Rumor: Habs have interest in Radim Vrbata (signed with VAN 2yrs/$5m AAV)

[Redux91]

LOL 5 mill a year NO tanks

Guys stop thinking were gonna sign anyone else , bergevins done going after UFAs wake up

He has RFA s to think about now, and might make another trade MAYBE

But its clear whatever spot is left (if there is any) are for the KIDS

 

[Saintpatrick*]

Happy the Bruins didn't get him even happier that we didn't sign him to that contract. Free cap space is more valuable than an aging streaky winger.

 

[Em Ancien]

5M$ might've been a backbreaker if the cap doesn't rise significantly next year. I'm ok with this.

 

[Richiebottles]

5M$ might've been a backbreaker if the cap doesn't rise significantly next year. I'm ok with this.

Got a feeling we will look back at the same time next year and say I am so glad we gave that spot to (X player) instead of Vrbata with his 10 goals for 5 million.

 

[Em Ancien]

We could always go for Alfredsson

 

[Cole Caulifield]

2 years is not long at all, if we could have fitted him in at 5M he would have helped. But now we're going to have huge flexibility to make a blockbuster deal... perhaps acquire a guy like Sharp even..

 

[Eternalize]

In comparison with pretty much every club in the league..their pool is shallow. The Canucks had not drafted well at all in the past few years.

Horvat stagnated this year and may not be a top two center in the NHL, Shinkaruk has a lot of flaws and missed an entire season with injury, Gaunce lacks NHL offensive upside because of his skating, Jensen lacks grit and consistency, and Corrado has fourth or fifth dman upside. Even worse..there's not much after the five you mentioned and this year's draft picks. Habs' prospect pool goes much deeper.

It's not like the Canadiens have plenty of high quality prospects
Say one player who is a better prospect than, say, Horvat? McCarron had a very disappointing season in London, to say the least. Beaulieu didn't do great in AHL. The bias in your post is strong.

 

[Dharvey33]

It's not like the Canadiens have plenty of high quality prospects
Say one player who is a better prospect than, say, Horvat? McCarron had a very disappointing season in London, to say the least. Beaulieu didn't do great in AHL. The bias in your post is strong.

Our prospect pool is a lot better tha the canucks we have a mid tier prospect pool they have a low tier pool.

We dont have a superstar in the making other than galchenyuk who is still 20 btw but we have quality players at every positions.

Hudon, Tinordi, Beaulieu, De larose, Lekhonen, Andrighetto, McCarron Fucale, Gregoire, Reway, Nygren to name a few all have legit nhl potential. Thats a lot better than the canucks. Add also Sherbak and Sekac who could be top 6 and you have a pretty decent prospect pool.

 

[Kimota]

Vrbata was not a must-get guy. Would have been happy with him but he's not a great upgrade of what we want in our Top six which is getting a big mean player that can play hockey. We'll have to wait to get that via trades.

 

[Gustave]

Malholtra. Been sleeping?

Maybe I didn't make myself clear; I am satisfied with the moves already made and can live without Vrbata seeing that Bergy addressed the faceoffs issue. Malhotra satisfies my need for better numbers on faceoffs.

 

[LastRide]

I must have missed all the dissapointment last year until the trade deadline when king thomas our savior was crowned.....and i can't seem to recall the part where vanek had anything to do with us going all the way to the eastern conference finals..because he hardly did. Gimme someone who's not gonna dissapear in may.

I don't think you have to tell anyone Vanek didn't live up to expectations. He did contribute, but not as much as expected. Max didn't either with the one extra assist more than Vanek. Vanek was in the dog house with MT. Sticking him on different lines, playing him off wing, sitting him. There are other players that could have done more also. That said, I wouldn't have given Vrbata 5 Mill a year either. We still need a top 6 going into the season in my opinion.

What did get us as far as we did are guys like Bourque who caught fire. The Cube scored 2 goals. Weise chipped in with 3. Eller contributed nicely, but he has to start doing something in the regular season along with Bourque. Players you would have never expected it from.

Bournival's 1 assist in 14 playoff games and -3 should fill in Vanek's roll nicely.

 

[Hackett]

High cap hit, but a friendly term length for the canucks. Not that the canucks have to worry too much about the cap hit aspect at this point.

Good average salary for vrbata... But he didn't quite get the security he wanted. Maybe this was a reason why vrbata took a little longer to sign. Trying to find the right fit for both salary and length.... He obviously decided to go heavier on the salary side of things.

I wonder what the habs offer was. Whatever the case, I highly doubt they offered 5 mil, but perhaps a longer term.

 

[Grant McCagg]

We always beef about young players not getting a chance..I hope people realize if the Habs sign a Vrbata or someone of his ilk..that either Chuck or Gally won't be top six players. Wasn't that the biggest complaint all season on here..or one of them at least?

Parenteau was THE forward free agent signing for the top 9...the Habs will promote from within from there...and why not after last season?

Galchenyuk and Gallagher are ready for top six positions full time - they had top six spots in the playoffs if y'all remember....I'd much rather give them top six spots than spending another $5M on a 33-year-old Euro winger who is now past his true prime. Players have to start slowing down offensively at some point..have we not been down that path before with aging forwards getting one last big payday? Does no one remember the Andre Savard/Houle era?

Vrbata at 34-35 playing under Therrien's system and Habs' top two centers...maybe a 40-point scorer..45 at the most...he'd find MT's doghouse at some point guaranteed. Chuck and Gallagher will at least match that point total given top six minutes i think, while bringing more grit, youthful energy and better all around play. Besides..even if Gallagher underproduces this season a bit....I would take ten less points from Gallagher with everything he brings at a fifth of the cost of Vrbata any day. I don't see Gallagher regressing though. Players in their early 20's entering their third years are almost always on a high upward curve....it's not unreasonable to think either are capable of hitting the 50 point mark this season. Vrbata had 20 goals and 51 points last season while going -6. Can Gallagher or Galchenyuk not match that?

Parenteau's PPG average the past four seasons has been 60 points per 82 games (compared to 59 for Vrbata) and he's a couple of years younger and a million cheaper....so it's not unreasonable to expect him to be as productive as Vrbata would have been in Montreal. Patch..well...we all expect him to score more than Vrbata I think.

I like the idea of the Habs not being at the very ceiling of the salary cap after signing PK and Lars either..which would have been the case with signing Vrbata as well. Gives MB more flexibility if a big fish comes available at some point..say the trade deadline.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

I am guessing for now Bourque will play on the RW? Damn without Vrbata we have a lot of question marks inside top9

Do we ?

Gallagher
Pacioretty
PAP
Galchenyuk (assuming he plays wing)

Those are 4 legit top 6 wingers. I wouldn't worry about these guys too much.

Then we have Bourque, Bournival, Weise, Sekac, De La Rose, Andrighetto and Sherbak for the last 2 top 9 winger spots.

Even if no prospects (Sekac, DLR, Andrighetto, Sherbak) pan out for next season and Bourque ends up sucking, we have Weise and Bournival as the ultimate fall back options. Is it great ? No. But keep in mind that is the last resort.

Vrbata would have solidified all that, but now we have a lot of cap room to make a trade and there are teams out there who need to make a trade such as Chicago.

 

[Forlando]

The Pacific has Anaheim and LA, and then a sizable drop off.

San Jose has regressed considerably, and could get even worse, although they should probably make it in.

Canucks have a very good chance at the playoffs.

San Jose regressed considerably? huh??? they choke during the playoffs ...but they will make the playoffs make no mistakes.

Now if you want to talk about regressing look at the Canucks Centers minus Kesler: H. Sedin, N. Bonino, Shawn Mathias and Brad Richardson....Horvat and Gaunce better be ready and better be the real thing....

 

[Cole Caulifield]

So, who's next? Stempniak/Setoguchi or Sekac/Ghetto?

Or even:

Patches - DD - PAP
Galchenyuk - Plek - Gally
Prust - Eller -Bourque
Bournival - Malhotra - Weise
Moen

Personally, I'd bet on Bournival over Prust for a top 9 spot but yeah this looks like the worst case scenario if no prospects (Sekac, Ghetto, Sherbak, DLR) can steal a spot, and no trades are made.

I'm comfortable going into camp with this line up and crossing fingers that some kid impresses. If not, no biggie, we go with the above and we try to make a trade during the season, or at the deadline.

 

[LastRide]

You know who needs a good kick in the ass is Plekanec. He is better than what he is showing. Has a great shot, but hardly uses it anymore. He was the worst on the team in the playoffs at -7. Maybe the PK had something to do with that. Next worse were 3 other players at -4, Emelin, Markov and Vanek.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

Sucks that Vrbata is gone..

While we would have been a better team with Vrbata and he would have clearly answered a need...

Now we have flexibility to take advantage of other teams in trades if a really good player becomes available. MB will have his ear to the ground looking for an opportunity to make a good trade and won't be handcuffed with zero cap space.

That's provided that we don't luck out with a prospect.

 

[Forlando]

You know who needs a good kick in the ass is Plekanec. He is better than what he is showing. Has a great shot, but hardly uses it anymore. He was the worst on the team in the playoffs at -7. Maybe the PK had something to do with that. Next worse were 3 other players at -4, Emelin, Markov and Vanek.

This was his worst regular season since 2008-09 and his defensive game was not there during the playoffs....if Eller plays more consistently, the next vet to go is Pleky....sad but almost inevitable...and he has been my favorite forward for a looong time.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

You know who needs a good kick in the ass is Plekanec. He is better than what he is showing. Has a great shot, but hardly uses it anymore. He was the worst on the team in the playoffs at -7. Maybe the PK had something to do with that. Next worse were 3 other players at -4, Emelin, Markov and Vanek.

What do you mean by the PK? Like those guys were exhausted because of killing all those penalties which lead to Goals Against at ES? Some people have to realize that Plekanec's job isn't easy and that +/- ain't the way to judge a player's work defensively.

 

[Grant McCagg]

It's not like the Canadiens have plenty of high quality prospects
Say one player who is a better prospect than, say, Horvat? McCarron had a very disappointing season in London, to say the least. Beaulieu didn't do great in AHL. The bias in your post is strong.

Not sure the laughing emoticon was necessary. Vancouver's depth cannot match Montreal's. Canucks don't have a Fucale, Beaulieu or Tinordi for starters, and less quality forward depth.

Let's say Horvat was better than any Habs' prospect....and that's debatable...it would not be a huge difference, and it's only one prospect. Once you get past the first five or six Vancouver prospects, it's pretty barren. That's not the case with the Habs.

As for Horvat....I'd say there are a couple of Hab prospects that may end up being as good or better than Horvat in the NHL. Some scouts have admitted to me that everyone may have overrated Horvat's offensive upside last year..that he may not have the speed and skill to be a top two center in the NHL. He was disappointing in this year's playoffs and Memorial Cup... haven't really seen a progression in his play despite being given a top-line role.


DLR at this point is now as highly regarded in most scouting circles as Horvat....he had a more impressive season, including playing much better than him at the U-20's. He's bigger, faster, as good or better defensively, and may not possess any less offensive upside.

Scherbak has more offensive upside than Horvat...bigger, quicker, better puck skills...doesn't have Horvat's all-around game or grit, but he projects to be a first or second-line player while Horvat's ceiling is second-line center.

 

[gusfring]

San Jose regressed considerably? huh??? they choke during the playoffs ...but they will make the playoffs make no mistakes.

Now if you want to talk about regressing look at the Canucks Centers minus Kesler: H. Sedin, N. Bonino, Shawn Mathias and Brad Richardson....Horvat and Gaunce better be ready and better be the real thing....

I actually like Bonino and Mathias.

 

[Forlando]

I actually like Bonino and Mathias.

Not saying they can't play but if you ask me Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture are on another level. San Jose can actually trade their supposedly 1st line center Joe Thornton and get another impact player...if Vancouver trades Henrik Sedin...they better be good with the prayers...

 

[QuebecPride]

Bournival is a LW.

He can play all three forward positions.

 

[25get]

Not sure the laughing emoticon was necessary. Vancouver's depth cannot match Montreal's. Canucks don't have a Fucale, Beaulieu or Tinordi for starters, and less quality forward depth.

Let's say Horvat was better than any Habs' prospect....and that's debatable...it would not be a huge difference, and it's only one prospect. Once you get past the first five or six Vancouver prospects, it's pretty barren. That's not the case with the Habs.

As for Horvat....I'd say there are a couple of Hab prospects that may end up being as good or better than Horvat in the NHL. Some scouts have admitted to me that everyone may have overrated Horvat's offensive upside last year..that he may not have the speed and skill to be a top two center in the NHL. He was disappointing in this year's playoffs and Memorial Cup... haven't really seen a progression in his play despite being given a top-line role.


DLR at this point is now as highly regarded in most scouting circles as Horvat....he had a more impressive season, including playing much better than him at the U-20's. He's bigger, faster, as good or better defensively, and may not possess any less offensive upside.

Scherbak has more offensive upside than Horvat...bigger, quicker, better puck skills...doesn't have Horvat's all-around game or grit, but he projects to be a first or second-line player while Horvat's ceiling is second-line center.

I tend to agree with you that Scherbak may end-up as a great choice.
Fact is the he was leading his team by so much.
So would love to see Nikita having players to support him.
Probably won't happen next year...

To think that they had two first round in 2014: Virtanen and McCaan (rumored to be in Habs top list).
Then another two first round in 2013: Horvat and Shinkaruk.
Two top-10 in the last two years...
And they would still be behind us...