I know crazy. While there’s some play off fever going on in la belle province the best situation that’s evolved this season is the recovery of high priced Goalie Carey Price.
The man has value even with his contract, heck if LV can give a 30+ goalie in Marc Andre Fleury $7M per for 3 years Price is tradeable. But this is a rebuilding team no matter what anyone says.
There are still gaping needs for the team and at the age of Price and Weber trading them would help, not hurt their careers.
Both could be the pieces that put real cup contenders over the top and both could fetch value NOW or in the off season rather than in a few seasons from now.
In fact a deep playoff run would ensure an even better return.
As much fun as Tie Domi has been this season he has one more year with the club before a big decision needs to be made. He’s been great, but he’s not a 1C. If he wants to make a Kadri like commitment to Montreal he still could be a valuable asset to the team. No dissing Domi here, but in the cap age you have to play your angles or you end up square, or Edmontonian.
The best solution for Montreal is to trade younger for both stars. The return won’t be huge at the end of the day, but it’ll rejig the cap situation for the team long term and leave wiggle room to help rebuild as Bergy did with the Armia deal. You don’t have to have the tire fire that Ottawa is having, but even they, as badly as they’re run have some interesting young players that will be entertaining to watch.
This team still doesn’t have a defined core and it needs one. There have been some pleasant surprises, but there are some young players out there that would look lovely in les bleu, blanc, et rouges. And if you can cement one core player per year for five years you have a cup contender. If you can do it sooner you are a Hall of Fame GM in the cap age.
Some of those players are on teams at the point where a Price or Weber just might be what the doctor (and their agents) ordered.
Bubbles are lovely in Champagne, not in NHL hockey. It’s win it all or go for the draft pick right now. And right now this is a bubble team with no real cup expectations and a middling draft pick as their star players are over 30. Not the greatest, but certainly better than last season.