Stats don't tell the whole story. McShane is so slow that it would impede him as a pro and Fonstad is Drouin but half the skill. They both had problems and did not progress enough towards fixing them. Fonstad played in the WHL by the way.
Khisatmudinov had limited 4th line minutes in the KHL. He was pretty decent in the VHL.
Sturtz, Luchuk, Blandisi and Lucchini were acquired in contract null trade so I don't know how you think that affected anything. They were also all FA for 2020-2021 so literally no effect on McShane/Fonstad signing. They actually decided that Lucchini was more worth it than McShane/Fonstad as they re-signed him (Blandisi contract spot would have been taken by another AHL vet anyway if not him).
We'll see June 7th if any team re-draft them, sign them or give them a camp invite. My guess is they go the Walford/Tyszka route and play overage or go CIS.
This did have an effect actually because BargainBin's claim was that he didn't have space to sign them all, meaning the 50 contract limit was reached. With Luchuk, Sturtz and Waked gone, which is no surprise, they could have at least tried to extend an offer to McShane or Fonstad. These are local guys, maybe not french speaking except for Samuel Houde, but you have to give them a chance after seeing improvement in their game. You are a canadian team, which is also your brand name, afterall, and the best approach is to look at your own backyard.
I wonder what other type of scrub WaiverBin will fetch this time. Seems he's getting good at recycling and retooling the bottom lines. Unfortunately when you ink plugs to ridiculous sums, you will receive equal value in return, translating to exchanging terrible contracts and hoping the player rebounds in the cap era.
Counting the qualified RFAs, they are currently at 46 contracts, that leaves 4 spots open. BargainBin already did his majour shopping unless he signs more bottom 9 scrubs to crazy dollars.
Assuming some RFAs get traded for picks or packaged for an elite top 6 forward, I could of easily tethered an offer to at least one of these CHL prospects. A case can be made as to why they chose to retain Hudon and Ouellet. Although, that is another topic for another time.
They have 11 picks at this year's draft, the farm system is getting crowded. Many of the ELC signed players are failing to meet expectations. This upcoming season will be a decisive year for many. Trading them will prove difficult. We can discuss about Hudon as an example.
We can definitely assume that management had no planning back then and desperately was throwing around ELCs to undrafted junior players, made some terrible drafting decisions and filled up Laval with reclamation projects who saw limited action in the NHL.
The Habs got lucky and got some value in picks or contract dumps for some underachievers. Now, they are basically cornered as they have drafted some pretty decent prospects that they can't hold on too.
Bottom line, don't fill up your team with plugs to please your fans and create a fake illusion of quality depth.
Although, I do believe the Habs are finally heading in the right direction and now it's a matter of shedding away dead wood in order to build something legitimate. You won't fix your mistakes by exchanging them with someone's else. And BargainBin has been doing a lot of that lately with his poor decisions and goons. Luckily, he finds ways to stockpile picks.