[Wishful thinking] Habs keep Pacioretty and sign JVR

[Jouko-Pouko]

They are good but not that good. If Price is back in form this year (much less likely if the Habs suck again) he is tradeable. I don’t think Weber is because he is aging out of his prime. And a lot remains to be seen with that foot of his. I tend to believe no one would be willing to take on that contract.

$63M in cap hit but just $30M in actual salary? I'm sure budget teams like Ottawa would have interest.

[havanablast21]

I think Bergevin has been MUCH worse for the Habs than Snow was for the Isels. The Islanders have drafted and developed some really good players and not just one or two...not so for Montreal. And I don?t recall Snow actively using the media to drive down the value of his assets the way Bergevin has.

I won't argue this all that much... but Bergevin destroyed a team that had experienced some success multiple years in a row. That's bad for sure. But the Isles have been essentially garbage since J.T. landed there and have seen relatively NO success under Snow. 6 of 1... 1/2 dozen of another. I'll let the fans decide and I thank the powers that be that I'm not a fan of either team... and this is coming from a Leaf fan of over 30 years.

[tweetdrivr]

$63M in cap hit but just $30M in actual salary? I'm sure budget teams like Ottawa would have interest.

Perhaps. It’s a very good point. But until Bergevin is gone and they admit the need for a complete tear down it won’t happen. I think the perception is Habs fans are too proud to accept a blow-up...which I don’t think is accurate at all.

[tweetdrivr]

So given that a blow-up is not going to happen, I’m back to my original post. I’d like to see Pacioretty extended and I think JVR would be a great ad. Sign/trade for a “bridge center” for one or maybe two years. Not Plekanec...Spezza or Thorton type guy. Someone who can skate with Drouin and Pacioretty. Try to sign DeHaan. Enter the season with a D group of Weber, De Haan, Petrey, Alzner, Mete, Juulsen, and Reilly. If Price returns to form it’s a bubble team. Let De Le Rose have the mins Plekanec would have. If it doesn’t gel, get into the Hughes sweepstakes and fire Bergevin finally.

[blayze]

They have a $10mil a year goalie in his prime and one of the best D men in the league just leaving his at $7.8mil. Neither of those contracts can be traded.

1) no and 2) no

And you contradicted yourself with that last sentence.

[tweetdrivr]

I don’t know what you mean by contradicting myself. I think those are both very heavy contracts. Perhaps it would be better to say either of those contracts will be very very difficult to trade...particularly given the seasons they both had last year. I don’t see how you can dispute the fact that Carey Price is in his prime (I said nothing about his ability at this point) or that he costs $10 mil a year. And yes, you can debate the fact that Weber is a top D in he league. He certainly was and as I noted he is aging out. A lot will have to be seen with that foot of his. My point with all of this was not to contend that the Habs are somehow a good team. They are most certainly not. I just see these players/contracts as making a blow up difficult.