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2026 NHL UFA/Trade Thread

AH$$$ said:
HUGO likely she is the window is 8 to 10 years. Start giving away your young assets now, couple that with an injury or two and what you get is a window that is much shorter than that.

They’re not going to hedge their bets that seriously this early.
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Depends on the age/term of the addition.

I agree you can’t burn assets foolishly, but you can’t wait forever as well. Incremental moves are good. And I wouldn’t mind another Bolduc-like trade to get a young player for the bottom 6.
 
lecoqsportif said:
Depends on the age/term of the addition.

I agree you can’t burn assets foolishly, but you can’t wait forever as well. Incremental moves are good. And I wouldn’t mind another Bolduc-like trade to get a young player for the bottom 6.
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More Bolduc moves are very realistic
 
lecoqsportif said:
Depends on the age/term of the addition.

I agree you can’t burn assets foolishly, but you can’t wait forever as well. Incremental moves are good. And I wouldn’t mind another Bolduc-like trade to get a young player for the bottom 6.
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HUGO has been here for 4 drafts. They have had 9 first round picks (including the one they sent for Dach), they have traded 4 of them. One of the ones they kept is a bust (Mesar). We are at an under 50% hit rate which is not bad but we have also drafted in the top 5 three times.

It doesn’t take much to start seeing a depletion if not careful.

I still don’t think there is that much bellyaching over a 2 line C in the org as there is in the media and fan base.

Based on comments made at the press conference, you’re likely looking at significant additions to the defence before we get some sort of centre help. There are internal options, that are less than a year away when it comes to centers.
 
AH$$$ said:
I still don’t think there is that much bellyaching over a 2 line C in the org as there is in the media and fan base.

Based on comments made at the press conference, you’re likely looking at significant additions to the defence before we get some sort of centre help. There are internal options, that are less than a year away when it comes to centers.
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If you settle the 2C, most of our other problems get solved.

Having 4 balanced lines will create more offense in the playoffs, and will mean forwards are in a better position to come back and support dmen (which our forwards sucked at doing during playoffs, mostly because Suzy-Cole-Slaf were over-taxed already).

You underestimate the impact of a 2C....finding a 5-6th dmen should be from within organization, you don't spend assets to acquire those (or else you failed at drafting/developing)
 
HuGo need to identify, and then trade for, the next Brett Howden or Mark Jankowski, i.e., a "failed" big bodied first round pick who will accept the role of bottom 6 forward and thrive there. Finding that kind of player is an art form. I am a hopeful that Bolduc will accept that kind of role here and thrive in it, otherwise it will happen on his next team in about 3 or 4 years when we trade him. I just don't see a top six forward in Bolduc, but that;s okay.
 
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legoalie said:
I understand you have to give up value to get value but unless a deal is too good to resist I am not trading Hage or Zharovsky.
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I was for trading Zharovsky before Hage. Now I find myself wondering what kind of influence he will have on Demidov. The fact he is coming over this summer to hang with him.
 
Rolex said:
If you settle the 2C, most of our other problems get solved.
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Yes. Because McJesus/ Drai and Matthews/Tavares have so many championships to speak of.

The 2C is not as critical RIGHT NOW as fixing our bottom 3 D. We are lucky to have a solid top 3 in our D.
 
Alan C said:
I was for trading Zharovsky before Hage. Now I find myself wondering what kind of influence he will have on Demidov. The fact he is coming over this summer to hang with him.
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Z is visiting Demi to check out the vibe in the city and around the team. He’ll download a shit ton of info on everything from how to develop his NHL game to how to put on muscle.

If he follows the game plan, he’ll be back next spring
 
Alan C said:
I was for trading Zharovsky before Hage. Now I find myself wondering what kind of influence he will have on Demidov. The fact he is coming over this summer to hang with him.
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The videos I have watched of him indicates to me that he is from the same mold as Demidov and both were rookie of the year in the KHL. A line of Zharo / Hage/Demidov would be as good as any 1st line out there..
 
AH$$$ said:
Yes. Because McJesus/ Drai and Matthews/Tavares have so many championships to speak of.

The 2C is not as critical RIGHT NOW as fixing our bottom 3 D. We are lucky to have a solid top 3 in our D.
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Except you fail to point out that unlike Leafs/Oilers, the Habs already have a great top 4 on defense, and 2 stud young goaltenders.

We only need that 1C-2C combo.....the bottom pairing d-men should be from within our prospect pool....don't spend assets to acquire those...
 
That’s been my thinking all along. While I’ve been mentioning McTavish for months, Thomas really does fit the bill. While we wait for Hage to get in his prime, Suzuki will deteriorate. Thomas is there right now. So what are you sacrificing? Future years of Hage potentially being a star (no guarantee), having Suzuki a shadow of his current self or having two offensive and defensively capable centers now on a club that is just cracking its window open?

I give up the future years of Hage’s possibility (again not guaranteed) to fill a sorely needed spot. Having two bonafide #1 centers is needed.

People erroneously point to Edmonton and Toronto (which both had flawed rosters on the back end and in goal) while ignoring Pittsburgh and Tampa, both of which had two top centers.

We have the goalies in the pipeline. We have 3 legitimate top 4 D. We have Engstrom, Reinbacher and Pickford coming and I’m certain at least one of those three will become a very solid #4 D soon. So what are we talking about here? Shoring up the third pair? You’re seriously going to forego getting another first line center to shore up the third pairing? That’s like worrying about your muffler when you need a whole new engine.

You give up either Hage or Zharovsky for Thomas. That’s a no-brainer. That said you do not for a guy like McTavish. The return matters.

Thomas is the target.
 
Habsy said:
That’s been my thinking all along. While I’ve been mentioning McTavish for months, Thomas really does fit the bill. While we wait for Hage to get in his prime, Suzuki will deteriorate. Thomas is there right now. So what are you sacrificing? Future years of Hage potentially being a star (no guarantee), having Suzuki a shadow of his current self or having two offensive and defensively capable centers now on a club that is just cracking its window open?

I give up the future years of Hage’s possibility (again not guaranteed) to fill a sorely needed spot. Having two bonafide #1 centers is needed.

People erroneously point to Edmonton and Toronto (which both had flawed rosters on the back end and in goal) while ignoring Pittsburgh and Tampa, both of which had two top centers.

We have the goalies in the pipeline. We have 3 legitimate top 4 D. We have Engstrom, Reinbacher and Pickford coming and I’m certain at least one of those three will become a very solid #4 D soon. So what are we talking about here? Shoring up the third pair? You’re seriously going to forego getting another first line center to shore up the third pairing? That’s like worrying about your muffler when you need a whole new engine.

You give up either Hage or Zharovsky for Thomas. That’s a no-brainer. That said you do not for a guy like McTavish. The return matters.

Thomas is the target.
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I don't disagree,, I am higher on Zharo than Hage who i think is going to be a very good 2nd line centre . I don't think Thomas is available.. it makes no sense to me..
 
Habsy said:
That’s been my thinking all along. While I’ve been mentioning McTavish for months, Thomas really does fit the bill. While we wait for Hage to get in his prime, Suzuki will deteriorate. Thomas is there right now. So what are you sacrificing? Future years of Hage potentially being a star (no guarantee), having Suzuki a shadow of his current self or having two offensive and defensively capable centers now on a club that is just cracking its window open?

I give up the future years of Hage’s possibility (again not guaranteed) to fill a sorely needed spot. Having two bonafide #1 centers is needed.

People erroneously point to Edmonton and Toronto (which both had flawed rosters on the back end and in goal) while ignoring Pittsburgh and Tampa, both of which had two top centers.

We have the goalies in the pipeline. We have 3 legitimate top 4 D. We have Engstrom, Reinbacher and Pickford coming and I’m certain at least one of those three will become a very solid #4 D soon. So what are we talking about here? Shoring up the third pair? You’re seriously going to forego getting another first line center to shore up the third pairing? That’s like worrying about your muffler when you need a whole new engine.

You give up either Hage or Zharovsky for Thomas. That’s a no-brainer. That said you do not for a guy like McTavish. The return matters.

Thomas is the target.
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I don't want to agree with you
 
I still don’t think the issues showed in the 3rd round are a personnel issue, but rather a system, experience and tactical execution issue. It starts on the backend.
 
AH$$$ said:
I still don’t think the issues showed in the 3rd round are a personnel issue, but rather a system, experience and tactical execution issue. It starts on the backend.
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A solid and reliable second line allows better time management on the first line and expands matchup capabilities.
 
AH$$$ said:
I still don’t think the issues showed in the 3rd round are a personnel issue, but rather a system, experience and tactical execution issue. It starts on the backend.
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The wingers were a bigger issue than the backend. Their defensive support was atrocious throughout the playoffs.
 
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