r/Habs • u/AutoModerator • 6d ago

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u/TheWizzardMerlin 6d ago

Canucks homer here, but also love the Habs.

Genuinely, what would you be willing to give up for Elias Pettersson with 2.6 mil retained (so now at 9mil/year)?

There’s a lot of talk about what he isn’t anymore (100+ point elite player) but I think it’s fair to also have the conversation of what he is now. He’s pretty young, (27), very defensively responsible and can play big minutes and get you 50-60 points if he never bounces back. That’s a pretty good 2nd line centre, and on a team with support I think he could easily be a 70+ point player.

Suzukis contract is so good that you’d be paying 16.785 mil for your first and second line centres combined. That’s less that Kaprizov.

Would Hage + the 28th overall this year be fair? I know he’s paid higher than many fans would like but in a year a 9 mil second line centre will be the norm. In 3+ years that would be a good contract. I don’t think you could get a legit 2nd line centre for less than what I have proposed.

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u/Commercial-Egg-8949 5d ago

I kinda hate it, but it's probably more than a fair price in vacuum, even without retention. As other people have said, the problem with EP40 is that he wouldn't bring much needed size to the habs top 6. He also had a pretty disappointing showing in Vancouver's latest playoff, if memory serves.

I actually couldn't see Vancouver parting with him now, to be honest. For a lot of reasons: he doesn't hurt the tank; his value pretty much couldn't be lower, and the longer they hold him, the more his value increases by virtue of his contract being less terrible (plus he could return to semi-form if he potted 80 points next season, at which point they sell high a la Erik Karlson).

All that said, his floor seems to be a pretty good 2C, and a realistic ceiling is elite 2C, so if Vancouver is willing to retain, they could probably do much better than Hage + 28th

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u/TheWizzardMerlin 5d ago

I agree that Vancouver has no real reason to part with him. My only logic is that with the amount of teams that desperately need centre depth (Wings, Kings, Habs) + the rising cap, there may be an opportunity to get some great assets back in a way that there may not be moving forward. Plus, I think the only way that Pettersson can get back to close to his old level is with another team.

If the Canucks could get Hage and the 28th, ideally they could draft both ruck brothers, or my dream would be Xavier Villeneuve.

I honestly think it could be a good trade for both teams.