No

Massive decline by the avs

Suzuki's contract is ridiculous. An unrealistic signing to fit the narative of your bad idea. Come on man.

Assuming you watched the rookie game with a thread title like that.

1. Norlinder had a really tough start... but it's his first game on North American Ice and rookie games are sloppy. He was awful at the start, but he settled in and his strengths showed as the game went on... finished with 1G and 1A (Powerplay). He's a gifted offensive defenseman... he will probably never be good defensively but I think he needs to learn the North American game. He will need to leave that 1st half behind him and continue playing like he did in the 2nd half of the game.

2. If you did indeed watch the rookie game how could you not have Guhle in your 2022-23 lineup, especially with Chiraot gone? The kid is already NHL ready but he is only 19 so a full year in the WHL and another WJC showing would only benefit his development.

3. If you say Norlinder is not ready, and you have Harris in your 2022-23 lineup, and Guhle is probably more ready than Norlinder... then in your opinion when is Norlinder ever going to be ready? If Norlinder is behind Romanov Harris and Guhle on the depth chart, with Edmundson, Savard and Petry all signed for 2 or more years then there is no path for Norlinder to the NHL. If Norlinder shows he can QB a PP while playing 3rd pair minutes at RD for MTL then it is in both sides best interest that he plays this season IMO. This year is Norlinder's opportunity, there is a spot for the taking.

Edit:
With a lineup of Edmundson - Petry, Chiarot - Savard, Romanov - Kulak / Wideman... MTL is not deep at defense. One injury to Petry and your powerplay is shot, unless you have Norlinder. Wideman is a question mark in the NHL. Savard was not good last season and while I'm sure management is confident he will bounce back maybe he cannot handle a top 4 role. There is no reason Norlinder cannot bring his talents to help MTL's PP / offense while learning the North American game on the 3rd pair with a reliable partner like Savard or Chiarot assuming he has a solid camp (ok start so far - we will see).

Edmundson - Petry
- Reliabe top pair.

Romanov - Savard
- Romanov needs to take a bigger role with Chiarot likely leaving after this season. The team is committed to Savard as well.

Chiarot - Norlinder
- Reliable defensive partner to help Norlinder adjust to the North American game. Norlinder can play RD, Kulak cannot.

Kulak - Wideman
- Depth D for injuries.

At the very least MTL should give Norlinder a look at the start of the season, if it isn't working they can send him home before he plays 9 games... either way the NHL experience will be immensely valuable for him. This is the only way he will learn what it takes to defend in the NHL... he won't learn that in Frolunda it's a different game there.

The Habs will you regret drafting Kaiden Guhle over Dawson Mercer. No clue what they see in Guhle, Joel Edmunson 2.0 IMO.

Come on now this is the same guy who thinks Lehkonen has more skill than Gallagher. That right there should tell you not to trust his player evaluations.

BTW great evaluation by you thanks

Why is Suzuki contract ridiculous

LMAO if you have to ask.... He will get a min of 7 Mil on a 3-5 year deal and 8 on a long term deal

Guhle will certainly be a fine bottom 4 guy imo... however I completely agree. Guys like Guhle are always on the ufa market or trade block for decently cheap. If I was a gm I'd never ever take a big defensive dman who looks to max out as a bottom 4 guy. Id take the offensive player who has a lower floor but a higher ceiling any day because those guys are harder to get on the trade or ufa market

I signed him last time 3 years 7M and people were like impossible Barzal Tkachuk got 3 years 7M after their ELC Suzuki isn’t as good as Barzal (facts) so they suggest 5M

Look at comparables, Hischier, Barzal... You are 2-3M short on AAV.

You even gave him less than KK or Domi...

what is a bottom 4 guy for D-men? I coached and scouted in the Q & O and now work with players off ice. I have never ever heard of a bottom 4 for defensemen. Even with my time with Hockley Canada between 2000 and 2012, I never heard of that. So explain to me what you think is a bottom 4?

it is on the low end. The thing I have noticed about Capfriendly is you have 3 groups of people that post. 1- knowledgeable about the game, 2- learning the game and how contracts and proper chairs work to evaluate players and 3- a small group of trolls that eventually get eliminated or blocked. Suzuki will get much more.

Barzal 3 years 7M
Tkachuk 3 years 7M
Domi 2 years 3.15M
Suzuki 3 years 5M
Kotkaniemi overpaid offersheet 1 year 6.1M

So you’re telling me Suzuki = Barzal right now

Hischier is not a bridge deal he got signed 8 years at 7.25M

Do you know what a bridge deal is ?

Leafs fan moment… He’ll be in between Weber and Vlasic… clueless Toronto fan at his best

Yes Barzal is a better comparable than... Let say Dubois.

By the time a bridge deal would come into effect, he will have been 1C for 3 years.

Not because he plays 1C means he is worth Barzal’s money
Maybe 5.5M or 6M on a 3 years deal