it costs that second to dump carter so 14th overall for edmundson and anderson i think they decline that

I also thought about something like that :

Anderson + Edmundson + Ylonen for Carter + 14th OA + top 16 protect 2024 first

Hard pass for me. The 14th overall pick shouldn't be in any trade that includes Anderson. I don't see any scenario where Carter waives to go to MTL anyways so the trade probably stops before it even starts.

Habs take that deal

J would personally accept this in a heartbeat because im not a huge fan of Anderson and the faster we get rid of his contract the better imo

If you remove Edmundson and add maybe a Norlinder the HABS would accept

We could always buy Carter out (promise him before the trade), then he could sign with whoever he wants. Anderson would fit nicely with PIT and seems to be the kind of guy Dubas would target.

I probably should have prefaced this by first saying I'm a Pens fan haha.

The issues with Carter though are 1) he still has to waive - which I don't see him doing for MTL and 2) Buying him out saves no money.

As far as Anderson I don't want that terrible contract anywhere near this team - with all due respect haha. I'd rather bite the bullet with Carter playing one season as 4th line/13th forward than pay heavily for Anderson at 4x5.5mil

I'm not interested in either Edmundson or Anderson, I don't think either will really make the team much better, if at all.

Edmundson has struggled a lot the past couple seasons. I see a lot of ACGMs of him getting a 2nd or 3rd with retention, but you honestly couldn't pay me to take him. The Pens need a legit top 4 LHD to pair with one of Letang or Petry, and I think both Smith and POJ would have a better chance of filling that role.

Anderson's a better player, but still not a great one. He's very physical and he's always going to score around 20 goals at least. That's where the positives end for me. His defense and playmaking are both unspectacular at best. He's a very one dimensional player, and I don't think he's good enough at that one dimension to justify the cost in assets and cap space to aquire him.
I don't think he's worth the $5.5M now. He's got 4 more years of that cap hit, and his physical brand of hockey doesn't age well.

MTL wouldnt mind the buyout (despite the fact it doesnt save any money).

I respect your opinion on Anderson, but there's a reason Hughes reportedly refused many great offers in the last year for him. You probably have a certain opinion on him only based on his pts total, but if youd watch him play in the second half of the season (where he actually produced at well over 0,5pts/game), youd see just how dominant he is. And he's an absolute beauty in the playoffs.

Like many habs fans, I dont want him gone, but his age doesnt fit our timeline and itd be a shame to waste his best years.

I think they would pass. Dubas is building for the future. Any additions to this team will likely be either young players or FAs.

Hard pass for the Pens.

They might not - but I still think it's going to require someone having dirt on Carter to get him to waive haha. It's not even the fact that it's MTL - I just don't really see him waiving for anywhere that isn't the Kings to be honest.

Fair enough - I didn't watch the MTL games - so you're correct there. Points obviously do matter though - but I am, and always try to, take into account everything - as they definitely aren't the end all be all to judge a player. I agree there. Even if you look solely at just his 2nd half of the last season though(which isn't enough of a picture imo) - he had 13 5v5 points in 28 games(which is good) and a 46% xGF. If that's him playing at his peak, I still don't think it's worth it. Plus the Pens already have 2 RW signed to term at 5+ mil. That plays a BIG factor. They also already signed Nylander - another right handed shot. He's going to come in and play a 3rd line role with 3rd line minutes and 3rd line players - which will obviously impact his play negatively. I just don't think the value is there when looking at what the Pens are paying, the contract he has, the position he plays, the production and lack of defense. Just my perspective when looking at the whole picture

His playoff numbers don't look that great either at first glance. If Habs fans and organization like him - more power to them. All I can say is I hope they keep him haha - because I don't see the value or fit for him on this Pens team.