Montreal needs to first fire Marc Bergevin who is the most incompetent GM in the NHL.

Nice sarcasm but he’s not the best, the second after Yzerman

Cole Fonstad won’t receive an ELC
Harris will stay another year in the NCAA
Ikonen will stay another year in FIN, no rush for him
McCarron won’t be back
Ottawa decline

Really? What has he accomplished to be even considered average? His team isn't good enough, he's never had a franchise centre, squandered the prime of the best goalie in the world only to sign him a horrible contract. Traded for one of the worst contracts in the league in Weber and refused to rebuild when it was certain the team wasn't good enough. He's not very good.

Your name fits you really well.

Fixed it for you.

?

Other then signing Alzner, what mistakes has he made?

Exactly. Other than minor moves that haven’t worked out, Karl Alzner is Marc Bergevin’s only mistake.

Weber is under contract for 6 more seasons at 8 million a season. Unless he retires the moment his decline hits hard, Montreal has that cap hit counting against you ever season. You guys justify it because Subban hasn't been very good this season. But the reality is, Weber's contract is a blackhole for your future cap same with Price. Bergevin isn't very good.

If Weber were as useless as Subban, yes he would have a worse contract. But you’re comparing a #1 defenseman to a fringe 3rd pairing defenseman. Weber isn’t overpaid, whereas Subban is probably making $7 million more than he should. Weber’s contract, while being a bit lengthy isn’t bad. And while it won’t be the best contract in the league, he’ll still provide value for his cap hit.

You are just lost sir. Weber is the #1 defenceman in Montreal only. He's went on a heater in November/December and I'd wager he falls off the pace as he has every year with the habs when he wears out later in the year. The reality is both are bad contracts, but the one that ends in a year is much easier to swallow than the one with 6 years left for a guy who may not even be an NHL worthy player in half that time. Defenceman playing in their 30's has dropped every year in the past decade. Weber's contract is terrible and Montreal has no real idea what they are. They have long term contracts with Weber and Price showing that management thought they were going to be contenders and they aren't. Having those contracts makes a rebuild entirely difficult because that is 20 million in cap space tied up to declining assets. Good luck.

You definitely have it all figured out .. You do realize it’s a new age of hockey where players can play at a good level until they’re 39-40 especially when they train In the off-season like Weber does his contract will be worth the 7.85 M for at least the next 4-5 years and by that time the cap should go up and make it even more worth it

Do the research friend. The number of defenceman over the age of 31 has dropped every single year for the past decade. Playing late into your 30's is becoming more and more rare each year. Everything you said is completely made up and not remotely close to being true. Weber being at all effective in 3 years will be completely out of the norm. Him being effective now is not really normal. He may still be usable for the next little while but his effectiveness at 5v5 will continue to decline year over year because he doesn't have the speed to keep up with the speed of the game. Its just the reality of the new era we live in. Human males peak physically around 24 years old and then start losing steps in their 30's. Weber will be no different.

When you play smart/well positionally speed isn’t as much as a factor I’m not saying he’s still going to be a number one D-man but will still be a top 4 D-man and at that time 7.85 is what top 4 D will be making as we already see top d man are now getting paid 9-11 M and yea physical peak for a lazy male is 24-30 but someone who actually keeps their body in shape and eats healthy are still going to be in very good shape late into their 30s even into there 40s like I said new day and age where workout plans and meal plans are a big part in sports

Do research. Every year for the past decade, less players playing over 30 every year. Last season there was 52 defenceman over the age of 31. This year 45. Of those 45, 22 are averaging 20 minutes or more a night. Of those 22, 10 who are 34 and older. Many of those are not top 4 defenceman but vets playing way too much on bad teams, like Hainsey, Green and Andy Greene. The only defenceman over the age of 34 that makes as much as Weber is Burns whos also showing signs of slowing down. Everything you are saying is just made up non sense. There is no empirical evidence to support it. Figure out what you are talking about if you want to continue this but if all you want to do is make stuff up to support your weak argument, I'm out.

I don’t get what you’re getting at all, basically all you’re “research” is saying is that every players body react the same after the age of 31 which is inaccurate, how many of those 45 players were ever true number one dman throughout their careers your “research” list is flawed just like tons of other analytics based crap

The research shows that players in general don't last nearly as long as they used to. 20 years ago, being a teenager in the NHL was incredibly rare. Many guys didn't make it until their mid 20's, now pretty much every team has at least 1 guy who is under 20. And some teams only have one or two guys over 30. The number of players over 30 is dropping each year and what does that mean? That if you eat right you can play until you are 40? Giving money to anyone over 30 is becoming very risky. All players decline in their 30's all of them. Very few can remain above average, most become liabilities. The speed of the game makes it hard to keep up once you lose a step. Look at Spezza for example, the guy still has a lot of skill but has lost steps and now can't keep up against top competition. Weber's decline will hit and when it does, it will be fast and hard. Then he'll be a bottom pair defender making 8 million for multiple years. I am sure you are going to point to Chara and say see! But he isn't making 8 million. If he was, it would be a huge problem for Boston. He isn't half of what he used to be. Its just a matter of time before Weber falls off dramatically and when that happens, Hab fans like you will be scrambling to make sense of it while the rest of the world says, "Told you so"

Fonstad 45 points in 36 games. Why not signed him ? Also Mtl, will need players in Laval next year.

Could be. Or he could decline later like Chara did. It is a guess. He we all had a Chrystal Ball.

Chara hasn't been all that great for about 5 years. So 35, which is next year for Weber. Also Chara hasn't made top dollar for several years. Also the only reason Chara has continued to play is because he's huge. His reach and strength still let him get away with his utter lack of speed. Weber isn't that big, if he keeps playing to 40, he's going to be a stay at home pylon that can't be used against top defenders. Its going to happen sooner rather than later.

To address the above debate, the truth is that the Weber vs Subban debate won't end until both contracts are over. Subban's having one bad year and all of a sudden he's a "fringe 3rd pairing D", as if he wasn't a Norris candidate the prior year. Weber is having a fiery season, and suddenly he's a "1D until he's 40 because of his work ethic".

Guys, we don't know the future. Relax. GMMB took a bet and put his career on the line knowing people like you will fight about it.

Oh boy, where to start.


You do know that Weber's 14 years contract have been made under the previous CBA meaning that the cap hit will be counted toward the team that has signed the contract meaning Nashville will be on the hook for every year of his contract.


Chara, Markov, Hal Gill, Lidstrom, Chelios are among others that had long career. You're talking like at 35 everyone dies like in the 1600's. Getting older just means you're becoming a mentor for the upcoming wave of young Dman in your team and take a little less responsability, does this deserves as much money as when you're in your peak? It's debatable but he'll still be an amazing captain even when he'll play less than 20 minutes a game. Just see what Josi had to say about his time with him saying how much he was showing a solid example for the rest of the team to follow.


I wouldn't say he's a fringe 3rd pairing defenseman but one is a captain of the team that aquired him and playing at Norris talks level. The other has been said to be out of shape, locker room cancer and is already being to his second team since the trade (And rumours that he's yet again on the trading block).
Could we safely say the Habs got the bigger end of the stick in that trade? Would you trade away Weber for 2 AHL players (under .5 ppg down there), Bobby Brink and a 2020 2nd for a 31 year old stud defenseman (When the original trade was made)

1) Weber's contract falls under the Habs cap unless he retires. If he doesn't retire and plays for the remainder of his contract even if he gets sent down, almost the entire contract remains on the cap. Lets just say your comments are off to a rough start.

2) Chelios wouldn't have played until he was 45 in this era of hockey, he wasn't a good skater, who's to say he would have been all that good in this day and age. Hall Gill was a bottom pairing defenceman in his 30's and never made much money. That whole statement is just silly. Each team has 6 defenceman in the lineup any given game. That means there are 186 defenceman playing in the NHL each year (obviously there are more dependent on injuries and other things but lets just be general here) if there are 45 that are 31 or older that means that just over 75% of defenceman in the entire NHL are 30 or under and that number has dropped every year for the past decade. Defenceman playing into their 30's is becoming more and more rare. This can't be disputed.

3) Hab fans like to point to right now for how much they won the Weber trade. When the reality is, they should have done much better in that trade. They will have nothing to show for it other than a terrible cap situation when they have a 3rd pair 35+ defenceman under contract for several years and making 8 million. If Weber was off the books next season, then it would be a win for Montreal, I guess, but considering the Habs are going to miss the playoffs, really aren't good enough and still are looking for an elite franchise centre, I don't think you can really hang your hat on this trade as a big win. Especially once Weber declines.

The reality is, the only way the Weber trade comes out looking good is if he retires the moment he starts looking like he's declining and I just don't see him leaving the money on the table and destroying the cap situation for the Nashville predators.

Man you are stupid and annoying, the last 3 years of Weber, he’s making 1M, do you really think he will keep playing for 1M if he can’t follow ? No he will retired and NSH will take the cap recapture