Can the Montreal Canadiens pull off a trade for Patrik Laine? | Will the real Armia please stand up?
hello everyone and inside today’s locked on Canadians we’re going to talk about trading for Patrick l again your locked on Canadians your daily podcast on the Montreal Canadians part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello everyone and welcome to episode 1,090 of Locked on Canadians your daily Montreal Canadians podcast part of the locked on podcast Network where you get your team every single day of the week and today’s episode is brought to you by ultimate hockey GM if you’ve ever dreamed of becoming an NHL GM and managing your own hockey franchise well now you can with ultimate hockey GM it’s completely free and lock on listers get 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo code locked on NHL in the Game Store to download the game today just visit hockey gm. app or look it up in the App Stores ultimate hockey GM start your Dynasty today I am one of your hosts I am Scott matla I am not joined by my co-host she is currently on vacation living her absolute best life and I love that for her she’ll be back in about a week or so two weeks or so it’s anyways normally this is an episode you’re going to hear Friday morning it would normally be the mailbag I had to miss the Wednesday for Thursday episode due to some things that came up around the house my apologies for that we will make that up to as we get closer to the draft with a bonus episode or something in there however there’s still plenty to talk about in here and the biggest thing that has come up uh in the news that it uh broke I believe yesterday evening last after yesterday afternoon in that the Columbus Blue Jackets and Patrick l are looking to make a mutual split via trade here obviously they’re not going to terminate his contract because that would be insane to get nothing for that uh the player would like a fresh start uh and admittedly things for l in Columbus have probably not gone the way that he had hoped uh in that trade there he’s we lur and I have talked about this a little bit he had a very he’s had some good years with the Winnipeg Jets uh where he was then traded to Columbus maybe not the best but not on and Jay I say this respectfully teams that weren’t very good overall uh and with coaches that I do not think know or knew how to utilize what his skill set was which is feed him puck let him shoot don’t ask him to play defense uh 36 goals 44 goals 30 goals 28 goals uh 12 goals 26 goals 22 goals and then six goals this past year in 18 games he then left to uh take part in the NHL player assistance program due to some mental health things which understandable wish him the best with the recovery that has gone along with that and it seems like he is getting ready to kind of get back into the game here and it seems like the fit is not there with Columbus and as I kind of look at the roster it’s a lot of I don’t know what to make of this there is some older dudes on the roster which it feels weird to say that Johnny gdo is a 30-year-old guy on this roster uh Boon Jenner Sean carali oliv Matthew Olivier Justin Danforth who is 31 and then immediately a bunch of young guys it’s Gavin Brinley Adam Fant Tilly Dimitri verono Jor chinnov uh Cole singer Alexander texier uh and the defense they’re a team that’s kind of influx Kent Johnson was uh on IR most of this season he is uh RFA this off season and then a lot of younger guys who were coming in from the AHL and some of the other draft they’ve had a lot of uh quality picks in the draft here and I’m not quite sure where L fits into this group here and it’s gone back and forth that the value there for a player who it is now known that it is public that he and the team are working to find a new solution to this is taking the value out of the base floor out of that it’s like pulling the rug out from something maybe not the right definition but I think a lot of you understand what I’m trying to get at with that is teams know that he wants to move and they know that the team wants to move on from him this is not Kent Hughes calling up Don Rell and going hey see you got Patrick l we would like Patrick l what are you what are you looking for and they can name highend piece in that this is a player who hasn’t been able to hit the same Peaks that he did a few years ago and has kind of struggled with some things in his game and obviously uh things that happened off the ice teams will unfairly or unfairly look at that as a potential negative which I think is unfair to hold against the player that you should always seek help if it is available to you uh in any way shape or form to get down to the nitty-gritty here Patrick l two years left at $8.7 million per year 26 years old uh they tried to have him play as a center if the Canadians are acquiring him I don’t hope that is not the case for that can play on either wing uh unfortunately in a draft class with Austin Matthews uh who also has an incredibly lethal shot and a variety with it watching Patrick l shoot the puck is a treat when he is on because he uh vaporizes pucks as Patrick beel nicknamed him the Punisher of pucks he is disturbingly good at putting them through people onto the net there he does not shoot to get around people he puts it through people and so at $8.7 million the Canadians currently without LTI without uh other pieces have about $ 9.4 million of cap space as I’m looking at cap friendly right now uh I believe that I don’t know if that incl uh cap space with LTI are candidate so carry price is 10 half million 19 and a half or 19.9 almost $20 million uh in ltir and assuming they move out one of the potential contracts here uh they have the cap space to make this work they don’t have a ton of expensive uh ufas coming up or rfas this season the big one is going to be Arbor Jacky who is RFA uh Jessie Olen who has RFA arbitration rights but guys like uh J slavkovsky become eligible for an extension after July 1st and you may wonder if they’re going to do that or not uh caulfield’s contract is already factored into the Suzuki’s contract is factored into this so those new contracts are factored in so I was trying to figure out what is a fair offer in a trade to Columbus and as I’m looking at their defense it’s some guys uh you have Zack rensky who is you know the the stalard at their uh Blue Line there you have Damen Severson who I think is a perfectly cromulent uh second pairing defenseman you have Ivan proov who has one year left you have Erica Branson signed for two more years at $4 million Adam boquist at 2.6 Jake Bean is RFA uh heading down to the AHL you have Corson kolman you have David uh yek Denton matuk Samuel kazco a lot of potential guys that they could add here they have a lot of defenseman in the AHL some of them who are just a journeyman at this point so my thought was giving them and I shouldn’t say giving uh making Jordan Harris one of the pieces in this uh someone who can play anywhere in their lineup provides a little bit of stability on the penalty kill can move the puck at five on five uh and I asked our friends that uh locked on Blue Jackets and they countered with uh adding Christian Dvorak as a guy because they are in need of probably a veteran middle to bottom six center there who can maybe who is also probably in need of a change of scenery uh to go along with the young kids and a second round pick was with some retention on their side knowing that this is a player that is going to be going here and I whether that be the round two pick this year next year because the Habs have Colorado this year have Pittsburghs and theirs next year their own in 20126 a bunch of third round picks in 2025 uh they have the Devils one which can be upgraded to a second round pick if Jake Allen plays 40 games uh and is a member of a playoff team uh two this year with Minnesota’s and their own uh was also would you trade the Winnipeg pick the 26th overall pick for Patrick l and my thought is I look at that I go I want to hold on to that because I would like to use that there are some good talents at the end of that first round but is there a guarantee that one of those talents will be better than Patrick l is now even coming off of some very rough seasons and I can see Kent Hughes taking that 26th overall pick roster player maybe someone like yesie yanin just to give them the opportunity to get a fresh start somewh that they’re going to have more opportunities that be fit their skill set I would think and make that trade happen and retaining 25% I think is what Jay proposed on that uh is makes him about a $6 million player and if you have dvor going the other way you’re not offsetting everything but you’re not eating up as much of that current cap space that you need to use to resign uh Jack ey and actually add potentially some pieces uh to this defense this upcoming season sign some AHL players maybe on an NHL deal with that uh because they got to keep be mindful of some of these guys coming up who are rfas that maybe don’t have arbitration rights but might be offer sheet eligible and keep an eye on that I’m in favor of it if the price makes sense uh which I think if you’re if you’re the ask is Dvorak or a late for end either a second or a late first first round pick you take that of your Kent Hughes uh we want to hear what do you think about Patrick l in Montreal do you think that this is some of the Canadians can need or do need somewhere in the top six maybe I like the idea of Power Play Weapon a true shooter but I’m always kind of unsure where do they fit in the style of play that this team is going for we want to hear from you tweet us _ Canadians lockon Canadians gmail.com I want to move on from this a little I will take some of your responses on Monday show and see what your proposals are and maybe we’ll talk a little bit about where does he actually fit in this lineup but we’re going to get into that NE uh next week but coming up now it’s time to start player reviews and we’re going to start with another big fin yoel Aria and that’s coming up next but as I said off the top of the show lock on Canadians fans I want to take a moment to bring up one of our partners the mobile game Hockey Ultimate GM if you’ve ever dreamed of running an NHL team as the GM and managing that franchise in whichever way you see fit do you think you could run the Habs better than Kent Hughes right now well your dream can come true now and this game is most definitely for you manage every strategic aspect of your team play through the seasons lead them to Glory hire the right coaches and staff trade players draft picks navigate free agency in the draft all in a challenging and realistic game world and as a Habs fan you know there is no offseason GMS are constantly making moves at every point of the year to improve their team’s chances and that’s why I think you are going to love this game ultimate hockey GM is completely free and playable offline so play on the go as you want and when you want to and locked on network listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo code locked on NHL in the game store so make sure to check it out just download the game in uh or visit hockey gm. apppp that’s hockey GM .a or look it up in the App Stores ultimate hockey GM start your Dynasty today we are back here at lockon Canadians I am of course your host for today I am Scott matla we’re going to keep this train rolling we’re going to keep talking about finish players today apparently uh and then one uh kqu forward as well to end the show I wanted to talk about this earlier in the week because I don’t think I’ve seen someone who had such a drastic split in a season as yoel armia did this year and I say this as someone who is sometimes just bewildered by him but there are other times that I watch him play and I go how are you not just a superstar there are times that I just I watch you go through things and you power through Players his preseason was so bad that he was sent to the AHL where he put up nine points in eight games all well very clearly being too good for the AHL very clearly being too good for the AHL came up to the NHL and then just looked in some games like he did not care that he was not really part of this that it didn’t seem to click and that he was kind of just drifting around there and a lot like y left cofy at one point everything just kind of clicked and turned over like a car that’s kind of stalling in like a horror movie when the villain’s coming up and chasing them and then it clicks into gear and they fly out of there that was yoel armia this season put up 17 goals and eight assists in 66 games which you may say hey that’s not a lot and you’re correct it’s not a lot of points for a guy making $3.4 million again he got paid on that contract thanks to his contributions getting into and in those NHL Stanley Cup playoffs uh one of Mark Ban’s parting gifts and I watched the way that he performed this year a very strong penalty killer a pretty good five on five player once his game clicked into place there and Habs fans have turned it into a meme is that there’s uh every couple of weeks for like a week and a half yel armia turns into the most Unstoppable player in the NHL only he did that a lot the second half of the Season I’m watching him battle through stick checks carrying the puck in deep just scoring goals with ease with his shot that sometimes it looks like he’s taking forever but it’s a Howitzer it is not the quickest it is not the fastest but I forget which teammate said uh a few years ago he’s got the best shot on the team and that was after Coffield had joined the team I believe and I get it when armia is firing the puck and he’s on his shots are ridiculous he picks Corners with next to no effort he could be getting hooked from behind and he just flicks it and he’s just put it right in the corner there of the net and I he’s someone that feels like such an opportunity for a team wanting that we talked a lot about how like Dakota Joshua and William ker and stuff are going to be free agents here if teams don’t have the opportunity to get to them that we want to add a penalty killing forward who can chip in the odd goals and can play a strong 2way game I know that yo armia does not always scream effort and everything for Canadians fans but I watch the way that he plays when he’s on he’s what you want in a power forward not the fleetest to foot guy but he makes things happen and when he is cycling it you cannot get the puck off him he will just hold it against one two three people against the boards and still come out of that scrum with the puck and move it somewhere else we’ve seen shifts where he is just circling the zone and teams are just chasing him trying to get it back and they never do we know that’s what yoel Aria can be absolutely we know that’s what he can be uh we’ve seen in the past where the Canadians he’s put up 13 goals 16 goals seven goals six goals seven goals 17 goals and admittedly some of those teams were not great teams and then in the playoffs uh Five Points in 10 games eight points in 21 games while playing like a fourth line role there he is ideally your one of your best bottom six Wingers on this team and I think that he has value on this team next year that if they aren’t able to trade him this SE go this off season I should say that’s not the end of the world I think that’s perfectly okay actually that hey we weren’t able to trade Yol armia this off season teams want to wait maybe as you get closer and closer to the trade deadline if armia can play like he did the second half of the season and I know I’m asking a lot in this situation hey you need to play the same way that you played when you playing your best just just go ahead and do that champ uh in or however you say that in finish I’m not going to try because I don’t know how I understand that that is asking a lot but I do also think that it’s not out of the realm of possibility that if he has a hot preseason too A Team might go I want that if the Canadians are looking to shed salary I can absolutely see him being a piece of a trade at the draft or in free agency Patrick l even that hey Columbus likes disp dispensaries no uh defensively responsible forwards and who can chip in those goals and give them some depth to their offense that it isn’t just Johnny hockey and Boon Jenner and the kids you have other pieces in here that you can striate and spread out your attack a little bit there that Forces teams to game plan instead of just put all of our players on their one good guy and realize I’m oversimplifying and I’m just using Columbus as an example because it’s on the market here I absolutely think that yo armia has the value there but I also think he has the value to the Canadians as well he’s a guy who kills a lot of penalties and that’s important and for a Canadians team that struggles on the penalty kill having guy who scores short-handed goals with pretty regular regular as as regular short-handed goals can be I think that he is a key piece or I mean like a key po piece of the core but in that special teams you and I also think as a second power play guy as a bumper piece a net front guy he’s got the hands and he’s got the awareness and the and quite frankly the body size to be a really strong netf front guy if Josh Anderson could learn some of the habits that yo Aria has when he’s playing well I think Josh Anderson would be much more well received in the Canadians fandom at this point more so than the already is not to say that he is like an outcast or anything but that he would have another level to his game just to go around with the rest of it like if y arm me a head Josh Anderson speed I would be horrified in a good way of things like that uh I’m gonna give armia season like I see like a C+ feels mean I’m gonna say a b Like A flat B first half was not good not a great preseason but the second half of the Year Yol AR Mia once he got on a line I believe he was playing with Brendan Gallagher even too everything kind of clicked for him and maybe it was Alex new hook either way the second half of the year is the armia that I think I that I think of when I think of what we want from this team uh and I’m gonna give him just a flat B on that tweet us your ratings at Lor Canadians lockdown Canadians gmail.com we have one more player review to get to in today’s show and we’re going to go to one of my former AHL favorite someone that I talked about too much before he made the show full-time this past year talk about Rafael Harvey penard coming up next but first Passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is what keeps your ride or die alive and eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up two Peak Performance from superchargers to roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 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organization on a one-year AHL deal uh it was the covid shorten season the 2020 2021 season under Joel bushard 36 games 20 points in the HL but what I noted is that he was everywhere every play that was happening was involved with him there there was that big line of Teasdale paling and Blandy but Rafael Harvey penard on the line with Jessie Ulen and other players made so much happen and then the next year he signed his two-year entry-level contract with the Canadians as an overage player with the rocket that year 56 points in 69 nice games plus 29 10 points in 15 playoff games he was electric he played four games with the Canadians scored his first NHL goal against Tampa Bay in one of those games where they had half an AHL and ECHL lineup against the lightning because everybody had Co in Florida and it set the table for next year is going to be a big year of course that was the year the Canadians were ALS 2122 they were also abysmal mind you but he still got that and had that happen the next year starts off strong again with a rocket his full season with a rocket 31 points in 40 games six goals 15 assists no points in two playoff games the rocket offense did not get going against udica that year that’s not the key part that really caught people’s attention it was that he put up 14 goals and six assists in 34 games on one of the worst teams in the NHL the Canadians that year team that finished bottom five he was everywhere he came up to the NHL bottom six forward and then he just started scoring goals and getting in the right spot and battling for Puck doing everything that was reminiscent of Brendan Gallagher in the most complimentary way and we go all right middle six forward next year a guy who looked perfectly at home on Nick Suzuki’s Wing when Coffield went out with a shoulder injury someone who could fit in that top six maybe play with uh Kirby doc or somebody else and then then this year happened and he was one of the guys they weren’t he is subject to waivers they didn’t want to wave him and lose him on waivers because teams like a guy like like this he’s cheap he’s got a little term on his contract he got a two-year extension last year was the first year of that extension that he had earned this year in 45 games two goals eight assists and a lot of that is some luck based his shooting percentage of let’s say you know my nose is the middle here you know the first year he was here he was all the way to my right your left shooting at almost like 25% that’s unsustainable but we figured okay regresses down to like 11 12% let’s say he’s still going to put up a decent amount of points and then it just kept going to the other side where the luck was not there and that bottom six wasn’t generating the way it needed to and then he was injured I can’t remember if it was a shot block or he got tripped up and went into the boards but he had a high ankle sprain and he missed a good chunk of the season and you’re never quite the same that year after a high ankle sprain they do take time to come back from and you lose some of that step in your explosiveness some of your agility there and for a guy who is not large he is a smaller forward but you uses his body to leverage things not being able to have that same stance and that ankle to support you in those moments is tough and it kind of showed that I think that there’s still a lot of potential there I think he’s going to be a perfectly fine bottom six forward for this team this year but reminded a lot of Charles hudon’s first and second NHL Seasons with the Canadians he had a couple of call-ups where he put up points then for whatever reason went back to St John or Hamilton at the time or no because he was never with uh he did play with the rocket for one season but could never stick fulltime with the team and then a year when the Canadians were injured they needed someone he came in filled in that middle six role there had a very successful season everyone’s like finally this this is it next season rolls around and then everything that could go wrong went wrong Luck’s not there bounces aren’t there everything you know just wasn’t there for Charles sudon as a player and this reminds me a lot of that this staff and I think development team has a little bit more patience to develop and go with that I think they see a player in Rafael Harvey Bernard I know Jean Francois speaks very highly of him uh for good reason too he got a letter with the rocket almost immediately after his first season because he was a leader on the ice as a as a younger player in that League uh his season overall I can’t give it really anything except like a c minus D because it just it wasn’t it’s such a stark change that yes he’s not playing with Nick Suzuki and he’s not playing with Kirby DAC and stuff and the team is injured and he’s injured but when he was there I didn’t notice him in the same ways and some of that might be the ankle injury he may come out of this off season uh recovered from that high ankle sprain and just be raring a go he might have the best preseason you’ve ever seen and reestablish himself as hey this guy can play Maybe It’s a I’m not saying it’s going to be a top six spot but hey this is a guy that if we need to promote someone up there in a game because we need a goal we need someone to you know Stir It Up in front of the net use that effort to make things happen Harvey penard can be that guy I also think that this is probably his best chance at that because he’s 20 now this season is probably going to be this is what he is is he closer to the 14 goals in 34 games guy or is he the two goals in 45 games guy and it’ be somewhere in the middle that he’s a guy that chips you in 15 goals and I’m saying that as a generous thing over an 82 Game season in a bottom six roll at $1.1 million a year Cash Out found money on a lot of different levels and I also think he could constitutes a good development success he was a late round draft pick came in on an AHL deal battled it was thought that he might go to the ECHL at first and he’s stuck with the rocket didn’t play a lot of games at first then got into the lineup and then just rose up that and he did it in the NHL too and I think he can do that again but this was a tough year for him and if he bounces back the Canadians bottom six is immediately that much stronger for a guy that worked hard like him pretty decent penalty killer good scoring nose Around the Net battles for pucks make things happen he’s the right kind of energy you want in your bottom six uh at also remember tweet us your you know player ratings leave them in the comments below lockon Canadians gmail.com lorc Canadians as well that is going to wrap up our show [Music] however can’t see my likes anymore but know that I do like you just the way that you are my co-host is obviously on vacation I will be back on Monday we’ll do more player reviews we’ll see what kind of news comes out of the weekend I promise you we have so much to catch up on please make sure you subscribe every get your daily podcast Google Apple Spotify or here on youtube.com but until then folks have a great weekend and we will see you all next time [Music]
Inside the latest Locked on Canadiens
Scott is back to tackle the latest rumour circling around the Montreal Canadiens this off-season, again centered around a former first round pick. Patrik Laine has requested a move out of Columbus, and after a tough season on and off the ice, his value might be at its lowest. Scott explores the potential options for a trade, and where Laine might might into a potential Habs lineup.
Then it’s onto the season reviews!
First up is Joel Armia who had such a poor preseason that he was demoted to the AHL, before being recalled due to injuries and then finished the year on an incredible run of games. With just one year left on his contract, can Armia boost his value further heading into another Trade Deadline or are Habs fans in for another Jekyll and Hyde year?
Also on the review list is Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who stormed onto the scene last year with an incredible 14 goals in 34 games, before injuries and poor luck limited him to just two goals this season. With this being the final year of his contract extension before he becomes an RFA again, can he find his form in the Canadiens bottom six?
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