HF Habs: RFA: Armia (Signed) ; Hudon (Signed) ; Lehkonen (Signed) ; McCarron (Unsigned)

[Zorba]

I like Armia and Lehkonen but in reality they are simply average players and the Habs have got to start getting better players.
Signing guys like Byron to contracts like that is why this team is always a bubble team or worse. Just need better players. Hopefully the recent three drafts will develop upper tier players.

But Byron is better player in every facet of the game. Offence and defence. He’s one of our best PK guys

 

[EveryDay]

I like Armia and Lehkonen but in reality they are simply average players and the Habs have got to start getting better players.
Signing guys like Byron to contracts like that is why this team is always a bubble team or worse. Just need better players. Hopefully the recent three drafts will develop upper tier players.

I don't get it with stuff like that about Byron...
We're not suppose to sign our 3rd line winger and fastest skater who can contribute 20G 20A whitout any PP time 3.5M for 4 years? Should I add also our best forward on the PK?

Can you explain me what Bergevin is suppose in this situation? replace him by Nate Thompson or Deslauriers for 1M?

I might be the only one here but I don't see Byron as a 4th liner.

 

[Runner77]

For anyone who was asking themselves the same question as me, I asked CapFriendly a question about the second buyout window.

I wasn't sure if a team is eligible for the second buyout period as soon as a player or team files for arbitration, or if they actually have to have a hearing.

Turns out, all it takes is for someone to file for arbitration. So the Habs are eligible to buy someone out since they got Armia, Lehkonen, and Hudon.

I believe the player needs to count for moret $3.5M on the cap if I read their page properly. This would make Alzner eligible to be bought out, but not Weise.

Thanks for doing the ground work.

Only issue is how the Habs had two weeks to buy out the usual suspects, Alzner and Weise but chose not to avail themselves of the option.

If they didn't do it recently, why would they want to do it now?

 

[sharks9]

I don't get it with stuff like that about Byron...
We're not suppose to sign our 3rd line winger and fastest skater who can contribute 20G 20A whitout any PP time 3.5M for 4 years? Should I add also our best forward on the PK?

Can you explain me what Bergevin is suppose in this situation? replace him by Nate Thompson or Deslauriers for 1M?

I might be the only one here but I don't see Byron as a 4th liner.

He's not, with his speed and scoring ability he's one of the best 3rd liners in the league and would not be as easily replaced as people think. I'd trade either Armia or Lehkonen before Byron.

 

[Tyson]

I don't get it with stuff like that about Byron...
We're not suppose to sign our 3rd line winger and fastest skater who can contribute 20G 20A whitout any PP time 3.5M for 4 years? Should I add also our best forward on the PK?

Can you explain me what Bergevin is suppose in this situation? replace him by Nate Thompson or Deslauriers for 1M?

I might be the only one here but I don't see Byron as a 4th liner.

A good GM finds players that make the team better. I think Byron is just average and is paid too much

 

[BargainBinSpecial]

I don't see why the Habs want to hold on to Hudon. I am sure he would be a good addition to another team or Laval but obviously Hudon spent significant time in the AHL already. He doesn't want to go back and he can't possibly crack the lineup this year. If Dlo went for a 4th, I am sure they can get a third for Hudon.

Armia is a good bottom 9 player who shouldn't get more than 2 mil/yr. I read he is asking for 3 but that would be a huge overpayment.

Lek regressed significantly last season. Once more, anything above 3 mil is overpayment.

I would only keep Armia. The rest is meh.

 

[Habs Halifax]

A good GM finds players that make the team better. I think Byron is just average and is paid too much

Byron has more value than you think and he is not overpaid. It's just right IMO.

 

[Frenchy]

I don't see why the Habs want to hold on to Hudon. I am sure he would be a good addition to another team or Laval but obviously Hudon spent significant time in the AHL already. He doesn't want to go back and he can't possibly crack the lineup this year. If Dlo went for a 4th, I am sure they can get a third for Hudon.

Armia is a good bottom 9 player who shouldn't get more than 2 mil/yr. I read he is asking for 3 but that would be a huge overpayment.

Lek regressed significantly last season. Once more, anything above 3 mil is overpayment.

I would only keep Armia. The rest is meh.

I dont understand either , True that Hudon will never be a star in the NHL and i dont overate him , but at least give the guy a chance to prove himself to another team. We see this kind of move all the time in the NHL where a GM make a small trade as a favor to a player , giving him a chance to play somewhere else. No idea why the Habs are acting this way with Hudon .

 

[Le Tricolore]

I dont understand either , True that Hudon will never be a star in the NHL and i dont overate him , but at least give the guy a chance to prove himself to another team. We see this kind of move all the time in the NHL where a GM make a small trade as a favor to a player , giving him a chance to play somewhere else. No idea why the Habs are acting this way with Hudon .

I imagine they don't want to lose him for nothing, and that there isn't much demand for a 25 year old fringe NHL'er in the off-season.

 

[A55P2]

Those saying that Lehkonen is equal to Armia better start watching actual games. I mean come on that's ridiculous. Maybe Lehkonen will get faster, but at this moment it's not even a question that Armia is better. He's a beast on the forecheck, on the corner, can dangle but needs to find his shot. Now that KK has grown he'll feed him passes much more than last year. Armia's production should increase because of that.

 

[angusyoung]

I imagine they don't want to lose him for nothing, and that there isn't much demand for a 25 year old fringe NHL'er in the off-season.

And that's why Andrigetti is no longer in the NHL.

 

[angusyoung]

Byron has more value than you think and he is not overpaid. It's just right IMO.

I like Byron also,just he seems to get injured,always.

 

[montreal]

I don't see why the Habs want to hold on to Hudon. I am sure he would be a good addition to another team or Laval but obviously Hudon spent significant time in the AHL already. He doesn't want to go back and he can't possibly crack the lineup this year. If Dlo went for a 4th, I am sure they can get a third for Hudon.

Armia is a good bottom 9 player who shouldn't get more than 2 mil/yr. I read he is asking for 3 but that would be a huge overpayment.

Lek regressed significantly last season. Once more, anything above 3 mil is overpayment.

I would only keep Armia. The rest is meh.

I don't know what the plan is with Hudon, I would just overpay him, give him the Peca contract and put him in Laval where he will likely crush it ala Carr this year. I'm sure he doesn't want to be in the AHL but if no team will trade for him then making 1.3M or so in the AHL can't be that bad and for 2 years the hope would be no team would pick him off waivers. He would only cost 225K against the cap and it's not like we need cap space. With Hudon on a line with Suzuki and Barber we could have one of the top lines in the league and Laval should finally make the playoffs for just the 2nd time in 8 years.

Leks only regressed in goals, he had 20 assists this year, last year he had 21 pts. He had a career high in everything else, games, assists, points, pims, plus minus. All that while in a major slump.

Those saying that Lehkonen is equal to Armia better start watching actual games. I mean come on that's ridiculous. Maybe Lehkonen will get faster, but at this moment it's not even a question that Armia is better. He's a beast on the forecheck, on the corner, can dangle but needs to find his shot. Now that KK has grown he'll feed him passes much more than last year. Armia's production should increase because of that.

With Leks it more about projection, he's 2 years younger but despite his struggles he's coming off a career year. Armia didn't become a regular until he was 23 and since then in those 3 years he's played only 183 games which is an ave of 61 so he's had trouble staying healthy. So far he has yet to crack 30 pts by age 25, something Leks has already done by 23.

I think people sell Leks short because of the slump and his major problem scoring goals. That said we don't really know what he is yet. Was it just a slump or has he stopped progressing and is what we see, a smallish but hard working 3rd liner that is solid in his own end and can put up around 30 pts. Something like an Eller without the size. Or can he get back to his goal scoring ways that saw him put up 18 as a 21 year old rookie as I don' think he forgot how to score or that his shot went south.

Confidence can be a real mindf*** when you lose it. So there's at least a decent or somewhat decent chance he can be a 40 pt player. I know some won't like to hear it as they are sold that he just isn't very good offensively and they could be right as his goals have gone down each year but last year he was injured so we don't know how much that impacted him in addition to the 16 games he missed. This year though was very troubling as he missed too many chances so maybe he is just a guy that gets around 30 pts each year. I like to bring up Eller, i know there's a big difference in size/strength but aside from the lockout year he was always a 25-28 pt player until at 28 he put up 38 pts as a career high on a cup winning team. Leks had 7 less points at 23. I'm not trying to compare them as players per say but more about situation, it took Eller till he was 27 to break 30 pts, Leks just turned 24 last week so I'd give him a few years to see if he can get better or not or until we have someone better to take his place.

Armia brings something we sorely lack of course, size on the wing, puck protection, he's smart and is a useful player for now. The only problem I have with him is that I don't like him on Kotka's wing going forward. Next year is ok but as he starts to develop more he's going to need to be with snipers that can bury his passes on a consistent basis. That and I hope the line is broken up as I feel Leks is better at RW then LW.

 

[Tyson]

Byron has more value than you think and he is not overpaid. It's just right IMO.

We will have to agree to disagree. Players like Byron don’t get you over the finish line. Habs have too many players who simply won’t get you there

 

[Kairi Zaide]

We will have to agree to disagree. Players like Byron don’t get you over the finish line. Habs have too many players who simply won’t get you there

He's one of the best 3rd liner in the league, and is totally worth 3.4m AAV, because that's what 3rd liners go for in today's NHL. Unless he regresses badly, which is possibility due to age.

 

[Gustave]

Armia is done. 2.6 per 2 years is ok I guess.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Armia is done. 2.6 per 2 years is ok I guess.

Updated the title.

 

[Chili]

So will they re-sign either Hudon or McCarron or will it be Happy Trails to one or both?

 

[1909]

So will they re-sign either Hudon or McCarron or will it be Happy Trails to one or both?

That Citroen car you got as an avatar... I saw it and sit in it, in the sixties when it came to my hometown as a promotional tool for the company and for the Habs.

 

[Chili]

That Citroen car you got as an avatar... I saw it and sit in it, in the sixties when it came to my hometown as a promotional tool for the company and for the Habs.

Cool. Saw the picture with Mr Béliveau so it's a tribute to him and the car. Too bad the #4 (near the back of the car) doesn't show.

 

[The Real Timo]

So next years team is probably going to look very similar to last season's team. Maybe some name changes but nothing of substance. I think another year where they miss the playoffs or at best get soundly bounced in the first round. Marc Bergevin en action.

 

[The Real Timo]

So will they re-sign either Hudon or McCarron or will it be Happy Trails to one or both?

I hope the latter. Neither has any use.

 

[Treb]

I hope the latter. Neither has any use.

Both are good to great AHL players.

 

[Natey]

A good GM finds players that make the team better. I think Byron is just average and is paid too much

That's ridiculous when you look at what 3.5 buys you around the league.

 

[DavePeak]

Oh man. Couldn’t agree more
Byron has two 20 g years and was easily on pax’s for another one last year
Armia and leks should make about 5 combined
Anything more is ridiculous for 2 players who’s offence can easily be replaced by Poehling and Suzuki
But bit but their Defence. Couldn’t give a tiny rats ass. They combined for 24 goals and leks went over 30 without a goal and im not mistaken 3 of Armias 13 were empty netters

Ding ding ding we have a winner!