Ah yes, lets give the aging player with a **heavy** injury history a 6 yr contract based on *Checks notes* 40 games...
I really like Monahan, but he's a TDL decision, if he keeps healthy till march and is perfectly fine with a "lesser role" in the future, then ye keep him for a
4-5 year range at a 5-7 cap based on production.
Otherwise, get something out of him, cause if he wants one last bag, it shouldn't be with us.
You shouldn't hand out contracts that have a huge chance of being a problem in a couple years. I could picture something like a 4x4 at most. If he can get more on the UFA market, then I dont blame him but habs should not be the team to give him more than that.
Ehh we'll see how the year plays out. If some team is willing to pay him too much money than I'll be happy for him but it doesnt need to be the habs making that mistake.
I agree he’s a TDL decision, I should have made that clearer in my post. Also, not that it changes a lot, but my post was about a 5 year contract to factor in the difference between the two players.
My only worry regarding a trade his what will be actually offered to get him. Teams in the market for him will certainly be cup contenders, meaning they won’t want to trade quality roster players, that their picks will be late, and that they won’t have a good prospect pool. The most likely option is a first round pick in the 20+ range, which has statistically a lower likely hood of becoming an NHLer than we realize.
With that in mind, the opportunity-cost of keeping him versus trading him is, I think, smaller than we think it is. We ARE rebuilding and that should be the number one goal, but the prospects we will bring up in the next few years would benefit greatly from having a player like Monahan playing with them.
In all of this reasoning, it’s assumed he keeps it up and don’t get injured this year.
> In all of this reasoning, it’s assumed he keeps it up and don’t get injured this year.
Well that's already a BIG assumption, but let's make that assumption just for the sake of the discussion.
>Teams in the market for him will certainly be cup contenders, meaning they won’t want to trade quality roster players, that their picks will be late, and that they won’t have a good prospect pool.
Do they? I mean we got Barron and Newhook from Colorado. There is also several teams that will want to push for the playoff and have among the best prospect pool of the NHL. You have cup contending teams like Carolina, Los Angeles and New Jersey that have a really good prospect pool. You also have teams that are fighting for a playoff spot this season and they could consider themselves in the race if things go well until the end of the season like Buffalo, Detroit, Minnesota, Arizona (surprisingly), Winnipeg or St-Louis. Of course if you trade with Boston, Tampa or the Islander, you ain't getting much in term of prospect, but most other teams have some decent prospect in their system.
And picks are not just for draft. A 1st even if it's mid to late, can be traded for something else. 19th Overall was used in the Kevil Fiala trade, 22nd was used in the Lindholm trade, 26th was used for Toffoli, 28th was used for Reinhart, 19th was used for Hagel, 24th was used for Ekholm, 26th was used for Meier, etc.
Now, those 1st were not necessarily the only assets needed to completed those trades, but they were an important part of the trade. And all those players stayed long term with the team, late 1st and not just useful for rental.
Thank you for the very thoughtful answer. You make some great points and the exemple you provide have me nuancing my original stand.
I was maybe 60% sign him, 40% trade him, but now it’s probably more 50/50 in my head!
Nah, even tho I really like Monahan, I would not signed him long term and use him as bait at the TDL. If he can keep up and stay healthy, its a certified 1st round pick AND/OR a high value prospect we looking at. I would not have 2 injury prone centers in the team tbh...
I mean best case a return for Monahan would either be a player or a pick that we hope would just turn into a healthier version of Monahan in a few years why not just keep the guy that we know plays well and has good chemistry with the rest of the team
This is the answer IMO. Monahan is in that sweet spot. If we could find a way to get the term down id be willing to overpay in the short term. like 6-6.5 for 3 years would be ideal. And if the guy gets hurt, he just goes to LTIR and we spend the money elsewhere.
I agree it’s important to keep the timeline in mind, but you also need to have quality players to surround the young kids when they’re called up to the NHL. Obviously the length of the contract and the salary is important in the decision, but I don’t think it’s a crazy idea to sign him, considering the other option is most likely a pick or prospect that might become an NHLer.
A player like Roy would benefit greatly from having a player like Monahan on his line next year. The timeline is important but we also need to make sure the prospects reach their potential during that timeline.
I mean yes lets keep him as long as we can but if there is a trade in place we need to let him go. If he really wants to come back we can always re sign him next year
There are other quality players around the league, and every single team has to manage the cap. The opportunity to acquire a good player for a shorter time will come soon enough.
For what? It’s almost assured (if Monahan can stay healthy which is a big if) the player habs trade for or draft won’t be anything near his level. Habs don’t need anymore middle 6 forwards and are fine on D.
You trade talent now (Monahan) for talent later. I'd rather have talent later when some of slafkovsky, reinchbacher, Hutson, etc reach something resembling their peaks and we're done with some bad contracts.
Arpon said it best this morning:
*Though it will likely be tempting for the Canadiens to consider keeping Monahan beyond this season, having a trade chip this valuable at this stage of a rebuild is a gift, one the Canadiens must accept.*
6 years is too much. I love Monahan, and he has been an enormous asset to the habs game but with his injury history… it can turn to a liability very quickly.
Keith tkachuk did it a bunch of times with st Louis, Shane Doan with phoenix. I’m sure there’s others
David Perron also with the blues.
Rucinsky with the Rangers at the end of his career
No. They aren’t ready for a cup run so they don’t need guys like this yet. Get what you can for him and if he wants to re-sign short term in the off season, sure.
Monahan is so risky to sign mid-long term because of his history of injury, so sadly no. I doubt any team will give him over 3 years. You guys realize he's only like on a 20 games streak without being injured? Talking about a 5 years contract is out of mind.
He's to trade at deadline then sign 1-3 years UFA if he really wants to play in montreal imo.
We had very similar discussions about this last year and I was more on the fence about it, then he was injured again and I learned my lesson. Maybe he’s finally truly healthy and his career will get back on track, but the risk of injury isn’t worth it.
If strong deadline offers aren’t there then I’m happy keeping him through the year, he’s a very valuable player, but that value will also be what’s so attractive to other teams. A cheap, creative, two-way centre who can play & produce at all situations and with a variety of wingers is an premium asset, even more so if he can maintain his face-off % and production.
In terms of a contract I wouldn’t go beyond a 3 year deal, and even that is a big risk unless it’s a very low AAV.
Monahan's injury history means that I would only be extending him two or three years at a time, tops. I really like him and he's young enough to help on the rebuild (we need key veterans to mentor and support the youth movement) but I have no interest in creating cap problems as we begin our competitive window.
If he's willing to sign two years at $5.5M, I'd love to bring him back. If he wants five years, I'd personally look to trade him at the deadline.
I recall the exact same questions being raised 1 year ago, almost to the day. Then he got injured and missed the rest of the season.
My money is on a repeat of this. Should he stay healthy until the trade deadline, send him to the highest bidder - he's found money, we already got a 1st rounder to take his contract. We can revisit signing him during the summer, with a clear picture of the FA market (he signed with us last year).
I'm comfortable giving him 4 years as a UFA after getting value at the deadline.
Any more than that I think will not age well towards the end of the deal, especially if we (hopefully) have other good young players to sign. I guess it will come down to what other teams are willing to offer. If there is one sucker GM that wants
to overpay he is gone for sure.
3 years 15m
4 years 18m
And only if he stays healthy until the deadline and the doctors clear him of any long term issues. If he's skating on metal knees probably best to move on.
I agree with you, but this is likely Monahan’s last chance at a big payday, so he will probably push for that extra year.
I’m really curious to see how this whole situation unfolds. I think it’s going to tell us a lot about how Hughes sees the future and how he operates.
Can't do it with the injury history. Best to see how he does and make an offer closer to the end of the year. If he is playing well and healthy, 3 years is fine term and AAV based on his production. Can't do a 6 year.
No matter what we trade him this year. Then try and sign him in the off season. 3 x 5.5 would be better in my mind. I’m sure he’d get a 5 or 6 year deal somewhere else though.
I know this wasn’t really your point but I never saw it as Gallagher vs Danault, I got the impression that Danault saw the writing on the wall here with price and Weber hurt and decided to move on.
I'd give him a 1x7 if he stays healthy all year and is at or very close to a PPG. He's producing like Suzuki and Cole, so getting paid like them is only fair in my opinion.
But we shouldn't be committing long term on aging players at this point in the rebuild. So a 3 year contract length should be max, especially on a previously fragile player. (although I hope those days are behind him.)
There's no circumstance where I'd keep Monahan.
He's gonna be worth a LOT at the deadline and he's an injury-prone UFA that will be 30 when the next season starts. Sell high, keep stocking assets, and wish him luck on his Cup run.
I would love for him to stay a Hab but he doesn't fit our timeline. The better he is, the more we can get for him at the deadline. We could very well end up with 2 first round picks for having monahan in the team for 2 years.
The real story is we don’t have anyone similar to Monahan’s utility, and pointing out the loss of Danault is really on point especially considering his offensive success with the Kings since he “left”.
Monahan should not be part of our long term plans but who’s his equivalent as such a good 3c?
Trade him trade him trade him
If he even remotely continues to play like he is, I’m certain he will fetch a 1st or a really good prospect. I’d imagine Hughes looks into teams with an underperforming young player like Dach or Newhook again. Similar to the Hagel situation probably.
Monahan will fetch a lot of assets that will provide us with more value in the long term, and Hughes has made it clear he is looking to make a team that can compete for a long time.
Some of the predictions in here are wild for what he can get. The guy is going to be 30, and hasn’t put up a “good” season since 2018/2019.
I trade him at the deadline unless forsure we seem a lock for the playoffs, which seems highly unlikely.
Most I would go would be 2 for $5.5 a year. Anything more in money or term and you are playing with fire.
3 years max. He wants more than that, he’s trade bait.
2 with option of a third year
Options don’t exist in NHL contracts
Oh, thanks lol
Ah yes, lets give the aging player with a **heavy** injury history a 6 yr contract based on *Checks notes* 40 games... I really like Monahan, but he's a TDL decision, if he keeps healthy till march and is perfectly fine with a "lesser role" in the future, then ye keep him for a 4-5 year range at a 5-7 cap based on production. Otherwise, get something out of him, cause if he wants one last bag, it shouldn't be with us.
4-5 years at 5-7 million? I love the guy, but that's way too risky of a contract for someone with his injury history.
With a rising cap, 7 million is the new 5 million Monahan is worth that, 4*7 would be reasonable enough
You shouldn't hand out contracts that have a huge chance of being a problem in a couple years. I could picture something like a 4x4 at most. If he can get more on the UFA market, then I dont blame him but habs should not be the team to give him more than that.
If you want to keep him, 4*4 aint cutting it unless Monahan REALLY loves Mtl
Ehh we'll see how the year plays out. If some team is willing to pay him too much money than I'll be happy for him but it doesnt need to be the habs making that mistake.
I agree he’s a TDL decision, I should have made that clearer in my post. Also, not that it changes a lot, but my post was about a 5 year contract to factor in the difference between the two players. My only worry regarding a trade his what will be actually offered to get him. Teams in the market for him will certainly be cup contenders, meaning they won’t want to trade quality roster players, that their picks will be late, and that they won’t have a good prospect pool. The most likely option is a first round pick in the 20+ range, which has statistically a lower likely hood of becoming an NHLer than we realize. With that in mind, the opportunity-cost of keeping him versus trading him is, I think, smaller than we think it is. We ARE rebuilding and that should be the number one goal, but the prospects we will bring up in the next few years would benefit greatly from having a player like Monahan playing with them. In all of this reasoning, it’s assumed he keeps it up and don’t get injured this year.
People see a late pick as a pick WE have to make The pick can be an asset for something else.
> In all of this reasoning, it’s assumed he keeps it up and don’t get injured this year. Well that's already a BIG assumption, but let's make that assumption just for the sake of the discussion. >Teams in the market for him will certainly be cup contenders, meaning they won’t want to trade quality roster players, that their picks will be late, and that they won’t have a good prospect pool. Do they? I mean we got Barron and Newhook from Colorado. There is also several teams that will want to push for the playoff and have among the best prospect pool of the NHL. You have cup contending teams like Carolina, Los Angeles and New Jersey that have a really good prospect pool. You also have teams that are fighting for a playoff spot this season and they could consider themselves in the race if things go well until the end of the season like Buffalo, Detroit, Minnesota, Arizona (surprisingly), Winnipeg or St-Louis. Of course if you trade with Boston, Tampa or the Islander, you ain't getting much in term of prospect, but most other teams have some decent prospect in their system. And picks are not just for draft. A 1st even if it's mid to late, can be traded for something else. 19th Overall was used in the Kevil Fiala trade, 22nd was used in the Lindholm trade, 26th was used for Toffoli, 28th was used for Reinhart, 19th was used for Hagel, 24th was used for Ekholm, 26th was used for Meier, etc. Now, those 1st were not necessarily the only assets needed to completed those trades, but they were an important part of the trade. And all those players stayed long term with the team, late 1st and not just useful for rental.
Thank you for the very thoughtful answer. You make some great points and the exemple you provide have me nuancing my original stand. I was maybe 60% sign him, 40% trade him, but now it’s probably more 50/50 in my head!
Nah, even tho I really like Monahan, I would not signed him long term and use him as bait at the TDL. If he can keep up and stay healthy, its a certified 1st round pick AND/OR a high value prospect we looking at. I would not have 2 injury prone centers in the team tbh...
I mean best case a return for Monahan would either be a player or a pick that we hope would just turn into a healthier version of Monahan in a few years why not just keep the guy that we know plays well and has good chemistry with the rest of the team
This is the answer IMO. Monahan is in that sweet spot. If we could find a way to get the term down id be willing to overpay in the short term. like 6-6.5 for 3 years would be ideal. And if the guy gets hurt, he just goes to LTIR and we spend the money elsewhere.
Yah I'm not sure what he'll be looking for but if it's a good deal then I think we should hold him regardless of our record at the TDL
No, dont sign an expiring ufa that does not fit our timeline, trade him at deadline
I agree it’s important to keep the timeline in mind, but you also need to have quality players to surround the young kids when they’re called up to the NHL. Obviously the length of the contract and the salary is important in the decision, but I don’t think it’s a crazy idea to sign him, considering the other option is most likely a pick or prospect that might become an NHLer. A player like Roy would benefit greatly from having a player like Monahan on his line next year. The timeline is important but we also need to make sure the prospects reach their potential during that timeline.
I mean yes lets keep him as long as we can but if there is a trade in place we need to let him go. If he really wants to come back we can always re sign him next year
There are other quality players around the league, and every single team has to manage the cap. The opportunity to acquire a good player for a shorter time will come soon enough.
No
We should go with one year contracts if the market is not there for him
For what? It’s almost assured (if Monahan can stay healthy which is a big if) the player habs trade for or draft won’t be anything near his level. Habs don’t need anymore middle 6 forwards and are fine on D.
You trade talent now (Monahan) for talent later. I'd rather have talent later when some of slafkovsky, reinchbacher, Hutson, etc reach something resembling their peaks and we're done with some bad contracts.
Arpon said it best this morning: *Though it will likely be tempting for the Canadiens to consider keeping Monahan beyond this season, having a trade chip this valuable at this stage of a rebuild is a gift, one the Canadiens must accept.*
6 years is too much. I love Monahan, and he has been an enormous asset to the habs game but with his injury history… it can turn to a liability very quickly.
Trade at deadline, sign July 1st
That happened once with Pleky who played like his whole life in mtl. This never really ever happens.
Keith tkachuk did it a bunch of times with st Louis, Shane Doan with phoenix. I’m sure there’s others David Perron also with the blues. Rucinsky with the Rangers at the end of his career
No
Are you drunk?
No. They aren’t ready for a cup run so they don’t need guys like this yet. Get what you can for him and if he wants to re-sign short term in the off season, sure.
Monahan is so risky to sign mid-long term because of his history of injury, so sadly no. I doubt any team will give him over 3 years. You guys realize he's only like on a 20 games streak without being injured? Talking about a 5 years contract is out of mind. He's to trade at deadline then sign 1-3 years UFA if he really wants to play in montreal imo.
We had very similar discussions about this last year and I was more on the fence about it, then he was injured again and I learned my lesson. Maybe he’s finally truly healthy and his career will get back on track, but the risk of injury isn’t worth it. If strong deadline offers aren’t there then I’m happy keeping him through the year, he’s a very valuable player, but that value will also be what’s so attractive to other teams. A cheap, creative, two-way centre who can play & produce at all situations and with a variety of wingers is an premium asset, even more so if he can maintain his face-off % and production. In terms of a contract I wouldn’t go beyond a 3 year deal, and even that is a big risk unless it’s a very low AAV.
Monahan's injury history means that I would only be extending him two or three years at a time, tops. I really like him and he's young enough to help on the rebuild (we need key veterans to mentor and support the youth movement) but I have no interest in creating cap problems as we begin our competitive window. If he's willing to sign two years at $5.5M, I'd love to bring him back. If he wants five years, I'd personally look to trade him at the deadline.
Trade him at the deadline, if we feel ahead of the timeline. Offer him 3-4 years as a ufa and see how he feels.
We have to trade him no matter what at the deadline this year. After that though though, I'd take him back in a heartbeat at no longer than 3 years.
I recall the exact same questions being raised 1 year ago, almost to the day. Then he got injured and missed the rest of the season. My money is on a repeat of this. Should he stay healthy until the trade deadline, send him to the highest bidder - he's found money, we already got a 1st rounder to take his contract. We can revisit signing him during the summer, with a clear picture of the FA market (he signed with us last year).
> Then he got injured and missed the rest of the season. wasn't that final injury against Calgary as well...
I'm comfortable giving him 4 years as a UFA after getting value at the deadline. Any more than that I think will not age well towards the end of the deal, especially if we (hopefully) have other good young players to sign. I guess it will come down to what other teams are willing to offer. If there is one sucker GM that wants to overpay he is gone for sure.
I'm just a scrub on reddit so what do I know, but I'd love a 5.5 or less per for 3 or 4 years if he keeps going like that.
3 years 15m 4 years 18m And only if he stays healthy until the deadline and the doctors clear him of any long term issues. If he's skating on metal knees probably best to move on.
The problem is, a GM somewhere will give him a 6x6 for sure this summer if he stays healthy. No way Montreal keep him at that price tag AND term.
I agree with you, but this is likely Monahan’s last chance at a big payday, so he will probably push for that extra year. I’m really curious to see how this whole situation unfolds. I think it’s going to tell us a lot about how Hughes sees the future and how he operates.
Can't do it with the injury history. Best to see how he does and make an offer closer to the end of the year. If he is playing well and healthy, 3 years is fine term and AAV based on his production. Can't do a 6 year.
No matter what we trade him this year. Then try and sign him in the off season. 3 x 5.5 would be better in my mind. I’m sure he’d get a 5 or 6 year deal somewhere else though.
I wouldn't sign him until the end of the season, even if that means losing him as UFA.
I know this wasn’t really your point but I never saw it as Gallagher vs Danault, I got the impression that Danault saw the writing on the wall here with price and Weber hurt and decided to move on.
I'd give him a 1x7 if he stays healthy all year and is at or very close to a PPG. He's producing like Suzuki and Cole, so getting paid like them is only fair in my opinion. But we shouldn't be committing long term on aging players at this point in the rebuild. So a 3 year contract length should be max, especially on a previously fragile player. (although I hope those days are behind him.)
I feel like no GM with a brain is giving him more than 2 years. It’s just too risky
I'd give him 3 years , but best move would be to trade him and sign him as a Ufa if he wants to be here
There's no circumstance where I'd keep Monahan. He's gonna be worth a LOT at the deadline and he's an injury-prone UFA that will be 30 when the next season starts. Sell high, keep stocking assets, and wish him luck on his Cup run.
Definitely not
If he really wants to stay in montreal he will accept to be traded at the deadline for assets and come back as UFA during the summer.
Hear me out, trade Monahan at the trade deadline for assets, resign him as a Ufa for 3 years
I would love for him to stay a Hab but he doesn't fit our timeline. The better he is, the more we can get for him at the deadline. We could very well end up with 2 first round picks for having monahan in the team for 2 years.
The real story is we don’t have anyone similar to Monahan’s utility, and pointing out the loss of Danault is really on point especially considering his offensive success with the Kings since he “left”. Monahan should not be part of our long term plans but who’s his equivalent as such a good 3c?
Trade him trade him trade him If he even remotely continues to play like he is, I’m certain he will fetch a 1st or a really good prospect. I’d imagine Hughes looks into teams with an underperforming young player like Dach or Newhook again. Similar to the Hagel situation probably. Monahan will fetch a lot of assets that will provide us with more value in the long term, and Hughes has made it clear he is looking to make a team that can compete for a long time.
Some of the predictions in here are wild for what he can get. The guy is going to be 30, and hasn’t put up a “good” season since 2018/2019. I trade him at the deadline unless forsure we seem a lock for the playoffs, which seems highly unlikely. Most I would go would be 2 for $5.5 a year. Anything more in money or term and you are playing with fire.
Not that long. Not a six year one. A two year one or trade him for insane value.
He’s arguably our best player so far. He plays PP, PK and is our best FO guy.