Équipe: 2021-22 Canadiens de Montréal

Date de création initiale: 13 avr. 2021

Publié: 14 avr. 2021

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

1.Reserve List Signings: Harvey-Pinard and Ikonen get ELC's. Harvey-Pinard has been very good for the Rocket this year. Reminds me a lot of Gallagher. Ikonen is a former second-round pick that has had two serious knee injuries. Still has upside and has to at least get a contract.
2. RFA Signings: Biggest one to resign is obviously KK. KK has been the second best centerman on the team this year and is consistently improving. I expect him to be our number one center when he fully develops and his potential is very very high. Probably signs a bridge deal and bets on himself. Reasonable number is 3x3.75. Lehkonen is another player that has been really good for the Habs for a couple seasons. Offense is not his strong point but he is a phenomenal worker and defensive winger. Really good penalty killer and Berge should try and resign him. Lehky probably signs for less than his last contract but for more years. Somewhere around 4x2. Two other notables resignings are Fleury and Poehling. Both could make the team out of training camp but most likely start as scratches who go up and down from the NHL to the AHL. Poehling has been phenomenal for the Rocket and could get his chance later on next season. Both get 2 year deals to show us that they can crack the roster soon.
3. UFA Signings: It is key that Berge resigns Tatar and Danault. Although they had slow starts, they have been phenomenal recently and will be huge if we want to make a run soon. Tatar and Danault could both walk but there are in a great situation with the Habs. With a little convincing, I think they would be willing to take a little less to make the team better. Tatar signs short term with a higher cap hit and Danault signs long term for a little less. Armia most likely walks and signs a deal with a contender to play in their middle 6. Would love to keep him but probably doesn't fit anywhere on the team. Resigning Corey Perry is a no-brainer for the Habs. He has been everything and more than what we expected. For a vet minimum again, Perry sticks with us and plays a big role as a leader and mentor. I expect Merrill to find his role on the Habs and actually resign for a cheap deal as a bottom pairing defender. He is a solid bottom pair guy who most likely gets replaced by Fleury the season after. Rest of the roster guys probably walk to find better opportunities. Some AHL guys resign to play on a contending Rocket team.
4. I expect the Habs' expansion protection list to look something like this: Tatar, Danault, Gallagher, Kotkaniemi, Drouin, Anderson, Toffoli, Edmundson, Weber, Petry, Price. This leaves a couple options for the Kraken. Between Allen and Chiarot, I hope they take Chiarot. He would clear some space for a specific acquistion.
5. Trades: Habs should be able to find a partner to move Byron. I love him, but his contract is tough to swallow right now. I think a good suitor are the Florida Panthers. They are contenders who can afford to take him for almost nothing. He brings some scoring depth as well as his penalty killing skills that can help a team in a deep run. If this cannot happen, I'm also open to a cap dump. Something along the lines of a 2nd and Byron for a 4th. Next up is the biggest move of the offseason. The Habs should seriously consider making a move on Ekholm. An expiring deal the next offseason but he provides a stability with Weber. A good puck mover who is effective at both ends of the ice. Perfect partner for Weber with decent playoff experience as well. Price is relatively high but is definitely worth it. Habs get a good top 4 defenseman and the Preds get a solid young defenseman in Kulak, a good forward prospect in Jacob Olofsson, as well as two picks in the Draft.
6. As for the lines, I think all four lines provide a mix of size, speed and awareness on both sides of the puck. Overall, a very solid team that is a darkhorse to do some damage in the playoffs.

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