Lindgren, Miller, and Jones kinda clog the LHD for us. Kulak would be redundant.

Given the Ducks cap space, I think I'd rather just sign Hoffman to that deal than trade Manson for Drouin.

Are you saying this from a Ducks or Habs perspective?

Ducks. To me, if they're looking to add, there's not much point in moving Manson. They'll need him to provide a cushion to Drysdale, and to eat up the heavier minutes. It would signal a "Alright, we're starting to gear up" moment, which would be the time they'd need a Manson-type guy.

I'd assume they'll be looking to sell off a couple more assets though (ie. Manson/Rakell), and would be looking for picks/prospects, or players on ELC's. $5.5 mil x 2 years is a lot to pay for a guy that has a lot of question marks around him.

Don't get me wrong, it's certainly intriguing, but I'd skip the potential for drama.

I think that you need to clarify that parenthetical.

"Alright we're starting to gear up" would be a "We know we're not a contender yet, but we're looking to take the next step in our development so we're going to spend a bit of money to add a solid offensive player". Sort of like Ottawa adding Dadonov. They knew they weren't going to get out of that division, but adding a solid veteran who had a strong history of providing solid minutes. Maybe that didn't work out as well as hoped, but that's the sort of thing I'd expect had this season not gone as far off the rails that would sort of be where we were heading. Unfortunately it's not.

No, what I meant was that in your first paragraph, you say that there's really no point to moving Manson, yet in your second paragraph, you say 'I'd assume they'll be looking to sell off a couple more assets though (i.e. Manson/Rakell)", so I was confused.

Ah, sorry, I meant is as a "If you're adding offensively, and think you're a a fringe contender, then you shouldn't move him, which is a potential option, but here's what I'd actually expect is likely going to happen".

Cheers!