Realistic 2020-21

Someone finally realizes that Mete isn't worth scraps! He's already a solid young top 4 d man

Nice post. While I don't agree with some it, it's far from bad in any way.

My only question is: Is it enough and Is this team so different from the one that's missed the playoffs the past 3 years? IMO it isn't. So if the goal is to try and make the playoffs again, then I think it falls short yet again. All it takes is a couple injuries yet again and the team will be out of it.

Ultimately though this looks super realistic and I would say you nailed what I believe MB will do this year to a tee. Good job!

Edit: I also think if you do sign Domi and Danault, you have to look at trading KK now. Not because he's bad or anything but this team has too many centers at this point that its time to start using that depth to get better players at other positions of need. If you hold onto assets too long they'll depreciate their value. KK on a ELC still along with a pick and a roster player like Lehkonen should get us a very good player.

Also Edit: Some of those pending UFA resignings are just too low. Danault, Tatar, Gallagher will all get north of 6M easily. Gally is looking at 7M and its not even breaking a sweat. Danault is getting 6M minimum and Tatar at 6M on the dot is about right, maybe slightly more. It would be nice if they took hometown discounts but some of these aren't discounts they are pure lowball offers. They will be higher I guarantee it.

I disagree. In fact, I'm pretty sure Gally will take a discount for us to sign some other players. He obviously knows his value but is the ultimate team player. He is the heart and soul of the team and will understand it if Bergevin asks him to maybe take just below 6. I can also see Danault taking a discount because MTL is where he's from, he feels comfortable, his wife is from around here, his family lives in Quebec, he is getting #1 minutes where he wouldn't anywhere else. He is in the perfect situation for himself and is striving. I could definitely see both of them taking one for the team like MacKinnon. As for Tatar and Petry, I think they will ask for more money but Petry is probably more inclined to stay than Tatar.
Trading KK rn is maybe the worst thing to do. Do you remember when we traded Sergachev for Drouin? It's so much better to show the fans that we are able to trust the development of the players. KK's value is also at an all time low. I just don't see any reason to trade him.

Disagree wholeheartedly with that take on KK. A long stint in Laval next year is exactly what he needs.

The team from this year wasnt much different than the team that had 96 pts the year before, but the results were quite different. Injuries to Drouin, Gallagher, Armia, Byron (all 4 were out at the same time at one point this year) did not help. Carey Price sucked, he had a GSAx of -11, he has to be better. The team is 3 years older than the young squad that barely missed the playoffs two years ago. The prospects that they drafted are finally arriving in Laval which will boost the depth of injuries occur. How can you say they are a couple I juries away from missing the playoffs again when this squad had KK, Ylonen, Poehling, Fluery, Hudon, etc. All starting in Laval this year? 3 of those guys were on the opening night roster this year. That is improved depth.

Lastly, on Gallagher... if he wants $7M from MTL see ya. We have Caufield coming, the return for Gallagher in a trade would be big, we dont need to overpay anyone. If these guys don't want to stay in MTL at a fair price, then they wont stay in MTL. It's as simple as that, that's why I listed potential replacements for every player that needs an extension.

We'll have to wait and see I guess. Gally has been underpaid his whole career in Montreal. Taking another discount?? I don't think him asking for closer to market value means he isn't a team player. Whats fair is fair and the team expecting him to take a discount by that much is frankly not player friendly.

Trading KK is not something I want to do. I want to keep him. What I said is IF you keep both Domi, Danault, Suzuki then there is simply too many cooks in the kitchen. How is he supposed to develop? You'll never get his value back to where it needs to be. This hypothetical trade I mentioned wouldn't apply till the after the 20-21 season is over when Danault is up for resigning. So the rush isn't now but if Im KK and I see Domi resigned, Danault resigned, Suzuki getting the rest of the minutes, where do I fit in exactly?

You cannot hold on to every asset and wait for the perfect time until it all fits. That's not how it works. Need to be proactive. Sergachev for Drouin is not even in the same stratosphere. That was MB saving his job by bringing in a hometown kid.




You cannot keep an NHL calibre player in the AHL forever. I may need to clarify what I meant though, when I say "Now" I mean that as of when Danault is resigned at the end of the 20-21 season. By that time, you cannot go into the next season with Domi, Danault, Suzuki and apparently KK is going to play another year in the AHL? That doesn't make sense. Either he starts in the NHL or he doesn't You cannot have KK score 34 points as a rookie and then proceed to play him in the AHL for the following 3 seasons. It just doesn't work that way. He'll want out and I don't blame him.

I do not want KK gone. IMO you can play him in the AHL next year but you absolutely have to make it 100% clear he is in the NHL the year after (Danault's 1st year of his new contract) and the spot has to be visibly there for him. Otherwise you are burying an asset in an unwinnable position.

Once again I don't want KK gone but you can't have your ice cream and eat it too. Can't keep KK down forever and resigning all UFA centers with the emergence of Suzuki basically ensures that KK will never be the player he was drafted for so you might as well trade him, when the time is right, to get the asset in a position of need. Or what I feel makes more sense, trade Domi since he just isn't as effective at wing as he is center. That way you have a clear position open KK when he eventually gets called up.

As for the team being "better". Excuses Excuses excuses. Players have bad seasons. They get injured. That 96 point team had virtually every player have career years and yet still miss the playoffs. You are banking on the older players still being elite for this idea to work in your mind. Price hasn't been elite for a few years now. Weber is getting injured more and more often. Kovalchuk was a nice surprise but he was very motivated and with good reason. Not sure that motivation can be sustained over a full year. Suzuki could regress just like KK did. Romanov probably isn't the next Markov in his rookie year. etc etc.

Yeah added depth is nice but also aging vets are going to slowly decline and in some cases its not even slowly. If everything works out the way you intended it, then yeah it'll be a decent team. How confident are you they will and how often does a team bring it all together like that?

This team is banking on:

18-19 production from most of the non elite players (close to career years again)
No major injuries to certain players.
Carey Price playing better than he has the last 3 years running.
Rookies and second year players building on their previous years without regression.

Its not impossible but it is pretty unlikely. Fair enough, maybe this team is slightly better than previously. Is that enough? Not in my honest opinion. More of the same. Squeak into the playoffs best case scenario and another quick exit.

I refer to my original comment. This isn't a bad team in any way. It'll challenge for a playoff spot like usual but its still fragile, its still banking on Price playing better than he's shown and its looking like more of the same to me. Every year MB added new pieces and we were always optimistic about those changes right? How much more optimistic are you about these changes?