Does this idea make sense?

[Bob]

Montreal can't call up Hainsey without exposing him to waivers. They wouldn't want to do that because another team could claim him and not only would the Habs have to pay half his salary, it would count against their salary cap.

I'm not sure which team would have first shot at him, but assume it's St Louis because they are in last place.

The Habs also have Cristobal Huet who apparently played well in his first game in Hamilton. It looks like Huet has no interest in returning to Montreal after this season because of the goaltending depth.

St Louis is in need of defensemen and Eric Brewer is injured. They could also use some goaltending because Lalime has been a disaster and Huet might consider the Blues for a longer term contract.

Perhaps the Habs could pick up a couple of assets that wouldn't have to clear waivers and who might stay with the organization next year rather bolt to Europe.

It's not so much trying to improve the team but rather it would be an attempt to manage the assets of the team.

If it seems feasible, what does St Louis have in the way of prospects and/or draft choices that would be a fair exchange for both teams?

[PTH]

bob said:

The Habs also have Cristobal Huet who apparently played well in his first game in Hamilton. It looks like Huet has no interest in returning to Montreal after this season because of the goaltending depth.

At this point, our supposed depth in goal isn't Huet's problem - he has a 2-year 1-way contract. I can see moving him might be interesting, but I wouldn't make it any kind of a priority.

Anyhow, with luck we'd get a 3d rounder for him, to me there's no reason to hurry up and move him given the tiny return we'll get, regardless of when we do move him.