Montreal passes, rather keep the center.

You realize you’re getting a center back too? And y’all are selling y’all should jump on getting out of that Dvorak contract and get something back if you can.

Terrible for Montreal.

I think Dvorak has value, but for what it’s worth Dadanov doesn’t belong anywhere near an NHL top 6 at this point of his career

A pending UFA that they don't need.

And the only thing they're getting back that has real value for them is a 3rd. Much rather keep Dvorak.

I hear you. The thought is that he might be sparked by playing with Malkin and Zucker and it puts Rust on the 3rd line, so it spreads the forward talent out. Dadanov is only one season away from a 20 goal, 40 point season and was productive on the power play for Vegas.

My thought was that Montreal's advantage here is moving on from Dvorak and getting a 3rd round pick. They're in tank mode, so getting Blueger isn't about replacing Dvorak, it's about gaining another trade piece in a player that will be much easier to move for another pick to teams who need to add another qualified penalty killer.

Montreal traded a 1st and 2nd for Dvorak. Since he's not actively hurting their tank, there's no reason to trade him for just a 3rd right now. Maybe in a season or two. If Blueger had any kind of value on the trade market, you probably wouldn't be offering him as a salary offset.

And the pens are getting nothing of significance here. They are getting 2 cap dumps. Montreal isn’t going to get much, if anything for Dvorak unless he figures it out before his contract ends. Why take the risk if someone actually offers you something? If you want to trade Blueger elsewhere for more picks because you don’t need him then the that’s fine. But pretty much all of the contenders are in cap hell so any trade you make, you’ll likely have to take a “useless” contract back too.

He probably does have trade value, but like I said, contenders are in cap hell. So any trade is going to have to involve taking cap back. Again this favors the Habs by quite a bit, but that’s the only way the pens can do it. You’re not only getting a 3rd. You could flip both Heinen and Blueger (who are cheap enough) and probably get more mid round picks for them. So it’s more like two 3rds and a 4th minimum.
Just cause y’all paid what you paid for Dvorak doesn’t mean he’s still worth it. He’s a dump and MTL would be stupid not to get out of the contract if they can get something back and not have to pay.

Montreal is rebuilding, there is no reason for Montreal to trade Dvorak for that kind of return. He occupies a spot on the roster to shelter other guys, he isn't blocking anyone on the roster and they don't need the cap space. If the choice is keeping Dvorak or trading him for a guy that would block guys on the roster, then the choice is very easy.

Your argument only makes sense if Montreal was incentivized to get rid of Dvorak's contract. They are not.

I'd also add the fact that Hughes wants Dach as our 2nd C. He's getting better, but he's not there yet. Dvorak can take the pressure off Dach with D-zone faceoffs and PKs to let Dach develop his game. Don't forget that the 2023 draft is LOADED with high potential forwards in the Top 10. Excluding Bedard, there are still Fantilli, Carlsson, Smith, Yager and Dvorsky who are all C. Will one of them eventually take Dvorak's spot at 3rd C? Take Dach's? We don't know, but we don't have to rush a decision since we got time and cap space.

So, we keep Dvorak until 2025 TDL, then we see if we can get a good return.

No one MTL is getting back in that trade is blocking anyone anymore than Dvorak would be. But hey, y’all want to keep that bad contract, I’m all for it. I’ve said in the other posts regarding a similar trade, pens decline. Would rather just get out of the contracts sooner.

The. Last. Thing. Montreal. Needs. Is. A. Bad. Right. Shot. Winger.

I do not care if you prefer to get out of contracts sooner. Getting centers is much harder than getting wingers. Even the overpaid ones.

No it’s really not hard to get a cap dump of any kind, much less a center. They are all over the place. Actually Montreal has a couple on their roster alone lol