Don't worry there are plenty of those players on the FA and trade Market. Are stuck with Anderson and Gally on the 4th for 2-3 seasons.

I do but I'm hoping Sprong doesn't. I think he would cost too much given his point production but he isn't worth it considering his play away from the puck. I have Berggren slotted in at 3RW.

Regarding Barron. I think your point is very fair and perhaps I am jumping the gun here. I DO think Mailloux & Reinbacher have passed him already but until we see it play out, we never know.

I would argue both Soderblom & Barron's values are at an all time low. It makes sense to try and sell high, but if Soderblom hits in the NHL, he's gonna be a beast.

It's nice having a player like Berggren on your 3rd line. I'm hoping the Habs make enough moves this offseason to keep Roy on the 3rd line as well.

Kent Hughes want to build a fast team, he mentionned it. Seize + speed. Trading Filip Mesar, MTL 1st rounder in 2022, a really close friend of Juraj Slafkovsky isn't something realistic for a guy like Berggren. Filip Mesar is a crafty player, with top 6 offensive upside. He is a project, he will need a couple years in Laval, but they knew that when they drafted him.
The second trade, Soderblom has seize but have skating issue. MTL traded Tyler Toffoli because he was a bad skater, they aren't trading a guy they TARGETED in the Arturri Lehkonen trade for a player who doesn't fit the style we are heading. You say MTL only have F. Xhekaj and Luke Tuch as power forward, but Emil Heineman can hit and has better tools than the last two mentionned. Like I said, the trade value wise might be fair, you just ignored (or you weren't aware because you don't follow the Habs closely) the facts I mentionned

So let me re-state your arguments back to you.

Mesar is better than Berggren because:

1) He's friends with Slafkovsky
2) He's a fast skater

Would it surprise you to know that Berggren was one of the best skaters in his draft and is probably one of the top 3 skaters in the AHL today in terms of acceleration and edgework? Skating is his number 1 skill.

I think Juraj will not have a problem making friends. I'm sure Nick & Cole already love playing with him. You think they don't call him if they're going out on a Saturday night?

Habs traded Tyler Toffoli because he was a bad skater:

1) They traded Toffoli because he was the player with a UFA status at the end of his contract that they could get the best return for.
2) Toffoli had a career best year and 34 goals last season. You think anyone gives a crap about his skating?

I never said Mesar was better than Berggren, I said they like Mesar (they drafted him), he is a close friend of Juraj Slafkovsky. For those reasons, I they believe they would move him for a guy like Berggren. Would they trade Mesar in a package for a player like Trevor Zegras or Martin Necas ? 100%.

Toffoli was traded with 2 more years remaining on his contract. He is still playing under the contract Bergevin gave him … and yes, Kent traded him because 1. he was not a good skater and 2. someone gave him what he was asking for

Show me one interview/clip where any current member of the Habs organization (at the time of the trade or since) says Toffoli was traded because he's a poor skater...

If Berggren is better than Mesar than what is your problem with the deal. You think Slafkovsky is gonna stop trying hard because Mesar is playing in Grand Rapids instead of Laval? Is Caufield bad because Zegras plays in Anaheim?

Berggren hasn't proved enough at the NHL level to trade Filip Mesar for him
Kent Hughes said they are looking to be a team based on speed, after he traded Toffoli. I find the press conference like that lol, and I won't do research for you, there's a dozen of guys like you on Capfriendly. I will try to leave you in what you believe is realistic, even tho I disagree (basing on what management are saying in press conference)

I did a thread recently discussing Mesar:

https://www.capfriendly.com/forums/thread/820731


Trading Mesar for Berggren is a mistake, they are similar players in terms of style of play, and Berggren is almost 4 years older than Mesar (Mesar just turned 20 in JAN, Berggren is turning 24 in JUL).

As someone else mentioned, the fact Mesar is Slafs best friend shouldn't discounted, not because they are friends, but due to their chemistry of having played together for almost their entire hockey lives, up until Slafs draft year... I mentioned it in my thread about him, but Mesar has played (and they were on the same line together) with Slafkovsky for almost every Slovakian international team (U18, U16, U12, etc.), and they dominated.


As for Soderblom, I wrote in another thread this morning that he doesn't overly interest me, not for Barron anyway. Maybe for Kovacevic, sure. Soderblom for DET is a low risk (being a 6th rd pick) high reward player. If MTL were to send Barron for him (which is definitely selling low on Barron), Soderblom becomes a high risk (due to the cost to acquire him) high reward player. and nobody would be satisfied Soderblom essentially becoming a McCarron 2.0, after sending a 1st rd quality player (which he still is) in Barron.
Just because Reinbacher and Mailloux are above Barron on the RD depth chart in the eyes of Habs fans, shouldn't automatically mean Barron is available at a discounted price... The guy still put up almost 30pts in 87 career NHL games... He's very much still a top4 potential Dman...

So just to re-state my understanding of what you wrote.

Kent Hughes has at many points said he wants to ice a fast team (nevermind that he also at numerous times clarified that speed of skating is good, but he's talking about speed of mental calculation and executing because a player who reads the play ice quickly can make decisions quicker and can overcome any deficiencies in skating like David Savard or Mark Stone).

You take that to infer that the Toffoli trade happened because Toffoli was not "fast" in either of the above ways. Even though Kent Hughes did not specifically say that, you have "connected those dots" and I am not as smart as you because I did not connect those same dots.

Let me ask you then... in order to score 71 points and 34 goals in a season... Doesn't the speed at which you read and react to the play on the ice need to be pretty darn fast? Especially if you're not the fastest skater? Your computer really has to be crunching data quickly to beat out all those other guys, right?

No need to answer. You clearly are allergic to admitting you are wrong and I wouldn't want to send you into anaphylactic shock...

Thanks for sharing. I'm taking a look at the thread now!