The money you are going to sign for Reinhart, should prioritize to Slaf, Guhle, Xhekaj & Reinbacher. It doesn't need to big high end contracts for the guys listed, but it ALL depends on want Reinharts contract will look like. We've all seen what a Tavares 11mil a year looks like now. Also, Reinhart has been playing with Barkov(one of the top Selke Centres). To me if the contract will be more than 8.5mill, for Montreal it's not worth the long term issues. If They wouldn't Gallagher/Anderson/Dvorak contracts, THEN it would be a different conversation.

I also don't think he would sign in Montreal.

Getting a UFA to sign now with the HABS will be a hard sell. In a couple of years when the Habs are more mature, Hutson, Mailloux, Reinbacher & Roy with a full season from Dach and 2 solid lines we will be able to attract a top UFA to fill a gap. Spending money now will not push the HABS where they need to be. I would wait until 2025 to sign a UFA and better choices. You can pick either Draitsatil, Marner or Rantenen

Agreed with everything listed, except for Marner.

Personally, we will gonna need to fix 2-3 things before talking about playoffs.

1st : We will gonna need a young foward who can play in the top 6, and my favorite target is Necas.

2nd : We will gonna need to add another experienced foward in the top-6, but my personal target for that isn't Reinhart, it's Stamkos. He already have a natural connection with Marty.

3rd : we will gonna need a legit 3rd line centermans. That's can't be Dvorack or Evans. What about a Monahan return ??

Also, that's 1000% a bad idea to trade Matheson right away after what Hutson did. Hutson didn't need any more pressures to produce offensively as a Dman. I think Montreal will gonna trade 2 of theses 3 Dmans during the offseason : Kovacevic, Harris and Barron. I can really see a line-up like that for game 1 if we really wants to be in the playoffs mix :


Stamkos-Suzuki-Slafkovsky
Caufield - Dach - Necas
Newhook - Monahan - Roy
Gallagher - Evans - Anderson or Armia

Matheson - Guhle
Hutson - Savard
Xhekaj - Maillloux

We will gonna have 19M in our cap space next season, and that's if we don't trade away somes contracts. I maked a ACGM with a competitive Habs line-up with like somes Necas, Monahan and Stamkos additions, with keeping Anderson and Gallagher (and traded Armia (50%) and Dvorack away), the cap space was over 5M for 24-25 and like more than 20M for 25-26.

Appreciate the comments. I have a few counter-points:

Isn't Barkov one of the two centers Suzuki is most often compared to (along with Bergeron)? If it works with Barkov, why not with Nick?

You also seem to be inferring that Reinhart doesn't "create his own opportunities". I really feel that's not true. Looking at this year compared to the rest of the team, no one other than Barkov comes close in terms of offensive production. I guess what I am saying is, if he wasn't creating opportunities, his linemates would need to have more assists.

Between Armia, Evans, Dvorak, and Savard, we have over 12M (16M with expected increase) coming off the books next season and a lot of young players coming up to take their place like Beck, Mesar, Farrell, Xhekaj, Tuch, Kidney (some of them have to make it, right?) The following year we could "buy out" Gallagher or Anderson or both if we need cap space. I mean, how much cap space do we realistically need to hold in reserve for unproven players?

Why wouldn't adding an entire scoring line make a huge difference to this team? We played Jake Evans as a 2nd line center and Armia as a 2nd line winger. Of course we suck. But Dach, Caufield, Slaf as a 2nd line? Now we're cooking my friend!

I do agree that trading Matheson makes no sense, we need veterans on D to help the kids, out of Xhekaj, Barron, Hutson, Mailloux, Harris, Struble, Kovacevic, Reinbacher, etc (anyone not named Matheson, Guhle and Savard), will either be in the NHL, AHL or gone

However, taking it slowly for the rebuild does make sense, we have no need to rush it with the talent we have

I do also agree we should spend a bit but in my eyes, it should be on a 2nd liner with a short term contract to round out the top 6, not a big fish

Thanks for sharing your perspective!

I will try to respond to each of your points individually.

1) I would argue that Reinhart would bring more to this team than Necas. He has a better record over the past 3 seasons. He plays a more physical game from what I have seen. A bit like Marchand and MSL, he's getting better every year.

2) I think we have a fair bit of veterans on the team. I would prefer to add a single Reinhart than Stamkos & Necas. I don't think and contract we would give to Stamkos would age very well, but I feel Reinhart will be nearly as effective as he is now as a 35 year old.

3) There is absolutely nothing wrong with Jake Evans as a 3rd line center. Please explain what is wrong with him. He's great on faceoffs. He has a little offense (enough to hit close to or above 30 points). He's a top penalty killer in the league. I think you are not giving him enough credit.

Agreed on Matheson. I'm keeping him until someone takes his spot away.

Understand and appreciate your perspective. I would counter that waiting has not worked for Buffalo, Ottawa, Edmonton(in the past). Detroit in the other hand, until they fell apart, I think we all felt would make the playoffs.

I want to be in the mix playing "meaningful games" asap. I've had enough of this slow and steady. There is no guarantee that yields any results. We might just teach our players that it's "ok to lose".

agree that trading matheson makes no sense!

having said that, going for a high end foward with our cap space is exaxtly why team like ottawa, buffalo and even edmonton were bad for so long.
we have to wait for our defensive corp to be ready.
we had a bottom 7 defense last year and icing the same one while adding rookie wont change over a year!

we need more scoring sure, but good scoring with bad defense is why these teams were bad for so long. waiting and building from the back end matters!

I haven't watched much of Reinhart, but what I do know about him is, he is great defensively, scored 50+ goals and can be a game breaker.

As people and pundits are saying Suzuki and Barkov are comparable players, so it's not that far of a reach to assume Reinhart's production with Suzuki would be similar.

I'd be happy if the habs throw money at him. . but for no more than 5 years. 5 Years at 12 Million would be great for the player and team, Reinhart's deal would expire one year before Suzuki's. Reinhart would be 33 at expiry, which should give him enough time for one last pay day, that won't happen at 35 or 36.

The habs then have control of Suzy, Slaf, Caufield, Reinhart, Dach, Newhook, Guhle, Hutson and Reinbacher for the next 5+ years. If the progression of the current habs continue, we are in for a good run.

Interesting perspective, thanks for sharing!

I think we would need to be around 12.5+ on a 5 year deal, but I get your perspective and am onboard if they choose to go that way.

I think the defense would improve because:

1) Assume some sophomore defenders get better in their 3rd seasons.

2) Reinhart is good defensively and so are Caufield (people don't realize, but he is) and Slaf. Now you will have a 2nd line who can play a 2-way game.

3) The best defense is a good offense!

I personally agree, if a move can be made that improves the long-term future then you go for it. The question really becomes, is Reinhart going to be available? For me the answer is probably very unlikely.

I also wouldn't personally break up the Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky line, we need a line that compliments that.

I have some reservations about Dach being able to be healthy for an entire season, I know I have been very vocal on this but if we want to be competitive, we need to be able to count on our 2C to help carry the load for an entire season. I personally would like to see a move for PLD or Danault to help alleviate these concerns.

Adding another scoring winger would also be a must for me, I think Someone like Reinhart, Batherson, Fiala or even Zegras would be a great fit but they have to be able to finish at a rate of about 25+ goals or 50+ points per season and be under 28.

I mean, we we're playing meaningful games for most of the season, even down the last stretch of the season the team was still giving it their all. There's no guarantee jumping the gun would yield any results either, look at Ottawa going for Debrincat, Chychrun, Giroux, Tarasenko and nothing has worked for them, they tried to jump the gun and now they look lost. MSL has also done a really nice job of coaching and will continue to get the most out of the players, the fear that we're teaching players it's okay to lose is irrational.

First off: Why is it irrational for us but rational for Ottawa, Buffalo, Edmonton?

Second: DeBrincat wasn't great, but he was always a risky player to add at his size. Giroux, Chychrun, & Tarasenko came as advertised and performed well. The players around them let them down up and down the lineup, especially in Goal.

The Habs actually have a lot more veterans up and down the lineup than the Sens did in any of those 2 seasons, and that's where the Sens went wrong. They even said it at this year's exit meetings. "Maybe we waited too long".

Cautionary tale for the Habs to be honest.

Armia, Gallagher & Evans all had excellent bottom 6 seasons. Dvorak I believe will rebound to his usual half a point per game and terrific faceoff percentage.

The truth is our bottom 6 vets are an asset and not a liability as many believe.

I know you want to accelerate even more than I do! Good for you, please stick to your guns and share a contrarian perspective!

I believe in Dach, though I admit my confidence is dancing on a pin. If he doesn't play at least 75 games next season I'm gonna start calling for the Hab to dump him.

Yeah, I don't want to just dump him yet I just think we need to have an insurance policy just in case. Bring in PLD (or another center) to play on Dach's wing or vice versa. We can't go an entire season without a viable 2C and expect to take the next step

"I don't understand a lot of the Habs fans on this site." - Welcome to the club.


Free agency: The Habs cannot simply pick and choose who and when. Montreal as of right now may be one of the least desirable spots in the NHL. They'll make competitive offers to everyone that they want in hopes of convincing one of them. It may take years to snag the big free agent fish we'd want. They need to build the team first and then add the UFA IMO. Based on that, they still have one more year of developing players. One of the best players the Habs may have in the future isn't even drafted yet. (5 Ov)

Matheson: Fans are jumping the gun obviously. They see Hutson and assume they can already let Matheson go. They're just a little trigger happy. Matheson isn't going anywhere for the duration of his contract. He's clear and cut the best dman we have. Odds are he won't be resigned though based on the current LHD depth the Habs got. which is fine. Until Hutson is a 22+ min dman scoring 40+ points a year, Matheson ain't going anywhere.

Rebuilds: CF rebuilds and real life rebuilds are not the same. In CF, the goal to many is to continually trade any and all assets for more picks and prospects in an never ending cycle of trying to upgrade all while being as conservative as possible to avoid looking "stupid". The CF way leads to in real life teams like Buffalo, etc. The only rebuilds like that, that truly work, are the ones that landed a generational star or 2 in the span of a couple drafts. The goal is to win the cup, not have the most 1st round draft picks on the team.

Cap culture: I think Habs management are more than willing to give any big UFA like Reinhart the bag but I kind of feel like he isn't the right fit for right now. But obviously wouldn't say no. I think Stamkos would be a more apropos target because they wouldn't have to sign him long term. Essentially using him as a bridge to when they will be ready to add the 80M+ player contract in their prime. He'll be what makes the current players on the team better and that is needed more IMHO. Habs need scoring sure, but they also need a presence in the locker room a la Weber/Price to get these guys into a winning mentality. Look at what guys like Staal, Perry, Weber, Price etc did for the youth in that 2021 run. This year Monahan played a huge role for some of the younger guys and his presence was never replaced. Gallagher is the only one we have left but he is not of that echelon of leadership and gravitas.

I'm skeptical on Reinhart because he's broke out in a contract year, which in the past has happened a lot and then the player gets paid and drops back to their former self, if Reinhart's not scoring 50+ goals then I don't think he's worth 10+ million, I looked at Reinhart as a really intriguing option last summer (looking ahead at the upcoming FA crop) but I think he's priced himself out of interest to me, I just don't trust that he'll score as much. His career shooting % before this season was 14.2%, this season he scored 24.5% of his shots, that's unsustainable, just like Kuzmenko last year who shot 27.3% and with the Canucks this season only shot 12.7%, he's bounced back in Calgary to 24.1%, but the point is had he shot his career average percentage he'd have 33 goals, a drop of 24 goals, and a player with 33g 37a 70points isn't worth 10+ million, but he'll get it and whoever pays it to him better hope his shooting % stays above 20%.

That being said, if Jake Guentzel hits the market we better make an attempt to get him, everyones biggest concern with him was how good is he without Crosby, well this season the answer is 0.43 points per game better without "the guy that carried him." The only downside with Guentzel is that he's a little older, but I think he'll still be productive 6-7 years from now

And I don't get the idea of moving Matheson until Hutson is established in the NHL, which could take a year or 2

I would rather focus on getting a top RHD on free agency (Roy/Durzi/Hronek). That way Savard is able to go down to the 3rd pairing. We don't know when Reinbacher will join the Habs(one year in Laval would be a great start for him). Mailloux could fill the 2nd pairing for now. The list above does not include any Defense. I currently would rate them at 3rd line players. I am still wary of signing and player to big dollar that didn't play for Montreal (you can thank Bergevin to Drouin, I know they are not comparable). I just don't want them to be handcuffed by "potentially" a bad contract again.

As for Suzuki, He still has a few years to truly join the Barkov/Bergeron Selke conversation. He will get there, but there is still growth to be made.

1) yeah, so lets see how better they get and act qhen they prove they are better

2) its true it would help, but he is just 1 guy. Caufield is ok defensively and its the best you can expect. He is not built for a defensive game and never had this role in hia life. the fact he is ok defensively and not terrible is a blessing

3) the best defense is a.good defense!

Hughes literally talked about how he won't add a RHD in his end of year presser. He said he would see that as sacrificing the future for the present. Does not want to block Reinbacher & Mailloux's path to the NHL.