Neiher do I.

The Canadiens are left with $475,000 in cap space after the Staal deal, and that includes Paul Byron currently being on the taxi squad. Would think a corresponding move could be coming. Cole Caufield in the process of playing out the final minutes of his college career, too.

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) March 26, 2021

Another trade coming?

No. Evans will stay on the taxi-squad, and Caufield only needs to be called up when he’s playing games. Worst case scenario the habs end up with an extra $100K or so of overages, which is very manageable.

A trade that Capfriendly thinks the Habs won! The earth is going to freeze over!

I think that's a bit of a stretch. Montreal came out of the gate hot, but haven't been good in a while now. They've only won 7 of their last 21 games and are 24th in scoring in that timeframe. If they had the kind of depth you seem to think they have they would've been able to (a) score a lot more and (b) win through any injury issues.

Dam the Sabres are a true dumpster fire

Montréal going on a bit of a skid and sucking in OT doesn’t tell you how good they are 5-on-5. If you take out all the games that have gone past regulation, the habs are 13-8 on the season. And can you please tell me in which way these lines aren’t what I described?

Drouin - Suzuki - Anderson
Tatar - Danault - Gallagher
Toffoli - Kotkaniemi - Armia
Byron - Staal - Perry

Im not a fan of Staal (always owned us in playoffs) but we needed a veteran 4C good on faceoffs, so I'll take it.

Im just glad Bergy gave away his MTL picks and not the ones of worst teams (higher picks) .

And retention means another move is coming! LHD?

A few days ago, I made a post titled "Bringing back Captain Staal for another run at the Cup".

In it, Buffalo hypothetically trades Staal at 50% retained salary to Carolina for a 2nd round pick.

The Buffalo Sabres fanbase largely thought that was a fair deal.



On June 22nd 2019 (Draft Day 2019), Montreal traded a 2nd to the LA Kings for a 3rd and a 5th.

Capfriendly community was pretty closely divided on who won that trade (Does that mean it was a fair deal?)



In this trade between Montreal and Buffalo, Montreal got a centreman that they were looking for at 50% retain salary.

Buffalo got two draft picks that, if packaged together, are very close in value to a 2nd round pick.



Taking this into account, the swapping of picks by the Habs and the Kings on June 22nd 2019 and my post about what a fair trade involving Eric Staal would like, I've reached my conclusion on this trade.



I voted fair deal.

Like if you did too!!!

Good deal for both teams. Montreal gets someone to help them now, and Buffalo gets picks for a guy they probably weren't going to re-sign.

Canes probably saw less value in Staal than the Habs did.

I can imagine that the Canes only offered a lone 3rd or a lone 4th for Staal.

Kevyn Adams probably recognized he would never get a better return from any other team, so he trades Staal to the highest bidder :/

Odds are that JK is cleared to return before Staal has passed through quarantine. But, I'm sure the fact that he's out now only made Staal more valuable. I have yet to hear a real reason for why this was not a good trade for MTL.

They're good defensively at 5v5 but not offensively... hence (I think) the 3rd line comment. Most teams try to employ a shutdown 3rd line and have a top-6 that can score... Montreal is in the bottom 3rd of the league for 5v5 GF/60 in their past 21 games.

2021 Me to 2010 Me: The Habs will one day have Weber, Perry, and Stall all on the same team

2010 Me to 2021 Me: WTF are you on about

Basically, your assessment is pretty accurate, but I'd say they have two 2nd lines and two 3rd lines. Their 5on5 play is excellent, like you said. However, 4 of the players - Drouin, Kotkaniemi, Danault, and Armia - you say are 2nd line have combined for 13G on the season. That's unacceptable for 2nd line forwards. There's a lot to like about this team. They have balance, depth, and good teamwork. But, they're gonna need more scoring from the aforementioned 4 players.

I like this move for MTL. Very low cost. 3rd rounders statistically have an approx. an approx. 25% of playing 100 games in the NHL. That doesn't mean they'll ever even score a point or be a contributor either. Low cost for a veteran that can help these kids learn a little more.

Who won this trade? Well are the fans also looking at the fact that the puck travels in two directions and Staal was on the ice travelling in the opposite direction as well. OR are we all just looking in the one direction? Congrats Buffs if that's what you wanted for a centre dude.

i lol when people are referring to him as "depth" or 4th line center. he had 47 points last year in 66 games and the year before that he had 52 in 81. to be clear last year he would have been tied for 2nd in points on the Habs... its weird people think his play in Buffalo completely diminishes his value. Staal right now is good enough to be a 2-3c on most NHL team...great add for the Habs. no brainer for that price

? lol hes going to destroy in the north.... he was playing in the hardest division in the league and hes now going to the easiest

Mr Staal had been on the ice for 28 goals going in his net.

Danault and Drouin have been snake bitten when it comes to scoring goals, but they’ve been great at their strengths (defensive play and playmaking respectively). Armia is on pace for 17 goals in an 82 game season, and KK has been playing better than his point totals would indicate.

And if you just want to talk about points, last season there were an average of 5.9 forwards per team on pace for 40 or more points (min. 20 GP). Which would make it the perfect cutoff for how many points a top 6 forward should have. This year, Montréal has 9 forwards on pace for 40+ points in an 82 game season. Considering the fact that 8 forwards are all in the 40-56 point range pace, (with 74 point pace Toffoli being above everyone) I’d say that meets the criteria of having 3 2nd lines.

This has to be a fair deal, the fire sale started in Buffalo and Habs are getting a great asset at a cheap price. Bargain bin Berge is back at it even when you think the bin's empty.

Danault and Drouin are each on pace for 5G in an 82 game season. They might put up 2nd line assists, but those goal totals aren't even suitable for Buffalo's 2nd line.

Fair value. I don't think this trade pushes Montreal over the top though.

The funny thing is it's true... every trade Bergiven "loses" at first he ends up winning.