A brief thread on what I think we’re seeing with the #Habs LHD situation.

Firstly, it is my firm belief that the Habs are high on Romanov to an extreme not normally seen. Evidence: the bubble, Julien saying he’s got a spot in the top 6.

I think he starts the year with Petry.

Now it’s a live issue as to whether or not he can handle it in his first year, but I would not be surprised if we started with:
Chiarot-Weber
Romanov-Petry
Edmundson-Fleury
Mete

I keep Mete over Kulak because he seems better at playing his offside, but you could go with either.

Now here comes the Seattle expansion. Let’s assume the Habs go 7-3-1.

Your forwards are gonna be the top 3 Cs, Drouin, “Domi”, Gallagher and Tatar. That leaves the biggest prize available to Seattle to be someone like Bryon or Lekhoken. Not great to pick from.

On D though, well, the Habs shot their wad and landed a guy in trade named.... well, let’s call him Ghost. They can protect 3.

An extended Petry is a must. Ditto Weber. The third protected could be Chiarot or Ghost. Hmmm. Much better than a guy who can’t score or an aging Bryon.

So what do the Habs do? They either lose their top 4 guy or they expend even more assets to keep Seattle’s hands off him. Not attractive. They are effectively gonna trade a lot for one year of a guy - and Bergy ain’t doing that - or paying for him twice.

Or - or - they bet that Romanov lives up to their hopes. They take a guy to stabilize their third pairing for 3.5ish and 3 years until Norlinder and Harris are ready. They get a guy who had carried top 4 minutes before. Bonus?

I mean if Romanov struggles they can play Edmundson up for awhile and his stay at home style might let Petry really explore his offensive capabilities.

Plus there is the cap. The Habs have maybe the room for one big pickup this year with the new deals they’ll need to sign next year. If they spend it all on a top 2 Dman then they lack room for immediate scoring help. Remember those two playoff games they got shut out in?

I’m pretty sure they don’t want that to happen again. So they’re looking for offensive help & counting on a rested Carey (thanks Allen!) the in-house top 4 upgrade (Romanov) and a stabilized third pairing (Edmundson) to alleviate the need for top a top 4 D.

And if it all works out, it’ll look brilliant. But there are a whole ton of variables in there.

And since if there is one thing I know about hockey is that there are a lot of people who know more about hockey than me, there’s this to consider as well. Are we being unfair to Edmundson? https://twitter.com/grantmccagg/status/1305148406860570624

Thus ends my thread on what I think is happening and why I wouldn’t be surprised if the Habs stand pat on D (unless Torey Krug falls into their laps).