Habs Vs Blues Will Stoke Pacioretty Rumors + Mete Contract + Weber News (pacioretty)

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Habs Vs Blues Will Stoke Pacioretty Rumors + Mete Contract + Weber News

By Brandon Smillie

Jan 30, 2018 • 7:30 am

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The Canadiens first game after the All Star break will see them match up with possible trade deadline partner St Louis Blues for match up of two teams heading in opposite directions. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 pm at the Scottrade Center.

The Blues come into the game having won 2 in a row and 6 of their last 10. The Blues have been struggling to find consistency with their goaltender Jake Allen for quite some time now. The 27 year old Allen has had a subpar season (from what was expected of him) for a stellar Blues squad with only 18 wins in 34 starts with a .909 SP% and 2.74 GAA. I know, it’s better than what the Habs have done, but Allen hasn’t been a big contributor to the Blues current successes.

That praise goes to 32 year old, career back up, Carter Hutton and his 12-4-1 record along with a .943 SP% and 1.74 GAA. Certainly this won’t be the norm for a goaltender who just turned 32 but it definitely has helped the Blue keep themselves in the home ice advantage hunt for the playoffs. The Blues are just 3 points back of 2nd place Central Div. rival Nashville Predators while remaining 3 points up on Dallas and Colorado (4th and 5th in their division and the 7th and 8th Wildcard seeds).

Hutton has also has a Quality Start % of .824% and his .943 SP% is tops in the NHL so he has been a life saver for the Blues club.

The Blues, while a team with a couple dynamic scorers, is still only 18th in the NHL with 2.84 goals a game. Their Power Play % is even worse with a 16.2% efficiency which is good (bad?) enough for 25th in the NHL. Even the Canadiens, currently ranked 26th in goals scored with 2.59 per game, have a better PP % at 19.6% which is 17th in the NHL.

The Blues sure could use a goal scoring winger for their quest for a Stanley Cup and a scorer that could help improve their specialty teams as converting on PP’s in the playoffs is crucial.

Of note, Max Pacioretty currently has 5 PP goals and 6 PP assists AND he kills penalties AND he is signed for another cheap year at 4.5 million AND is a trusted leader. The more I look at it, the more I realize that if the Blues aren’t the top team chasing Marc Bergevin for a deal with Pacioretty then their GM isn’t doing his job adequately at all.

The Blues should be all in on acquiring Max Pacioretty as he hits all the check marks they require on offense.

It really isn’t even debatable.

The Blues need a player like Pacioretty in the same way Montreal needs a Center. Except the pressure is on STL to achieve in the postseason this year and that pressure train left the Montreal station just before the Christmas holiday season and isn’t coming back until September 2018.

All it will take is Kyrou, Thomas, and a 1st rounder with a junk contract....

Just saying...

METE EARNS HIS FIRST NHL SEASON

Standout WJ gold medal winning defenseman Victor Mete will remain with the Canadiens club beyond the 40 game mark thus putting him closer to his big pay day, should he continue to progress as a quality NHL defender. SPOILER ALERT:…. He will.

Mete has actually only suited up for 34 games this season, totaling 5 A and a 15:11 TOI avg, but as the above tweet advises he has been on the active roster for 40 games as of tonight and thus counting as a year against his ELC deal.

Some are upset by this as they apparently don’t like to see young players in the MTL system rewarded for being a solid contributor to the team as it means he will be owed his “Potential… money on the next deal he signs at a ripe old age of 21 years old. Some feel this is a bad thing.

My question is: Why?

Mete looks to be a quality top 4 potential defender with speed, IQ, and a quality pass. There’s a rule of thumb in the NHL that you don’t know what you have in a NHL D man until they hit 200 NHL games. After that you basically know what you have.

Now, Mete will likely have more than that by the time he signs his next deal, but is likely not going to be close to finishing his development as a player, or man for that matter. That will come around age 23-25 years old when he enters his physical prime. That also could be the time his development his full stride.

The smart thing to do with Mete is play him in the top 4 for the next two season and live with the potential warts that come with it. Pair him with Weber to ensure the kid is learning from one of the best but is also well insulated.

Should Mete show progress this should make negotiations easy. No more 2 year “Prove it… deals Bergevin, you were already bit by the with Subban and ended up forcing you to deal the defender as he wasn’t really worth the price for most of that contract.

Direct your hate mail to @BrandonSmillie on Twitter, I’ll be sure to not care about it at all.

So, Mete enters a negotiation with his agent looking to get every single dollar he can because that’s his job. But, Mete has been playing with Weber and likely isn’t putting up a crazy amount of points yet but I would guess that he could be in the 30 point range by then. The agent is going to argue for potential and will lose as soon as Bergevin (or whoever) puts a 8 year, $4-$5 million dollar per year deal on the table. A 21 year old, almost man, staring a $40 million dollar contract in the face isn’t thinking “well, in 2 years if I stay healthy and produce roughly 25%+ more points I could make an extra $1.5 million a year in a couple years if I take a lesser deal for 2 years now….

His agent will tell him about that possibility, again that’s his job, but I think he would act like most young players with a guaranteed 8 year pay cheque on the table and take it. Should he remain a 30 point D with speed in the top 4 then he is adequately paid, should he put up 40+ points consistently in the back half of his deal then its a bargain for the Canadiens, the player is still paid well, and should there be any unfortunate circumstances between Mete and the Canadiens, then the deal is very moveable.

There is no winner with the 2 year “Prove it… deal when the players career trajectory is consistently trending up. The Subban deal is proof of that. The Habs played hardball with a top young talent for no real good reason other than the player wasn’t great defensively and had a abrasive personality in the clubhouse (allegedly).

Even if that was the case the 2 year deal was stupid unless Subban’s side was asking for a crazy amount of money already and it seemed illogical to management and ownership.

Anyways, sign Mete to the 8 year max and enjoy knowing the player, and his cap hit, will have tremendous value as soon as year 2 year of the 8.

Galchenyuk is the only instance lately where the bridge worked out as he has shown to be inconsistent and struggles with on ice confidence at times. Galchenyuk reminds me of Eller in that he would the type of guy who lets a bad shift effect his entire game (yes, sometimes he was stapled to the bench, but I think those days are likely over). Galchenyuk’s current deal sets him up to either be dealt at the end or resigned with no real risk either way as he will be what he is at the time it expires. It will just be a decision on if he is worth the cap space in relation to his trade value. Should be easier for management to make a decision on.

I know I got sidetracked here, but whatever. It’s my space to write.

WEBER CLOSE TO 100%

In the above linked Tweet from the Canadiens official Twitter account Coach Julien says "Shea will come back this season. That's for sure. It's about two to three weeks from now. That's the prognosis. As much as we would have wanted Shea to be ready earlier, it's too late to try and push it and speed up his return. He's getting close to being 100 percent.…

That is certainly great news for Shea Weber and the Canadiens as they could use someone like him involved in all aspects of the game at this point of the season. They need his leadership more than ever to make sure everyone stays professional and doesn’t get too low.

There are some musing that Weber should be traded but I doubt he will be as he, or Gallagher, is the likely choice for Captain when Pacioretty is dealt. I don’t doubt Weber would fetch a great return as well, despite some despising his contract.

I also don’t doubt that those who complain about his contract don’t understand that the Habs aren’t on the hook for any of the cap recapture penalties should he retire anytime after the 2019-2020 season. So, any team can acquire the Canadian Man Mountain an not have to worry about the cap cirvumventing, front loaded, offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers that Weber signed and Nashville subsequently matched and the cap recapture penalties that come with it.

That recapture penalty would fall squarely on beloved GM Poile’s team, the Nashville Predators.

Should Weber choose to retire at 38 Nashville is hit with a $8,190,476 cap hit, then $12, 285,714 the next year, THEN $24,571,428 in the final year of his deal. Can you imagine if Weber chose to hang them up in any of those years???

At least as a member of the Predators he could be “diagnosed… with an ailment an be placed on IR like Pronger or Savard, in fact if Weber appears ready to retire before his deal expires I would suspect the Predators may have to trade a decent asset or two to acquire Weber only to make him inactive and let him have a work free year or two. That would be brutal management either way, but imagine they can’t pull a move like that and the Pred’s are forced to dismantle their team for a year or two. OMG.

Poile’s lack of forethought could cause a such a backfire it would become one of the all time worst moves a GM could make. Sure, it’s a pretty big “What If…, but it is definitely a possibility. Especially because Weber earns a grand total of $1 million a year in the final 3 years of the deal. He kind of signed that deal with those years being his and the teams out clause and I don't think the Predators did him any kind of favors trading him Media Hell Montreal so……

GO HABS GO!

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