Huberdeau isn't waiving for Montreal.

Elias Lindholm will get big money on his next contract, No way can Carolina afford both Aho and Lindholm.

no way Huberdeau gets that kind of return, given what his extension is like you probably have to pay to move him

Doubt he doesn't waive.

He's not leaving Calgary for a Montreal team that's still 7-8 years away from competing.

The same could be said for Anderson

7-8 is a huge stretch. The team is not even getting smacked with a half laval team. I'd say 3-4 years they are in the playoffs.

Montreal is in 1-2 years of their rebuild, Detroit is in year 7 of there's it takes anywhere from 8-10 years on a rebuilding team before they're truly competitive.

Probably more than fair enough, but I'll reiterate that we can't risk that Huberdeau contract while we still have Gallagher and Price on the books.
Anderson and Gallagher are also a big part of our veteran group. Without them (and Evans) we have Dvorak and Armia as our veteran forwards.
People may gripe about their contracts, but whether it's them or we replace them with UFAs, we are going to need the leadership and character they provide.

It would be nice to move Gallagher's contract simply because of his injury issues. His work ethic and on-ice example aren't worth much when he can't play.
That's just not realistic and we are stuck with him, and as long as that holds true, we need to keep a significant cap buffer which Huberdeau's deal eats into.
Price's contract on top of that doesn't help, as it limits our flexibility further.

That leaves Anderson as the only real veteran support for Suzuki up front. We really shouldn't be looking to trade him, and it's a big part of the reason why he wouldn't be moved unless it was for significant value. People only consider his observable stats and not his intangibles, both on the ice and in the room. He's well worth his contract and place on the team.

Long story short, we have $17M in "bad" money which is nearly impossible to move, and can't take the risk of an aging player with a huge contract that could add anywhere from $2M-$10.5M to that, depending if he ends up slightly overpaid, another Drouin, or ends up on IR/LTIR. This would be similar to Minnesota going out and picking up a $10M player with over $14M in buyout penalties. It's simply too high of a risk for where they currently stand.

massive difference in salary there, Anderson is already a couple years into a deal with a $5.5M AAV whereas Huberdeau has another 8 years at $10.5M. MTL has a lot of up and coming talent that will need to be signed in the next couple years, unless CGY retains some salary on Huberdeau there's no chance that deal happens.

Habs pass unless Flames retain $3m

all of these trades are bad for cgy

Seattle should have ZERO interest in trading their 1st and 2nd round picks for (likely) 1 year of Toffoli. Add to that they have substantial depth on the wing as it is, and the intrigue in a young centre like Geekie should rank much higher on the Kraken's priority list.

Not implying for a second that Geekie has 40 goals in him, but look at Tage Thompson as an example of patience paying off . . . waiting for big young centers with upside. There's definitely more there with Geekie, and considering Francis drafted him in his time with Carolina, and then surprised everyone by selecting him over the likes of Bean & Niedereitter in the Expansion Draft, I think for this reason (along with the other things mentioned AND being in-division) this offer likely goes nowhere in Seattle.

That's my point. I'd rather have Huberdeau than Anderson. Huberdeau's ceiling is higher and every player on Calgary is having a worse season (as happens with Sutter's teams after a year). If Huby has another skilled Winger to play with, he will return to form for at least half that contract. Anderson's production peaked in 2018 and he has never broken 50pts in his career. Everything is trending downwards for him. That's fine for a 3rd line winger paying dump and chase hockey at 3MM AAV. I'd rather have Huberdeau for 8 years @10.5M than Anderson for 5 years @5.5M i because Huberdeau is one year removed from a 100+pts season, and his style of play lends itself to less of a drop off with age. The same can't be said for Kadri, who will likely be on LTIR for the last 3 years of his contract.

MTL can keep their Garbage and CGY will keep our slow to adjust, yet 3x the Better Player than Josh Anderson and SuperStar in Huberdeau

Lindholm isn’t available but if he was the price is a 1st + Two Top Prospects + a Decent Replacement Player and I don’t believe Ryan Suzuki to be a good enough prospect

Decent offer for Toffoli but make it Jagger Furkis instead of the 2nd

Has there ever been a player to sign a long term 10+m extension with a team and be traded before he plays a single game on that extension?

-Lindholm trade seems like a decent starting point.

-Montreal wouldn't move Anderson for Huberdeau straight up, let alone add.

-Come on, Seattle isn't paying that much for a rental, chances are no one is.



We've got it from insiders that Anderson is demand, Montreal would not have to pay to move him.

But even if they did have to pay to move Anderson, he's younger than Huberdeau, almost half the price and for half as long. I mean, Karlsson probably can't get that kind of return and he has less term and is having a Norris caliber season. The only teams that could realistically fit Huberdeau generally aren't going to be interested in a guy turning 30 on a long term deal because they're mid-rebuild or they won't be interested because there's no demand.

Anderson = had his best season offensively AND defensively, getting better and better with each game under MSL

Hubby = is having his worst season in a while and didn't even start his new MASSIVE (overpaid) 8 year contract

Habs won't pick him off waivers for FREE

It's not insiders that are perpetuating these rumours, but habs bloggers overestimating his value and clinging to them despite the obvious economics of his contract. Anderson has never broke 50pts and his peak production was in 2018. He has been sliding for 4 years. Huberdeau is one year removed from 100+ pt season. I'd rather bet on huberdeau rebounding for 10MM than Anderson at 5MM.

TIL Seravalli and LeBrun are Habs bloggers. Or that Anderson having a better season this year than two of his last 4 is a slide. If you want to bet Huberdeau will in any way justify being one of the highest paid players in the NHL in his 30s then go ahead, just don't expect many fans outside of Calgary to agree with you.

I'm familiar with Servali and Lebrun's speculations 2 years ago, that were proven false...repeatedly. It also doesn't change Anderson's numbers, which are 3rd line numbers. Huberdeau is more skilled, despite being overpaid. The same could be said for Seguin and Benn the last 3 years, but they are playing better now because the team has young stars rising around them. Calgary doesn't.