Hanzal

[Chuck]

I think the Wild over paid for what could be a rental player. Montreal would have been stupid if they'd been as willing

[Nyssa]

Agreed.

The trade that shocked me was the Bishop to LA one.

Poor Petr Budaij getting moved yet again all the way across
country. He saved LA's bacon when Quick was out; so much
for gratitude. Yeah, I know, it's a business.

And poor Bishop going from clearcut #1 to a backup role.

I wish both goalies luck in their new gigs. Just the
logistics of moving across the continent and getting
comfortable with their new teams is stressful.

Nyssa, who wonders what other surprises the deadline may
bring

[Chuck]

Hopefully, the Hanzal trade doesn't convince all sellers to hold out for similar overpayments. The deal makes no sense for rental players. Can't imagine the Wild GM saying throw in Ryan White and you have a deal

[Gerry]

I'm not surprised Hanzal fetched a 1st. But of course glad neither of my current teams (Montreal - back on trial under Julien, Preds) paid that... the Preds were very much rumoured to be in the running too.

But I'll bet all of the leading bidder teams did have a 1st on the table, probably including the Habs. Just couldn't accept to stretch it to a 1st+2nd? Guessing, although that said maybe the Habs fell out further back and were only willing to go 2nd or two 2nds, something like that. Bergevin has been pretty good at clinging to his 1sts, to his credit.

The Bishop/Budaj thing. I know the Kings are saying exactly the opposite, but you have to think they have serious concerns about Quick's ability to return. It's just surprising to me that, after a full year of riding Budaj (remember early in the season when Quick first went down and we have the Price/Quick Condon/Budaj threads)... and Budaj getting the job done... they are doing this now. I'd think you just ride Budaj. And sign him as a cheap quality backup for next year too.

It would be nice if enough of a seller's market developed that the Habs could get a good deal moving a contract like Plekanec's, but that's probably not in the cards.

I won't be surprised if the sum total of the trade deadline for the Habs is Greg Pateryn to anywhere for a 5th round pick. If one of the currently busting former high picks like Yakupov or Virtanen or somebody like that was available in a small change of scenery type of deal, I'd be ok rummaging in those kinds of bargain bins too.

l8r,
Gerry

[Nyssa]

MB's track record of bargain bin finds is spotty, at best.

Yep, he picked up Radu, but he also did major fails on
Semin and Kassian among others.

How many of those bargain finds got traded away for the
equivalent of a bag of pucks?

Maybe Yak, if available for cheap, simply because of his
history with my pet plus the number of Russian speakers
we've got that might help him settle in better.

Otherwise, unless it's an absolutely wonderful unbelievable
deal, I hope MB sits on his hands until after the deadline.

Nyssa, who doesn't have much faith in MB's abilities these
days

[Chuck]

I think they will hang onto Pateryn until the offseason, if the only offer is a draft pick. Yakupov, I think would be a gamble worth taking, if the price is right

[Chuck]

On Monday, February 27, 2017 at 10:32:57 AM UTC-5, Gerry wrote:

[Gerry]

Presumably the next bidding war is on Boyle. Same teams, everybody who lost on Hanzal now goes for the poor man's option in Boyle. Thus, Habs and Preds expected to be in the running.

Do you go a 2nd for Boyle???

I mean, Habs have some extra 2nds. I could see them making that offer.

Bolts have some insight on the Habs prospects, though, so I could also see them finding ways to swap additional elements (Brisebois connection).

l8r,
Gerry

[Gerry]

On Monday, February 27, 2017 at 10:43:42 AM UTC-5, Nyssa wrote:
> MB's track record of bargain bin finds is spotty, at best.
>
> Yep, he picked up Radu, but he also did major fails on
> Semin and Kassian among others.

I don't see Semin as a fail, it was worth a try and cost nothing. Similarly, Prust was broken, so it wasn't really an issue that Kassian fell back off the wagon thereafter. Byron was a freebie addition. Danault pickup at the deadline was good. Mitchell and Flynn, they've gotten service out of them without paying much. Recent pickup of Nesterov, he hasn't really done much yet either, but also didn't cost anything of significance.

So I think in general the bargain hunting has gone well. In addition, their deadline track record suggests they'll drive a hard bargain for more sought-after guys too. They didn't break the bank on Petry either, given the market at the time. Similarly when they went after Vanek.

That said, there's only so much room on a roster, even for good bargain finds. The team does need higher end talent to take the next step. But I don't really look at the trade deadline as a "next step" juncture.

l8r,
Gerry

[Gerry]

Oh good, the Leafs got Boyle instead! That's a safe place to send him, without the Habs having to sacrifice a 2nd rounder. I would have thought the Habs would be close in terms of that kind of offer, probably would just come down to the names of the throw-in player, where the Bolts like Froese for their farm team, and also like stripping a player from the Marlies at the same time.

Boyle is good in his role, but role players probably aren't going to swing things either way for the Habs.

Leafs on the other hand, just making the playoffs would be huge for them, and veteran role players probably do make more of a difference there.

l8r,
Gerry

[Jim Bauch]

On Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 8:27:09 PM UTC-8, Chuck wrote:
> I think the Wild over paid for what could be a rental player. Montreal would have been stupid if they'd been as willing

Yeah, I'm utterly baffled by the folks such as Mike Boone at the Gazette who are claiming that the Wild got "a steal" here.

Bergevin's strategy at the trade deadline has never really bothered me. The Vanek deal was a nice pickup (that didn't end up working out all that well), so he's shown he's willing to make a major move, but he's resisted the nonsense that if you don't make a big move at the deadline you're somehow not a serious team. I get why the media promotes that myth -- they need stories to write -- but not sure why fans and even some executives seem to fall for it.

Jim

[Gerry]

So much of hockey is team play, chemistry, systems... and even, yes, luck. The idea that adding a relatively average player somehow will make a difference really never makes sense to me. Not for 20ish games, anyway. Even the better players, it's always just an incremental improvement over the guy they replace, and the guy they replace is generally at least somewhat competent given the acquiring teams are sitting in playoff spots.

Giving up future blocks for the likes of Hanzal, Smith, and Boyle doesn't make sense to me either. I'm definitely satisfied if Bergevin continues to just stay low key.

l8r,
Gerry

[gorgo...@gmail.com]

I agree. I don't see anyone on the discussion lists that would really vault the Habs to contender status. Yes there are guys that would help and would be an improvement, but none would be a piece that will win us a cup. Only way we would win is if Price wins it for us.

[Gerry]

So at the end of the day, they had to go bargainiest of the bargain bin, taking Steve Ott.

Ott is probably like what Andrew Shaw will be in 8-10 years. He has "heart", "grit", "character", etc... but honestly, his stats show that he's utterly ineffective as a player anymore. The advanced statline on him is pretty horrendous.

I'm going to assume they got him for his faceoff% in part. He is clicking at 58%. But that said, ***6 Players*** on his team have taken more faceoffs than him. So it's a relatively small sample.

Past that, I'm just going to point out that Colorado, Detroit, Carolina, Philly, Vancouver are 5 of the top 8 teams in the league on faceoffs this season. They won't be in the playoffs. Habs are right in the middle at 15th, 49.9%. Now, the spread across the league anyway is just 46.7%-54.7%. Habs are less than 5% on draws away from being the best already, and given Ott's low number of total faceoffs, throwing his stats in the mix would have pretty negligible effect.

I'm getting around to saying that I think faceoffs are vastly overrated. It's nice to win more often, but it's a lot more about how your team plays the game in general that matters. Steve Ott's faceoff percentage, in a very small sample, against who knows what kind of opposition in what kind of situations, is nothing compared to his overall poor stats of generally being an anchor to team performance metrics. Bottom line, when he's on the ice his team is doing worse than usual. Whether he won the draw or not.

l8r,
Gerry

[The Mad Ape]

But he will go into le hole du fox.

TMA

[Gerry]

On Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 8:49:20 AM UTC-5, The Mad Ape wrote:
> But he will go into le hole du fox.

I dunno if there is a hole du fox anymore, but anyway, I expect Julien has ample appreciation for some of these same "character" traits anyway.

I wonder how long it will take Daigneault to straighten out Jordie Benn. A few times last night he was being aggressive clearing players away from Price. Not supposed to do that, Jordie!

Or flip side, how long it will take Julien to straighten out Daigneault, maybe. I can't see Julien going along with that style, based on anything I ever saw from the Bruins.

l8r,
Gerry

[Gerry]

I definitely expect the Habs to pick up another "scoring forward" today. But I imagine the jury is pretty far out on what that will be.

Sounds like the Islanders may get Duchene.

Some of the other "scoring" veterans like Vanek and Vrbata... they might be a little on the soft side for what the Habs are looking for? Sharp may be hurt. I don't think they go down the Evander Kane path, that's not their style. I don't think they want a smaller guy again like Perreault.

Sooo... it's not a very clear list of candidates. Drew Stafford might be the cheap "consolation" prize. I've thought he was pretty decent at times in the past, but he has been an absolute disaster this season. Still, he has size, and once upon a time did contribute some offense. If he's the Steve Ott calibre of cheap pickup, maybe that's what it comes down to.

Filppula has an NMC and a year left... I don't see how the Habs could go down that path. It could be like adding another Plekanec, just on the wing. He's a responsible player, but... best days are gone, and they can't take the extra year.

Obviously there are the old dogs Iginla and Doan too. I guess if it's between them and Stafford as cheap last-ditch pickups, it's better than nothing.

Iginla or Stafford seem like the right kind of bargain bin types.

I imagine they will keep trying their package of 1st+Beaulieu+??? for a more significant scoring forward, but that will be tough one to pull off.

l8r,
Gerry

[Nyssa]

Count me as one who would be thrilled to get Iginla just to
see him in a Habs sweater.

Only if he can be had on the cheap though.

Otherwise, keep looking, MB.

Nyssa, who is a good shopper, but no GM ever asks for her
opinion

[Gerry]

Well, sounds like they gave LA the cap space for Iginla, so no Jarome!

But that they are in the final mix for Vrbata. That could be an overpay situation, alas.

l8r,
Gerry