what does preds fans have to do in the panthers trade?? and why would we trade Xhekaj for Lundell? im sure some other prospects would be much better, or picks, or even an OS lmao

Buffalo should make that deal. Love my feisty little psychopath in Krebs but Barron is solid and I also really like him.

value is there for sure, so props on that. Doubt Primeau has this kind of value though.

As much as I love Lundell and I think the value is fine, I wouldn't deal Xhekaj

Oops gonna change it. Sorry. Need more ☕

Turcotte is not exactly lighting it up with 6 points this season. Primeau has a 0.910 save percentage on one of the worst teams in hockey. When you tack on the salary and the King's needs, I think the value is more than fair.

As for Xhekaj. I love the man but Struble gives you 90% of what Xhekaj gives you as a 3rd pair defender. Between Guhle's eventual swap back to the left, Matheson, Hutson, Engstrom, maybe even Trudeau one day, I don't think we have room for a Xhekaj in the top 4 on the left.

I'm against those deals because I prefer MTL players ceilings to those of the other (older) players, but IMO you did a good job of making valuable offers adressing to the other teams needs, which doesn't happen a lot around here.

I can't say those are totally unrealitic 👍.

Keep this AGM around, you never know...

arber xhekaj is not available.
at all; for antyhign short of mcjesus retained.

go fish.

That's high praise around here. Thanks!

Sure he is. Are you playing him in the top 4 in the next 2 years? So then please tell me where you are sending Hutson, Reinbacher, Matheson, Guhle? Cause that's the top 4 of this team and when Matheson moves on, Mailloux, Struble, or Engstrom will take his spot.

Why are you so sure Xhekaj is a top 4 player, and if he's not, why is he not expendable for a top 6 center?

Not for Turcotte, LA will need him next season if they can't reup Lizotte.

I mean... Isn't it easier to find a bottom 6 center in free agency than a Goalie on a 1M deal who can put up a 0.910 save percentage?

I mean LA found two goalies doing better than that at $1M or less, so yes in the case of LA it is easier to find a goalie than a 4C.

Xhekaj could be a version of Roy, plays in 3rd line but can go up and down in the lineup. Struble also doesnt bring what Xhekaj brings and thats law and order on the ice, I doubt that 6'3 220 players would be afraid of 6 ft 200 Struble in a fight, but would be less inclined to fight a 6ft 4 230 Xhekaj, imo. Struble, Harris and Engstrom are the ones that dont fit long term imo.

Seriously? For Lundell. 6'1 center picked 12th OA who plays a 200 ft game and has offensive upside for days, you won't trade a defender you plan to play on your 3rd pair because he can fight in a league where fighting is disappearing?

I'd keep Primeau over Turcotte, Barron over Krebs, and personally I'm not trading Xhekaj under any circumstances and I don't think Florida would do that trade anyways. MTL can draft their own Lundell without needing to trade Xhekaj, they can also use their $16M+ in cap space to bring in a forward through free agency they don't necessarily need to go the trade route anymore.

Well that's no fun.

Shane, maybe you will answer where none of the other "never trade Xhekaj" crowd refuses to. Where do you see Xhekaj playing in 2025-26? 3rd pair, 2nd pair, top pair, is he a winger now? Because if it's 3rd pair... I just don't get it.

I think Xhekaj is a top 4 defenseman (2nd Pair), but he will be playing 3rd Pair on MTL and that's great. So you're trading a top 4 D here with Evans for a top 6 C which is really a fair trade, but in my opinion Xhekaj's skillset is just too rare to trade and that's why I would keep him.

just OS or trade them assets they could use at next tdl, maybe their own pick and our 2nd with Engstrom, so 2 picks between 20-40 and another top 4 Dman that'll be on a elc.

I am not one of those people that see Lundell as a big upgrade to Montreal's roster. I think if Dach can come back and put his health issues behind him then he could be a good 2nd line center. This year they will probably draft a talented forward (Eiserman, Catton, Lindstrom) to eventually be that 2nd line player with Dach. Hopefully one of Newhook, Roy or even Mesar could fill out the 2nd line. I could see Owen Beck being a very good 3rd line center for the Habs.

With Lundell his offensive numbers have decreased each year in the league (0.67 points per game in his rookie year to 0.45 points per game last year to 0.43 points per game this year). To me that does not indicate a 2nd line center on a contending team. He is not a 2nd line center in Florida and they are a contending team.

So if Lundell is a 3rd line center, how does that impact Owen Beck's placement in the lineup moving forward?

I believe that Montreal has a top 9 forward group that could look like the following in the future:
Caufield Suzuki Slafkovsky
Newhook/Roy Dach 2024 First Round PIck
Newhook/Roy Beck Mesar/Free Agent/ 2025 draft pick

I am not saying that Lundell is bad, I just do not see a pressing need to give up assets to acquire a guy who looks like he has a ceiling of a 2nd line winger (if things turn around for him in a significant way) or a 3rd line center who would displace one of our other good prospects.

not sure about dobes as the backup but if he's not ready i'm sure they could find someone to be the backup
really like the Krebs - Barron swap, personally I've started to lose hope in Barron being anything more than a Tony DeAngelo type player (PP specialist that you can't fully trust in his own zone)
I really like the idea of Lundell too, love Xhekaj and it would suck to see him go but as you've been saying, he's likely our 5/6 dman in a few years, and Lundell could be a Danault type player with more offensive upside if it works out, and that's worth moving Arber for

I've never seen a Montreal post that's so fair and balanced for what the other teams might want or need. Well done.

who do you think they get next year for less than 1 mil? both LA goalies will want more after their season it feels.

only move i would not do is the primeau trade, he is more useful to us than turcotte. rushing dobes is a really bad idea.

primeau is the perfect exemple, he had much better number than dobes everywhere he went and it took years for him to establish himself as a good option in net in the nhl.

lets takes our time with dobes and see what we have in primeau.

I think you are looking at it from the wrong side, LA just made Korpisalo, Rittich and Talbot earn paydays.

LAs defense makes goalies jobs easier and bolsters their value. If you are Matt Murray, Ilya Samsanov, Chris Dreidger, Casey Desmith you are lining up for the opportunity (even at league minimums) to earn back a starter role and bolster their stats through a one-year budget deal.

Also, solid goalies who just want a path to a starter role and playoff games could sign for $2-3M like: Brossoit, Stolarz, Nedeljkovic, Fluery, etc.

LAs goaltending tandem is one of the best in the league at one of the lowest cap hits, everyone seems to think LAs goaltending is awful, but statistically Talbot has been one of the best goaltenders in the league, and the best over the last 10 games.

It's a fair argument, but not all draft picks and prospects pop. I think it's likely the guy we draft this year (let's say Catton) has a 3 year journey to being a valuable contributor in the NHL (as Lundell/Dach/Newhook are now) and maybe another 2 years to hit his stride. That is a long time to wait.