Trade deadline - March 2nd

[RicochetII]

Pacioretty - Desharnais - Gallagher

Galchenyuk - Plekanec - Parenteau

Prust - Eller - DSP

Mitchell - DLR - Weise

Malhotra - Flynn

Subban - Markov

Petry - Gilbert

Beaulieu - Gonchar

Emelin+ - Weaver

Price - Tokarski

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I guess it will be between DLR and Malhotra for who gets sent down when Emelin returns?

I was hoping something else would happen to address our need for scoring and avoid sending anyone back down to Hamilton.

[BigTed3]

A nice day for Bergevin. Once again, though, the results of today's ventures will come down to what Therrien does with his new toys. If he creates a healthy competition for the 4th line amongst Prust, Weise, Malhotra, Bournival, Flynn, DLR, and Mitchell, that's one thing. If he starts working those guys up the line-up or sitting the likes of Eller or DLR in favor of grit, then it's a failed outcome. Similarly on D, it's clear Emelin no longer belongs in the top 6 once he's back. If on the other hand Petry bumps Beaulieu or Gilbert, then it's a lateral move, not a major improvement.

[jwlk22]

think if petry does good we will resign him?

[habs_93]

think if petry does good we will resign him?

I think we make an offer. He might try free agency, though.

[jedimaas]

think if petry does good we will resign him?

Yeah really tough to say. I think there's a good chance, if things go well, we at least tender an offer. You have to think that 1 of Petry, Gonchar or Weaver will be resigned next year. Petry is obviously the best of the 3 (and by far the youngest) but will command the highest $ and need more of a prominent role than the other 2.

[Habs_Hockey_Nutz]

Petry will need to be evaluated within the Habs system. Mitchell is a known quantity with valuable playoff experience. Flynn adds depth. I am not overly excited about the last 4 moves MB has made (if you include Sekac for DSP). Petry wanted 4 million per year from the OIL... so don't get to high on his remaining with Habs next year. So basically 3 rentals until further notice. At least it didn't really cost too much.

Like BigTed alluded to... how Therrien uses these players in relation to others will determine the value of what MB has done.

[ramcharger440]

I have seen a fair amount of petry he should fit in at #4 or #5 he is pretty good and quite fast

[BigTed3]

think if petry does good we will resign him?

Yeah really tough to say. I think there's a good chance, if things go well, we at least tender an offer. You have to think that 1 of Petry, Gonchar or Weaver will be resigned next year. Petry is obviously the best of the 3 (and by far the youngest) but will command the highest $ and need more of a prominent role than the other 2.

Petry turned down 4 years at 4M a season from Edmonton, so he'll likely want a deal at least in that range. He may accept something similar to not play in Edmonton, but I doubt he goes lower than that.

I don't see the Habs re-signing Weaver, it looks like he's fallen out of favor this season. If the price is right, Petry is probably a better guy to sign long-term than Gonchar. In fact, he's a guy you can slot onto your 2nd pairing for a few years, so a top 4 of Markov, Subban, Beaulieu, and Petry isn't terrible.

[Litany]

I think it's pretty clear that Bergevin is simply covering his bases. [unfortunately for us,] Our "kids" don't have nearly the experience that they could have, had they not been slotted behind aging veteran's last year. Players like De La Rose, Bournival, Tinordi [and to a lesser extent Parenteau's readiness] et. all aren't 'known' quantities. No one knows how they'll play near and past game 82, let alone how they'll handle the bigger stage. Having a plan B should someone simply fade into the stretch, and having that plan B cost you virtually nothing isn't bad management. It's a true assessment of the team's question marks. We can't go back and get them that experience, so you get that experience. Hopefully though, we grow our talent unless we need immediate improvements so we don't have this same situation next year. We're comfortably in the post season. Getting looks at our 'owned' players should be on the agenda, and thankfully it's looked like it is, with some notable exceptions in Eller and Sekac's non-existant top six considerations.

[kinot-1]

TSN radio, is saying that MB has been working on the Petry deal for 2 months. BTW, McTavish is the only GM who did not get a 1st for a D-man.

[Guest]

Well,,,,,,we had three areas to address.

One was depth on defense.

Second was addressing the lack of production in our bottom 6

Third was another top 6 winger.

IMO MB pretty much covered the whole list other then that scoring winger that didn't seem to be available. None we're acquired anywhere from what i've read today, so you have to assume the price was ridiculous, or they just weren't available.

The verdict is still out on the bottom 6 production, but i don't think you could ask for more from the GM as far as effort to address that weakness. With the variety to now choose from, you would hope some of them click back there. If we can get some support from the bottom 6 it takes pressure off the top half to do it all.

[BigTed3]

MB definitely did as best he could to address the team's needs without sacrificing the farm. My only concern here is whether he didn't do enough to weed out some of the extra bodies we don't need. I think it's a given that Pacioretty, Plekanec, Galchenyuk, Gallagher, Desharnais, DSP, and Eller will be in the line-up and in the top 9 (or at least it should be). So what does that leave for the other 5 forward spots:

- At wing: Weise, Prust, Bournival (now demoted), PAP

- At center: DLR, Malhotra, Mitchell, Flynn

Of those players, I don't see MT taking Prust out of the line-up and I'd have to guess Weise has earned the inside edge on a spot too. DLR has played well enough to be in too, at least in the short term. So the question then becomes, are Mitchell and Flynn good enough to displace Malhotra and PAP? The answer with respect to Malhotra is yes. Clearly, it's to our advantage to get a younger veteran whose a better skater and who can provide a bit more at the offensive end without sacrificing much defensively. And to boot, we finally have some right-handed centers, one of the reasons I thought Mitchell would have been a better choice than Malhotra originally. But in the case of PAP, if we're going to slot one of the new guys in over him, it's a complete change of style. It would mean that once again, we're opting for grit over offensive skill. In the playoffs, maybe a guy like Flynn does more for you than a guy like PAP, but maybe he doesn't. In the end, I'm not sure Flynn is a huge upgrade over Bournival, who was demoted to make room for Flynn or even Dumont, a fellow young right-handed center. If MB had packaged some of our own players (Bournival, Emelin, PAP, Thomas, Dumont, etc.) who seem to be expendable now, to make room for new guys and to acquire other assets, it makes a bit more sense. As it stands, I like the trades he made, but I think it leaves a lot of questions as to how all of these guys are going to be used, and I really don't like leaving that many options for MT to lace his line-up with 3rd and 4th liners at the expense of skill players like PAP and Eller.

[Guest]

IMO PAP was pretty much playing like a 3rd or 4th liner a good period of time prior to his injury. It's probably a reason why MB loaded up on guys that could conceivably play just as well and possibly better then what he's been giving us. Rumour was that he was being shopped and i assume there were no takers. Wouldn't surprise me to see him being scratched on a regular basis if his play doesn't pick up.

[Habberwacky]

I would not have been surprised to hear PAP get moved and see him getting dealt in the off season.

I like the conservative nature of these deals today. All of these players could potentially flop and the impact on the future of this organization would be minimal. I enjoyed watching De la Rose this year, but must admit I'm a little apprehensive about going into a playoff series relying on him ,Bournival, Pateryn or any other green player. Hopefullly they see playoff action, but in roles that ensure they can build upon their previous experiences.

Having some veteran players to increase the competition for ice time and protect some of our young talent gives me confidence that this team has reduced the risk of any playoff upsets significantly. Bergevin appears to have been able to strike a balance between youth and experience every year. This year Beaulieu has been able to stick and next year the competition to stick with this team will be even tougher. He has continued to improve our depth and challenge the youth in the organization to compete hard for a job. These moves have made this team much better at a very low cost.

[GreyHab]

MB definitely did as best he could to address the team's needs without sacrificing the farm. My only concern here is whether he didn't do enough to weed out some of the extra bodies we don't need. I think it's a given that Pacioretty, Plekanec, Galchenyuk, Gallagher, Desharnais, DSP, and Eller will be in the line-up and in the top 9 (or at least it should be). So what does that leave for the other 5 forward spots:

- At wing: Weise, Prust, Bournival (now demoted), PAP

- At center: DLR, Malhotra, Mitchell, Flynn

Of those players, I don't see MT taking Prust out of the line-up and I'd have to guess Weise has earned the inside edge on a spot too. DLR has played well enough to be in too, at least in the short term. So the question then becomes, are Mitchell and Flynn good enough to displace Malhotra and PAP? The answer with respect to Malhotra is yes. Clearly, it's to our advantage to get a younger veteran whose a better skater and who can provide a bit more at the offensive end without sacrificing much defensively. And to boot, we finally have some right-handed centers, one of the reasons I thought Mitchell would have been a better choice than Malhotra originally. But in the case of PAP, if we're going to slot one of the new guys in over him, it's a complete change of style. It would mean that once again, we're opting for grit over offensive skill. In the playoffs, maybe a guy like Flynn does more for you than a guy like PAP, but maybe he doesn't. In the end, I'm not sure Flynn is a huge upgrade over Bournival, who was demoted to make room for Flynn or even Dumont, a fellow young right-handed center. If MB had packaged some of our own players (Bournival, Emelin, PAP, Thomas, Dumont, etc.) who seem to be expendable now, to make room for new guys and to acquire other assets, it makes a bit more sense. As it stands, I like the trades he made, but I think it leaves a lot of questions as to how all of these guys are going to be used, and I really don't like leaving that many options for MT to lace his line-up with 3rd and 4th liners at the expense of skill players like PAP and Eller.

Replace Eller with DLR