I'm gonna be very critical, but you know anything can happen in Hockey.

The Caps trade is okay. The idea of getting Backstrom is very realistic, but not this offseason, I would say next year.
The Orpik cap dump doesn't make as much sense now because it would be like if they gave away Johanson for almost nothing for no reason.
I say Capitals will make one more run at the cup, they still have core players.


I don't know about the Hurricanes trade.
Pacioretty for Hanifin doesn't make much sense for both teams... Only 2 years left on his contract before turning UFA... Doubt the Canes will be contenders as soon as his contract is up, and they're not 100% he would resign. Habs do get a young future left handed elite defenseman for that top line, but they also trade away their top goalscorer...
Hurricanes also trade much needed lottery pick...

Weird trade.


If both trades go through, the Habs top 6 seems fairly weak, relying too much on unproven players...

That's about as fair an assessment as it gets. Have to give you major, major respect for that.

1. For the Caps trade, indeed you're right. The intention for this trade was rather before they lost Johanson, so at this point, this trade can only happen either at the deadline if Caps are underperforming (don't expect that to happen at all), or at the next offseason as you said unless they make the finals, in which case Backstrom stays most probably. However, at that point, I'm not too sure an Orpik cap dump becomes as crucial... We'll have to wait and see. I haven't done my research on the Caps beyond this season.

2. As for the Canes, it'll depend if they want to challenge for the wildcard spot within two years, but only if they couple it with one more move. As for a re-sign, major players who just walk (for reasons other than money or term) are very rare. Canes can afford a Pacioretty re-sign until the end of his career in the mid-future. However, clearly this trade could only happen with an impatient GM who wants to accelerate his rebuild. I was thinking that MIGHT be a possibility, with rumblings of a relocation going around. Having a winning team sure helps bring fans in though! I don't know, just a jab, though I'm aware the odds of seeing such a weird trade is rare. A more reasonable return the Canes should be interested in is Galchenyuk.

On further detail for my motives of doing this trade, I am aware that this will cause regular-season woes. However, our LW depth of scorers goes way off the chart as we stand now (if you account for Drouin, Galchenyuk, Pacioretty, Lehkonen, Byron, Hudon, and to a lesser extent the lower level prospects in De la Rose, Carr, ...). Most importantly, Pacioretty is infamous for being a playoffs ghost, so selling high on him while he still has two years left would be my best bet. Give value to get value.

Finally, you make a very solid point saying that I'm relying too much on unproven players. Precisely, and I'm taking a risky approach to this team that could either explode way beyond expectations or flounder way under expectations. All I know is that we can't stay a "good, but not good enough" steady team forever. In hockey, some risk has to be taken in trusting the Guentzel's and Rust's of your team (unless you have the luxury of not needing to). So for this particular team, I'm confident that the top line will be an offensive powerhouse, especially since Backstrom improves everybody around him. The next line is a big question mark... If Hudon turns out to be the pure offensive player he seems to be, then it'll be a decent second line with playmaking/scoring, playmaking, and possession/netfront. The following lines are defensively responsible lines who can easily chip in points when need be. I'd personally prefer Shaw to be utilized on the third line, but it seems we've acquired Hemsky to play with fellow Czech Plekanec... So I'll follow along.


Anyway, thanks for your time!