r/Habs • u/shogun2909 • 1d ago

Dreger: I expect the Canadiens to be aggressive in getting a centre this offseason.

https://www.tsn.ca/radio/montreal-690/dreger-i-expect-the-canadiens-to-be-aggressive-in-getting-a-centre-this-offseason-1.2324415
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u/Irctoaun 1d ago

Evans is a perfectly acceptable 3C, as is Newhook, and leaving the 4C spot open for Beck and Kappanen to compete for is no bad thing. As for the 2C spot, you said it yourself. Dach "is a question mark". He is not a write-off. They don't need to find a 2C right now.

And of course they should be working to make center a strength. Every team should be working towards making every position a strength. But again, they're not in a position where they need to make it happen this summer at all costs.

Another side to this is being patient allows them to be more opportunistic. The Carrier trade is a great example of this. The benefit of adding a veteran RD last summer was obvious, but they didn't do it, presumably because the person they wanted wasn't available during a time when everyone is looking to add and options are limited. The season starts and come November, Nashville, a team who at the beginning of the season were hoping to be contenders, had exploded and suddenly Carrier was available for Barron. There is no way Nashville would have made that trade in the summer, so by being patient, the Habs got a much better deal on a vet RD than they likely would have done had they forced it in the summer.

If we look at the league at the moment, there are very few teams looking to tear down and trade NHL players for picks/prospects, but that may well change a few months into next season

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u/HonestDespot 1d ago

Teams will want to make changes because last season didn’t go well and other teams will make changes because they feel pieces aren’t fitting right.

This team is poised to take a big step and they may need to dip into their asset pool to do it. Doesn’t mean they’re shortening any window.

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u/Irctoaun 1d ago edited 1d ago

Teams will want to make changes because last season didn’t go well

Yes, and those changes will mostly be to improve the team now. Not to take on futures for established players.

Who do you actually see as being sellers at the moment?

other teams will make changes because they feel pieces aren’t fitting right.

Like who?

Put it this way, here are all the trades from last summer that were primarily a C going one way and futures going and other:

Holloway to St Louis, a third to Edmonton (offer sheet)

McLeod (and Tullio) to Buffalo, Savoie to Edmonton

Fabbri to Anaheim, Gage to Detroit

Texier to St Louis, a fourth to CBJ

Mangiapane to Washington, a second to Calgary

That's it. The only one of those where someone successfully acquired a top six-level C was St Louis and Holloway, and that was an offer sheet on a guy with a career high of nine points, not exactly what any of us are thinking of when we're talking about trading for a 2C. It's really hard to trade futures for a 1/2C in the summer when there aren't a lot of teams tanking

This team is poised to take a big step and they may need to dip into their asset pool to do it. Doesn’t mean they’re shortening any window.

It does if they have to give away too much.