We are not trading our 2023 1st for Chychrun unprotected.

We are not trading our 2024 1st for Edmundson unprotected.

Try again.

I don't know how people think Edmondsun can get MTL a 1st
He's injury proned, not a offensive dman and his defensive ability are really bad lately (since his operation)

If MTL could get a 2nd for him i would be happy.

That's not really true outside not being worth a 1st , that's right.


Its a lower back issue and being 6'6 and 225-230 lbs who took a beating in his SCF run with MTL like 3/4 top 4 D who logged heavy minutes.
Petry nor Weber were the same after it either nor is Edmundson .

That said in a system where he's only got to be the 4th or 5th guy at less than 18-20 minutes he's fine.
He's re-injured again because a player cross checked him in the back and he played through it because he was the top defensman that night with Ghule,Savard and Matheson out. It all comes back to how you play a person and this isnt the only case you'll see it , its just in MTL we always got half our team in IR or LTIR since 2017

Kimmo Timmonen was considered by all to be done especially given he was on LTIR all year when acquired
He went from 20-22 minutes a night in PHI leading the team with Mark Streit and Brayden Coburn to being the 4th/5th Defensman in Chicago replacing Leddy after he was traded. That said he played even less in the playoffs but absorbed a lot of key minutes giving Keith , Seabrook, Hjlarmsson and Oduya a break as key defensive Veterans Rozinal and Timmonen combined to fulfill the role Leddy had failed at the year before behind such a strong top 4 D.

Eddy's days of being a top 4 guy eating up 20+ minutes are 100% done.
But if played right he could finish out his contract maybe even sign an short extension on the right team.
TBL or COL for example offer him a role where he can be effective on a high end team
LAK and WPG also offer him that same oppourtunity while helping their young D especially Logan Stanley on WPG as Eddy's helped our giant youth a lot .
Xhekaj for example is on pace to produce more in his rookie season then Romanov while being a bigger bone crunching hitter and a top fighter in the NHL
But more important is his focus on learning better defensive Positioning since Eddy came back from his SOIR as Xhekaj shot to lead NHL Rookie D in more then just fights afterward.

Agreed
I think two 2nd's like Timmonen who was way worse off then Eddy at this point and older and still won a cup playing 18 of those playoff games.
Both picks busted if i recall they were late picks so CHI the team percieved to be overpaying actually won by a long shot.

I think 2 2nd round is realistic in the right market
1st round pick are value on a completly different scale than those on the other round
But honestly i think he's the kind of player that we need as mentor in MTL, he's a great leader and could be useful in the locker room at a reduced price after his contract

If OTT is giving a 1st, a 4th, Brännström and Bernard-Docker then Zaitsev is firmly stapled to that deal.
Happy to include Hamonic as well and ARI can retain 50% and flip him to another team looking for playoff depth for another late pick.

We'll pass on the MTL deal.

I agree about needing veteran leadership
That said ever UFA isnt going to find a home on a top team
Many will look at MTL as a solid option

That said as John Klingberg said in period 2 interview of MTL's last game vs ANA , he was this close to landing in MTL.
I believe MTL will end up signing him this summer after making a Draft deal deal for the FLA pick in a package for Dubois Rights.
Klingberg signed a 1 year x 7m deal trying to re-establish his value after a rough 2 and a 1/2 year stint he caught fire to end his final season in DAL with the team opting not to trade him keeping him for a playoff run despite making a trade request.

Fast forward to ANA and he's not rebounded like he had hoped to using them to get paid what not many teams were offering while building on his success from last spring . He was hoping he'd have contenders lined up looking to add him and if all went well extend him. The issue is his year has been beyond horrible as he found a team that would overpay him but chose a system he doesnt fit into at all and is on pace for the single worst season of his career. At this point even with 50% Retained Salary most have a hard time justifying 3.5m for Klingberg for the cost of a 1st , contender or not . He'll find a team but likely for a low return and if he doesnt have an outstanding playoff then MTL will 100% be his best landing spot as he fits our build .

Issue becomes can Klingberg and MTL agree to a term and cap that makes sense.
I think 4.5m is the maximum with more then 2 years term that he can ask and im basing that on Matheson's deal who at this point i consider overpayed despite producing more then Klingberg.
If i was MTL i'd offer him 4.25m x 4 year deal with a 6 team NTC to ensure we dont just dump him on another Rebuilding team first good offer we get like we did Toffoli .

While i love what Eddy Brought he was part of the old team with the Big 4 Defensman who paved the way for Price to have possibly one of the greatest comeback stories to never happen/fall short. Its time to build for the Future and i think Klingberg can be that Leader while Matheson can back him up like Weber/Petry dynamic they'll each run their top 4 pairing while watching out for the bottom pair guys.

Put them on similar term so they exit as Hutson,Mailloux , Trudeau and Engstrom will be fighting for jobs as a threat during Camp

No way Zaitsev moves for less then a straight up 1st
I mean SJS had to RS on Burns with term who's a much superior player with a AHL Veteran/NHL regular call up and got a 3rd , B+ goalie prospect at age 23 and a AHL Veteran
Burns had 54 points but despite that CAR had to RS of 34 % or 2.7/8m over 3 years to exchange AHL picks for a lesser one , to get the lower of CAR's 3rd round pick and a possible NHL back up prospect

If OTT isnt Retaining Salary they gotta be prepared to pay the piper
Their only x factor is if he gets injured for the year his cap becomes tradable but you won get a big return , just wont take a loss.

Burns is bad comparison. Completely different skill, salary, and term. Of course you can't move an $8M player with 3 years remaining during a cap freeze without RS. But Zaitsev could be bought out this summer, leaving OTT with a cap hit of $2.833M in 23-24, and 833k 24-25. No way you give up a 1st to avoid THAT.