IF , John Tavares makes it to UFA status, its gonna take a lot more than 11.5M to sign him in MTL.
I've been hearing that they would need to come around 15M/year to sign him.
But I doubt he makes it that far.
If the Isles believe they can't sign him, then they'll move his rights during the draft - which MTL can pick up, but they would be giving up a lot in return (picks, prospect, roster players).

The Benn schlemko trade you get nothing bad wow bad trade

I dont thing they will get Rasmus Dahlin they wont go first overall

I don't know this for fact, but I think I was the first to suggest the Habs blow the door off the vault and offer $15M. I was just sick of everyone saying "he'd never go to Montreal." He sure as heck would for $105 million!! As for acquiring his rights, once the Isles give up on signing him, his rights are largely worthless. Their value is that you get to be the first caller and be able to offer an extra year. That's a pick or a prospect, but it's not a huge haul.

Agree that with the cap space MTL has now and can potentially have come the summer (cap increase, player moves etc...) offering a 7 year 15M+ deal to Tavares is doable. If we can get his negotiation rights and offer that extra year for a pick and a prospect - I would do it in a heartbeat (but it would have to be a "sure thing".

Those rights transfers are always conditional -- a second if he signs and a fifth if he doesn't, or something like that.

While the Habs would do that... it’s just crippling in a salary cap era. Look at Chicago and Toews /seabrook. That franchise is destroyed because of those contracts

Am i the only one that thinks tavares picks a team with a chance to win right away and not a rebuild like montreal. Do teams like nashville, washington, st louis, toronto make room for him. Id personaly love to see him go to Jersey or calgary. Hes known nothing but unrest his whole time in new york. Does he just take the most money?

what's crippling teams like the 'hawks is that they've put majority of their cap space in one position - forward.
What I like about this scenario with the Habs is that they would have 3 key positions locked up - long term. (Weber, Price, Tavares).
You then start to build your roster around these three with younger (cheaper), complimentary players, add in the odd veteran here and there, and you have yourself a cap friendly team with 3 superstars in three key positions.
The beauty of this after is that if these younger (cheaper) complimentary players begin to perform well, you move them out for future picks and other youngsters with potential before their salary demands become too rich.
Its a "revolving door" of complimentary players, while keeping your team competitive and locking down three key positions necessary for any contending team.

I think you're right in that Tavares would want to pick a team that has a chance to win.
Unfortunately, he doesn't have this luxury of picking where to go.
His modified NTC is that he can submit a list of 8 teams he WONT be traded to. That leaves the door wide open for a lot of other teams.
Also, the reality is that most cup contenders are up against the cap as it is - meaning they wouldn't be able to afford JT - especially if he hears that MTL is willing to put 15M (8 years) on the table.

What's crippling the Hawks is success. The Habs should be so lucky. Yes, they should have traded Seabrook and maybe even Duncan Keith. Hossa, while still a serviceable player, is a drag on the cap, too. Kane and Toews aren't the problem. It's their bloated mid-talent players who are each overpaid by 1-2M. It adds up.

He is an ufa next season so he kinda can pick where to go