Does Bergevin re-sign Emelin and Diaz for next year?

[Intangir]

Using capgeek I tried to see how our roster would look like with both Diaz and Emelin signed. My conclusion; we have enough capspace to sign them both so why not do it? They're a proven quantity and quite good at what they do.

FORWARDS
Max Pacioretty ($4.500m) / Tomas Plekanec ($5.000m) / Daniel Briere ($4.000m)
Alex Galchenyuk ($3.225m) / Lars Eller ($3.500m) / Brendan Gallagher ($0.870m)
Brandon Prust ($2.500m) / David Desharnais ($3.500m) / Rene Bourque ($3.333m)
Travis Moen ($1.850m) / Ryan White ($0.750m) / Michael Bournival ($0.870m)
Louis Leblanc ($0.851m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Andrei Markov ($5.000m) / P.K. Subban ($7.500m)
Josh Gorges ($3.900m) / Alexei Emelin ($3.000m)
Jarred Tinordi ($1.083m) / Raphael Diaz ($2.875m)
Davis Drewiske ($0.638m) /
GOALTENDERS
Carey Price ($6.500m)
Peter Budaj ($1.400m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $66,643,833; BONUSES: $2,907,500
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $563,667

 

[Analyzer*]

Right now, I'm more for Emelin. Diaz has a game where he plays well and makes a nice pass, or shot block. Next game, he's more useless than a pylon stuck in a corner.

 

[Wats]

Diaz looked pretty mediocre early on but I think he's starting to look like a legit long term #4/5 D option lately. Hopefully Emelin can return to what he was before his injury as another #4/5 D. That physical element was quite a treat to watch and I'm sure helped the D overall be much harder to play against for opposition forwards. His versatility to play either side also shouldn't be ignored. I don't see any reason not to extend both. No need to rush Beaulieu and Tinordi. Playing regular top 6 in the NHL at 20/21/22 is an exception rather than the norm.

 

[the]

There's no love for player 61, he's doing a good job this season but Markov and Subban are stealing the spotlight. He will get his respect soon.

 

[Beendair Donedat]

Sign Subban, Markov, Emelin, Diaz.

Subban: Long term, big contract.
Markov: 2 years, pay cut, 3.5 million per
Emelin: 3 years, 3 million per
Diaz: 1 year 2 million

UFA signing: One of Clayton Stoner or Mark Fraser

Defense pairings:

Markov - Subban
Emelin - Diaz
Gorges - Tinordi/UFA


Keep Tinordi with the big club full time. Gives the club a nice mix of size and skill... Let Beaulieu dominate the AHL one more year and than replace Diaz.

 

[FuzzyWuzzy]

There's no love for player 61, he's doing a good job this season but Markov and Subban are stealing the spotlight. He will get his respect soon.

He's played really solid hockey the last 2 games.

 

[JLP]

He's played really solid hockey the last 2 games.

The last two games we didn't play physical teams. I think Player 61's flaws are exposed mostly when we play physical teams.

 

[hogtownhabsfan*]

I think so.

The guy's who might not be back are Markov and Murray IMO. That depends on how Beaulieu and Tinordi develop over the rest of the season though.

Diaz is playing great. Hopefully Emelin returns 100%.

 

[FuzzyWuzzy]

The last two games we didn't play physical teams. I think Player 61's flaws are exposed mostly when we play physical teams.

Not that i disagree (i dont) but Winnipeg has a big team and he played his best game of the season against them.

 

[Markowicz]

Hard to say with Diaz. Right now he's simply "ok" because he's not playing with a physical D. The Habs need a better mix of physicality and skill on each pairing, and that's why Bergevin got Murray. That said, I'm not sure what Diaz' upside is. To me we're just keeping him around until Beaulieu is able to replace him. I don't feel he does anything particularly well, though he doesn't really make many mistakes either. My problem with him is that he gets pushed around too easily. Maybe he'll be able to open up his game with a guy like Murray on his side next month. It'll be easier to judge whether or not we should keep him after he has the right kind of protection.

That said, i feel like Gorges got his contract because he played alongside Subban and they were a top pairing. It's dangerous sometimes to give someone a contract after they play in a perfect situation. I'm not sure if Bergevin would still give Gorges 3.9m a year for 5 years if he was playing with Diaz or Bouillon when he signed that contract. It's not a bad contract, i guess.

 

[Number 57]

Can't see Markov being gone. Subban-Markov-Gorges-Emelin is a solid top-4 IMO. Markov obviously takes a bit of a paycut.

Beaulieu-Tinordi are ready. Not sure if they're the ones completing the top-6 next year because I think Bergevin likes having depth. So perhaps two of Diaz, Drewiske, Bouillon or Murray stay in case of injuries. Don't forget Nygren and Pateryn who are close to being ready.

One thing is for sure, can't see Bergevin spending assets to acquire defense or goaltending in the near future. Our depth at both positions is great and we have kids coming. I mean Price is our goalie and on defense we have a ton of good players. Markov will retire eventually but then Beaulieu and Tinordi should be OK with playing top-4 hockey.

Lots of solid names up front as well. Really liking the depth in the org.

 

[Bryson]

I think so.

The guy's who might not be back are Markov and Murray IMO. That depends on how Beaulieu and Tinordi develop over the rest of the season though.

Diaz is playing great. Hopefully Emelin returns 100%.

Why do you think Markov might not be back? He's playing some of his best hockey. I see everybody on the team getting signed to be honest so my question to you guys is with

Markov - Subban
Emelin - Diaz
Gorges - Tinord

do you guys feel that is enough to win a stanley cup with?

 

[Brainiac]

Markov - Subban
Emelin - Diaz
Gorges - Tinord

do you guys feel that is enough to win a stanley cup with?

First and third pairings are fine. Good mix of skills there.

However, the second pairing is not there yet. An upgrade on Diaz would help, otherwise two of our top 4 are not physical at all. Makes thing too easy for other teams. Hopefully, Beaulieu is that upgrade if he reaches his potential.

And Emelin has yet to come back and show what he's capable of in terms of offense.

So, with an optimistic frame of mind, I think we can get there. But it's a fine line. For example, by the time Beaulieu and Tinordi reach their potential (if they both do!), we can realistically expect Markov to regress.

That's also why finding a more physical #4D should have been a priority over signing an aging small player.

 

[MasterD]

Can we just wait before we sign Emelin??? There is no rush to sign him and we don't know if his injury slowed him or not.

This. For sure I want him to come back, be great and sign him. But let's give him some time to prove his injury didn't change his play, we can afford this time frame.

Diaz, well, I wish we could remove him from the lineup right now, so yeah, let him go. If we can trade him for a 5th round pick when Murray or Emelin comes back, perfect for me.

 

[Bryson]

First and third pairings are fine. Good mix of skills there.

However, the second pairing is not there yet. An upgrade on Diaz would help, otherwise two of our top 4 are not physical at all. Makes thing too easy for other teams. Hopefully, Beaulieu is that upgrade if he reaches his potential.

And Emelin has yet to come back and show what he's capable of in terms of offense.

So, with an optimistic frame of mind, I think we can get there. But it's a fine line. For example, by the time Beaulieu and Tinordi reach their potential (if they both do!), we can realistically expect Markov to regress.

That's also why finding a more physical #4D should have been a priority over signing an aging small player.

I think that Diaz would make a good #5. He plays over 20 minutes a game as well as playing on the 2nd PP but of all our D I think he is the weakest link. Girardi who turns UFA seems to be a fan favorite around here and would be an ideal 2nd pairing Dman. It'll be interesting to see if MB will try to get an upgrade over Diaz on the open market but if he does wait until july he might risk losing Diaz as well?

I really miss that stabilizing Dman on the back end like Hamrlik but Emelin might be that guy. In that case I might not mind Diaz being back.

 

[odishabs]

Emelin - Subban

Markov - Girardi

Gorges - Tinordi


a guy can dream..

 

[groovejuice]

In all fairness, Diaz is recovering from a serious concussion. He's only just starting to get back to his previous self.

Gotta give him 40 games before any judgement. He really was playing second pairing level before his serious injury.

 

[Tyson]

If Subban and Markov come back, Diaz is history.

 

[calder candidate]

I think he already being show cases being the most used D vs. the jacket...Not sure will be so easy to replace Diaz but I rather trade him while is value is high to made room for some of our young D.

We can not let him walk.