Ducks take this imo

As a Habs fan I would do this and use our pick 6-10 on a replacement.

Mailloux and Barron are working out as well and with Guhle playing on the right, there is less pressure.

Doubt MTL does however. It would be such a bad look on Kent Hughes, considering the "reported" deals he refused for the 5th overall pick (Cutter Gauthier being one of them), not to mention all the offensive talent they passed on to pick Reinbacher.

For better or for worse, I believe MTL are too committed to Reinbacher, at least for the next 2-3 years until they have a good idea of what he's capable of doing in the NHL.

This is probably the only way, That Trevor Zegras will ever play for the Habs.

Very good points. But let's say they get to their pick and Levshunov is sitting there and all of Celebrini, Demidov, Lindstrom are gone, do they do this?

that would be stupid to do that

Maybe trade that pick for Zegras straight up then and keep reinbacher?

Reported in parentheses is the key here

I wouldn't. Too risky imo. As controversial as the Reinbacher pick was, he's still the defacto "best Dman" of that draft, and clearly the RD prospect with the highest upside (by a wide margin) over guys like Barron and Mailloux for the Habs.

I'm not buying Guhle playing on the right side as a long-term solution. As for Barron and Mailloux...Barron from an offensive perspective is basically already an NHL top 4 dman, but because of his defensive inconsistencies, I can see MTL having doubts on overcommitting to him (and he probably gets a bridge deal this offseason). Mailloux is almost having a "perfect" AHL rookie season. He's cleaned up his defensive game, and showed his offensive talent is borderline elite levels, and is an AHL all-star AS A ROOKIE. Habs management are probably really excited about Mailloux's progress.
That being said, I don't think there's enough of a sample size on any of Guhle at RD or Barron and Mailloux for MTL to move Reinbacher.


Only way I see the Habs getting Zegras, is them offering their 2024 1st rd pick +. And a lot still needs to be determined. If the pick is too low (13th-16th overall range) I think ANA passes. If the pick is too high (top 5-7 pick) Habs will pass. The pick would need to be in that sweet spot (between 8th and 12th overall imo), and for MTL to value Zegras over whoever they would pick AND for ANA to have a target in mind that they would be willing to sacrifice Zegras to get. Then based off of both teams accepting the "core" of the trade, most likely Habs would be adding secondary asset(s) to get the deal done.

I mostly agree with you on the RD analysis.

On the pick ... Really not sure. I think after Celebrini, Demidov, and Lindstrom are gone, I'd take Zegras over all the rest.

I'd add Catton to that forward group, but it's a debatable topic for sure. It's also why I think Habs keep the pick until 7th overall, because as much as Habs fans would hate to hear this, If a Dman like Silayev or Levshunov slide for whatever reason, Kent Hughes WILL be taking another Dman imo regardless of positional need.
Heck I'd be trading any LD (maybe not Hutson) if Habs could get Silayev lol

Best player available or bust, eh?

I don't think the Habs can trade an overflow defenseman and get great value back.

I think there would be a competitive market for Matheson (nothing crazy), and hypothetically, if Habs draft Silayev, Guhle automatically becomes expendable, and there should be a significant market for him.

A future LD of:

Silayev
Hutson
Struble
Xhekaj

with other guys like Harris (if he's still around) and Engstrom. Habs would still be plenty deep at LD.