HabsAlways

Sure, but in the last say decade ... I'd say 2/3rds of all UFA signings for all teams did NOT work out so well in hindsight. If you look at the teams who are going deep in the playoffs lately, they've all been built through the draft and key trades here and there. Its rare that a UFA has a major impact for their new team, there are exceptions yes, but generally you're getting somebody in the decline of their career.

Such as? For the most part UFA signings do not work out well for the team who signed them. You're usually getting a guy who is older, had a career year they will never reproduce and is now tying up a roster spot and cap space you could use better. I saw an article the other day that backed it up with stats, that showed that 9 out of 10 UFA signings are essentially a waste of cap space and the player never produces to the value of the contract. The modern Salary Cap NHL requires you develop the majority of your talent through the draft, with a constant stream of talent to fill out your top 9, the occasional trade and perhaps a free agent. Outside of John Tavares last summer, there has been nobody of "significance" as a UFA since the new CBA started in 2013. Despite leafs signing John Tavares and creating cap problems for themsleves, they bowed out in the first round. Think the oilers are happy with Lucic? Boston with Backes? Isles with Ladd? Nucks with Ericksson? Sure its easy in hindsight to call those 4 teams stupid for signing those guys to those contracts ... but at the time, they were all legit top 6 or 9 forwards that many teams pursued.

Yeah, that's fairly reasonable ... though I'd hate giving up Juulsen, getting Theodore back makes up for it.

If we're getting Theodore + one of their bad contracts, then we're the ones who should be benefiting from the trade. In isolation, yes Theodore's value is higher than what some people have been placing, but when you're letting Vegas deal with it's cap problems it's the Habs who should be making out like bandits.

I think there's a non-zero chance they're actually bluffing ... like very unlikely, but chance we still get Aho. Tom Dundon owes millions to vendors of the AAF, they're filing lawsuits, he lost 200-300 million on the AAF without what he owes the vendors. There's a chance his assetts get frozen and he's forced to sell the Canes even. To me, with how fragile the Canes fanbase is (4th lowest attendance) ... if you're matching, you match immedietely ... you don't drag it out for 7 days and put your fans through the ringer. There's only two reasons you drag it out ... to punish the Habs (unlikely) or your owner is struggling to find the funds to pay the bonuses (still unlikely). I really don't know what to make of it.

Reading the articles ... Canes are punishing us now. "Intend to" ... they know full well that ties MB's hands from making another OS to another RFA because all Canes have to do is at hour zero say "oh we can't match" . If we did make another OS and lets say that team says we will not match, there's the chance our picks are tied up between two offer sheets ... one of them get nullified, most likely the Aho one if the other OS is signed and done right away. That lets Canes off the hook to go back and negotiate on their terms. At least thats my interpretation of the CBA

Even though deep down I knew they'd match, I thought there was a chance their owner was tight fisted enough to not do it. Oh well, maybe MB will offer sheet Laine or Marner next and we can get some more excitement

Unless there's a bit of collusion on the part of MB and Waddell

I got the sense they were trying to trade Aho ahead of July 1st. So the question now is, do they sign him and revisit in a year and hope to get more than Montreal's compensation (1st, 2nd and 3rd). I also read that Aho was starting to voice that he wanted out of Carolina.

I find it very telling that Canes did not instantly match the offer. If you're franchise player (in the Canes and their fans eyes) signs an offer sheet for what amounts to a mere 1m more a year than what you last offered him, you match that instantly and take all doubt out of the minds of those 3000 new season ticket holders.

Yeah saw that lol

coming from the guy who offered him 6m a year? Yeah ... he's going to down play it, but a lot of insiders don't see this as a black and white "Canes will match it"

Like I said ... I think the two of them cooked this up to move Aho without it being a trade. Canes had the 4th worst attendance last year in a fragile, fickle market ... imagine the sour taste if the Canes just traded Aho?

It's extra money when that 21 million is more than the entire gate revenue the Canes had last year. We're talking GROSS, not PROFIT. It's 13 million more in the first year on an AAV 8.5m contract. Yes it's not extra over the life of the contract, its up front money that the Canes, who reportedly lost 10-20m last year don't have. Every article I've read in the last 2 hours strongly suggests their owner may not be in a position to easily hand out 21 million up front.

The offer sheet route is not the best way to show "you tried something" At the very least, he's interfered with the Canes negotiating a contract with Aho on their own ... now they accept the terms MB negotiated or let him walk to the Habs. Other GMs generally don't like you for using an offer sheet ... witness the, now going on 20 years, feud between Brian Burke and Kevin Lowe. If all he wanted to do was show he tried something ... he would have been offering UFA's slightly under expected money.