Do nothing and assess what you have

Team: 2021-22 Montreal Canadiens

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 29, 2021

Published: Aug. 29, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Do nothing. Let KK walk. This deal that was accepted by KK was a slap in the face of the team he plays for, which he is entitled to do but Habs don't have to like it either. The gross overpayment that was clearly a joke/revenge offer from a rival team. The 20$ signing bonus. All of it. Good for KK but if that's how he wants to operate in negotiation then let him walk. 6M+ for the next 6 years for a guy that is hardly a 2M player right now is silly. Matching this offer sends a bad message to the rest of the team. IMO. (and frankly I don't blame the Canes one bit, this was 100% MB's fault when they OS Aho at a contract that was sure to be matched....dumb, just dumb move by MB at the time - Waddell just showed you how to do a SMART offer sheet)

Anyway, sign a vet just to help the young C core, someone like Bozak whose still capable of playing up and down the lineup in a variety of roles in the short term. Try Poehling and Evans with more responsibility to start the year. If all goes to hell, make move in season. There are TONS of high end UFA's at the end of the year we can explore. There are TONS of trade options to explore in season. Habs are now stocked with picks and prospects to make a deal if they need to but do it once you know what you have first. Not to mention they have tons of cap space this year now to use as they need. Trade deadline could be more interesting with cap space and extra draft picks.

Panicking now would be silly. No Eichel. No Monahan. No any big name center while other teams are asking for the moon. With Zuke playing #1 minutes and the addition of Bozak to shelter Evans and Poehling from harder matchups, they can definitely still compete. Not ideal I know but making a panic move now is also not ideal, two wrongs don't make a right here. Asses your team later when you know what you have first and who knows maybe something surprising happens.

What if Poehling proves he's a top 2/3 center? He was very very good in Laval this year. He looked like the confident Poehling that scored a hattrick in his first NHL game again. What if Evans proves he's a bonafide #3? He's not a kid anymore, the guy is 25 and already trusted with defensive matchups by his coach. Maybe give him an actual shot at doing what Danault did. Maybe he won't be a Selke candidate but then again, we don't need him to be. He just needs to progress which he's done every year so far. Lets see what he can do.

There was no guarantee KK would even be capable of taking on the top 2 minutes and exceling. He struggled last year during the season while being given more minutes and responsibility to prove his worth and wasn't trusted enough in the playoffs at times. Why is everyone assuming he is a 60 point player next year with more minutes? So far in his young career he hasn't given anyone any indication he will be worth 6M+ for the next 6 years at all. Overpaying KK means Habs will HAVE to overpay every other RFA player on the team in coming years because his matching sets a new precedent: Top dollar or else I'll accept an OS. Set a new precedent with not matching. Let everyone know threat offers like this won't be accepted here. Its a hard pill to swallow but KK made his bed. Now time for Habs to do so also.

If KK had earned the contract in the 6M range and Habs were offering 2M, I'd be all for KK getting paid here. What he did was greedy and I'm all for the Habs letting him go. Him signing a bogus joke/revenge offer like this shows his true colors that its top dollar no matter what. I guarantee you Gallagher would not have signed it. Gally have done the right thing and would have gone to MB and worked out a better offer than they were previously offering while using this OS as leverage. Forcing MB to raise his price but at least he does it under MB's terms and not through a threat OS where the manager is basically screwed either way.

Losing KK sucks but it is not the end of the world.