I see it differently, unless there’s a can’t miss opportunity for an ultra blue chip young guy with term, I don’t see Hughes diving in yet. I do think that with a bunch of salary coming off the books, he will use that to acquire even more assets though for the inevitable big deal that will be coming.
The only real assets I see in play over the summer (and some will argue they aren’t really assets):
1 - Justin Barron. Seems to be the odd man out, and still holds value as an interesting offensive right shot who will be cheap.
2 - Jordan Harris. Jack of all trades, not overly physical but a smart defenseman that can play both sides. A guy you can throw on your bottom pairing and know you can usually rely upon.
3 - Christian Dvorak. In the last year of his contract, Dvorak could be an asset to a contending team if his contract was retained, perhaps by a second team as well, his cap hit and injury history make him a lot less valuable.
4 - Joel Armia. Being waived and sent to the AHL, may have revived Armia’s career. He’s come back as a much more motivated player who’s been a tremendous penalty killer, and bottom 6 player for the Habs. He has good size and uses it to shield pucks while being a decent net presence.
Nothing that will really net you much, unless it’s part of a package.
Potential targets to be acquired:
UFA:
1: Sean Monahan. The gift that keeps on giving, comes back to be the veteran leader the Habs need up front, and the bumper guy on the powerplay.
2: William Carrier. With Vegas in serious cap trouble, Carrier will likely not be re-signing in Sin City. Carrier is a big body (6’2, 220 lbs) and likes to play a physical game. If he’s healthy, which is a big if, I think he could play on the third line or definitely the fourth, and be a cheap, depth player.
Young players potentially acquired:
1) Pavel Dorofoyev. Really like this guy’s game and another that could potentially be the victim of the Vegas cap crunch. Habs could send back a second rounder for him. Plus it would be awesome to have a guy that looked exactly like Ian Gallagher.
2) Kent Johnson. If the BJ’s new management don’t care for the player, I could see a potential deal here.
Assuming that Dvorak, Harris and Armia are moved, and Monahan, Carrier and Dorofeyev acquired.
Potential lines for 2024-2025
Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsky
Newhook - Dach - Roy
Dorofeyev - Monahan - Anderson
Carrier - Evans - Gallagher
Pezzetta
Matheson - Guhle
Xhekaj - Savard
Struble - Mailloux
Kovacevic