vasilevskiy in a couple of years? Try to steal Tampa's goalie and blow up their cap.

Potentially, be would depend on the cost.

I don’t like the idea of paying goalies more than like 5.5 mil

 

[IBeL34f]

just like the titanic! hopefully never to be heard or seen from again

Wait, we're gonna get to see a 3-hour James Cameron movie about the sinking of the Habs and Sens?! Sign me up! I hope the Leafs get to play the iceberg...

 

[IBeL34f]

At present I'd say Ottawa (especially if Karlsson is dealt).
Montreal (while missing Weber and center depth) at least has the possibility Price goes career year mode. Probably unlikely with that D but you never know.
I see both these teams at the bottom of the Atlantic.

I think the smartest thing Montreal could do at this point is sell off Price and blow it all up. What a mess they are.

 

[Walshy7]

Wait, we're gonna get to see a 3-hour James Cameron movie about the sinking of the Habs and Sens?! Sign me up! I hope the Leafs get to play the iceberg...

oh yeah im down for that. In the Ottawa and monteal aread it will be marketed as a drama, in Toronto is will be marketed as a slapstick comedy

 

[AuraSphere]

This is random, but I was watching Grey's Anatomy and I found Morgan Rielly on the show

 

[Superstar]

This is random, but I was watching Grey's Anatomy and I found Morgan Rielly on the show

That's how shocked Rielly was when he found out we signed Tavares.

 

[Brobust]

I think the smartest thing Montreal could do at this point is sell off Price and blow it all up. What a mess they are.

Selling off Price might be difficult. Goalies, no matter how good, just aren't worth that much.

Another thing with Price is that big goalies with injury issues, especially groin or knee injuries, tend to age very badly. In three years, Price might be a bigger albatross than Weber.

 

[93LEAFS]

Yzerman hasn't won anything...and he inherited Stamkos, Hedman, MSL, Vinny...etc. He's done well, but the tax advantage and the lack of cups make me wonder why he has the cultish following. At least win a cup before you crown him.

He also whiffed on two top 10 picks (Koekkeok and Brett Conolly) and took Drouin over Jones, and to a lesser extent Monahan. He's good, but people act like he's a god at being a GM. Kucherov and Point, are both players who easily make up for missing in the top 10, but lets do not forget this management team thought at least Anthony DeAngelo, Dominik Masin, and Johnathan McLeod were better than Point, and that Namestnikov was better than Kucherov. They did well to take them, but with picks that late luck is involved.

I'll give him credit, he's smart on when to cut his losses and trade bad high-picks for more 2nds to take chances such as dumping DeAngelo and Connolly. They are very effective drafting in the late rounds (but are very average to bad in the first). To be honest, if I was hitting on late picks but missing on early ones, I would really wonder what is going on with my process that is leading to these results. Now, obviously, you'd love to have the best of both worlds. But, hitting on your 1st rounders (especially high-ones) and missing past that logically makes more sense than how the Lightning's drafts have shaken out.

 

[Daisy Jane]

Selling off Price might be difficult. Goalies, no matter how good, just aren't worth that much.

Another thing with Price is that big goalies with injury issues, especially groin or knee injuries, tend to age very badly. In three years, Price might be a bigger albatross than Weber.

honestly that was the stupidest contract that Bergevin could have ever signed. Price was not worth 10.5m

 

[MJ65]

 

[taurine330]

That's a lot of money for a mediocre goalie.

 

[Brobust]

That's a lot of money for a mediocre goalie.

Nah, he's pretty good. Reminds me a lot of Freddie Andersen, and he's younger too.

 

[taurine330]

Nah, he's pretty good. Reminds me a lot of Freddie Andersen, and he's younger too.

OK, good goalie. Not a great though.

 

[Mess]

That's a lot of money for a mediocre goalie.

Mediocre ??

He was a Vezina finalist and put up 2.36 GA & .924 sv% .

The contract carries a $6.167 million cap hit for Hellebuyck, who was a Vezina Trophy finalist last season.

Hellebuyck started 64 games last season, posting a 44-11-9 record with .924 save percentage and a 2.36 goals-against average. In his first career postseason, Hellebuyck posted a 9-8 record with a .922 save percentage and 2.36 GAA as the Jets reached the Western Conference Final. He had six shutouts during the regular season and added two in the playoffs.