Speculation: Bergevin to hit Panic Button in MTL

[Sky04]

Pipe dreams and moral victories are all we have left this year!

Obviously a deal for Tavares would have to be on the condition that he signs a long term deal. Habs are desperate enough to make it interesting to the Islanders

Tavares is dead smack in his prime right now, he's going to sign where he thinks he can win. With the media in Montreal and a reserved guy like Tavares what makes you think he'd want to sign there?

Also what can the habs offer without gutting their current team or run themselves into cap troubles by acquiring a signed Tavares and be a cup contender? If a drowning Pacioretty and Galchenyuk are your main bargaining chips then goodluck.

 

[GoldenSeal]

Ok so they are 5 points off of being in the top slot in the East, beginning of the season and everyone is losing their minds right now. First step, calm down.

Second, bench Price and put Montoya in.

Go from there.

 

[guapo23]

So I wonder where the posters are who were bragging up how good Montreal would be this year, and how the roster is even better than last years...

Who was was saying that?? Every Habs fan I know has been in a deep dark depression about the horrible moves Bergevin made this summer. Even the most sycophantic local sports journalists are mentioning that the fanbase is calling for Bergevin's head. The rage over the Subban trade has transformed into a deep brooding depression. No one is surprised by how poorly the team is doing

 

[LondonKendrick]

Montreal getting a lottery would the best thing for them, if they get lucky draft a high end piece, if not a great trade chip for a Duchene or Turris.

They're not winning a cup this year so get a piece that moves them forward.

 

[Thenameless]

Trade Price? I don't think we can surround him with enough pieces to win a Cup. Tavares would be the absolute best we could do, and a line up of Tavares, Weber, and Price is still not good enough to get past the Penguins.

 

[A Loyal Dog]

Trade Price? I don't think we can surround him with enough pieces to win a Cup. Tavares would be the absolute best we could do, and a line up of Tavares, Weber, and Price is still not good enough to get past the Penguins.

Tavares, Drouin, Weber, and Price as our main 4 pieces can certainly make some noise, but as others have mentioned: I doubt Tavares would even think of coming to Montreal.

 

[Thenameless]

Tavares, Drouin, Weber, and Price as our main 4 pieces can certainly make some noise, but as others have mentioned: I doubt Tavares would even think of coming to Montreal.

Well yeah, I'd love to see this too, but it seems like more of a pipe dream to me.

 

[A Loyal Dog]

Well yeah, I'd love to see this too, but it seems like more of a pipe dream to me.

Dreaming is good. It gives us hope until we wake up and realize that Bergevin's still GM of the f***ing Montreal Canadiens.

 

[GoldenSeal]

JT coming to MTL could happen, it might cost you Price to do it. The question becomes do you give up Price to leverage scoring or do you keep Price and expect him to stand on his head 24/7? The later has not worked out at all since the days of Jaroslav Halak. Might be worth considering.

The ironic part? Halak's with NYI and he's doing very well so I can imagine they don't need or want Price.

Saying all of that, cashing in Price for some help might be worth considering.

 

[Thenameless]

We need to get back to the days of Sam Pollock vs a bunch of dumb GM's.

 

[ijuka]

I think that it'd be a good idea to trade Price now and get some real offense and center(s) in return. He currently has a lot of value but down the line, in a couple of years his contract will be a hinderance after his play declines.

 

[Riptide]

Who was was saying that?? Every Habs fan I know has been in a deep dark depression about the horrible moves Bergevin made this summer. Even the most sycophantic local sports journalists are mentioning that the fanbase is calling for Bergevin's head. The rage over the Subban trade has transformed into a deep brooding depression. No one is surprised by how poorly the team is doing

Looking for the thread... someone created a "how to make Montreal good again" thread - or something along those lines. Had a ton of replies (200+). However the search function on the new boards blows ass so bad I can't find it.

 

[HugoLalumiere]

Yes I agree. I have no problem adding more to get a franchise player like Tavares.
MaxPac is good for close to 40 goals and has good defensive play.
But he is not a franchise player, not a leader. He inspires no one and disappears in the playoffs.
Never finishes a bodycheck. Never uses his size to score an ugly goal.

I second that. But on that note, I'm not convinced Duchene would be much of an improvement. Sure, the man can fly on the ice but he hasn't shown Pacioretty's goal production so far and has shown no definite sign of ever topping 60 pts, let alone 35 goals. In short, acquiring Duchene would just be an incompetent GM's knee-jerk and costly move to try and patch up the boat.

Bergevin showed up very late to the dance, stacking his team with grinders in an era where skill and speed are more and more prevalent. Relying entirely too much on Price is just asinine. He certainly won't help with our anemic offense. I wonder how many of our players have simply given up because of how things were managed.

 

[Riptide]

I think that it'd be a good idea to trade Price now and get some real offense and center(s) in return. He currently has a lot of value but down the line, in a couple of years his contract will be a hinderance after his play declines.

Between the overall value goalies in general have, Prices cap hit, overall contract and his NTC (15 team no trade list), good luck getting ANY sort of value in return. Vancouver had a bitch of a time moving Luongo, and he had a 5.3m cap hit, and he only had around 35m left owing in salary on his deal... Price is still owed over 85m in salary. Yes he's currently the best goalie (or one of the top 2-3 goalies) in the league... but a 10.5m cap hit until he's 39? Yeah good luck moving that, and actually getting ANYTHING of value.

I'd be surprised if they could do better than a 1st, a meh prospect/young kid, a replacement goalie and a cap dump. Especially seeing he can block half the league. And if Montreal can't move him this season, his full NMC kicks in in July.

 

[Finnished]

It's crazy to think that a team with such crazy ticket prices and sellout games for who knows how long can't attract any star forwards. Last top 10 in points by a Montreal forward was like 30 years ago and I forgot when was the last top 20 finish by them. Rebuilding by draft is a lot harder now than it was before when last place ensured you would draft at least second now it means at least 4th..

 

[ijuka]

Between the overall value goalies in general have, Prices cap hit, overall contract and his NTC (15 team no trade list), good luck getting ANY sort of value in return. Vancouver had a ***** of a time moving Luongo, and he had a 5.3m cap hit, and he only had around 35m left owing in salary on his deal... Price is still owed over 85m in salary. Yes he's currently the best goalie (or one of the top 2-3 goalies) in the league... but a 10.5m cap hit until he's 39? Yeah good luck moving that, and actually getting ANYTHING of value.

I'd be surprised if they could do better than a 1st, a meh prospect/young kid, a replacement goalie and a cap dump. Especially seeing he can block half the league. And if Montreal can't move him this season, his full NMC kicks in in July.

That's exactly why they need to do it now, right now. Goalie is the least valuable position and it'll be a massive headache trying to move him after he actually declines. That contract is a ticking time bomb.

By the way, I said this about Hank over a year ago and now the Rangers fans seem to be on board with this. But you have to make the move before the value is actually significantly lost.

 

[Pyrophorus]

MB won't be making anymore trades. I figure he's fired if the Habs lose in Anaheim.

This quick-this early? Give him sometime..

 

[Pyrophorus]

Seen habs fan's think Tavares is their solution, uhh yeah how do you plan on getting him? Doubt he'd be even interested in re-signing long term in Montreal anyways. Seems like a pipedream to me.

The X factor.

Just say JT does want out, aside from the money what else do they have to offer.
Does any player in the league say, "I want to win a Cup, and I can do it in Montreal"?
I don't know why Price re-signed.

 

[BruinLVGA]

This is how I suspect it will all go down:

At some point, barring a drastic turnaround in MTL's fortunes, one or more of Pacioretty and Galchenyuk will be traded. The return is likely to be Duchene. These players will be the base of any deal. Bergevin will make other personnel changes in a desperate bid to improve the team and keep his job. Weber will be given the C.

Bergevin's firing is inevitable however, and will come this season or off-season. The poor results on the ice, combined with poor asset management, all but guarantee MB's departure. The loss of players such as Radulov, Subban, Markov, Emelin, Sergachev and others has helped to narrow the cup window. A lack of prospects and draft picks in the cupboard leaves the organization and fans wanting.

Probably Roy will become the new GM, mostly because he's French, but also because he's a storied, former star goaltender. Julien will remain the coach. The hiring of this new GM will signal the commencement of a much-needed rebuild and the pursuit of new priorities.

Because MTL has some great pieces to build around, the rebuild will be accelerated. A complete tear-down is possible but unlikely. Price, Weber, Drouin and Duchene will be among the core players to remain in MTL. Habs will bottom out this year and get a good player at the draft. It's expected the new GM will make more inspired and wise decisions to turn the organization around.

It's time we fans embrace what is to come. If we're lucky, it will be similar to what has happened in Toronto.

It was never there.

 

[Mick Riddleton]

Habs fans may say we will get this guy or that guy but who wants to go to a rebuilding team and have the window for winning the cup closed for up to 5 years and pay more taxes and play in a fish bowl of constant scrutiny. Who wants to go play for a coach that will kill any chance of hitting bonuses with his lets win 1-0 games, no one will volunteer for that.

 

[tokyoite]

Adieu Bergevin ?

 

[amnesiac]

As a Habs fan I would prefer a trade involving Max Pac vs Tavares. I dont think Duchesne brings enough to make a difference to this horrible team.

And I prefer they fire Bergevin and let the new GM make the trades

unless he sure to re-sign, which he isnt, the Habs obviously wont go for him.

 

[Liferleafer]

I think that it'd be a good idea to trade Price now and get some real offense and center(s) in return. He currently has a lot of value but down the line, in a couple of years his contract will be a hinderance after his play declines.

This isn't meant as a troll....but i have read multiple posts saying trade Price for multiple good assets....what team is trading for a 10 million dollar goalie? The minute the ink dried on that contract, Price was tied to Montreal for 8 years.

 

[BruinLVGA]

This isn't meant as a troll....but i have read multiple posts saying trade Price for multiple good assets....what team is trading for a 10 million dollar goalie? The minute the ink dried on that contract, Price was tied to Montreal for 8 years.

Agreed. That contract is an anchor, makes price untradeable unless MTL would retain 2-3 mill

 

[613Leafer]

I don't even know how you rebuild this team. Even a fast rebuild takes ~3 years or so, and Price is already 30.

So do you keep him? Or do you look to trade him right after having re-signed him? Same for Weber. And for both, they'd really need to be looking at retaining salary, which isn't ideal given the length of their contracts.

If the Habs are just trying to "re-tool" by trading for Duchene for example, I don't really see that working. They just don't have a deep enough farm or enough good assets. Add Duchene and substract Galchenyuk, and this team still has multiple holes that they can't fill easily via trade or free agency (given the cap and given their limited tradable assets).