Good trade,I like it,I'd do it-for Mtl.

Can't fathom the Habs not taking that deal.

Armia is such an underrated gem, his numbers do not reflect how good he was for the Habs this year. He'd be so good in TB that it makes my tummy turn...

but that Gourde contract :/

Gourde is overpaid sure but he is still an NHL'er. He's still young, a hometown guy and its not like the Habs have tons of free agents knocking at the door to sign here. They have tons of cap and no one to use it on.

Oh yeah plus we get Sergachev in the trade....no biggy....

I'd assume the Habs take that deal. Good trade for both teams: The Lightning are going to have a hard time signing Sergachev, and getting rid of that Gourde contract helps to sign Cernek and Cirelli. They also get Armia AND Brook, would could be a second pair d-man someday. The Habs get what they have been long after, while Gourde might benefit from a change of scenery. Good deal.

The Brade Hunt deal is sneaky good, btw. LOVE that deal. That might be the best deal here that nobody is talking about.

Sure we have no one to sign in the next few years, but what happens when we have to give raises to Tatar/Gallagher/Danault/Domi/Petry?

Then you factor in the young guys also getting raises and that cap disappears pretty fast.

I like the trade did it on my aimchair team to see it fom the Habs perspective.
Assumed Sergachev signs for 5 x $5M and Domi at 2 x $4.5M
We would then to lose 2 of Tatar, Petry, Gallagher or Danault the following year to FA depending on what Kotkaniemi signs for I had him at 5 x $4M
If we draft C.Perfetti at the 2020 draft that could make Tatar or Danault expendable
If Juulsen can get back on track from his injury and take Petry's spot on the right side

2 of Tatar/Petry/Gallagher/Danault walking for nothing would be horrible

I agree it would suck, but we would have a strong LD with Sergachev - Chiarot - Romanov
Players walk into FA all the time (just look at the UFA list)
We could sell off Tatar and Petry at the trade deadline instead of losing them for nothing, but I would expect that we would want them for the play-offs.

Would help us after losing Sergachev and Shattenkirk

Hunt is only a NHL d-man because he has a wicked shot for the PP. The rest of his game is AHL quality.

Nawh, would rather sell them than let them walk for nothing. Asset management is what wins cups. When it comes time for us to win, we can go all in.

I dunno.... you trade maybe? Its what all teams do make space when needed..... The plan cannot be to keep every single player that's a pending UFA. This team has not made the playoffs 3 years running (Aside from shear luck this year). It needs to change personnel a little... and I don't mean just Weal and Kulak.

No, you trade them.

First off, Tampa would have 0 interest in this trade.

Second, Montreal doesn't need anymore overpaid players.

but you are right, Montreal does need to make trades, which Bergevin will do again this offseason.

By not resigning the pending UFA's I was inferring that you trade them at the TDL so that you get something for them. Not just letting them walk for nothing. Continuous retention of assets is paramount for the Habs.

Not sure why you are certain TB wouldn't make this trade? They need cap space badly. CBO's aren't happening and a bunch of their players have NMC/NTC's. MTL might be one of the only places Gourde might be willing to waive for. Regardless what TB would do is irrelevant in this hypothetical scenario though. A TB fan is the one that offered this trade so we're going on that assumption.

Also Montreal needs better players tp be a better team and if you prefer to go the OS route to get Serg be my guest, but I rather have Serg, Gourde and my 1st rounder next year and however many draft picks get moved in the offersheet compensation. Cap space is manageable. High draft picks that aren't protected, aren't.

Habs are getting the best player in the trade and a serviceable player in Gourde who is simply overpaid. Throw on the fact that he is a hometown kid and has a chip on his shoulder after a couple bad seasons. I don't see the downside here. If you need cap space, you make it. Its that simple.

Downside is we are going to be paying a middle 6 winger over 5 million for 5 more years opposed to investing that into our better players. I like getting Sergechev and would probably do the deal, but I think we can still get Sergechev without acquiring that terrible contract.

I'm all ears. If you have a better solution, let's see it.

I understand the downside though. Off all the downsides in each scenario taken equally, Gourde's 5M contract is the least painful. The only reason you don't like it is because it stops you from being able to sign other players on the team. Which is fine because we don't HAVE to sign those players. We can trade them for good assets. Not all of them of course! Only enough to make the cap work.

That way you make the cap space needed to sign the important players, get assets for those players and get the best player in the trade.