@AndrewLadd
Ah sh*t, here we go again...

Did you forget to add a first to the oiler deal to take your cap dump???

The Canadiens cap situation next offseason might b worse then the one the isles have this season 😂

Even as a Bruins fan, I absolutely love this team, but they should trade Drouin. He's a waste of cap space and they can live w/out him especially if they are active this offseason.

cap sucks but the players better then A Lot of the Oilers chosen top 6 RW players

I mean MTL at best should get a pick and maybe give up an Ikonen or pick
But that doesnt mean Byron wont work in EDM aka home of 4th liners on 30/31 teams playing top line just.
McJesus is so good EDM can scrape by doing so for now.
He'll eventually get tired of it and leave in a way that makes the Gretzky Departure seem civil.
That on EDM owner who's brought more losing seasons to EDM then any owner in its history while Fans still Choose to support him because they love losing .

I mean Kassian on top line?
If you didnt have McJesus as your top line Center then Oilers would do more then just miss the playoffs they'd be a bottom feeding NHL team dead last in the league.

Byron unlike most of Mcdavid or even Drisatl's wingers he has Speed , Hits a ton for his size and Scores Goals on Crap teams without talented Centers
Putting him with Mcjesus is basically guaranteeing he'll find success if guys like Kassian an Alcoholic with legal battles MTL cut lose after his car accident because he was Wreckless and had no personal Accountability.(even today in court he's dragging out his long standing issues from his very brief stay here)

He worked out great for EDM despite his Many Many Many issues
Assuming a Superior Player wont work out just makes no sense to me.
3.4m will be a value compared to what he could produce beside McJesus provding EDM another speedy option to carry pucks into the OZ so teams dont just have to shut down McJesus to shut down EDM's top line .(which is all it takes as he always plays beside bottom 6 players or guys way past their prime overpayed to the point it makes Byrons contract make very little.)

Little to no chance that Matt Barzal would sign a 2 year offer sheet, And besides next summer the Habs cap situation could be worse then the Isles cap situation this year.

I don't know if any Habs fans would hate this lineup. The moves do improve the team significantly. There are a few concerns listed below for your review.

1. Caufield on the 1st line straight or of college may not be a great idea.
2. That is a ton of rookies to be depending on all at once. (Not saying they can't handle it just pointing it out.
3. Would rather trade one of Chiarot or Edmondson and retain one or two of Danaulþ, Lehkonen or Armia.

Yah like Byron and his 3 goals and injury status last year at 3 million bucks are going to change things. Like seriously that cap hit is brutal, he is a 3rd line player PERIOD and we have lots of those. If he is so good, you should keep him. Dont worry what the oilers have now, in 2 years everyone will be developed and ready.
Byron is brutal, I wouldnt even trade Neal for him.

You certainly dont watch the oilers or McDavid eh, he best results are with slower players. Nice of you to figure that out though

Another thing is obviously Oilers do not have probles scoring goals, McDavid is great with Nuge who is 100 times the better player than Byron. The problem with the Oilers is their defensive play. You should really watch them sometime so you can see for yourself.

Well, you should probably actually take a look at Byron cause you kinda just contradicted yourself.

Realistically, it is apparent that Byron's $3.4mil AAV is ugly as hell and that along with the fact Byron has played 85 games in two seasons. There is a good chance MTL will keep Byron until his contract expires due to those huge factors. (Like you said)

Though you say that EDM does not need offensive help but rather defensive which is kind of exactly what Byron brings to the table. You did point out the most logical reasons as to why a team wouldn't want Byron, but you can't say "he problem with the Oilers is their defensive play." then go ahead and say "Byron is brutal, I wouldnt even trade Neal for him." that is just delusional, and if you truly believe that you definitely have not seen Byron perform.

Byron is considered one of the best waiver claims in a long time. When he is healthy (which is rare) he is a counter-attack machine: extremely, VERY fast skater: changes direction and momentum better than a lot of the forward group in MTL (which is a clearly very fast team). Specifically, Byron is amazing defensively; loves to bring the puck out of the d-zone and create breakouts, most of his goals scored his entire MTL career consisted of short-handed breakaways and fast breakout play.

Byron would be extremely worthy in EDM, clearly more then you think. EDM is packed full of one dimensional offensive talent. There is a gigantic lack of two-way play in EDM, that really isn't that hard to acknowledge. Byron would add a two-way and veteran/NHL readiness to an offensive core that has speed on the wing, who blocks shots, and who can score the odd shorty here and there.

Ken Holland:

dude. I agree. Big time.

Clearly, management loves the guy since he has had so many years of 'proving himself' but man I am done and have been done waiting for Drouin since 2018.

Great, he gets 50 pts - MTL has had literally only 50 pt players most of my life. So we traded our LHD prospect who would have boosted the team to a new level (especially then, our defense was ****) for another depth forward. Great; sounds about Habs!

There is a distinct fear in MTL management when it comes to stars. Whether their 'star' quality expires, the star doesn't want to sign in Quebec, or management will not urge the GM to go guns-blazing for an elite forward. So when my team DOES go for a forward in some manner, I and other fans get EXCITED. Then he turns out to be a pass-first opportunity forward who consistently shows amazing potential but does not produce. Kovalchuk said that Drouin is the most talented Hab, which to me sounds ridiculous - Ilya must've been watching practice Drouin and not in-game Drouin.

Drouin needs to be traded. MTL is stuck waiting for this guy to prove his worth because to me, he is a weaker Alex Galchenyuk.

THIS YEAR BETTER be the deciding factor for the guy. Great playoff bubble play, though (Suzuki's amazing performance made him look better than he is).

Defensive help as in Defense!!!!! Where is the contradiction????????????????????????????????
Sounds like Byron is hard to replace and you should keep him and yes we will keep Neal and his 20 goals in 55 games which is a 28 goal pace and he was injured for a chunk of it too.

Furthermore we do not need more veterans NEAL, CHAISSON, KASSIAN, ENNIS, NUGE, RUSSELL, KLEFBOMB, LARSSON, TURRIS, ARCHIBALD. In fact your team is very young and you might need some veterans. Habs fans need to stop trying to ditch Byron off on EVERYONE.

your first two points were very apparent to me, which is essentially why this wouldn't happen (obviously).

Bergevin did mention recently that 2021-2022 will be a 'much younger team'. Which makes sense due to our cap situation. MTL is banking on the youth to take a huge step this year which could go right or wrong very fast. I believe it could work out! Though Bergevin should really try to keep who performs well this year.

IT MAKES OUR ARMCHAIR GM'S MORE FUN OKAY

Couldn't say it better myself