Plekanec looking to move on?

[GNick99]

While Plekanec said Friday that he wasn’t aware of being the subject of any trade talks, The Gazette has learned that the player’s agent let it be known earlier this month that the veteran centre would be willing to waive the no-trade clause which was part of the six-year, $30-million deal he signed in 2010.

Plekanec takes pride in the fact he has spent his entire career with one organization but the frustrations of a losing season and the challenge of having to adapt to a parade of different wingers may have led to a belief that a change of scenery would be best for both parties.

[blny]

He's been playing a lot more on the perimeter of late too. He's not going anywhere unless it nets us an upgrade though.

[CentreHice]

Probably tired of being Mr. Everyman, and getting put on lines with players who don't/can't compete at his level....all the while watching DD get Cole and Pacioretty...and all the glory... or whatever glory a last place team can boast of.

[seventeen]

It's only in the last 3 weeks or so that I think he's played up to his offensive capabilities. His defensive work has continued to be solid (except for clearing the zone on occasion), but he hadn't looked dangerous offensively until recently. Would you agree?

[clear observer]

Feb 26, 2012 12:26:09 GMT -5 CentreHice said:

Probably tired of being Mr. Everyman, and getting put on lines with players who don't/can't compete at his level....all the while watching DD get Cole and Pacioretty...and all the glory... or whatever glory a last place team can boast of.

This.

[Willie Dog]

Feb 26, 2012 12:44:40 GMT -5 clear observer said:

Feb 26, 2012 12:26:09 GMT -5 CentreHice said:

Probably tired of being Mr. Everyman, and getting put on lines with players who don't/can't compete at his level....all the while watching DD get Cole and Pacioretty...and all the glory... or whatever glory a last place team can boast of.

This.

Probably tired of being taken for granted... Wouldn't blame him for wanting out. I can see a team like the Hawks wanting him if they can find the cap space.

[duster]

Trading Pleks would be a big mistake. I'd be furious if Gauthier did this. He's a very good two way forward who can score 30 goals on a team where a lot of players are not very good. Who will replace him ? Desharnais? I wonder how well Pleks would do if he had Cole and Max as wingers all season long.

The centre they should be getting rid of is Gomez. It's obvious to all yet I suspect he'll be back next year as will PG.

[Willie Dog]

Feb 26, 2012 12:50:10 GMT -5 duster said:

Trading Pleks would be a big mistake. I'd be furious if Gauthier did this. He's a very good two way forward who can score 30 goals on a team where a lot of players are not very good. Who will replace him ? Desharnais? I wonder how well Pleks would do if he had Cole and Max as wingers all season long.

Poor Pleks, suffering the same fate as Saku, second line Centre forced to be a first, but unlike Saku, Pleks is now getting the second tier guys.

The centre they should be getting rid of is Gomez. It's obvious to all yet I suspect he'll be back next year as will PG.

Bite your tongue Duster. I want PG/G-love gone... Never to be seen again.

[blny]

FWIW, Rick Curran is shooting this rumour down.

[BadCompany]

Hypothetically speaking, I think the Carter deal sort of set the bar for any potential Plekanec deal. And I think the Mike Fisher deal probably set the table for the Carter deal. Plekanec is probably a better all-around player than Carter, but Carter has the upside.

Either way, I think you would be looking at a 1st round pick and a 3rd or 4th defenseman with upside, or maybe a young second liner with upside. A Plekanec and a throw-in for say David Perron and a 1st would probably be of fair value, in my opinion. But would it be "fair enough" for us to pull the trigger, especially given Perron's concussion history?

[Boston_Habs]

I'd only move Pleks in a deal where we were getting a #1 center back, but even then I'd love to keep him since he's such a good all-around player.

Is the trio of Plekanec, Desharnais, and Eller enough to win? Unless Eller steps up his offensive game and Pleks gets a consistent scoring winger to play with I think not.

If we can get Yakupov or Grogorenko, I would keep the pick. After that I would move it in the right deal.

I still want Eric Staal. Have we seen enough of Eller to package him and our 1st round pick for a guy like Staal?

[BadCompany]

Feb 26, 2012 13:57:18 GMT -5 Boston_Habs said:

I'd only move Pleks in a deal where we were getting a #1 center back, but even then I'd love to keep him since he's such a good all-around player.

Is the trio of Plekanec, Desharnais, and Eller enough to win? Unless Eller steps up his offensive game and Pleks gets a consistent scoring winger to play with I think not.

If we can get Yakupov or Grogorenko, I would keep the pick. After that I would move it in the right deal.

I still want Eric Staal. Have we seen enough of Eller to package him and our 1st round pick for a guy like Staal?

I don't think we can get a #1 center back for Plekanec. He's not one, so I don't think other teams would be willing to give on up for him. Certainly not a current #1 center (and I know you didn't mean that) and I'd be doubtful of a future one too. Unless it was more of a long-shot kind of deal. And by long-shot I mean not so much a "wow, did you ever get lucky there" but a guy who is projected to be a number one guy somewhere down the road... but probably not for another 3-5 years. Like somebody who was drafted last year. Boone Jenner or something, looking at hockeydb's draft list.

Having said that, even landing a young winger and a 1st round pick would be very tempting. Would I do it? That depends on how highly you think of Desharnais and Eller. Or if you are about to nab Grigorenko and you think he can step in if not next year, then the year after. You don't HAVE to trade Plekanec tomorrow, so it can be something that can wait until the draft, when you might have a clearer picture of where you are going. Can both Eller and Desharnais be counted on for at least 50+ points next season? If you believe the answer is yes, and if you can land a top 9, preferably top 6 winger and a high pick in any deal for Plekanec (like Perron), and if you think you are either getting a guy who can step into the 3rd line next year (say Grigorenko), then yes, I would pull the trigger. That's a lot of "ifs" but not totally unrealistic, if you ask me.

Let's see:

Pacioretty - Desharnais - Cole
Perron - Eller - Gionta
Bourque - Grigorenko - Leblanc

Would that be enough?

[Skilly]

If I was confident that Grigorenko was going to be another Malkin, I'd be looking to Chicago and inquiring about David Bolland.

Grigorenko and Bolland as your 1-2 centers ... Eller as number 3. You wouldn't be able to call us small anymore.

Pacioretty-Bolland-Cole would be an awesome line.

Bourque-Grigorenko-Leblanc

[jkr]

I look at Plekanec's -18 & am puzzled by it. He's always been good at both ends. However I think, that like most of the team, he's been caught in this downward spiral. Trading him now while he's on a low point would be a mistake. Hickey's article today said that he has played with 18 different line combos. How can he ever get anything going with that revolving door?

He needs to be insulated by a true #1 centre but unfortuantely I don't see one on the horizon.

[halihab]

Gauthier would be a fool to trade Pleks. IMO - he's our best player. You can see how we play with him out of the line-up. He is probably the only forward we have that shows any sign of creativity with the puck.

Every team in the league would put offers in for him. The problem with Pleks and some of our other smaller forwards is that they need some toughness on the team.

Do you think Marchand would be running around the way he does if he were on our team ?

We need to build around Pleks, Cole, Pacs, Bourque, Eller, Subban, Gorges and Price. Anyone else can be replaced.

[madhabber]

Feb 26, 2012 12:13:45 GMT -5 blny said:

He's been playing a lot more on the perimeter of late too. He's not going anywhere unless it nets us an upgrade though.

Yes, let's wait until he is worth nothing before we trade him. That's par for the course.

THe definition of insanity, right. Keep repeating the same thing over and over and expect different results.

Well during the first intermission, Renaud Lavoie mentioned that this rumour was unfounded. That the Habs wanted to keep Moen and Darche. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gomez suit up for the Habs again in October. We are getting almost exactly the same team, and we are supposed to expect to make the playoffs and contend for the playoffs. Or does it matter to management.

[jkr]

Feb 26, 2012 19:30:20 GMT -5 madhabber said:

Feb 26, 2012 12:13:45 GMT -5 blny said:

He's been playing a lot more on the perimeter of late too. He's not going anywhere unless it nets us an upgrade though.

Yes, let's wait until he is worth nothing before we trade him. That's par for the course.

THe definition of insanity, right. Keep repeating the same thing over and over and expect different results.

Well during the first intermission, Renaud Lavoie mentioned that this rumour was unfounded. That the Habs wanted to keep Moen and Darche. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gomez suit up for the Habs again in October. We are getting almost exactly the same team, and we are supposed to expect to make the playoffs and contend for the playoffs. Or does it matter to management.

Darche has a good 2-3 weeks & management wants him back? SHows you how much depth they have.

[madhabber]

There are 100 Darche in the minors. I don't see what they are worried about.

[Douper]

They better not trade Captain Turtle Neck unless it brings us Stamkos, Giroux or the Twins.

Seriously I can't believe Molson is trusting PG to run this deadline. So I expect PG to do little today.