Speculation: Habs 2019-2020 - RFA/UFA Thread

[odishabs]

• RFA Hudon 26 - Over sees
• RFA Domi 25 - 5 years/$5,750,000
• UFA Weise 31 - Gone
• UFA Folin 29 - Gone
• RFA Ouellet 26 - 2 year (2 way contract)
• RFA Mete 22 - 2 years/$1,250,000
• UFA Kinkaid 31 - Gone
• RFA Evans 24 - 2 years/$790,000
• RFA Lucchini 25 - Gone
• RFA Vejdemo 24 - 1 year/$700,000
• RFA Sturtz 25 - Gone
• RFA Luchuk 23 - 1 year/$700,000
• RFA Waked 24 - Gone
• RFA Blandisi 26 - Gone
• RFA Juulsen, 23 - 1 year/$800,000
• RFA McNiven 23 - 1 year /$700,000

 

[Treb]

Montreal's staff need to make decisions on 16 players this upcoming off-season and whether they have a future on the club. The fact that some of them weren't invited (red font) to Phase 3 & 4 is likely a strong indicator on the team's thinking. Here's our 16 UFA/RFA and my thoughts:

• RFA Hudon 26, 27 goals in the AHL, was our 7th most offensive Hab in 2018. Talent is there but hasn't been able to put it together. I think he heads to Europe.
• RFA Domi 25, Hopefully we can sign him at a bit of a discount under the current economic situation (something like Drouin's 5.5?)
• UFA Weise 31, I would prefer to give his ice time to one of our prospects even if he was willing to sign a min salary contract
• UFA Folin 29, With Juulsen, Fleury, and Brook pushing I think Folin might lose his spot. At best we sign him for 1 year
• RFA Ouellet 26, If he's ok with being our AHL Leader and occasional NHL duty I'd love to sign him to a 2 year extension
• RFA Mete 22, Definite sign
• UFA Kinkaid 31, Gone (hopefully joined by the scout responsible for this recoomendation)
• RFA Evans 24, Definite sign
• RFA Lucchini 25, Nice 8 games in Laval, but his AHL numbers aren't impressive. I'd be surprised to see him back
• RFA Vejdemo 24, Hasn't shown much at the AHL level. No Phase 3 invite. He might be gone
• RFA Sturtz 25, Not sure why he din't play in Laval after being acquired must be pure ECHL depth
• RFA Luchuk 23, Only played 2 games with Laval. Looks like ECHL depth
• RFA Waked 24, This 3 year experiment didn't work out so well. Bye
• RFA Blandisi 26, Nice AHL numbers, 101 NHL Games but no Phase 3 Invite = hmmmmm
• RFA Juulsen, 23, Hoping for good health and a solid showing as our 3rd RD
• RFA McNiven 23, With the Demchenko signing I was a bit surprised he got the invite. With Lindgren, Primeau, and Demchenko all in the AHL (assuming we grab an experienced back-up) someone won't fit.

In the end I don't believe the Habs will use one of their 50 precious spots on any of the guys in red who didn't get a Phase 3 invite. Perhaps they'll be back on an AHL contract but otherwise I believe they will exiting the organization.

Sturtz was injured pretty much the whole time.

I agree with most, but think you are reading too much into the forwards not in Phase 3. We had a limit to respect and none of these guys are in the top16 forwards. I would have invited Vejdemo/Blandisi over Poehling. We rarely keep our AHL vets so Blandisi might be gone. I would re-sign Vejdemo as I think he could make the 4th line eventually.

 

[abo9]

• RFA Hudon 26 - Over sees
• RFA Domi 25 - 5 years/$5,750,000
• UFA Weise 31 - Gone
• UFA Folin 29 - Gone
• RFA Ouellet 26 - 2 year (2 way contract)
• RFA Mete 22 - 2 years/$1,250,000
• UFA Kinkaid 31 - Gone
• RFA Evans 24 - 2 years/$790,000
• RFA Lucchini 25 - Gone
• RFA Vejdemo 24 - 1 year/$700,000
• RFA Sturtz 25 - Gone
• RFA Luchuk 23 - 1 year/$700,000
• RFA Waked 24 - Gone
• RFA Blandisi 26 - Gone
• RFA Juulsen, 23 - 1 year/$800,000
• RFA McNiven 23 - 1 year /$700,000

Lots of garbage to clear out. why keep Luchuk on an NHL deal instead of AHL deal? Why keep Ouellet 2 more years?

 

[Treb]

Lots of garbage to clear out. why keep Luchuk on an NHL deal instead of AHL deal? Why keep Ouellet 2 more years?

For Ouellet, he's a good Captain for Laval.

 

[Steve Shutt]

Why keep Ouellet 2 more years?

Productive Vet, with leadership, 172 NHL games of experience for call-up duty, cap-friendly 700K deal with min bump required.

 

[ahmedou]

 

[Deebs]

Seems reasonable

 

[Treb]

Bad sign for Lehkonen. If Armia, is signed to an extension, Danault, Tatar and Gallagher might also be, which would leave him exposed for Seattle. Will be interesting to see how they deal with all their 2021 FA as it will have a big influence on the protection list.

 

[Adam Michaels]

That would be a very good deal.

 

[Steve Shutt]

Extension discussions seem a little early with a year left on his contract? Also, I'm not too keen on paying more than his current 2.6M for a guy who's never exceeded 30 points in his career.

I think we all see Byron over paid at 3.4M so let's not make that mistake again.

 

[The Great Weal]

Extension discussions seem a little early with a year left on his contract? Also, I'm not too keen on paying more than his current 2.6M for a guy who's never exceeded 30 points in his career.

I think we all see Byron over paid at 3.4M so let's not make that mistake again.

Armia provides size which we desperately need. He was also on pace for 40ish points which is pretty damn good for a 3rd liner.

As for Byron, he was definitely worth that last year, and this year he was injured. He's looked good since he came back.

 

[Scriptor]

Seems reasonable

Perfect contract for Armia, IMO. Montreal keeps Cap flexibility with a key middle-6 signing. Very reasonable numbers, up from 2.6M to 3.25M. Prime years as well for one of the few talented players with size on the wings.

 

[Habs Halifax]

• RFA Hudon 26 - Over sees
• RFA Domi 25 - 5 years/$5,750,000
• UFA Weise 31 - Gone
• UFA Folin 29 - Gone
• RFA Ouellet 26 - 2 year (2 way contract)
• RFA Mete 22 - 2 years/$1,250,000
• UFA Kinkaid 31 - Gone
• RFA Evans 24 - 2 years/$790,000
• RFA Lucchini 25 - Gone
• RFA Vejdemo 24 - 1 year/$700,000
• RFA Sturtz 25 - Gone
• RFA Luchuk 23 - 1 year/$700,000
• RFA Waked 24 - Gone
• RFA Blandisi 26 - Gone
• RFA Juulsen, 23 - 1 year/$800,000
• RFA McNiven 23 - 1 year /$700,000

- Hudon & Quellet should be signed for one year deals as depth pieces and leaders on Laval.

- Weise, Folin, Kinkaid will be not offered contracts I would imagine. It's possible Weise gets a 1 year offer though and it's about the same reasons as Hudon and Quellet. AHL depth and leadership.

- With Lucchini, Sturtz, Luchuk, Blandisi, it comes down to the 50 contract limit (we likely prefer to stay around 45/46 so we leave our options open). Lucchini had 5 pts in 8 games with 4 goals so he might get a contract. Possible Blandisi get a contract as well. This is all about Laval's depth and how they manage the 50 contract limit.

- McNiven is probably let go. Primeau, Lindgren, and Demchenko are ahead of him.

 

[Steve Shutt]

-
- McNiven is probably let go. Primeau, Lindgren, and Demchenko are ahead of him.

McNiven has me confused as I didn't expect he'd get the Phase 3 & 4 invite. Got to think he's start part of the Hab's plans even though I have no clue where he will fit

 

[Habs Halifax]

McNiven has me confused as I didn't expect he'd get the Phase 3 & 4 invite. Got to think he's start part of the Hab's plans even though I have no clue where he will fit

Practice goalie where they can have a smaller group take shots.

 

[ahmedou]

LeBrun: Reaction to Jeff Petry's Canadiens future

“I think there’s very little appetite from Bergevin to deal away Petry. The Canadiens want to compete next year. They feel without injuries they would've stayed closer to a playoff spot this season and I don’t disagree. Their underlying numbers suggest a team that competes at a playoff team level. They probably struggle to see how they replace Petry’s usage and minutes in the lineup for next season.”

 

[Adam Michaels]

LeBrun: Reaction to Jeff Petry's Canadiens future

“I think there’s very little appetite from Bergevin to deal away Petry. The Canadiens want to compete next year. They feel without injuries they would've stayed closer to a playoff spot this season and I don’t disagree. Their underlying numbers suggest a team that competes at a playoff team level. They probably struggle to see how they replace Petry’s usage and minutes in the lineup for next season.”

Petry is probably one of the few over 30 players I would be willing to extend. Because he has always been a mobile defenseman. And it's not like he's slowed down. He's had 3 consecutive seasons of 40+ points.

 

[Supersonic]

Petry is probably one of the few over 30 players I would be willing to extend. Because he has always been a mobile defenseman. And it's not like he's slowed down. He's had 3 consecutive seasons of 40+ points.

What do you think a realistic extension for Petry would be (term/amount)?

I think he would be our most valuable UFA next year if we want to remain* or rather become competitive

 

[montreal]

the problem is how much Petry wants and for how long as outside of guys like Chelios and Chara many D start to decline around 32 off a chart I saw somewhere. The problem is we don't have much to replace him, although we need to see how next season unfolds assuming there is one. How do the prospects do, how does Romanov look in the NHL, etc... how do the Habs look by the trade deadline keeping in mind that depending on what happens to Domi, we likely can't afford to keep all of Domi, Petry, Tatar, Gallagher, Danault, Armia plus having to play Suzuki the following year. We also need to keep in mind if there's fans or not and what that means and when they think they will be back and of course there's the expansion draft (there's a thread to discuss that topic)

 

[Draft]

The problem with Petry isn't just that we would have to replace him. It's that we'd need to replace him in addition to significantly improving just about every other spot on defence and managing an aging Weber.

 

[Benstheman]

the problem is how much Petry wants and for how long as outside of guys like Chelios and Chara many D start to decline around 32 off a chart I saw somewhere. The problem is we don't have much to replace him, although we need to see how next season unfolds assuming there is one. How do the prospects do, how does Romanov look in the NHL, etc... how do the Habs look by the trade deadline keeping in mind that depending on what happens to Domi, we likely can't afford to keep all of Domi, Petry, Tatar, Gallagher, Danault, Armia plus having to play Suzuki the following year. We also need to keep in mind if there's fans or not and what that means and when they think they will be back and of course there's the expansion draft (there's a thread to discuss that topic)

I'm 100% sure Petry is back. He will be 33 and a half when he beomes UFA. I can see him wanting a 4-5 years deal but Habs will try for 3. At the end, i think he will sign for 4 years at about the same cap hit as now. 4 X 5,5M$.

As for the others, Danault is also 100% back. I think Armia is also back as he will be cheaper and we need his size badly.

Domi, Tatar and Gallagher are ??. I'm pretty sure Habs want to keep Gallagher but not at all cost. And i'm not sure he doesn't want to get closer to home. Edmonton will be really attractive to him once UFA. Personaly, i wouldn't give him more than 5 X 6M$.

Domi i'm pretty sure he wants to leave and will ask for too much on his next contract. I like him alot and we need that kind of sandpaper but it won't make sense contract wise. If Habs can't find a fit in a hockey deal this summer, i think they go the arbitration route with him on a 2 x 5M$ contract that would send him to UFA. Habs will trade him once he can sign an extension with a new team, after the 1st year of his 2 years contract. So one way or the other, i think he is a goner.

Tatar i like. Great talent, which we need. But his faith with the Habs will be decided by the kind of season the team has next season (if any). If we still are a lottery team and don't stand much chances of making the playoffs comes trade deadline, he will be traded as a rental.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Armia provides size which we desperately need. He was also on pace for 40ish points which is pretty damn good for a 3rd liner.

As for Byron, he was definitely worth that last year, and this year he was injured. He's looked good since he came back.

I don’t think you should build the team with 3-4mlion dollar players. I’d try to pay the top end guys and round out the rest of the roster with ELC players. I think when players put themselves over ~3m but they are bottom 6ers then they are pricing themselves out.

 

[Scintillating10]

Productive Vet, with leadership, 172 NHL games of experience for call-up duty, cap-friendly 700K deal with min bump required.

Yeah well, good vet on Laval is about best I see for him. He is not playing as well as Kulak or Mete. Romanov arriving next year, not much room for Ouellett.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Petry is probably one of the few over 30 players I would be willing to extend. Because he has always been a mobile defenseman. And it's not like he's slowed down. He's had 3 consecutive seasons of 40+ points.

Depend on the price and years. Not above 2 years. We are already stuck with weber at 7.5m a year

 

[Adam Michaels]

Depend on the price and years. Not above 2 years. We are already stuck with weber at 7.5m a year

Of course. Not at any term or AAV. But despite him being 32 and will be 33 when his next contract comes into effect, I would be okay with extending him.

He's a very mobile defenseman, is great in the transition, he's always healthy, he produces, has a great shot. He's got all the right tools.