Elvis is too much of a bad contract for us to take him. By the time his contract runs out, Fowler should already be the starter and Monty the backup

I’d take this for CBJ.

Pass on the AZ trade. We don’t need more Ws, we need to clear out Ws.

Elvis is from Latvia, a separate country about 1300km away from Austria. He played in the Swiss league when he was still in Europe, which is also not Austria.

I'm an idiot with flag colours

I'd take him just not at full Cap
We got the Leverage on this one
But that said its still a gamble

Any deal would have to reflect that.
While i do like Elvis and want him in an Allen trade
I dont think we take Elvis on at full Cap unless CBJ is taking back Gallagher

I could see Elvis rebounding this season, Cbus will keep him and see how it goes with an improved defense and new coach.

Try selling CBJ fans that
Ive seen they trading him still even after they got new D
Pointed out what you did showing the correlation between losing Murray,Jones,Savard and Nutivara and replacing them with mostly offensive D.
They still seem to want to trade him for the same reason fans constantly try trading Josh Anderson in our Fanbase.

Regardless of value montreal have a plan in place and such a move is pretty bad for that

Any jacket fan that's okay with moving Elvis before he gets atleast 40 games under Babs and the new systems/seriously upgraded defense, isn't an aware fan.

The thing you've gotta realize is the massive difference between torts systems and Larsons systems... comparing a veteran NHL Coach vs an AHL assistant coach.

There are fans that propose trading everyone. The popular sentiment among the non-capfriendly crowd is to wait and see how he does this year with all the changes since they've pretty much been an effort to turn his career around.

Why not trade for the better goalie in Vejmelka?

This is the correct opinion and the opinion of the front office.

Elvis absolutely has the potential to be a top 20 goalie in this league with the clutch factor needed in the playoffs. (Look at Latvian numbers)
Elvis has sucked and should be criticized. But he’s played under an incompetent head coach and a broken defense. Give him a chance. Too early to call it quits.

Sadly I don't think we're in a position to buy on a goalie. Why not capitalize on the cap space(once we figure out Hoff, Armia) and try to rebound a vet starting goalie? As I see it, changing the vet perspective right now could benefit both Monty and the younger guys. Elvis was a starter, while Allen was always a 1B. His contract would take us to Fowler coming in, and there's possibility to trade him at a higher price with retention.

As for Veggie, love the guy and he'd really fit the team(if he wants to stay) But I'm afraid of Arizona and other teams driving the price up on him. I could see trading for him, but in this scenario we give up virtually nothing for an underperforming goalie who thrived under good defense. If anyone can see or determine good defense from bad, it's Merzlikens.

I agree with the bad contract. It is, but it could pay off. High risk high reward. He's younger than Allen by three years, only $1.6M more than him for 4 seasons. With a higher possibility of a rebound and trade with retention it's a gamble, but could really work out. Him changing vet perspective and helping Monty as a starter could also work. Again, it's only speculation.

I'm sure Fowler also said he'd rather cook in College for 3 years, and that would put him into the AHL for only a year if Merzy is still here. Only thing I see is Dobes not getting time. I've been rooting for the kid since he was drafted, and love his aggressive style. But hey, creating more competition around the goalies could work out too.

In the end, I agree with everything but the Fowler being the starter by 2027. In my eyes, it'll just be as Elvis's contract runs out.

2023-24-Freshman year at BC-Turns 19
2024-25-Sophomore year BC-Turns 20
2025-26-Final year BC/comes into AHL playoffs-Turns 21
2026-27-AHL battles with Dobes->gets NHL time-Turns 22
2027-28-Hes NHL full time at 23 years old

So that's NHL at 23. Pretty wishful thinking that he's a starter by then. But yeah it's a logjam at that point.

I’m kinda high on Fowler. For me it will be
23-24 : ncaa
24-25 : ncaa
25-26 : ncaa/backup for Monty at the end (like Levi)
26-27 : 50/50 with Monty
27-28 : Starter
28-29 : Elite starter
29-30 : Vezina candidate

I hope this happens. Can't hate that kid.

Would you not think that Monty could essentially have a better or as on par a season as Elvis for a fraction of the cost?

Monty is my 2nd favorite Habs goalie I've watched. I was rooting for him since he came from waivers, hell my Twitter name is Monty'sPython. However, replicating last season's success while probably playing more games might be more of a struggle than we think. In this scenario, Elvis is Monty's full time mentor 1B growing alongside him while teaching him the ropes if becoming a starter. But its a great point, Monty and Dobes are the two reasons I wouldn't do this trade.

I hear you. imo, It's Monty's time to sink or swim. He is what he is right now. Either working with Price reveals the diamond in the rough or a piece of coal. Odds are he is what he's always been a decent backup. This season is his shot to tie it all together and carry the load. What you want of Elvis, is exactly what Allen is. Elvis is just a shinny, fresh more expensive version. Granted there is a slight chance he regains starter status. But with that price tag, I'd rather pay assets in a trade and gamble on Vejmelka with better odds and ceiling. Peace!

Well said. Peace!