The Pittsburgh Penguins has enough of being “Paper Chanps” and losing in round 1 so they fired GM Goffie after more than 15 years at the helm.
Goffie wasn’t unemployed for long however as the Habs came calling. On the way out the door the Pens and Habs made a 13 player deal. This allowed Goffie to take a few players he coveted with him.
The Habs will be built much different than the Pens were and the hope is that this will lead to better results in the playoffs.
Look for the team to be busy and make a lot of moves in the next little while shaping the team into a playoff contender.
The Habs are open for business and will be posting a trade block shortly.
__________________
The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Goffie For This Useful Post:
The Habs completed their first two deals on Sunday evening:
Deal 1:
To Dallas
Joel Farabee
Jordan Kyrou
Connor Timmins
To Montreal
Nick Suzuki
Oscar Klefbom
The champs needed to move some cap out and we needed help on D. Klefbom will move right into our top 4. Suzuki is an NHL Hab so he was an obvious target. Farabee was my most sought after player in most trade talks.
To New Jersey
Pavel Zacha
Cody Glass
To Montreal
Mikko Rantanen
The Habs got together with the old rival Devils to address the weakness on RW. Glass was the teams top prospect and Zacha was slotted into the 3rd line C spot. But we realize we had to say good bye to these guys to bring in talent like Rantanen.
Thanks for both GMs for the talks and I wouldn’t be shocked if I came calling on both guys again during the off-season to make a few deals.
__________________
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Goffie For This Useful Post:
Lots of talks in Montreal, but no deals imminent as I feel I filled the biggest need of adding RW help and a top 4D. Their will be more moves to come, but I am happy with how the lineup shapes up so far:
The Habs had a busy day on Friday that ended with a pair of player swap with the Leafs.
The Habs started the day with a big deal with the Islanders. Montreal sent young forward Christian Dvorak to the isles in exchange for Robin Lehner and a pile of later picks.
We were high on Dvorak and think he has a bright future but we wanted to secure the crease. We are hoping that Lehner can find an NHL fit next year He has the talent to be a starter but he seems to be destined as a platoon type guy.
The next deal we brought in a couple of NHL Habs as we sent 3 picks in exchange for Victor Mete and Jake Evans. Mete could come in and be our 6/7 guy and I think if he can develop some more strength he can become a solid bottom pairing guy on a good NHL team. Evans is a Cinderella story as a late draft pick who worked hard for a chance to crack the NHL. I think he will likely be the 4th line C or 13th forward next year in the NHL and will eventually become a solid depth forward.
The last deal of the day say the rival Habs and Leafs connect for a couple deals.
The Habs sent Travis Dermott and Zach Hymen as well as a 2nd round pick to the Leafs in exchange for Andrew Copp, Filip Hronek and a 4th.
I probably like Dermott more than most NHL Leafs but I think the chance to add Hronek was too much to turn down. We see Hronek as being a solid top pairing guy once he learns how to play the defensive zone. I gambled on his upside and hopefully it can pay off long term. Copp will come into the 3rd line C role and is the type of guy we were missing as he is a strong physical player who can contribute on the penalty kill.
We are still in a number of talks and a difficult decision on what to do with McAvoy may come soon.
Hall and Seguin are also on the block and have been picking up steam lately.
Look for the Habs roster to continue to evolve as the off-season moves on.
__________________
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Goffie For This Useful Post:
The Habs continue to make over the roster: It is getting close to a finshed product that I would be comfortable starting the season with, Howve I wouldnt be surprised if there is still a big turnover yet to come.
Habs looking to get back in title contention.
