Someone finally realizes that Mete isn't worth scraps! He's already a solid young top 4 d man

Nice post. While I don't agree with some it, it's far from bad in any way.

My only question is: Is it enough and Is this team so different from the one that's missed the playoffs the past 3 years? IMO it isn't. So if the goal is to try and make the playoffs again, then I think it falls short yet again. All it takes is a couple injuries yet again and the team will be out of it.

Ultimately though this looks super realistic and I would say you nailed what I believe MB will do this year to a tee. Good job!

Edit: I also think if you do sign Domi and Danault, you have to look at trading KK now. Not because he's bad or anything but this team has too many centers at this point that its time to start using that depth to get better players at other positions of need. If you hold onto assets too long they'll depreciate their value. KK on a ELC still along with a pick and a roster player like Lehkonen should get us a very good player.

Also Edit: Some of those pending UFA resignings are just too low. Danault, Tatar, Gallagher will all get north of 6M easily. Gally is looking at 7M and its not even breaking a sweat. Danault is getting 6M minimum and Tatar at 6M on the dot is about right, maybe slightly more. It would be nice if they took hometown discounts but some of these aren't discounts they are pure lowball offers. They will be higher I guarantee it.

I disagree. In fact, I'm pretty sure Gally will take a discount for us to sign some other players. He obviously knows his value but is the ultimate team player. He is the heart and soul of the team and will understand it if Bergevin asks him to maybe take just below 6. I can also see Danault taking a discount because MTL is where he's from, he feels comfortable, his wife is from around here, his family lives in Quebec, he is getting #1 minutes where he wouldn't anywhere else. He is in the perfect situation for himself and is striving. I could definitely see both of them taking one for the team like MacKinnon. As for Tatar and Petry, I think they will ask for more money but Petry is probably more inclined to stay than Tatar.
Trading KK rn is maybe the worst thing to do. Do you remember when we traded Sergachev for Drouin? It's so much better to show the fans that we are able to trust the development of the players. KK's value is also at an all time low. I just don't see any reason to trade him.

Disagree wholeheartedly with that take on KK. A long stint in Laval next year is exactly what he needs.

The team from this year wasnt much different than the team that had 96 pts the year before, but the results were quite different. Injuries to Drouin, Gallagher, Armia, Byron (all 4 were out at the same time at one point this year) did not help. Carey Price sucked, he had a GSAx of -11, he has to be better. The team is 3 years older than the young squad that barely missed the playoffs two years ago. The prospects that they drafted are finally arriving in Laval which will boost the depth of injuries occur. How can you say they are a couple I juries away from missing the playoffs again when this squad had KK, Ylonen, Poehling, Fluery, Hudon, etc. All starting in Laval this year? 3 of those guys were on the opening night roster this year. That is improved depth.

Lastly, on Gallagher... if he wants $7M from MTL see ya. We have Caufield coming, the return for Gallagher in a trade would be big, we dont need to overpay anyone. If these guys don't want to stay in MTL at a fair price, then they wont stay in MTL. It's as simple as that, that's why I listed potential replacements for every player that needs an extension.

We'll have to wait and see I guess. Gally has been underpaid his whole career in Montreal. Taking another discount?? I don't think him asking for closer to market value means he isn't a team player. Whats fair is fair and the team expecting him to take a discount by that much is frankly not player friendly.

Trading KK is not something I want to do. I want to keep him. What I said is IF you keep both Domi, Danault, Suzuki then there is simply too many cooks in the kitchen. How is he supposed to develop? You'll never get his value back to where it needs to be. This hypothetical trade I mentioned wouldn't apply till the after the 20-21 season is over when Danault is up for resigning. So the rush isn't now but if Im KK and I see Domi resigned, Danault resigned, Suzuki getting the rest of the minutes, where do I fit in exactly?

You cannot hold on to every asset and wait for the perfect time until it all fits. That's not how it works. Need to be proactive. Sergachev for Drouin is not even in the same stratosphere. That was MB saving his job by bringing in a hometown kid.




You cannot keep an NHL calibre player in the AHL forever. I may need to clarify what I meant though, when I say "Now" I mean that as of when Danault is resigned at the end of the 20-21 season. By that time, you cannot go into the next season with Domi, Danault, Suzuki and apparently KK is going to play another year in the AHL? That doesn't make sense. Either he starts in the NHL or he doesn't You cannot have KK score 34 points as a rookie and then proceed to play him in the AHL for the following 3 seasons. It just doesn't work that way. He'll want out and I don't blame him.

I do not want KK gone. IMO you can play him in the AHL next year but you absolutely have to make it 100% clear he is in the NHL the year after (Danault's 1st year of his new contract) and the spot has to be visibly there for him. Otherwise you are burying an asset in an unwinnable position.

Once again I don't want KK gone but you can't have your ice cream and eat it too. Can't keep KK down forever and resigning all UFA centers with the emergence of Suzuki basically ensures that KK will never be the player he was drafted for so you might as well trade him, when the time is right, to get the asset in a position of need. Or what I feel makes more sense, trade Domi since he just isn't as effective at wing as he is center. That way you have a clear position open KK when he eventually gets called up.

As for the team being "better". Excuses Excuses excuses. Players have bad seasons. They get injured. That 96 point team had virtually every player have career years and yet still miss the playoffs. You are banking on the older players still being elite for this idea to work in your mind. Price hasn't been elite for a few years now. Weber is getting injured more and more often. Kovalchuk was a nice surprise but he was very motivated and with good reason. Not sure that motivation can be sustained over a full year. Suzuki could regress just like KK did. Romanov probably isn't the next Markov in his rookie year. etc etc.

Yeah added depth is nice but also aging vets are going to slowly decline and in some cases its not even slowly. If everything works out the way you intended it, then yeah it'll be a decent team. How confident are you they will and how often does a team bring it all together like that?

This team is banking on:

18-19 production from most of the non elite players (close to career years again)
No major injuries to certain players.
Carey Price playing better than he has the last 3 years running.
Rookies and second year players building on their previous years without regression.

Its not impossible but it is pretty unlikely. Fair enough, maybe this team is slightly better than previously. Is that enough? Not in my honest opinion. More of the same. Squeak into the playoffs best case scenario and another quick exit.

I refer to my original comment. This isn't a bad team in any way. It'll challenge for a playoff spot like usual but its still fragile, its still banking on Price playing better than he's shown and its looking like more of the same to me. Every year MB added new pieces and we were always optimistic about those changes right? How much more optimistic are you about these changes?

How about moving Domi to the wing, where he is more comfortable. Danault can play anywhere in the lineup. Zuks first line by 2021-2022, KK second line, Danault 3rd line. 3rd line doesn't mean he'll get 5 minutes a game. He'll still be the number one penalty killer, most used for faceoffs. Too many centers is the best problem you can have other than too many goalies.
I'm convinced Gally will take a discount.

How did Domi do when asked to play the wing after a 72 point seasons at center the year before? Yeah i would rather trade Domi then ask him to play wing again, he clearly didn;t like that. He clearly is a capable center, maybe not defensively reliable but neither are a ton of good scoring centers in the league.

Believe me, IMO Domi/Drouin would be the players I would move out. Not KK or even Danault for that matter. I agree KK/Suzuki 1/2 line punch with Danault on the 3rd is what I prefer also.

Domi has played more winger in his career than center.

I understand that but where did have his most success and hence the spot he'd most likely want to play?

Not necessarily. Did he play any better at center this year? No. It doesn't matter where he plays

Where did I imply that we would be going with Domi, Danault, Suzuki as our 3 C's for 2021-22? Just because Domi is under contract does not mean he cant be traded, or moved to the wing if we trade Drouin or move on from Tatar. Why are you talking about KK's value, as if all that matters is what we can get for him in a trade? What matters is his development. Playing 20 minutes a night as the best player in Laval is way more valuable then 12-13 in MTL. And talking about value, how would the perception be if KK didnt make the team in 2018-19, and last year was his first time playing in the AHL where he produced a point per game? It's like you think he value is gone because he took a step back. He is 19 yrs old, last year when he was in the NHL he was still like the 6th youngest player in the league, and that was his 2nd season. Seriously, what are we talking about KK's value for.

Yeah I'm banking on Price being better, because we are stuck with him for better or worse. We have no choice, but either way if you have a $10.5M goalie putting up a GSAx of -11, your team is going to be in trouble.

And what are you talking about career years? The guys that had career years were literally entering their prime and had show potential in the past. Domi and Drouin are still young and Drouin showed at the start of the year he knows what he has to do to be a better player. If Domi doesnt bounce back, we have Suzuki or KK who could step up. Tatar had a career year and then shattered that career year with his play this year. Danault has shown he is a consistent player, why would we think his play isnt repeatable? Armia is finally showing signs of offense. Gallagher is Gallagher. What are you talking about with Weber getting injured more often? He had a major injury and only had one other injury since then, an injury which he recovered from way ahead of schedule.

I don't share your concerns.

That's a decision that can be made before 2021-22, in the meantime KK has shown he needs time in Laval, habs might as well give Domi the chance to be a full time C again and boost his trade value, while KK develops properly.

I mean, neither did the whole team though. Can you see the likely reason? Considering the players he played with this year and the teams success in general, he still was on pace for 50 points...... imagine having Suzuki and Drouin on his wing for a full year..

Hence why I think this is a perfect representation of what MB will do. I simply said its not what I would do. Let's hope I'm wrong. I'd be more than happy to be.

Oh yeah in the meantime some extra time in Laval is fine. After that though I disagree. Its prime time for him. I guess it also depends on how he does in Laval that year. If he kills it, I don't see how you can keep him down longer and if he sucks, well then you kissing your chance at moving him for a equivalent valued asset. Waiting too long is not good. Not waiting enough isn't good but in between that time is the sweet spot should you go down that path of trading him.

If he sucks? Ok not sure what to say about that.

But that is why he should play in Laval, because like you said when he gets his call up its prime time. Next year is his chance to develop his game but MTL can't wait forever. If we trade Domi now and call up KK where do we go from there if he starts struggling in the NHL again?

Edit:
And for what it's worth I want MTL to make a big move like offersheeting Sergachev, this is just a lowered expectation team I made, which I would still be fine with.

"If he sucks" = in the event he sucks. Not advocating that he will but exploring all possibilities.

In the event you mentioned above, is why you don't hedge all your bets on the same thing. You have Suzuki, you have Danault, you have Poehling etc. I think you are forgetting the part that with trading Domi you are getting...you know.... assets back. The team is not getting worse, its simply spreading out the talent to another area of need.

None of the players I've mentioned are being traded because they are bad. Its simply to maximize the asset return while the value is there and not waiting till its too late like MB has done time and time again. Waiting till everyone and their mother knows MB has to trade them decreases the potential value back.

Well in that case it is fair to say that keeping KK in Laval to prime him for being our #1C, while giving Domi the chance to be the #1C in MTL on a line with Drouin and Gallagher is probably the best way to maximize Domi's value before trading him no?

At the same time the added depth throughout the organization is greatly improved by having KK available as a call up if any of our 3 C's get hurt.

I'm not against trading Domi right now, but based on your idea of maximizing value it would make more sense to boost Domi's value before trading him.

The truth is, right now MTL does not know what they have in Drouin or Domi for next season. Was a 19 game sample enough for Drouin? No. Was one good season enough for Domi? No. With Tatar's contract status currently unknown after this year, a decision likely shouldn't be made until these questions are answered by the players performances next season.

Ok well first off Im basing my opinion on every one of those players being signed at the rates you signed them for. If Tatar is gone for example, all of sudden the LW position has an open spot so my opinion will change accordingly.

Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough though, this whole idea of trading KK is under the pretense of resigning both Domi and Danault. (While also having Suzuki playing center). No decision is needed at the start of 20-21 because not all players are needed to be signed by then. Im only saying trade KK if you have Domi, Danault and Suzuki as 1-2-3 at the start of 21-22 and locked up long term. At that point you need to make a decision IMO. Keeping all three of those guys makes KK expendable IMO. I personally don't want Domi on the wing and most teams that want him, want him to play center, not wing. So you must trade him while the idea of him as a center is still credible. That way it opens a spot for KK, which is what I prefer.

Agreed, this is exactly what I'm saying, although I would never trade KK.

I still see him as the future #1C in MTL. It would be Domi, unless Drouin or Tatar are moved, in which case Domi might have to move to the wing.

Imagine keeping Suzuki and Domi in their secondary positions for a year. So good for both of them

As opposed to what exactly? Playing Domi on the wing where he was visibly worse and I would prefer Suzuki playing center also but then we run into the same problem again, too many cooks in the kitchen.

Suzuki is a natural center who had amazing chemistry with Caufield at the development camp. Do your research. If you want them to play together, Zuks will need to be at center. He needs to start learning to play center in the top 6. Domi will be just ok at wing. If you have a problem with too many centers, you really shouldn't be. This is one of the best problems to have.

Do my research? Maybe you should reread what I said. I WANT Suzuki as center....

If you agree Domi won't be as effective at wing as at center, then now is the best time to move him, while he's regarded as a center around the league and given what he showed last year when moved to the wing, playing him on the wing is not ideal.

Yes having too many "good" centers is a problem because unlike this fantasy world where you can just place everyone where you want and they are happy to do it, NHL players have ego's, they have expectations and demands. Its all great and dandy to have depth but at the same time you need to give them every opportunity to advance and also play their desired position.

Regardless, if you are gonna turn a cordial conversation with differing opinions into a "I know more about hockey than you" don't bother responding. Its ok to have a different opinion and my opinion is no less valid than yours.

Has Domi publicly said he wants to play only center? If he has, fine, move him. Otherwise, he is getting treated really well in MTL, obviously plays great under pressure here and wants to be here. He knows that there aren't too many cities where he'll get this opportunity and I think he can deal with this.