For all intents and purposes, let's assume we are going into the draft with the #15 pick, and that our 2nd rounders will land somewhere around 47 and 55.
We currently have 8,504,220 in Cap Space.
UFAs:
Weal (1,750,000)
Thompson (1,650,000)
Benn (1,100,000)
Folin (650,000)
Niemi (950,000)
TOTAL: 6.1million
RFAs:
Kulak (900,000)
Reilly (725,000)
Armia (1,850,000)
Lehkonen (839,166)
Hudon (650,000)
TOTAL: 4,964,166.
This means going into the off-season we have roughly 20m in cap space, on top of whatever the cap raises by. We will only have three defenseman and twelve forwards under contract with the big club.
I am of the belief that we should bring back Armia at a similar price. I suspect we give Lehkonen 2-3m.
Notable Free Agents this summer that are not already spoken for (ie: Panarin, Bobrovsky) that fit team needs, and their expected cost:
Matt Duchene (8.5 x 7)
Erik Karlsson (12 x 7)
Jeff Skinner (8 x 7)
Joe Pavelski (6 x 3)
Wayne Simmonds (6 x 7)
Anders Lee (6 x 7)
Jake Gardiner (6 x 7)
Jordan Eberle (6 x 5)
Tyler Myers (6 x 7)
Ryan Dzingel (5 x 7)
Potentially available trade targets from around the league that meet the team needs, and their contracts:
Jason Zucker (5.5 x 4 - Age 27)
Jonas Brodin (4.1 x 2 - Age 25)
Jesse Puljujarvi (RFA - Age 20)
Jonathan Huberdeau (5.9 x 4 - Age 25)
Michael Matheson (4.9 x 6 - Age 25)
Chris Kreider (4.625 x 1 - Age 27)
Phil Kessel (6.8 x 3 - Age 31)
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I would like to see Montreal be aggressive this off-season, both in trades and in Free Agency. The pieces that interest me most are Kessel, Gardiner, Karlsson and Duchene
Kessel would bring very much needed firepower to our team. Kessel remains a top fledged offensive talent and as a right-handed shot would address one of our largest needs up front. His contract, while pricey, is not extreme in terms of length which gives us flexibility to let future draft picks develop.
If we were to make a draft day move for Phil, it would likely bolster our chances to pitch Gardiner. Jake, while roasted by Toronto fans and media, is a strong #2 on the left side which could help stabilize our defensive pairs. He won't come cheap, but what we get is a reliable offensive defenseman who can quarterback our PP. I imagine it costs us both of our 2nds and a decent add, but we would still get to draft @ 15.
Duchene of all the players on this list is the one that makes the MOST sense. He is in his prime, and he plays the most desirable position in hockey. Duchene is not a franchise altering 1C like a Tavares, but he would still be our best center by a landslide. Added stability and depth down the middle gives us better match-ups all season long, and makes us harder to play against. Did I mention he's scored 30 goals and 70 points this year?
Karlsson is the pipe-dream that every team in the NHL should have. While we are comfortable on that right side with Weber and Petry, it would be incredibly irresponsible to not at least pitch the one of the greatest offensive defensemen in the history of the game. With a team that struggles to score, adding a nearly PPG defenseman would elevate our team. Erik has shown the ability to play on the left side, and moving a player like Petry is easy to do if it means Erik Karlsson dons Bleu Blanc et Rouge. Erik has been rumoured to want to be close to his wife's family in Ottawa, and there's no city closer in the NHL to Ottawa than Montreal.
Acquiring all four of these players would cost us nearly $30,000,000 in cap space. Moving Weise (2.3m), Shaw (3.9m), Alzner (3.6m) and one other depth player would equip us just enough cap space to make it work. The team would effectively be loading up for a good run before having to pay out Domi and Mete, at which point we would hope Suzuki and Romanov have developed and are ready to replace players like Tatar and Petry.
Domi/Duchene/Kessel
Tatar/Danault/Gallagher
Drouin/Kotkaniemi/Byron
Lehkonen/Poehling/Armia
Karlsson/Weber
Gardiner/Petry
Mete/Juulsen
Price
Primeau
The Habs would get to effectively roll out a true 1st line, two second lines, and a third line. This roster would continue to dominate at 5on5, but get way more tools offensively. Karlsson could replace Drouin as the pivot on the top powerplay, and with Duchene, Domi, and Kessel it would give us four legitimate scoring threats at all times.
Our second wave benefits from the trickle down, as Drouin wouldn't have to run the second wave with Jake Gardiner and Jeff Petry, both fantastic OFDs manning the point. With Gallagher planted infront of the net, and Kotkaniemi or Tatar on the half wall, the Habs would once again have a plethora of options to put the puck in the back of the net.
By introducing game breaking offensive talent (Kessel, Duchene, Karlsson) to an already dominant 5on5 team, we would be able to contend with other big dogs in the East using our speed and depth to dominate on transitions.
Obviously I am not deluded into thinking that ANY OF THIS will happen --- but it would be nice. We need to really buckle down and put together a talented roster to compete while Weber and Price are still good, because once they fall off the wagon we are going to be forced into a harsh rebuild. Karlsson and Duchene both seem like probable adds, but its up to Bergevin and Molson to pull it off.
What would you like to see happen this offseason?
We currently have 8,504,220 in Cap Space.
UFAs:
Weal (1,750,000)
Thompson (1,650,000)
Benn (1,100,000)
Folin (650,000)
Niemi (950,000)
TOTAL: 6.1million
RFAs:
Kulak (900,000)
Reilly (725,000)
Armia (1,850,000)
Lehkonen (839,166)
Hudon (650,000)
TOTAL: 4,964,166.
This means going into the off-season we have roughly 20m in cap space, on top of whatever the cap raises by. We will only have three defenseman and twelve forwards under contract with the big club.
I am of the belief that we should bring back Armia at a similar price. I suspect we give Lehkonen 2-3m.
Notable Free Agents this summer that are not already spoken for (ie: Panarin, Bobrovsky) that fit team needs, and their expected cost:
Matt Duchene (8.5 x 7)
Erik Karlsson (12 x 7)
Jeff Skinner (8 x 7)
Joe Pavelski (6 x 3)
Wayne Simmonds (6 x 7)
Anders Lee (6 x 7)
Jake Gardiner (6 x 7)
Jordan Eberle (6 x 5)
Tyler Myers (6 x 7)
Ryan Dzingel (5 x 7)
Potentially available trade targets from around the league that meet the team needs, and their contracts:
Jason Zucker (5.5 x 4 - Age 27)
Jonas Brodin (4.1 x 2 - Age 25)
Jesse Puljujarvi (RFA - Age 20)
Jonathan Huberdeau (5.9 x 4 - Age 25)
Michael Matheson (4.9 x 6 - Age 25)
Chris Kreider (4.625 x 1 - Age 27)
Phil Kessel (6.8 x 3 - Age 31)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would like to see Montreal be aggressive this off-season, both in trades and in Free Agency. The pieces that interest me most are Kessel, Gardiner, Karlsson and Duchene
Kessel would bring very much needed firepower to our team. Kessel remains a top fledged offensive talent and as a right-handed shot would address one of our largest needs up front. His contract, while pricey, is not extreme in terms of length which gives us flexibility to let future draft picks develop.
If we were to make a draft day move for Phil, it would likely bolster our chances to pitch Gardiner. Jake, while roasted by Toronto fans and media, is a strong #2 on the left side which could help stabilize our defensive pairs. He won't come cheap, but what we get is a reliable offensive defenseman who can quarterback our PP. I imagine it costs us both of our 2nds and a decent add, but we would still get to draft @ 15.
Duchene of all the players on this list is the one that makes the MOST sense. He is in his prime, and he plays the most desirable position in hockey. Duchene is not a franchise altering 1C like a Tavares, but he would still be our best center by a landslide. Added stability and depth down the middle gives us better match-ups all season long, and makes us harder to play against. Did I mention he's scored 30 goals and 70 points this year?
Karlsson is the pipe-dream that every team in the NHL should have. While we are comfortable on that right side with Weber and Petry, it would be incredibly irresponsible to not at least pitch the one of the greatest offensive defensemen in the history of the game. With a team that struggles to score, adding a nearly PPG defenseman would elevate our team. Erik has shown the ability to play on the left side, and moving a player like Petry is easy to do if it means Erik Karlsson dons Bleu Blanc et Rouge. Erik has been rumoured to want to be close to his wife's family in Ottawa, and there's no city closer in the NHL to Ottawa than Montreal.
Acquiring all four of these players would cost us nearly $30,000,000 in cap space. Moving Weise (2.3m), Shaw (3.9m), Alzner (3.6m) and one other depth player would equip us just enough cap space to make it work. The team would effectively be loading up for a good run before having to pay out Domi and Mete, at which point we would hope Suzuki and Romanov have developed and are ready to replace players like Tatar and Petry.
Domi/Duchene/Kessel
Tatar/Danault/Gallagher
Drouin/Kotkaniemi/Byron
Lehkonen/Poehling/Armia
Karlsson/Weber
Gardiner/Petry
Mete/Juulsen
Price
Primeau
The Habs would get to effectively roll out a true 1st line, two second lines, and a third line. This roster would continue to dominate at 5on5, but get way more tools offensively. Karlsson could replace Drouin as the pivot on the top powerplay, and with Duchene, Domi, and Kessel it would give us four legitimate scoring threats at all times.
Our second wave benefits from the trickle down, as Drouin wouldn't have to run the second wave with Jake Gardiner and Jeff Petry, both fantastic OFDs manning the point. With Gallagher planted infront of the net, and Kotkaniemi or Tatar on the half wall, the Habs would once again have a plethora of options to put the puck in the back of the net.
By introducing game breaking offensive talent (Kessel, Duchene, Karlsson) to an already dominant 5on5 team, we would be able to contend with other big dogs in the East using our speed and depth to dominate on transitions.
Obviously I am not deluded into thinking that ANY OF THIS will happen --- but it would be nice. We need to really buckle down and put together a talented roster to compete while Weber and Price are still good, because once they fall off the wagon we are going to be forced into a harsh rebuild. Karlsson and Duchene both seem like probable adds, but its up to Bergevin and Molson to pull it off.
What would you like to see happen this offseason?
