Quoting: Price_is_the_goat
a former 3rd overall pick, whose play has been hampered by injuries. he was top 10 in scoring last season before he got injured. and this season with the habs, his defensive game has taken major strides, and despite being on the worst offensive team in the league, he put up 51 points. he is an elite player, and honestly is the most talented forward after drouin on the team. and even if u argue that he's not elite, he's worth a lot to the canadiens. why trade him for a bunch of 3rd liners. this team is trying to get younger. why trade a young player like him?? makes no sense for mtl. brodie is great, but pretty sure mtl will acquire a lhd in a pac trade or draft one. shaw is infinitely better then brower, and we have him signed in his prime years. kylington is great, but not a first pairing D. lazar is a borderline bust, and at most is a 3rd liner. we dont need any bottom 6 players. we need top 6 players and top 2 defensemen.
Uh, you did notice TJ Brodie in the trade, right? Played top pairing in CGY in Giordano before Hamilton came along, and very, very capably. And the fact that CGY would be taking on 4 more years of Shaw in exchange for just 2 years of Brouwer, at a cheaper price?
So just in case you missed it: you're getting a Top 3 dman to play with Weber, a late 1st rounder (Kylington's current value, also gives much needed D prospect depth), a late 2nd/3rd rounder (Lazar's current value), and cap savings / half the years off a contract that MTL regrets a year after signing with Shaw. I will remove the pick swap to clean it up a bit more.
I firmly believe that's right in line with market value for a young, very good forward. Even a Top 3 pick. Don't forget that Hall for Larsson is the freshest market comparable. Or JVR for Luke Schenn. Or Johansen for Seth Jones. Brodie is better than both Larsson and Schenn. Hands down. He can skate, pass, and is useful on the PP. All things that jive with helping to improve scoring, not to mention helping to get better usage out of Shea Weber before he crosses over into his late 30s (2 years from now).