NHL 2024/2025

I can't imagine a scenario whereby he doesn't just go on LTIR. Montreal will have to eat the salary for next year but then some penny pinching franchise will come in an hoover that contract up and just pay the last 3 years of $1mil per so that they can hit the cap floor on the cheap for 3 years.

Also. Yzerman is still a savage.
 
I can't imagine a scenario whereby he doesn't just go on LTIR. Montreal will have to eat the salary for next year but then some penny pinching franchise will come in an hoover that contract up and just pay the last 3 years of $1mil per so that they can hit the cap floor on the cheap for 3 years.

Also. Yzerman is still a savage.

The obvious scenario is that the league doesn't grant him the LTI designation. Since Weber's contract is the poster boy of cap hit manipulation, it is possible that the NHL find a way to punish Nashville(instead of Philly) for giving that contract. It was a storyline this weekend about how the NHL and other teams don't like how things went.
 
The obvious scenario is that the league doesn't grant him the LTI designation. Since Weber's contract is the poster boy of cap hit manipulation, it is possible that the NHL find a way to punish Nashville(instead of Philly) for giving that contract. It was a storyline this weekend about how the NHL and other teams don't like how things went.

I don't see why they wouldn't grant him the LTIR if he is legit going in for surgery though, it's not like a Luongo situation whereby he just retired because he knew he didn't have any business playing in the NHL anymore. Weber would play if he could and he could still be useful if he were healthy.

Not that I disagree with you though and no doubt the league and the owners will find a way to be pissy about it, especially Vancouver.
 
I don't see why they wouldn't grant him the LTIR if he is legit going in for surgery though, it's not like a Luongo situation whereby he just retired because he knew he didn't have any business playing in the NHL anymore. Weber would play if he could and he could still be useful if he were healthy.

Not that I disagree with you though and no doubt the league and the owners will find a way to be pissy about it, especially Vancouver.

That's the thing, surgery isn't a given, apparently the issue with Weber has more to do with his body being beat up, if I'm not mistaken surgery is only an option if he doesn't intend to comeback in 22-23, it has been reported that the surgery would prevent him from playing at the required level. Price is the one who is supposed to have surgery but Bergevin said that unless the doctors add some news in the coming days, he is only expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks.

That's why things are a bit weird, logically Weber should go on LTIR, surgery or not, everyone knows that he isn't a cheat, he didn't even like the fact that the Habs had to reduce his icetime. But since his physical condition is a byproduct of his playing style, there is a slim possibility that the NHL decides to spite Nashville because what is happening is exactly what everyone expected.

Now of course I'm being my cynical self and don't want to give the NHL any credit when it comes to common sense, particularly when the Habs are not one of the NHL favorites.
 
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@WeePat I guess you saw it but Weber is officially done for the year and according to Bergevin, he is most likely completely done. Now the question is whether he retires or goes on LTIR, the former would hit Nashville very hard.

I feel bad for him, but I also kind of think he's being afforded a good opportunity to just take a step back and focus on his recovery. You could tell just by looking at the scenes on ice as Tampa Bay were celebrating that Weber was done, at least for a year. It was sad to see, but now he gets to focus on getting healthy and he (and the Habs) can (and should) reassess the situation in 12 months. I don't think he'll retire.

It will be tough for the Habs to replace his quality on ice, his leadership and just as a locker room guy to be honest.
 
@JPRouve Canes being petty little feckers here. Do you reckon MB will/should match it? I think Kotkaniemi's projected contract was $3m for the next 2-3 years.

 
I was thinking about it. KK isn't worth that kind of money but he could in a distant future. If I was in Bergevin's shoes I would use the entirety of the 7 days to know what kind of young center I can get for 2 firsts, a third and a prospect.
 
I was thinking about it. KK isn't worth that kind of money but he could in a distant future. If I was in Bergevin's shoes I would use the entirety of the 7 days to know what kind of young center I can get for 2 firsts, a third and a prospect.

I'm no cap wizard, but matching the offer I think would drive up Suzuki's contract for sure. It's a one $6.1m deal, so he could theoretically give him a three year $10m contract with $6.1m in the first year and $4m spread across the remaining two years. That could work, couldn't it?
 
I'm no cap wizard, but matching the offer I think would drive up Suzuki's contract for sure. It's a one $6.1m deal, so he could theoretically give him a three year $10m contract with $6.1m in the first year and $4m spread across the remaining two years. That could work, couldn't it?

I seem to remember that you can't. The NHL created a rule against excessively frontloaded contract after the Weber contract.
 
I seem to remember that you can't. The NHL created a rule against excessively frontloaded contract after the Weber contract.

Well, then Kotkaniemi won't be playing for Montreal next season.
 
Well, then Kotkaniemi won't be playing for Montreal next season.

The Habs could agree on a long term contract instead of a bridge contract where Kotkaniemi earns 6.1m next year and then anywhere between 4m and 6m per year for the next 4 to 5 years. And regarding your previous post the NHL forbid contracts where there is a +35% variance in adjacent years and the lowest salary can't be below 50% of the highest year.
 
So here we go ....LGRW ! *Sigh* LGRW !

------------------------------------------
Zadina - Larkin - Vrana
Bertuzzi - Suter - Fabbri
Vlad N. - Rasmussen - Erne
Smith - Stephens - Gagner

Leddy - Hronek
Dan D - Seider
Staal - Stetcher

Greiss
Nedeljkovic

-----------------------------------------

The above is obviously with injuries permitting entering the season.

The first big fight for me out of pre-season is between Lindstrom and Stetcher. If Lindstrom can prove that he is worthy of that last roster spot then I think with how favourable Stetcher's deal is then a team wanting to contend could very well take a flyer on it, Winnipeg might be a good team to target in a trade but a serviceable RHD who is coming off a good international tournament on a good deal won't be a hard sell. Whether it is at the start of the season or closer to the deadline.

If Greiss continues his form from last year then a team might seriously look hard at him at the deadline, it will probably be another Bernier situation though, the name will probably crop up near the deadline but nothing will happen.

One name that almost certainly will crop up around the deadline will be Bertuzzi, if he can stay fit and produce at a good level and stay healthy then similar to Mantha last year, there will be a team out there willing to overpay. This will then open up a spot for one of Berggren or Raymond, possibly both (Give Raymond 9 games, slide a year on his ELC then play Raymond for the rest.)

Form dependant you could be looking at Fabbri and Namestnikov in trade rumours as well. None of them getting traded would surprise me in all honesty and I think that it will be done on the basis of acquiring draft capital to then make an aggressive move to draft early on, or take our chances with getting some high-end centreman in what is a highly acclaimed draft class.

Veleno is almost certainly going to be first call-up if a centre goes down, Hirose will probably find more opportunities this year, Pearson will also be knocking on the door, he can certainly be competing to get a spot on that 4th line.
 
Season 2021/2022
@WeePat

MB didn't match, KK is gone.
 
Damn, just saw it. What a waste of a 3rd overall pick KK turned out to be.

Hard to know if it's the right decision right now, but just sad to see him go.

I don't know about waste, it depends on what you get with the compensation. And it's easy to understand why you wouldn't match a 6m salary, particularly when you can be in the exact them situation the following year.
 
I don't know about waste, it depends on what you get with the compensation. And it's easy to understand why you wouldn't match a 6m salary, particularly when you can be in the exact them situation the following year.

I don't begrudge the decision. We can't really know if it's the right one right now. Canes have a good team. It'll likely be a late first and third round pick. That's what the 3rd overall pick turned into.

Danault leaving was much more of a gut punch though. Interesting to see what center MB wants to go for. Huge gaping hole in that position now.
 
I don't begrudge the decision. We can't really know if it's the right one right now. Canes have a good team. It'll likely be a late first and third round pick. That's what the 3rd overall pick turned into.

Danault leaving was much more of a gut punch though. Interesting to see what center MB wants to go for. Huge gaping hole in that position now.

The rumors are Dvorak, Hertl or Eichel with Dvorak being the most likely while the later seems to be more something that the press is dreaming.
 
Nicely played by Canes, the $20 signing bonus is a beautiful touch.
 
The rumors are Dvorak, Hertl or Eichel with Dvorak being the most likely while the later seems to be more something that the press is dreaming.

Interesting options. Would prefer Eichel.
 
It's Dvorak. On paper it's a serious upgrade with a two way center.



In the circumstances, I'm more than happy with Dvorak. If we look at it as a straight KK/Dvorak trade though, would we have said a trade like that was a good move for Montreal? I think KK's development in the years to come will ultimately determine what we're missing out on.
 
In the circumstances, I'm more than happy with Dvorak. If we look at it as a straight KK/Dvorak trade though, would we have said a trade like that was a good move for Montreal? I think KK's development in the years to come will ultimately determine what we're missing out on.

There is a chance that KK ends up being better but is it probable? With this trade the Habs have a true 2C at the reasonable cap hit of 4.5m for 4 years, he is better at face offs than Danault, has room for improvements defensively and he will play with far better linemates.
 
A new season and Connor is already back on the same scoring rate as last season!!! Scrappy win for the Oilers against the Nuck's, but a win none the less and fantastic to hear the Oilers play La Bamba as the win song at the end of the game. It was Joey Moss's favourite song, our fans have been campaigning for it to be the goal song, but we'll take it as our win song for sure.
 
Unlucky scabs - we won the game that really mattered :rolleyes:
 
A new season and Connor is already back on the same scoring rate as last season!!! Scrappy win for the Oilers against the Nuck's, but a win none the less and fantastic to hear the Oilers play La Bamba as the win song at the end of the game. It was Joey Moss's favourite song, our fans have been campaigning for it to be the goal song, but we'll take it as our win song for sure.

Hard to believe McDavid is only 24. He's been the best player in the league for so long, it feels like he's been around for longer than he actually has.
 
Hard to believe McDavid is only 24. He's been the best player in the league for so long, it feels like he's been around for longer than he actually has.

It was discussed that this off season he's been working on his one time shots as he felt it was lacking. If he feels his game then heaven help the ordinary joe's in the league. How long will it take them to work on the skating to be able to live with his speed??

I honestly believe that he may be able to have a season where he crashes the top 10 points in a season. Currently Gretz holds 10th spot with 168 points. I still don't think we've seen the best of him yet.
 
Great comeback by the Lightning after being two goals down late in the third period. Staved off losing the first two games convincingly.
 
Oilers go 5-0 at the start of the season, McDavid goes 5 in a row for multiple point games. It's early days of course, but the Oilers seem have got a 3rd line going right now and the 4th is interswitchable. If we can carry only out scoring teams we'll be OK.
 
Finally some heads rolling in the Chicago case. A decade too late.

Quenneville needs to go as well.
 
Finally some heads rolling in the Chicago case. A decade too late.

Quenneville needs to go as well.

Q went a few years ago now. Every executive from President on down, has not been with the organization. Stan Bowman was the last executive, until today.

StanBo should have been relieved of his duties before today due to poor performance, let alone the scandal.

Colliton will be fired soon after the front office appoints full time hires for the main hockey ops roles.
 
Q went a few years ago now. Every executive from President on down, has not been with the organization. Stan Bowman was the last executive, until today.

StanBo should have been relieved of his duties before today due to poor performance, let alone the scandal.

Colliton will be fired soon after the front office appoints full time hires for the main hockey ops roles.
Obviously I know that Q is not in Chicago. Florida needs to fire him and he should not work in NHL ever again.
 
Obviously I know that Q is not in Chicago. Florida needs to fire him and he should not work in NHL ever again.

It doesn't bode well for him or Chevy, the other remaining person from 11 years ago to be working in the NHL.

They knew of the allegations and assault, however McDonough handled it himself. But then Q gave the accused a positive performance review and nobody shed light on the incident.

Multiple failures by multiple people in clear leadership positions to disclose this in a proper and timely fashion.
 
It doesn't bode well for him or Chevy, the other remaining person from 11 years ago to be working in the NHL.

They knew of the allegations and assault, however McDonough handled it himself. But then Q gave the accused a positive performance review and nobody shed light on the incident.

Multiple failures by multiple people in clear leadership positions to disclose this in a proper and timely fashion.

It doesn't bode well for the players still playing either, seems like they mocked the kid, I'd go as far as to suggest their careers are on the line as well.
 
It doesn't bode well for the players still playing either, seems like they mocked the kid, I'd go as far as to suggest their careers are on the line as well.

Yeah, I've heard that discussed as well. Unfortunately, that's the culture of sports locker rooms and communities. That's a change that may never happen in men's professional sports. You'll always have "banter" and if you're not able to partake or accept and reciprocate, you can be viewed as a divisive figure who doesn't fit well with the team. Then you're out.

I personally don't think those players will be impacted and really, those players on the 2010 championship team who are still in the league...Toews, Kane, (both still in Chicago), and Keith (in Edmonton) should be fine. The investigation included many interviews with Chicago players. If allegations come out where the players hazed or bullied the player because of what happened, then yeah, that needs to be taken into account...but that does not seem to be what happened.