Habs 2010
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 1,550
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Thanks for sharing the articles they were good reads especially under the current circumstances.
KK might not have the same shouldering speed Suzuki has at this point in his game, but KK does have a size advantage and as he matures and gets stronger I think it will be less of an issue.
As for Dvorak, he's a solid player and for the right price I'd take him... he absolutely fits a need for MTL right now as a 2 way 2nd line C, but also a left handed PP bumper which I think is gonna be needed for the Hoffman unit this year. That said, as others have pointed out Arizona is negotiating from a position of strength (Dvorak is under contract for 4 years they don't have to trade him) and MTL will be negotiating from a position of weakness (they need C). ARZ will probably look for an overpay, so if I was MTL I would just sign Tyler Bozak as a one year solution/contingency, and then see what Evans, Poehling, and Drouin can do with an opportunity.
KK really didn't perform well for MTL last year, so it wouldn't be unthinkable for Drouin to replace him in an offensive role with Hoffman and Anderson (who he is currently living with) for example while one of Poehling, Evans, or Bozak replace Danault on the checking line with Lehkonen and Gallagher. Worst case scenerio Drouin has to be moved back to wing and one of Poehling or Evans get the chance to play in a more offensive role.
If all fails, at least it buys MTL some time in negotiations or maybe they even wait until free agency next season to address the issue.