Benstheman
Registered User
- Nov 20, 2014
- 6,846
- 3,014
Considering how hard it is to sign big UFAs in Montreal, i hope they go hard after talent upfront starting 2024 summer. Of course it's starts with 2024 1st pick which i hope will be top 10 or even top 8. We should be able to get a pretty solid offensive prospect out of it.2025 is the first key offseason date. Dvorak, Armia, Evans, Pezzetta, Kovacevic, Savard and Allen all becoming UFAs, if still Habs by then.
The 2027 offseason is the other. Both Gallagher and Anderson becoming UFAs, as well as Montembeault, if they are still with the team.
The offseason in between these two key dates sees Matheson becoming a UFA and Price's contract finally coming off the books.
Personally, Price retiring as a Hab is fine and I'm positive Matheson will either have been kept and re-signed, or traded for an interesting future before he becomes an UFA (I prefer to see him traded).
The 2024-2025 season should have seen a few veterans get moved at the trade deadline, provided they remain healthy. I suspect Kovacevic, Savard, Allen, Dvorak and Armia would all be serious rental candidates if they haven't been moved before. I'm really not sure what Pezzetta's value would be?
Any 2nd round picks coming back (doubt those players gets a 1st round pick, but who knows) would be welcome to add to the two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks and two 3rd round picks we already have for the 2025 draft.
That will add depth of higher draft picks to enable the Habs to still draft decent prospects if they opt to trade high draft picks, along with, perhaps a veteran like Matheson, and a prospect or two in order to acquire an elite forward.
On top of having prospects gain experience, Hughes should have the cards to add a missing element up front with a mixture of quality draft picks, a quality veteran and quality prospects to trade AND Cap space to sign a high end forward that was acquired.
The 2027 offseason, IMO, following the potential trade of Anderson as a rental at the 2027 trade deadline and the expiration of Gallagher's contract in the 2027 offseason will provide an added 12M in Cap space, on top of any added space under the Cap ceiling.
IMO, the 2027 offseason will be the time to either add a missing piece or two via the UFA market, or add missing pieces via a trade by taking on shorter term Cap for talented depth veterans from a team/teams that is/are forced to make difficult decisions.
Key long term addition(s) during the 2025 offseason.
Tweaking the roster into a projected contender, perhaps via the UFA fronting the 2027 offseason.
Adding a key piece in the 2025 offseason, along with the progression of the talented youth, should help make Montreal a more attractive destination for younger UFAs that might fit a longer, mid term Cup window (three to four years)
Like the idea of seeing what gives by the 2027-2028, with all of the albatross contracts gone, replaced with younger, talented players.
Suzuki (28), Caufield (26), Dach (26), Salfkovsky (23), Newhook (26), Roy (24), Beck (23), a young, high end forward acquired in the 2025 offseason via a trade and another high end UFA forward in the 28 yr-old range acquired on the UFA front in the 2027 offseason should go well as a top-9 with our developing D-Corps.
Caufield - Dach - 2027 UFA acquisition
Slafkovsky - Suzuki - 2025 trade acquisition
Newhook - Beck - Roy
Guhle- Reinbacher
Hutson - Engstrom
Xhekaj - Mailloux
Then we have UFAs. I think Reinhart and Nylander will want to get paid and will hit the market. I wouldn't pay extra bucks (we know we have to to attract players in MTL) to bring Reinhart but Nylander? I definately would. I'd give a mid round pick to Leafs after the season for his negociation rights and give him 8 X 11M$.
Since it probably won't happen, 2025 will also saw great potential in quality signings.
Now on the trade front, our multiple quality draft picks in 2025 and 2026 and depth in young quality defensive prospects should make it possible to go after a great youngish top 6 scorer. And that time, i wouldn't go after a reclamation project like Newhook or Dach. I would go for a known commodity. Like a 25-26 yo on his last contrat year that we can trade for and sign to an extension immediately.
What we need to compete is top more top 6 talent, one of which needs to be a top line scorer.
Add that to 2024 1st pick and the inclusion of Hutson, Reinbacher and possibly Mailloux on defense and Beck and maybe Roy up front and we become relevant starting in 2026.
We miss talent up front. That's easy to understand.Were so screwed with this coaching group,nice job Kent/Jeff.We can't put two solid games together,boring predictable fly off the seat of your pants pond hockey,but no worries Molson magoo says were headed in the right direction