Author: JAG

It Takes Two To Tango

Published on by JAG2 Comments

By JAG – It is common knowledge that Montreal could use a couple of trades to clear up Cap space and free a couple of spots for the young prospects. To conclude a trade, you need a trading partner. It takes two to tango. It’s the first step in getting a deal done. But before you look for a trading partner, you should decide what you are willing to put on the market, NHL players, prospects and draft picks alike. You should also know what you are looking for as a return.

The need to trade

Let’s be honest. In the Habs case, they only need/want a trade because they have too many forwards and the Cap is tight. They could just as well run this roster until the trade deadline and only make deals then. The reality is that if Martin St-Louis puts the right forwards on the ice, as he did against the St. Louis Blues. The team is already competitive enough to win their share of games and valiantly, barely, not qualify for the playoffs …. BUMMER!

I am not surprised, I have long been a proponent that the Habs were a better team that they showed last season and so far, they are proving me right.

But it is a big conundrum, if/when you bring back Edmundson and Matheson, the defense core will be that much stronger and winning will be more frequent. You can’t be a close to playoff contention and hope for a top 5 draft pick, the math doesn’t work! So, if you are on the ‘’Tank for Bedard wagon’’, you’d better get the tissues out right now, you ain’t getting him! On the other hand, if you’re dreaming of trades that will improve the team right now and hope for more wins, this team might just end up as the closest also-ran for the playoffs …. and a measly 16th pick for the effort (no offense to Kayden Guhle). Considering what we are right now, it seems that the hope for a top pick is slim at best …. BUMMER AGAIN!

What are the Habs to do?

Assuming that Martin St-Louis will not coach to lose and knowing that Kent Hughes has stated clearly that winning is necessary for growth, it leaves a very narrow path to satisfy the wish to tank for a high draft pick and the opposing need to create a winning culture. Even with some attrition through trades, Martin St-Louis can get this team to achieve a decent season. It’s on him and the players to do so but they are all saying that they believe in themselves. I say let them play it out!

You can’t serve two masters anyways. You either pursue tanking or you play to win, period! I say play to win. Tanking sucks anyways. It’s defeatist, it makes your life meaningless and teaches you nothing other than tanking sucks! And by the way, every player, manager and coach in this league will tell you, they are quite able of dealing with the consequences of winning (duh!). And if establishing a winning culture means getting a 16th pick instead of a top three, so be it! The VP will deal with it, the GM and the coaching staff will deal with it, the players will play to their potential and the fans will love it. So, let them play it out!

But trade some players they must! I can’t see a positive outcome for this group if the young guns are not afforded the ice time that they are genuinely earning right now! Regardless of waiver exempt situation, economics or the need to show off a veteran player for trade purpose, WHEN ICE TIME IS EARNED, IT MUST BE GIVEN! It is the unwritten rule. That alone should drive the need to make a move.

However, sadly, the Habs don’t have much to offer other than quantity. They have veterans to unload, prospects in throve and picks galore …. But what is their worth?

The answer is, at this point in the season, really not much! I see only three players that could fetch a number one pick. Not surprisingly, they are also the type of players that are hard to find or replace and they are players that I’d like to keep on the roster but, life being what it is, you only get value when you offer value. They are Josh Anderson, Joel Edmundson and Sean Monahan.

If Sean Monahan keeps trending in the same direction and he is willing to re-up in Montreal, I see no reasons to trade him. From what I have seen of him so far, he may be in the 70 points range by the end of the season and, even as a new guy, he is a stabilizing veteran presence. That’s a keeper! The Habs need size and speed on the wing and Anderson provides just that. Another keeper! This leaves Joel Edmundson, an experienced playoff veteran. He is the Clydesdale who may become, for a serious contender, the biggest catch at the trade deadline. Just look at Montreal’s record once he came back from injury last year, day and night! And he is a great catch financially with a low salary and another year  for term. Actually, if healthy, he will get more than a first-round pick. So, if any trade can bring a first-round pick, this would be the one…. And the Habs would still have plenty of strength on the left side of defense.

On a side note, I think that if Justin Barron gets his power play footing in Laval or if any one of Guhle, Xhekaj or Harris can move to the right ride effectively, the problem on defense will be solved for this year even after trading Edmundson.

Results of trading up

That would give the Habs three first rounders this year starting with probably the 16th pick belonging to the Habs plus a couple of acquired late first rounders, including the Florida Panthers’ pick (acquired in the Ben Chiarot deal). Add to this the Habs first pick next year and the eventual, floating Calgary first pick and you’d have a good start in your quest for a suitable tango partner. If you want to trade-up, better have a bag full of goodies!

Also, other players may also have value at the trade deadline or before. Pitlick, Drouin, Hoffman, Dadonov and possibly Dvorak might be moved for assets and/or picks. I see these players as part of a strategy to partially replace the first rounders traded in the above scenario by actively seeking second round picks for this year and the next ones. These transactions may need to include some actual Habs picks, Habs prospects and/or retained salary to sweeten a move and get the desired second round picks but it would strengthen the Habs drafting position for a few more years.

I know that Kent Hughes has said he wouldn’t retain salary but, push comes to shove, at some point it may become the only way to get some value for signed players or let them become UFAs and get nothing in return.

Conclusion

There you have it. Trade a player that you like for a first rounder and trade surplus players for secondary picks and assets. Put your best team on the ice and let them play! That’s what the Habs should do!

Don’t get me wrong, I know how exciting it is to get a first round draft pick… for everybody! We just got one and it provided some of the best Habs fan moment of my life and I loved every minute of it! But let’s face it, getting the first pick doesn’t guarantee a Stanley Cup at all, even getting so called generational talent is no guarantee. Case in point, right here in Canada, Toronto and Edmonton have yet to prove that jockeying for generational talent is a sound Cup winning strategy.

Also, as a rhetorical question, what happens if, come draft day, Habs management decides that keeping the picks they have accumulated provides more value to the team than a trade-up would? My answer remains the same. Let management put their best team on the ice and let them play!

What gets you the Cup is the right mix of players that play the type of hockey identified in the vision and the plan. Tampa Bay and Boston have been perennial contenders without the benefit of drafting high, at least not in a long time. It is up to Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes to get Montreal to that level of excellence, sooner than later, I hope! We get to sit and watch!

But in any case, let the tango begin, this is going to be a very entertaining year!

Thanks for reading

Keep your stick on the ice, the puck is coming!

JAG

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Three Players to Target Right Now

Published on by JAG3 Comments

By JAG – Like every fan, at one time or another, I find that some players on other team would look rather good in a Habs’ uniform. Just wishful thinking you might say, but here it is. My short list of targets and why I think a trade can and should happen.

LAWSON CROUSE, 25 years old, 6’4’’, 220 lbs, LW, ARIZONA

He is a bruising top-9 forward that scored 20 goals for the Coyotes. As a junior, he was named ‘’The Marshall’’ by his teammates for his discipline and leadership. Getting out of Arizona could be the trigger for him to blossom into the dominating player that he can be. Picture him on a ‘’deluxe’’ third line with any of the Habs centers and Anderson on the right side, Schtroumphs (or Smurfs) no-more I say!

Arizona is weak at center past the top two lines. Dvorak could be that center and give the Yotes a good veteran to support a young team. Also, Arizona is rich in good prospect that are very young and will not be NHL ready for a few years. Montreal has a number of good college prospects that are almost at the NHL ready stage. Tuch, Biondi, Struble or Farrell could help Arizona as early as the end of this year. If need be, they and other assets can be used as a sweetener to also move another veteran player’s salary to the Yotes and/or acquire picks. This is an avenue I would explore as it would benefit the team on the ice and Cap management for the upstairs people.

JORDAN SPENCE, 21 years old, 5’11’’, 175 lbs, RD, LA

He’s not a big man but his game has grown by leaps and bounds since he was drafted. A product of the QMJHL, it’s not surprising that pundits questioned his play without the puck in his draft year. They always do for players from the Q. Well…. questionable no more! His AHL play last year was good enough to get him a lengthy trial in the BIG. At the age of 20, he played with men all year. He put up 42 points in the AHL with a +18 rating and he put up 8 points in LA in the 24 games he played in the BIG. Even considering his size, this type of player is NOT normally available ….

Unless you’re LA and you have prospects named Helge Grans and Brent Clarke. Both jumbo sized, highly talented RDs that jumped over Jordan Spence in the Kings depth chart the minute they were drafted. Another reason why the trade could be done is that LA is very short on NHL-ready talent at left defense. Outside of Tobias Bjornfot and an aging Alex Edler, it’s pretty slim. Finally, Spence was drafted in the fourth round. It is always easier for management to justify a low draft pick trade to improve the team now.

The best deal would be a swap of defensemen that doesn’t impact the Cap for either teams. Montreal would have to include a left defenseman that has NHL experience. Norlinder or Scheunaman would fit the bill but LA would also require another prospect and/or a mid-draft pick to make it a fair trade. Notwithstanding this steeper price, in my opinion, Spence is definitely worth it and he would greatly improve the RD depth chart for the Habs for years to come.

MAXIME COMTOIS, 23 years old, 6’2’’, 215 lbs, LW/RW, ANAHEIM

Maxime Comtois

He is a bruising top 9 forward that can score 20 goals. He can play both wings, he’s got wheels and grit and he’s in dire need of a change after a very ‘’hohum’’ season. Plus, he was rumoured to be on the trade market last season. Montreal needs this type of player. This would be a riskier acquisition but the upside is very interesting. For Anaheim, the third line would greatly benefit from a veteran experience to support Mason MacTavish’s first year in the NHL. Anaheim has Cap space and could use any of Drouin, Dadonov, Armia or Hoffman. A sweetener maybe in order, prospect or mid-draft pick but size, grit and speed are hard to teach. The trade is worth the risk.

IN CONCLUSION

Montreal is still small and they have a plethora of smaller, talented players in the pipeline. Many past managers have tried to build a contender with teams smaller than the league average. They were entertaining to be sure and some of these teams got very close but, in the end, they all failed.

This management team has professed that they want to play quick and fast and they have also recruited for size that can play this way. Signing Condotta shows the same philosophy as drafting Slafkovski, big men that can play a fast pace game. Of course, their upside is vastly different but Condotta may become a great fourth liner, prized by fans and management alike, the same way that Slafs can become a top liner prized by fans and management alike, it’s all part of the PLAN. 

Drafting big men that can play this style is not always feasible, they are a prized commodity! And the better a team gets, the lower the draft picks become and choice becomes limited. So, if you’re a manager, trading for this kind of player remains the best option …. And grabbing them when you can remains the best strategy! The same can be said for young, extremely mobile and offensively gifted defensemen. So, if you’re smart, you draft for talent, you trade for position, that’s how you make it work.

All three players I targeted fit immediate and long term needs for the Habs. They fit the right age bracket for this group and improve the team at two positions. Now you know why I would target them.

Thanks for reading,

Keep your stick on the ice, the puck is coming.

JAG

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