Quite a lot of talk about the habs yesterday following the Flower's diss of Tomas Vanek & Max Pacioretty.
Now the local media is wondering who'll be leaving the team following the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs & who'll be staying.
There has been quite a bit of talk that the habs would be packaging Nathan Beaulieu in a trade for some offense.
Tomas Vanek will not be back, that is almost 90% certain. George Parros & Mike Weaver likely won't be back, but there are questions on whether or not Andrei Markov & Brian Gionta will return.
It's no secret that Markov wants a 4-year contract & he's certain that there's a team out there that will grant it to him considering that the current UFA crop is a poor one. Rumour yesterday was that the habs were only offering one year, but i'd be surprised if this is true considering how loyal Markov has been towards the organization throughout his career & was likely the team's best defenceman last season. His health used to be a big question mark, but he's been extremely healthy over the past 2 seasons. He only missed 1 game during the regular season & that was due to the coach opting to rest him prior to the playoffs. My guess is that the habs would like to offer him 2 years, but i suspect Markov would settle for 3 years minimum.
Gionta is another story. His play has declined over the past couple of seasons & he's small. The team wants to get bigger up front. And younger. However, Gionta is a bonafide team leader who can still play very well when used properly. On a team lacking in leadership, a quality individual such as Gionta belongs with the habs. My guess is that he wants to stay in Mtl and it won't be that difficult to re-sign him.
Prior to the playoffs, there was talk that the underachieving Rene Bourque would likely be bought out during the offseason. However, his strong play in the playoffs might have bought him another year with the team. As for Daniel Briere, it's no secret that coach Michel Therrien doesn't have much use for him & Briere is likely to be used sparingly next season. He very well could be bought out, or possibly traded as part of a package. There is no market out there for Daniel Briere, but he could be moved as a throw-in in a trade.
As i mentionned, Vanek won't be back. He would prefer to play for the Minnesota Wild & the habs don't really have the money to re-sign him considering they have to find a way to get P.K. Subban under contract, and likely would want to retain Andrei Markov. As for Francis Bouillion, he doesn't want to retire & could be re-signed at the league minimum for one year.
There has been talk of Josh Gorges being moved, but i'm not buying it. He's one of the few bonafide leaders on the team. He's also a warrior & his presence can help stabilize a young defence.
I have no idea how much it'll cost to re-sign P.K. Subban. But Subban & Don Meehan are no dummies & are quite aware that there are teams out there who will overpay for his services & pay him whatever he wants. On top of that, as i mentionned, the current free agents who play defence are a poor crop. Two years ago, the Flyers offered Shea Webber a huge contract which would pay him $14 million a season to play for them. Nashville chose to match & are now paying him the amount agreed upon with the Flyers. Don't be surprise if history repeats itself in Subban's case & the habs will have to decide if they want to match the offer sheet by paying Subban $12 million+ per season to play for them, which would totally destroy their team budget & cap space to sign other players they might want to sign.
And finally, what happens to Petr Budaj? Will he be traded or will they keep him for the final year of his contract? Tockarski is the better goalie, but he has to play in order to be effective. My guess is that Budaj stays with the habs since he seems to accept his role on the team as a backup & cheerleader.
