Joined: Jan. 2017
Posts: 19,786
Likes: 8,836
Him playing C1 has been more about Habs lack of C depth than it is about his talent. He is the prototype C3. Very good defensively. Responsible. Will chip in with enough offense for the role. Not enough offense for first line. If he’s a team 3rd C they are in good shape. If he’s #1, they are in trouble. He’s a complimentary player, not a star.
You’d be very hard pressed to get a pair of 1sts. 1st and mid level roster player, 1st and 3rd, pair of 2nds, a little more realistic. Go look at players with similar value and what they have gone for. Just because he has played C1 for you does not mean he has C1 trade value. He doesn’t. Good solid player. There would be plenty of teams interested and bidding war can help boost value, but GMs generally know what they are willing to give up for a player and rarely go much beyond that regardless. Cap hit is reasonable. Another bonus.
I doubt he goes anywhere anyways so 🤷🏻♂️