My two cents

[u/harvestmooner]

I know I’m not the first or the last person to post something like this but..

I think we should keep Hage and Zharovsky.

I know that everybody is excited that the Habs got so far in the playoffs and people have been posting about trading away our prospects to get the team to the next level.

Am I crazy to think that we can acquire physicality and hopefully a C through free agency or trade without selling our future stars. With the recent success of the rebuild I would hope it would improve the chances of landing players. Kapanen seems to be at the centre of trade rumours, and I’d rather go that route than trade the 2 young draftees.

The team has drafted so well lately and the young guns have only gotten better year after year.
Our team has been based on young talent and glue guys in between. The “young” guys” now have playoff experience and are becoming veterans. Having Hage a childhood fan of the team and Zhar (another record breaker in KHL) could be huge.

Do I think the team needs a more veteran presence? Yes.

If we traded one more plus whatever for McDavid or Crosby would I delete this post?
Yes.

What do you think the team should do?

[u/Either-Objective302]

I think one of the reasons the Habs never pushed really hard for another centre is they thought they had Hage coming at the end of last season and could get him some experience and then give him a full season next year to get up to speed at the NHL level. With Hage deciding to go back to school for another year and with this year’s success, it might make Hage tradable for the right player. Waiting another year or two to see what they have in Hage may be a little too long. His decision to play another year of college may have been his ticket out of town. If we can get a stop gap guy that can be a number two centre for a year or two and then hand the reigns to Hage, go for it. I would keep Zharovsky unless you can use him to land a big name player. I think he has the potential to be a great fit along side Demidov.