alot better than the ghost trade that's forsure

I wouldn't wanna give up Frost, Farabee or Ratcliffe imo, but it's Fletcher so who knows what he'll do. I wanna cry at the Hayes contract, I get it's a typical UFA overpayment, but Fletcher couldn't even cut the term to 6 years...

Another soft big forward in Philly that isn't quite a shut down forward and isn't quite a line driver. When will the Flyers learn?

Shaw would be great for Philly. And his vacant spot could leave place for a rookie to be promoted.

No way MTL accept that trade. They need a good LHD not an average LHD.

Ratcliffe is the key piece, Hagg will filled the hole Mete-Kulak-Hagg

What do I do with this post ?

Ratcliffe's good physical forward but is worth a 2nd round pick in 2019 and a B level prospect at best , or a 2nd rounder in 2020 and a A- level prospect at worst .
Even that may be overpaying as Ratcliffe Projects as a Jaskin Type NHL player with slightly more offensive Potential because unlike Jaskin he'll pay the price infront of the net and doesnt get nervous as his D belt off Slap shots as he screens . (we deffinately need this type of player but its always easier to draft them from the 2nd/3rd round and develop him like PHI did with Ratcliffe and Strome )

Hagg is someone i'm really high on as he's one of the top 10 hitters in the league and among those top 10 has the most shots blocked .
that being said you're looking at maybe a 3rd round pick and a Mccarron or Hudon type who needs a change of system and still is an RFA

Shaw IMO right now coming off a career high season in many respects , as a key leader for Max Domi who famously said in defense of Shaw to MTL media '' if you dont know what Shaw bring to the Team , then you dont know hockey .... you just dont . '' . He's a solid 2nd/3rd line Forward who plays hard along the boards and takes faceoffs from wing up to 750 draws per year comfortably with 53-55%.

that being said i think Shaw value is somewhere around a 2nd and Prospect like Bennet ,Strome or Fleury who have not lived up to their potential in their current system but have suffered from being in positions their organisations are deep at . someone who's underperformed that was a former 1st round Prospect who for one reason or another hasnt hit full potential .

Given all this if i was to use the current pieces to make a trade it would be something like

Shaw
5th in 2019

for
Ratcliffe
Hagg
3rd in 2020 (conditional that if PHI makes ECF it becomes a 2nd , if they win the SC its a first . )

this gives both teams value and insurance picks .
a 5th in a draft this deep could find you another Shaw or a potential Gallagher as bother we're 5th round Gem's .

MTL gets a 3rd with Conditions so that if Shaw wins a Cup we atleast get something of Value more then Ratcliffe (as Hagg can likely be acquired Cheaper outside this trade)

this is false
what they need is what Emelin did for them and Benn's tried to do .
Hagg has some issues with over playing the puck but that being said
he's 8th in the NHL in hits with 258 and has over 150 Blocks shots (double digit numbers more then the next guys in the top 10 for hits )
out of those top 10 hitters Hagg played the 2nd most minutes over the season behind only Adam Larsson of EDM .

he's a Defensive D purely but he's got a decent 2 line pass and can start rushes then drop in on the blue line as last guy in the OZ and belt off the Slapper .

the biggest issue is when he's pressured by speedy forwards he makes dumb plays and create's turnovers. when compared to other top 10 NHL hitters he's 3rd in turnovers with 39 but that's signifigantly less then Emelin averaged while also creating almost double to offense .

Hagg's the perfect 24 year old LD to play in between Mete and Romanov over the next couple years as he create's a level of physicality the forces other teams to take notice when he's on the ice. But like Gudas it appears the overly physical players have lost favor in PHI . (Simmonds , Gudas and soon Hagg)

What potentiel you see in Romanov ? Top3-4 ?

legit #1

Kid had some big question marks about his offensive game , he answered them at the WJC taking the defensive scoring award .

at 17 he was projected to go 5th-7th in the Draft knowing there's a chance he wouldnt be taken first year eligible but MB called Federov who also advised him on Sergachev. Needless to Say Federov preeched about Romanov's Physical Maturity at such a young age as well as his Pro level approach . this prompted MB to schedule an interview with Romanov that went very well followed by MTL scouting staff contacting a 2nd KHL GM who's also Romanov's Grandfather (his Grandfather was the Gagarin cup Champ before Romanov's Rookie season saw his Team dethrone AK Bars winning a Gagarin Cup this year. )

Romanov's a 3rd Generation Pro who credits his Grandfather for his success in his First year Pro from Earning his first KHL regular line up spot to winning the league championship he showed us just why CSKA Moscow wasnt willing to let him out of his contract so he could turn Pro in MTL last year . When you think Romanov think Roman Josi in his style of play , his physical dominance and also the arch his development will take under Weber's guidance (meaning third year before you truly start to see him taking the #1 D position from Weber )

we should not let Romanov go because he hits and blocks shots like Emelin (seriously built small but big guys bounce off him ), Passes like Markov and has a chip on his Shoulder being a 3 gen star of a prominent hockey family that despite their success at Russia's top levels never tried going to the NHL .(old school russian pride , its a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes we learned with Markov but worth it )

Yeah I know that but when you said Hagg will fit between Mete and Romanov you weren’t talking in 4 years but in 2 years lol. I thought you seen him only as a 3rd pairing dman, I was scared lol. Romanov & Brook have the highest potential in MTL defenseman

IMO 2022-23 our D core looks like this

Romanov-Weber
Mete-Brook

by 2024-25
Romanov-Brook
Mete-Weber


there's no scenario where adding a top 4 D makes us better long term outside the one with Hagg who fits our needs today in a 2nd/3rd pair LD role with Kulak but longterm behind Romanov and Mete he's bringing the pain to opposition with Juulsen down on third pair . (and eventually Fleury once he makes a push and Juulsen gets moved )

Romanov's only obstacle is his transition to small ice which before would have had me nervous with coach lefebvre busting five 1st rounders and to many prospects to name but Coach Bouchard has polished turds for us giving us depth from players we never expected during times we called up players. He has Evans , Fleury and Lindgren looking good . Even turned Mccarron into a team leader he relied on heavily until injury to the point Mccarron was 3rd in scoring for the team when he went down . (Mccarron pre -bouchard was a guaranteed bust by this summer )

When Mete played 7 games in Laval, he came way better. Agostino looked like a solid 4th line player, Kulak just wow. But yes, soon Ylonen Ikonen Olofsson Harris, they will all end up in Laval

im glad we got Bouchard , we're REALLY Lucky.

he's old school , what you did last year , last month or last week doesnt matter .
if you're not playing well , you're not playing at all .
you get scratched , and yeah feelings get hurt but that's what makes men

I like this trade but think Mtl should had a pick or a B- prospect.

i can agree with that

if adding a Mccarron or Skelnika to the bundle Shaw , 5th for Ratcliffe , Hagg and a 3rd pick then i can live with that .
as long as its a Career AHL'er with Call up potential being let go then sure