*Updates at bottom


Habs Reach Out to 5 RFA's, Leave Pouliot Aside...for now


In preparation for the upcoming Draft, Pierre Gauthier has been busy trying to lock down the key elements of his team that are up for contract renewals.

First came the trade of Halak, a deal that was done for cap reasons as much as anything else.

Then followed the re-signing of Mathieu Darche to a one-year, one-way deal for $500k.

Next came the inevitable re-upping of Tomas Plekanec to the tune of 5 large for the next 6 years(Tommy two-step is no doubt one happy Hab today).

And now comes the qualifying offers to Carey Price, Tom Pyatt, Maxim Lapierre and Mathieu Carle, as well as an interesting(yet logical) qualifying offer to Sergei Kostitsyn.

The offers to Price, Pyatt and Lapierre are no-brainers as all 3 have guaranteed spots on next years team, yet the Kostitsyn offer may catch a few by surprise. Well, at least those that thought Montreal was going to completely pass on the Belarussian and let him walk to the KHL. Sergei is a project if I've ever seen one, but with a talent level as high as the fiesty and sometimes socially challenged younger brother of Andrei has, it's hard for the Canadiens to let him go.

If anything, the Kostitsyn brothers know that this is their last chance to make a serious impression in a Montreal uniform and that management is willing to give them that one last chance. Needless to say, if the problems both on and off the ice continue next season, it's safe to say that Montreal management won't think twice about sending them somewhere else.

Now, these 5 offers all make sense, yet when perusing the Canadiens press release and realizing that there was no mention of former 4th overall pick, Benoit Pouliot, one has to start to wonder if Montreal doesn't have bigger plans for the Draft on Friday?

With the 27th overall pick on Friday, the Habs don't exactly have thoughts of landing a franchise player, yet, perhaps they do.

Montreal still has a chance to offer Pouliot, who was acquired last December from Minnesota for Guillaume Latendresse, a qualifying offer up until June 28, but by passing on offering Pouliot a qualifying offer on the first wave, perhaps Gauthier has given thought to using Pouliot as trade bait to either go after a player or even to move up in the draft?

If the Canadiens are interested in moving up in this year's draft, perhaps a package of Pouliot and their 1st rounder could entice a team to consider parting with a top pick? It wouldn't necessarily be a package that would see the Canadiens land a player in the top 5, but it would definitely get talks started.

Putting aside the far-off possibility of trading Pouliot(and more) to move up in the draft, a more realistic scenario could see Pouliot flipped in a package for a player that will fill one of Montreal's important needs(specifically the need to upgrade the size in their top 6).

This is purely conjecture at this point, yet while the Habs have chosen to qualify Price, Pyatt, Lapierre, Carle and Kostitsyn, it certainly begs the question of why they didn't include Pouliot?

Truth be told, the Habs are likely planning on qualifying Benny, yet are leaving themselves room through the draft to see what offers may come.

Letting Pouliot walk would be an admission of failure by the Canadiens, so don't expect that to happen. The possibility of trading Pouliot is certainly there, yet at this point seems more like a contingency plan than anything else, but who knows?

What is Pouliot's value at this moment?

He is surely easy to qualify, yet perhaps has more value as a trade asset?

There is no doubt that Gauthier has, and remains, active in the trade market.

Time will tell, but, if anything, the omission of his name on the first list of players qualified by the Habs is certainly intriguing.


*UPDATE: 6:20pm


As per MA-Godin, Pierre Gauthier says that "The evaluation is not finished. A qualifying offer should come before Monday."

- This is the likeliest scenario, although the "should" doesn't exact spark the thought that things are anywhere near guaranteed that Pouliot will be back.

Godin also noted that Gauthier mentioned that he "was receiving calls first thing in the morning and last thing at night..."

If Gauthier is really waiting to get a deal done until Monday, count on him listening to offers(if there any) for Benny.

The fact that Gauthier is admittedly active in the trade market should keep Habs fans very interested in the draft tomorrow night.



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