HF Habs: Expansion Draft 2021 (Part 2)

[Whitesnake]

There's no reason to jump through hoops trying to protect 4D since we should be aiming to acquire a PMD to play with Weber anyways. So losing Chiarot shouldn't be a big deal as he's likely already losing his spot, and you don't even really need him as the backup top-4 guy in case of injuries since we have Romanov who can do that.

So true. That lineup was fine in the playoffs. But that style of play won't be sustainable in the regular season. What's the use of being great in the playoffs if you can't make it. You need to indeed add a PMD if available. But even if it's not, Chiarot is going to be UFA next year. How much more will he ask for and is it going to be worth it.

Yet, knowing Bergie, he'll go safe. And it will be 4-4-1.

 

[BaseballCoach]

True we shouldn't jump through hoops.

But keeping Chiarot would be good. So you have to see what the price is to do so. If the price is too high, let him go. If the price is right, keep him. It's all about the price.

I'd also like to unload the Drouin and or Byron contracts. So if that can be done in the process of keeping Chiarot, all the better. I like Byron. But we could use that cap space to imrpove the D and get that one more scoring forward to replace Tatar and Drouin.

Do you think Tatar falls into the COVID pit, and finds no takers at a normal salary, and we can get him back on a one-year show me deal?

 

[neopreneur]

Do you think Tatar falls into the COVID pit, and finds no takers at a normal salary, and we can get him back on a one-year show me deal?

Tatar is a goner either way.
I like him overall, but MB wouldn't have said what he said at his presser if he thought there was a chance he'd come back.

He's a really good complimentary player but can't seem to elevate his game in the playoffs... Yet.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Tatar is a goner either way.
I like him overall, but MB wouldn't have said what he said at his presser if he thought there was a chance he'd come back.

He's a really good complimentary player but can't seem to elevate his game in the playoffs... Yet.

I dunno. You're probably right, but at $1.5M for one year, I'd pull the trigger.

 

[didimentionlarseller]

Contrary to what HF believes, if Drouin can play next year he still has value. Losing him for free would be bad.

Not much value he’s had problems in each nhl team he’s played for and he has scored 20 goals only once in his entire playing career.

He seems to be a better playmaker but he doesn’t score enough to keep his points in line with his contract.

I do think Bergevin totally set him up to fail and forced him into a position he wasn’t going to do well in

 

[26Mats]

Do you think Tatar falls into the COVID pit, and finds no takers at a normal salary, and we can get him back on a one-year show me deal?

I would have liked to have seen Tatar against Tampa. We gave them fits the past two seasons with speed and skill - they're a much different matchup than Vegas, which is why Romanov and Kulak replaced Merrill and Gus. In hindsight, i would have had KK and Tatar replace Staal and one of out wingers - byron or Lehk probably.

So to answer your question, I do wonder if Tatar-Danault-Gallagher can still be an effective line - at least in the regular season - a "get you to the playoffs line."

I always envisioned them being a good 3rd line once the kids emerged. And now with Suzuki, Caufield, Toffoli, Anderson, and KK, we pretty much have a top 6 that they can play 3rd line behind.

Anderson Suzuki Caufield
Toffoli KK Evans
Tatar Danault Gallagher
Lehk/Byron/ Armia [vet 4c] perry

While we're at it, maybe Drouin-KK-Toffoli is our 2nd line and Evan's moves to 4c.

 

[montreal]

Do you think Tatar falls into the COVID pit, and finds no takers at a normal salary, and we can get him back on a one-year show me deal?

no way do I see him coming back to a team that gave up on him in the playoffs, he'll find a home somewhere but I can't see it being here.

 

[Sorinth]

True we shouldn't jump through hoops.

But keeping Chiarot would be good. So you have to see what the price is to do so. If the price is too high, let him go. If the price is right, keep him. It's all about the price.

I'd also like to unload the Drouin and or Byron contracts. So if that can be done in the process of keeping Chiarot, all the better. I like Byron. But we could use that cap space to imrpove the D and get that one more scoring forward to replace Tatar and Drouin.

Sure but the price has to be next to nothing (A late round pick). If we do get a legitimate PMD to play with Weber then Chiarot will be in the same position as Byron, good player but the cap hit not being worth the role.

 

[26Mats]

Sure but the price has to be next to nothing (A late round pick). If we do get a legitimate PMD to play with Weber then Chiarot will be in the same position as Byron, good player but the cap hit not being worth the role.

I'm ok with paying Chiarot 3.5M to be Romanov's partner on a 3rd pair. He can step into the top 4 in case of injury.

IMO Chiarot's value to the team >>>>>>> Byron's value.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Starting to think about protecting 8 players. Who’s more valuable Eddy/Chiarot or Lehkonen or Drouin? If Eddy/Chiarot than go with 4+4.

KK
Gally
Toffoli
Anderson
Weber
Petry
Eddy
Chiarot
Price

Roll the dice with Kraken taking Allen over Drouin or Lehkky.

 

[malcb33]

I'm ok with paying Chiarot 3.5M to be Romanov's partner on a 3rd pair. He can step into the top 4 in case of injury.

IMO Chiarot's value to the team >>>>>>> Byron's value.

Do you mean playing Chiarot there just next year and letting him walk after his contract expires? Long-term (resigning him) I don't think it works having that much money tired up on your 3rd pair.

 

[Maitz]

Strike a deal with Kraken taking Drouin that’s it that’s all

 

[CHfan1]

Starting to think about protecting 8 players. Who’s more valuable Eddy/Chiarot or Lehkonen or Drouin? If Eddy/Chiarot than go with 4+4.

KK
Gally
Toffoli
Anderson
Weber
Petry
Eddy
Chiarot
Price

Roll the dice with Kraken taking Allen over Drouin or Lehkky.

What about Evans? One year left on a rookie deal then is a RFA vs Chiarot who has one year left on his deal before becoming an UFA.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

I'm ok with paying Chiarot 3.5M to be Romanov's partner on a 3rd pair. He can step into the top 4 in case of injury.

IMO Chiarot's value to the team >>>>>>> Byron's value.

...Chiarot is redundant with Mr. Ed here and that's the issue...as Romanov's partner, who's gonna play the right side, cuz neither is as comfortable on the right side as they are on their natural left side...and we need him to NOT be used near as much as he has been; do you honestly think that happen if he stays here??...I don't; the coaching staff will fall back on the Chiarot - Weber pairing at the first sign of any adversity, even if Bargain Bin does go out and get a PMD to play on the Top Pairing to start the season next year...

 

[Sterling Archer]

What about Evans? One year left on a rookie deal then is a RFA vs Chiarot who has one year left on his deal before becoming an UFA.

We’re losing someone. If you want to keep your 4 D, you’re gonna lose a forward. Question is who’s deems more valuable to the team. My thought is with Poehling and Vejdemo looking like they’re ready to take the next step, they’ll protect their D and sacrifice a forward.

 

[Sorinth]

I'm ok with paying Chiarot 3.5M to be Romanov's partner on a 3rd pair. He can step into the top 4 in case of injury.

IMO Chiarot's value to the team >>>>>>> Byron's value.

Both are LD which isn't ideal, and stylistically I'm not sure it's a good fit either. I'd rather someone a bit more consistent who can cover for his partners mistakes rather then a guy Romanov will end up needing to cover for.

Chiarot might be the more valuable player, but not for our team. Chiarot brings what pretty much every D on this team also brings.

 

[WinterLion]

no way do I see him coming back to a team that gave up on him in the playoffs, he'll find a home somewhere but I can't see it being here.

Yeah I agree, unless there was something else going on like a nagging injury of some sort

 

[Whalers Fan]

Not sure why Lehkonen would take 1.5M when his qualifying offer is 2.4M? That's a pretty difficult contract negotiation if he has any intention of being more than a 4th line player.

It makes very little sense to lose Chiarot/Edmundson for nothing. Either would bring back assets in a trade, neither are grossly overpaid relative to their contribution, and both would have more than a couple of teams looking to add them. With an aging Weber (and Petry), it's more likely that we have a 3rd pairing playing closer to 18-20mins per night - if they aren't lost to the ED or traded afterwards, both defenceman would be excellent in that role.

You can still add a PMD at any point, maybe just not an 8M one.

I can say the same thing about Evans - - it makes little sense to lose him for nothing. He's a young, cost controlled center who has legitimate 3C potential. That's more valuable than Chiarot, who is a 30 year old defenseman on the final year of his contract and should really be on the 3rd pairing of a good defensive group. That's more easily replaced than Evans.

The Habs are going to lose a player. In an ideal world it would be Drouin, but more likely it will be someone who contributed during the playoffs... or Jake Allen.

 

[WinterLion]

We’re losing someone. If you want to keep your 4 D, you’re gonna lose a forward. Question is who’s deems more valuable to the team. My thought is with Poehling and Vejdemo looking like they’re ready to take the next step, they’ll protect their D and sacrifice a forward.

Yeah true... I forgot about Vejdemo... we will need both those guys and maybe Ylonen to play games next year.... and ultimately one of them will need to become a fixture.

It also depends on what the situation is with Drouin and Danault though... because those are some very murky waters and we might be in a situation where we need to protect one of those guys...

 

[Whalers Fan]

Yeah true... I forgot about Vejdemo... we will need both those guys and maybe Ylonen to play games next year.... and ultimately one of them will need to become a fixture.

It also depends on what the situation is with Drouin and Danault though... because those are some very murky waters and we might be in a situation where we need to protect one of those guys...

There is no situation where the Habs should be protecting Drouin.

 

[Draft]

I can say the same thing about Evans - - it makes little sense to lose him for nothing. He's a young, cost controlled center who has legitimate 3C potential. That's more valuable than Chiarot, who is a 30 year old defenseman on the final year of his contract and should really be on the 3rd pairing of a good defensive group. That's more easily replaced than Evans.

The Habs are going to lose a player. In an ideal world it would be Drouin, but more likely it will be someone who contributed during the playoffs... or Jake Allen.

It may simply be that I don't see a lot of upside with Evans. Already 25, he's about where he'll end up. A solid, versatile player with no outstanding attributes but good all around. I don't feel that's difficult to replace with guys like Poehling, Vejdemo, and Teasdale all knocking on the doorstep - and several more coming up on the wing. You'd get next to nothing for him in a trade and IMO, is very easily replaced with league-minimum players.

With Chiarot, you could end up with a usable asset if you felt he just didn't fit and needed to be traded. Defenceman with size, with good skating, who are capable of playing 20mins and have recent cup finals experience... are worth a lot in the NHL. Not his fault he's not a PMD or a superb fit on our roster, that doesn't mean he doesn't have value.

 

[Whalers Fan]

It may simply be that I don't see a lot of upside with Evans. Already 25, he's about where he'll end up. A solid, versatile player with no outstanding attributes but good all around. I don't feel that's difficult to replace with guys like Poehling, Vejdemo, and Teasdale all knocking on the doorstep - and several more coming up on the wing. You'd get next to nothing for him in a trade and IMO, is very easily replaced with league-minimum players.

With Chiarot, you could end up with a usable asset if you felt he just didn't fit and needed to be traded. Defenceman with size, with good skating, who are capable of playing 20mins and have recent cup finals experience... are worth a lot in the NHL. Not his fault he's not a PMD or a superb fit on our roster, that doesn't mean he doesn't have value.

None of those players you mentioned have demonstrated yet that they can play in the NHL. Evans has done that.

Chiarot is gone in another year anyway. Why protect him over an emerging prospect when Ben should be replaced with a PMD anyway?

 

[Draft]

None of those players you mentioned have demonstrated that they can play in the NHL. Evans has done that.

Chiarot is gone in another year anyway. Why protect him over an emerging prospect when Ben should be replaced with a PMD anyway?

I mean... Poehling has a pretty sick GPG but...

It's a pretty simple projection to have Vejdemo and Poehling getting NHL time next year. Evans couldn't play in the NHL until he did. If we desperately need someone to fill his spot, we give one of those guys a chance (who are ready) or one of the many 4Cs available on the market that can do the exact same thing. Heck, we could even move a 5th and acquire a new one at the trade deadline. He's 25, he's not an emerging prospect. He's a depth player.

You either use Chiarot as a stop-gap for Romanov instead of throwing him in as a top-4, or you trade him for actual value.

 

[Colezuki]

Reality Chariot around the league has a value of a 1st + to a team looking to go on a run, Evan’s / Lehk are likely worth a 3rd. This is why all four D are getting protected

 

[Sorinth]

Reality Chariot around the league has a value of a 1st + to a team looking to go on a run, Evan’s / Lehk are likely worth a 3rd. This is why all four D are getting protected

Doubtful, I could see a 2nd and maybe a B-prospect but not much more then that. How many people here would be happy if we gave a 1st+ to Seattle for them to not take Chiarot? I know I wouldn't.