ChiLla

Sounds interesting indeed, I've never heard of the kid before. Sure, he's 100% unproven, but he's still closer to the NHL than virtually any other LHD prospect we currently have. A 2-year deal carries little risk and I don't really care about potential signing bonuses since we do have the Cap space, MB better get this done.

I agree, if they still think Galchenyuk can't play center, that's probably our best option. We're on the hook for his 6M either way, so why not give him every chance to succeed and maybe even flip him for a decent draft pick at the deadline if we're out of the playoff race, which isn't that unrealistic. There will be injuries and we have very little depth to begin with.

http://www.rds.ca/hockey/canadiens/lnh-jaroslav-spacek-prepare-jakub-jerabek-pour-son-arrivee-avec-le-canadien-de-montreal-1.4600608 Paraphrasing: Jerabek sees himself as a skilled dman with solid positioning and a good first pass. He'll need time to adjust though because he hasn't played on smaller ice in quite a while. Jaroslav Spacek, who's assistant coach of the Czech national team, describes Jerabek as a complete player and good stickhandler who can also be used on special teams.

Absolutely, not to mention that the optics are pretty bad, too. Letting a guy like Markov walk, who spent his entire 16-year NHL career here and still happens to be the best LD on the roster, isn't going to go down well with the fans and the locker room IMO. I also don't think Markov has a reason to lie about being willing to accept a 1-year deal in the end, he genuinely wanted to stay a Hab or go back to Russia it seems. It's been a terrible off-season so far and the team is IMO weaker than last season. That's entirely on Bergevin, he failed miserably at acquiring a scoring center, he also removed all of last year's LD without adequate replacement, and he lost Radulov because of a non-consequential difference in salary. We now have plenty of Cap space and nothing to show for it. Well done, Marc.

Feels pretty bad. Not the way I thought it would end, losing Markov because of contract demands after all those years. Don't get me wrong, $12M for two years is absolutely ridiculous if that's his ask, but still. It's not like we have a capable alternative and barring a major trade that Cap money is just going to sit there doing nothing for us anyway.

Adding RNH would be great, but we'd look really weak on RW without Gallagher IMO. Bergevin should just have given Radulov what he wanted and then make a push for RNH, we'd probably be a better team now. Pacioretty-RNH-Radulov Drouin-Galchenyuk-McCarron Lehkonen-Danault-Hemsky Mitchell-Plekanec-Shaw That 2nd line is a question mark obviously but we'd at least have options.

Well, he moves the puck and has a solid shot. Not sure if he can still keep up in terms of speed though. It's worth a shot with Weber I guess.

What about McCarron though? Do they maybe have more faith in him playing center than Galchenyuk?

No argument there, and frankly does it really matter financially if we sign him to a 1- or 2-year deal at this point? We currently have Price, Weber, Alzner, Petry, Schlemko, Drouin, Shaw, Gallagher and hopefully Galchenyuk signed long-term. Plekanec will be off the books entirely or re-signed at a much lower Cap hit after next season and Markov's potential 2-year deal will expire at the same time Pacioretty's new contract kicks in, provided we even want to extend him of course. There's no better alternative on the UFA market, why not bring him back? This is not the time for playing hardball IMO.

We were considered a fast, skilled team that's lacking size and toughness when MB took over. After all those trades he made, we certainly weren't pushed around anymore, yet couldn't buy a goal to win a playoff series. MB is clearly going against the trend, unwilling to acknowledge how the game has changed and assembling a team that would probably look pretty solid in the hook & grab era. Maybe someone should tell him that's not how you're going to win the Stanley Cup today though.

Sounds like a Bergevin move, i.e. trading away the team's most valuable assets for older and less talented players.

Fun while it lasted, good luck in Dallas. Benn - Seguin - Radulov could do some serious damage.

Agreed, the contract isn't that bad really, it's just that we really don't need another defensive defenseman.

Jerabek - Weber Alzner - Petry Davidson - Benn Schlemko Oh boy...

It would probably be rather calm by comparison, depending on the return of course.