2023-2024 Habs what do we need most?

[ramcharger440]

So this was a pretty good year for us to develop young players as there was a lot of open slots for them! We have some good young players in key spots and a few vets on the way out as I don't see Drouin coming back and Byron is done also on D I would think Wideman will be gone and they must be looking to make some kind of move with Eddy. There may be some trades of younger assets that they don't feel will fit down the road for others that fill a need as well.

At center we are stronger than we have been for years with Zuke Dach Dvo and Evans. there is constant talk of PLD and do we want to upgrade Dvo and or Evans? I am sure we always want to upgrade but does it make sense right now?

Wing is kind of interesting, we will have CC and RHP has shown he can hit the back of the net! Anderson was playing very well at the end of the year Slaf could fit in somewhere heck even Hoff had an ok season as much as I don't care for his play! Gally was good when he was not playing hurt but can we even count on him anymore? and I am not sold on Gurianov although he has a lot of talent. as for the fourth line we seem to have a good core of energy guys that have proven they can fill out the lower end of the lineup and provide a bit of offence too. There are some young guns who need to show us more but overall I think wing is an area we need to get much stronger at we don't need any more Armia types!

Defence is another area that is interesting we had a great season to evaluate the young talent we have and for the most part they were really good for first year players! We need to balance that lineup more as we have guys playing the wrong side more often than we would like and this is where I could see us moving a really good prospect for another one that fits our puzzle better.  My hope is that we move on from Eddy asap to get as many of the young guys playing sooner and gaining the experience to be ready to contend with the rest of the team.

Once the draft is over we will probably have a better picture of what the team will look like next season but if we can get better on the wing perhaps an upgrade at center and balance our D pairings a bit better The team will be that much better. Even with all the injuries and AHL players and pretty much a rookie Dcorps we got more point this year  than last! if we keep moving forward year after year like that our rebuild will be shorter than some think and it will be solid too.

[claremont]

40 minutes ago, ramcharger440 said:

So this was a pretty good year for us to develop young players as there was a lot of open slots for them! We have some good young players in key spots and a few vets on the way out as I don't see Drouin coming back and Byron is done also on D I would think Wideman will be gone and they must be looking to make some kind of move with Eddy. There may be some trades of younger assets that they don't feel will fit down the road for others that fill a need as well.

At center we are stronger than we have been for years with Zuke Dach Dvo and Evans. there is constant talk of PLD and do we want to upgrade Dvo and or Evans? I am sure we always want to upgrade but does it make sense right now?

Wing is kind of interesting, we will have CC and RHP has shown he can hit the back of the net! Anderson was playing very well at the end of the year Slaf could fit in somewhere heck even Hoff had an ok season as much as I don't care for his play! Gally was good when he was not playing hurt but can we even count on him anymore? and I am not sold on Gurianov although he has a lot of talent. as for the fourth line we seem to have a good core of energy guys that have proven they can fill out the lower end of the lineup and provide a bit of offence too. There are some young guns who need to show us more but overall I think wing is an area we need to get much stronger at we don't need any more Armia types!

Defence is another area that is interesting we had a great season to evaluate the young talent we have and for the most part they were really good for first year players! We need to balance that lineup more as we have guys playing the wrong side more often than we would like and this is where I could see us moving a really good prospect for another one that fits our puzzle better.  My hope is that we move on from Eddy asap to get as many of the young guys playing sooner and gaining the experience to be ready to contend with the rest of the team.

Once the draft is over we will probably have a better picture of what the team will look like next season but if we can get better on the wing perhaps an upgrade at center and balance our D pairings a bit better The team will be that much better. Even with all the injuries and AHL players and pretty much a rookie Dcorps we got more point this year  than last! if we keep moving forward year after year like that our rebuild will be shorter than some think and it will be solid too.

Ignoring the draft as covered in a previous subject and focusing strictly on the 2023-24 roster, we need;

1) A healthy more durable roster - much of our roster was depleted by injuries. A healthy line-up would go a long way in our compete level and evaluation

2) An upgrade at #2 centre position to take some load off Suzuki - specifically either Dach needs to fill that hole, or we need a Monahan / similar re-signing. Dvo does not appear to be that solution, and Owen Beck or any other centre prospect is not close to that jump

3) Some additional injection of youth - we need a few more rookies / newbies - RHP , Ylonen on the wings. Maybe a Sean Farrell, Joshua Roy or even Anthony Richard. We need another centre, so hopefully Owen Beck gets a chance to displace / platoon with Evans. Maybe even Logan Mailloux could make the RHD side

4) Out with some old, in with some new - expanding on point 3 - if we can dump Hoffman and / or Armia, and Edmundson. Maybe even trading Savard at the trade deadline.  Same with not needing Pitlick or Wideman - move them to Laval. 

5) Better performances from Slaf, DVO and Jake Allen. 

[H_T_L]

All good points above and i would add a new PP strategy, be it from the existing staff or via a new addition. Is there another team out there with a more predictable PP??

[habs1952]

You can never have enough good D-men.

[ramcharger440]

1 hour ago, H_T_L said:

All good points above and i would add a new PP strategy, be it from the existing staff or via a new addition. Is there another team out there with a more predictable PP??

LOL! yep I hear ya it is pretty sad! there were some flashes at the end of the year with Barron and RHP in the mix but I also think we need a new voice coaching the PP!

[ramcharger440]

Good Dmen for sure! we have some good young guns and Matheson has been great too, I think if we can dump Eddy and keep Savard as a mentor or more of a steady influence a lot of our young guys should be even stronger next season. Of course if we could add a stud to pair with Matheson we would have a good strong 1st pair to eat minutes in the tougher games and give the other pairings a chance to work things out for a bit. I still feel like we need to get stronger on the wings we need guys to shoot and bury that puck! just having that will keep other teams on their heels a bit more!

[BigTed3]

The priorities for me in order are

1. Find a top-pairing RHD. And yes, I'd even be willing to trade Guhle to make that happen. A Guhle for Nemec-based trade makes a lot of sense for me, for example. Why? Guhle is a strong prospect, but we have Matheson who has proven he can be a top-pairing LHD and we have Harris and Xhekaj already able to play and potentially Hutson coming down the pipeline. Unless you end up with Reinbacher or ASP in the draft, we need to strengthen the right side going forward, and if we can draft someone, then maybe signing a Dumba or Severson makes sense as a bridge to that. I also mentioned Evan Bouchard in the rumors section as a player who could be of interest, so maybe there will be options here.

2. Clear roster space. We have capable youngsters who need a chance to play. RHP and Ylonen have earned spots in the NHL. I'd like to see Beck get a shot in the bottom 6. I'd prefer to see Barron and Harris and Xhekaj and Guhle and maybe Mailloux get looks. The team has to make a decision on Primeau too, as he's no longer waiver-eligible. In an ideal world, Hoffman's gone, Dvorak is gone, Gurianov isn't re-signed, Edmundson is gone, Allen is gone if we find a good deal for him... again, all contingent on what we're getting for them, but these are all players I'm actively shopping to see what their market value is. Maybe it won't happen, but I'd love it if the Habs could turn Edmundson or Dvorak into a late 1st or early 2nd rounder, and I'd consider moving Anderson if we could bring back a top 12 pick or an NHL-ready blue chip prospect (or young NHL player).

[campabee82]

More growth for the young guys , which will translate to more wins and of course our number one need next year is less injuries!!!

[CaptWelly]

2 hours ago, BigTed3 said:

The priorities for me in order are

1. Find a top-pairing RHD. And yes, I'd even be willing to trade Guhle to make that happen. A Guhle for Nemec-based trade makes a lot of sense for me, for example. Why? Guhle is a strong prospect, but we have Matheson who has proven he can be a top-pairing LHD and we have Harris and Xhekaj already able to play and potentially Hutson coming down the pipeline. Unless you end up with Reinbacher or ASP in the draft, we need to strengthen the right side going forward, and if we can draft someone, then maybe signing a Dumba or Severson makes sense as a bridge to that. I also mentioned Evan Bouchard in the rumors section as a player who could be of interest, so maybe there will be options here.

2. Clear roster space. We have capable youngsters who need a chance to play. RHP and Ylonen have earned spots in the NHL. I'd like to see Beck get a shot in the bottom 6. I'd prefer to see Barron and Harris and Xhekaj and Guhle and maybe Mailloux get looks. The team has to make a decision on Primeau too, as he's no longer waiver-eligible. In an ideal world, Hoffman's gone, Dvorak is gone, Gurianov isn't re-signed, Edmundson is gone, Allen is gone if we find a good deal for him... again, all contingent on what we're getting for them, but these are all players I'm actively shopping to see what their market value is. Maybe it won't happen, but I'd love it if the Habs could turn Edmundson or Dvorak into a late 1st or early 2nd rounder, and I'd consider moving Anderson if we could bring back a top 12 pick or an NHL-ready blue chip prospect (or young NHL player).

I think before making a jump at another RHD it'd be great to see what Mailoux can do. I do like Matheson but Ghule could end up better. I'm still not sold on Ylonen, I defeinetly wouldn't write off Gurianov. I'd like to see him with a full season under Marty and good line mates. He has size speed and a shot. Ylonen looks maybe bottom 6 maybe 3rd line which should be replaceable moving forward. He could be something added to a trade? 

[BigTed3]

17 minutes ago, CaptWelly said:

I think before making a jump at another RHD it'd be great to see what Mailoux can do. I do like Matheson but Ghule could end up better. I'm still not sold on Ylonen, I defeinetly wouldn't write off Gurianov. I'd like to see him with a full season under Marty and good line mates. He has size speed and a shot. Ylonen looks maybe bottom 6 maybe 3rd line which should be replaceable moving forward. He could be something added to a trade? 

Gurianov is a pure shooter but not very good at much else. He doesn't use his size well, he doesn't make great decisions, and he isn't strong defensively. Ylonen also has a good shot but needs to use it more. Maybe not quite as good as Gurianov but still good. He's a much better transition player, and he's also reliable defensively. I don't have a problem with Ylonen as a 3rd liner but I think he's a guy a coach will feel comfortable moving up and down the line-up whereas Gurianov is hard to hide in your bottom 6 because of his defensive woes.

In any case, when assessing whether to trade a player I like to ask myself whether we're maximizing value. Everyone is tradeable. It's just a question of whether you're able to sell high on them. We sold high on guys like Dale Weise and Craig Rivet and Ben Chiarot and Tyler Toffoli and Lehkonen. We missed that boat on guys like Plekanec, Markov, Weber, and Price. I don't think trading Ylonen right now is going to bring back much, whereas I can see him becoming a 20-goal middle 6 winger and developing more value, like a Lehkonen. The guys I think we should be looking at trading high on right now would be the likes of Anderson, Allen, maybe even Savard. I don't project any of those players becoming significantly better in 2 years, so may as well see what's out there as a return right now.

As for Mailloux, that's a fair point. He definitely has the offensive tools, but he's going to have growing pains defensively in the NHL if he already finds it tough in the OHL. Maybe he gets there, but I'm not expecting miracles as a rookie. Best-case scenario is he's Barron-like at even strength and able to do more on the PP. I'm open to seeing what he can do, but if I could get my hands on a Nemec or Drysdale or Bouchard, I wouldn't pass that up just because we have Mailloux.

[habs1952]

Mailloux, good size for a winger.

[CaptWelly]

1 hour ago, BigTed3 said:

Gurianov is a pure shooter but not very good at much else. He doesn't use his size well, he doesn't make great decisions, and he isn't strong defensively. Ylonen also has a good shot but needs to use it more. Maybe not quite as good as Gurianov but still good. He's a much better transition player, and he's also reliable defensively. I don't have a problem with Ylonen as a 3rd liner but I think he's a guy a coach will feel comfortable moving up and down the line-up whereas Gurianov is hard to hide in your bottom 6 because of his defensive woes.

In any case, when assessing whether to trade a player I like to ask myself whether we're maximizing value. Everyone is tradeable. It's just a question of whether you're able to sell high on them. We sold high on guys like Dale Weise and Craig Rivet and Ben Chiarot and Tyler Toffoli and Lehkonen. We missed that boat on guys like Plekanec, Markov, Weber, and Price. I don't think trading Ylonen right now is going to bring back much, whereas I can see him becoming a 20-goal middle 6 winger and developing more value, like a Lehkonen. The guys I think we should be looking at trading high on right now would be the likes of Anderson, Allen, maybe even Savard. I don't project any of those players becoming significantly better in 2 years, so may as well see what's out there as a return right now.

As for Mailloux, that's a fair point. He definitely has the offensive tools, but he's going to have growing pains defensively in the NHL if he already finds it tough in the OHL. Maybe he gets there, but I'm not expecting miracles as a rookie. Best-case scenario is he's Barron-like at even strength and able to do more on the PP. I'm open to seeing what he can do, but if I could get my hands on a Nemec or Drysdale or Bouchard, I wouldn't pass that up just because we have Mailloux.

I would still like to see what Gurianov can do with a full season with MSL and the full team. I think he can be a top 6 winger. In the short time I've seen a lot more out of him than Slav hopefully projects to be. I think Slav may end up 3rd liner that's an occasional 2nd liner. To be determined.

[MALMACIAN_CRUNCH]

If we could move Dvorak and a 2nd for PLD, that would balance out or top six (top nine if we win the Bedard sweepstakes).

Thats about all I see as far as additions. 
 

Probably more important that we lose some dead weight (Hoffman, Armia, Edmundson, Pitlick, Byron, Wideman, etc.).

I’d like to see more from Gurianov, maybe on the third line with Slaf on the other wing. Not sure who I’d have center that line, but that could be a good look. 

[ramcharger440]

9 hours ago, MALMACIAN_CRUNCH said:

If we could move Dvorak and a 2nd for PLD, that would balance out or top six (top nine if we win the Bedard sweepstakes).

Thats about all I see as far as additions. 
 

Probably more important that we lose some dead weight (Hoffman, Armia, Edmundson, Pitlick, Byron, Wideman, etc.).

I’d like to see more from Gurianov, maybe on the third line with Slaf on the other wing. Not sure who I’d have center that line, but that could be a good look. 

Imagine PLD Slaf and Gurianov would be a big fast strong line!

[ramcharger440]

10 hours ago, CaptWelly said:

I would still like to see what Gurianov can do with a full season with MSL and the full team. I think he can be a top 6 winger. In the short time I've seen a lot more out of him than Slav hopefully projects to be. I think Slav may end up 3rd liner that's an occasional 2nd liner. To be determined.

I also would like to see more of Gurianov but not at any price! it would have to be a good deal for us and only if he was meshing well with the other players in the room.

[CaptWelly]

3 hours ago, ramcharger440 said:

I also would like to see more of Gurianov but not at any price! it would have to be a good deal for us and only if he was meshing well with the other players in the room.

I agree it would have to be something that would work for both sides. 

[MALMACIAN_CRUNCH]

7 hours ago, ramcharger440 said:

Imagine PLD Slaf and Gurianov would be a big fast strong line!

Agreed. Or Dach, Slaf and Guri. Dach being a little more creative as a setup guy. PLD back on a line with Anderson.

Something like…

RHP/Zuks/Caufield 

(Bedard)/PLD/Anderson

Slaf/Dach/Gurianov 

Rotation of everyone else on the 4th

Absent Bedard, Slaf could be slid up onto the 2nd. This could be a hell of a lineup. I might not be as motivated to make a move on PLD in the case we don’t land Bedard (lol which is pretty much a pipe dream, but it’s fun to imagine).

[habulator]

Well, we still have many needs. One bright spot is that we have some contracts ending and a couple of spots opening up. (hopefully more can be created) With Monahan, Byron, Drouin, & Gurianov coming off of the books we have a little money left over after resigning Caulfield, Pezz,  & RHP. Much to be determined as we go to the draft and then July 1rst. There will be much to hold our interest.

[CaptWelly]

11 minutes ago, habulator said:

Well, we still have many needs. One bright spot is that we have some contracts ending and a couple of spots opening up. (hopefully more can be created) With Monahan, Byron, Drouin, & Gurianov coming off of the books we have a little money left over after resigning Caulfield, Pezz,  & RHP. Much to be determined as we go to the draft and then July 1rst. There will be much to hold our interest.

I'd like to see Gurianov resigned myself. Pezz I'm not sure of RHP for sure!

[BigTed3]

2 hours ago, habulator said:

Well, we still have many needs. One bright spot is that we have some contracts ending and a couple of spots opening up. (hopefully more can be created) With Monahan, Byron, Drouin, & Gurianov coming off of the books we have a little money left over after resigning Caulfield, Pezz,  & RHP. Much to be determined as we go to the draft and then July 1rst. There will be much to hold our interest.

If we go through where we stand right now, the Habs have 12 forwards who are either signed or RFA and who should be on the NHL roster next year, and for argument's sake I'll set them up for now as being something along the lines of

Caufield-Suzuki-Anderson

Slafkovsky-Dach-Gallagher

RHP-Dvorak-Ylonen

Hoffman-Evans-Armia

I've left out Gurianov, Pitlick, and Pezzetta for now, as I'm not sure whether they'll be on the squad next year, and we can debate that after seeing what money we have left. I also think the odds are higher of Farrell starting in the AHL, so I've put him aside for now. I'll assume that Ylonen get signed for about 1M AAV, 1.5M for RHP, and 8M for Caufield. The total expenditure for those 12 guys would come in at around 47.3M.

On D, we have plenty of guys signed, so I'll add them all up (in random order):

Matheson-Barron

Harris-Kovacevic

Guhle-Savard

Edmundson-Xhekaj

These 8 guys total 16.7M, with Wideman assumed to be an odd man out and in Laval. So far, that brings us to 64M.

In net, we have Allen and Monty at 4.85M, and we have Alzner's buyout still on the books for 833k. On top of that, Primeau needs waivers next year, so there is talk from Eric Engels and others that if they don't deal a goalie, they may carry 3 to start the year and avoid losing Primeau.. so that's another 890k on the tab. All told, we're up to 70.6M. Carey's 10.5M will almost certainly go onto LTIR during the summer, which means we can use it right away. So all told, even after signing Caufield, RHP, and Ylonen and carrying 8 D men and 3 goalies, it would leave us with almost 13M in cap space, and only 1 roster spot to fill at forward. If that's Heineman, Beck, Pezzetta, Pitlick, Roy, or Richard, then that cap hit will only be in the neighborhood of 1M, and we'd still have 12M in flexibility. So we have some room to maneuver.

The question will be what Hughes chooses to do. Will he try to re-sign Monahan? That might take 5-6M but it would shore up the center line. Does he re-sign Gurianov for 1.5-2M on a prove-it deal? Does he go after a RHD free agent like Dumba, Severson, or Mayfield? Does he try to unload even more salary (Armia? Hoffman? Allen? Edmundson? Dvorak? Anderson?)? Does he put in an offersheet or try to trade for someone like Evan Bouchard? Does he pony up for PLD a year early? There are definitely options here.

[habulator]

2 hours ago, CaptWelly said:

I'd like to see Gurianov resigned myself. Pezz I'm not sure of RHP for sure!

We all have different ideas and likes. I'd keep Pezz over two Gurianov's. I like a fourth line of big bodies that can deliver some bang and a little secondary scoring/hard play. Pezz can play on my 4th line, at least for now.

 

[habulator]

7 minutes ago, BigTed3 said:

If we go through where we stand right now, the Habs have 12 forwards who are either signed or RFA and who should be on the NHL roster next year, and for argument's sake I'll set them up for now as being something along the lines of

Caufield-Suzuki-Anderson

Slafkovsky-Dach-Gallagher

RHP-Dvorak-Ylonen

Hoffman-Evans-Armia

I've left out Gurianov, Pitlick, and Pezzetta for now, as I'm not sure whether they'll be on the squad next year, and we can debate that after seeing what money we have left. I also think the odds are higher of Farrell starting in the AHL, so I've put him aside for now. I'll assume that Ylonen get signed for about 1M AAV, 1.5M for RHP, and 8M for Caufield. The total expenditure for those 12 guys would come in at around 47.3M.

On D, we have plenty of guys signed, so I'll add them all up (in random order):

Matheson-Barron

Harris-Kovacevic

Guhle-Savard

Edmundson-Xhekaj

These 8 guys total 16.7M, with Wideman assumed to be an odd man out and in Laval. So far, that brings us to 64M.

In net, we have Allen and Monty at 4.85M, and we have Alzner's buyout still on the books for 833k. On top of that, Primeau needs waivers next year, so there is talk from Eric Engels and others that if they don't deal a goalie, they may carry 3 to start the year and avoid losing Primeau.. so that's another 890k on the tab. All told, we're up to 70.6M. Carey's 10.5M will almost certainly go onto LTIR during the summer, which means we can use it right away. So all told, even after signing Caufield, RHP, and Ylonen and carrying 8 D men and 3 goalies, it would leave us with almost 13M in cap space, and only 1 roster spot to fill at forward. If that's Heineman, Beck, Pezzetta, Pitlick, Roy, or Richard, then that cap hit will only be in the neighborhood of 1M, and we'd still have 12M in flexibility. So we have some room to maneuver.

The question will be what Hughes chooses to do. Will he try to re-sign Monahan? That might take 5-6M but it would shore up the center line. Does he re-sign Gurianov for 1.5-2M on a prove-it deal? Does he go after a RHD free agent like Dumba, Severson, or Mayfield? Does he try to unload even more salary (Armia? Hoffman? Allen? Edmundson? Dvorak? Anderson?)? Does he put in an offersheet or try to trade for someone like Evan Bouchard? Does he pony up for PLD a year early? There are definitely options here.

Great post Big Ted. It is easy to forget that we have so many guys signed to NHL contracts, and some that aren't good contracts. As you have pointed out we have so many options at our disposal. It will be interesting to see where Hughe's takes us over the coming year. 

[ramcharger440]

2 hours ago, habulator said:

We all have different ideas and likes. I'd keep Pezz over two Gurianov's. I like a fourth line of big bodies that can deliver some bang and a little secondary scoring/hard play. Pezz can play on my 4th line, at least for now.

 

I like Pezz as well! he is a role player for us and we don't have to play him all the time but he has scored here and there and he plays an honest game. once Arber went down he was the guy who gave us some muscle when needed. I am hot and cold on Gurianov he could be great or a bust to hard for us to know sitting on the sidelines but I trust HUGO to know best!

[CaptWelly]

4 hours ago, habulator said:

We all have different ideas and likes. I'd keep Pezz over two Gurianov's. I like a fourth line of big bodies that can deliver some bang and a little secondary scoring/hard play. Pezz can play on my 4th line, at least for now.

 

I didn't think Gurianov was going to be 4th line. He may end up 2nd or 3rd line if he was with the right players. I'd sign Gurianov before Ylonen or at least Ylonen could be on a two way contract at this point. I think Gurianov could be a strong power forward. He could possibly even pass Slav. He has shown a lot more so far. I know Slav is a young player but yet to be seen if he actually turns into what we're hoping he does. I'm far from convinced he's automatic a first or second line top winger yet. TBD. 

[claremont]

On 4/21/2023 at 9:11 PM, BigTed3 said:

Gurianov is a pure shooter but not very good at much else. He doesn't use his size well, he doesn't make great decisions, and he isn't strong defensively. Ylonen also has a good shot but needs to use it more. Maybe not quite as good as Gurianov but still good. He's a much better transition player, and he's also reliable defensively. I don't have a problem with Ylonen as a 3rd liner but I think he's a guy a coach will feel comfortable moving up and down the line-up whereas Gurianov is hard to hide in your bottom 6 because of his defensive woes.

 

On 4/22/2023 at 9:43 AM, ramcharger440 said:

I also would like to see more of Gurianov but not at any price! it would have to be a good deal for us and only if he was meshing well with the other players in the room.

 

17 hours ago, habulator said:

We all have different ideas and likes. I'd keep Pezz over two Gurianov's. I like a fourth line of big bodies that can deliver some bang and a little secondary scoring/hard play. Pezz can play on my 4th line, at least for now.

 

 

13 hours ago, CaptWelly said:

I didn't think Gurianov was going to be 4th line. He may end up 2nd or 3rd line if he was with the right players. I'd sign Gurianov before Ylonen or at least Ylonen could be on a two way contract at this point. I think Gurianov could be a strong power forward. He could possibly even pass Slav. He has shown a lot more so far. I know Slav is a young player but yet to be seen if he actually turns into what we're hoping he does. I'm far from convinced he's automatic a first or second line top winger yet. TBD. 

So correct me if I am wrong but with Gurianov as an RFA, don't the habs have the following scenarios:

1) Elect to take Gurianov to salary arbitration on or around June 15 or within 48 hours of the Stanley Cup Finals end - They would do this such that the arbitration award would take Gurianov's salary to 85% of his current $2.9M last year salary of $2.465M

2) If Habs mgmt. do not elect arbitration, they must extend Gurianov a qualifying offer of his last salary at $2.9M. Ball in the Habs court until July 15, when they can techncially pull the offer but then it becomes scenario 3 below otherwise Ball in Gurianov's court - he would have to accept by December 1 or he sits out the entire season. 

3) If the Habs do not extend a qualifying offer to Gurianov he can walk as a UFA. Fat chance based on performance that Gurianov could get more than $2.9M from any other team. However he could get an extended term beyond 1 year at a lower AAV, he felt another team as longer interest in him

4) Gurianov waits for an offer sheet from another team - Habs would have to match. Again based on Gurianov's 2022-23 performance, unlikely but we would get a 2nd round pick as the offer would be less than $.2M threshold

5) Habs feel there is some potential in the 6-3 200+lb RW shooting left (much like Joshua Roy), and sign a bridge deal taking him beyond his last year as RFA of 2023-24, and offer him a 2 year deal perhaps at $2.3 - $2.6M to give him some security. 

I have seen worse mistakes by MB in Hoffman or Armia etc. I kind of believe that HuGo are not taking a large risk by going with scenario 2, or even scenario 5. A lot of this depends on a) the ability of MSL, Burrows, Adam Nichols, Letowski to coach him into a more complete player beyond offense and not become a completely offensive player in the mold of Hoffman Part Deux. Large offensive wingers are not that easy to find. Another dependency is the ability to move Hoffman (opposite wing - LW) or even Armia (RW buy-out?). A bit of a gambling risk on HuGo here, and assuming Gurianov wants to be here (i.e. the culture fit thing again), then HuGo deserve no criticism should they decide to sign him, given the cap room freedom we currently have.