Habs pass on Spooner (who would probably rather die than play for Julien again) and will pay 3M more per year for Tavares.

I completely agree on Spooner. I don’t thunk New York would want to trade him either. Zibby isn’t going anywhere. However Truebeliever, you are saying that John Tavares will get paid 14 million. Not happening.

I'd argue he's as good or better than McDavid. The Habs have 20M to play with. Why not overpay to land him? Better to overpay than to never get him and to keep sucking.

lolol JT is a hell of a player, but the only player as good or better than McDavid is Crosby. No one else is even in the convo. To say JT is better than McDavid? Give your head a shake.

Consistency, my friend. Consistency.

So you think JT is better than McDavid and is only going to get 7.5 mil? Got it.

I see everyone above me is arguing about Tavares but has seemingly not realized the Rangers traded away Zibanejad to a division rival for a prospect and a 2nd. Zibanejad is one of the only players on my untouchables list for the “rebuild” and that’s not enough for him. And with the whole Tavares thing, if you just throw money at him, it’s not like he’ll automatically sign there, it comes down to plenty of factors. Maybe he feels more comfortable in New York, since he already lives here and wants to play in the city’s best borough. I wouldn’t blame him. The Montreal media is truly a nightmare for players, and Tavares isn’t really this big outspoken guy. He’d be under a microscope in Montreal, with the press criticizing his every mistake. Only one person knows how John Tavares really feels, and it’s John Tavares.