Time to move Perreault?

[GoMtl]

With the return of Koivu, and the recent altercation between Julien and Perreault, could it be time to move Yanic? He has 5 goals already this season, and is still a great face off man, his value might not be all that bad. Here's a few ideas I had... Please add more if you have any.

Los Angeles - With Jason Allison's ongoing inury troubles and Jozef Stumpel also a bit banged up, LA was recently icing Derek Armstrong as their top line center, maybe they'd have some interest in re-aquiring Yanic, although i'm not sure they could afford it. Ian Lapperierre would be a fitting return considering his defensive awareness and physical style of play, he'd fit into our system very well. This trade would probably work better if we paid some of Yanic's salary in return for a mid round pick to be added on their side.

Chicago - It's been rumoured that new Chicago GM Pulford is looking to move trade some of his European players, and with their top center Alexei Zhamnov injured they could be interested in picking up another scoring center. I don't think the Habs would have any interest in any of their players other than a Mark Bell who I'm pretty sure they're not looking to move, but a prospect like Matt Ellison, last year's WHL rookie of the year would be a great fit for the Habs.

[BadCompany]

I don't think Perreault has nearly that high a trade value. The Kings love Laperierre, for everything he brings, and a good prospect like that is too much to ask for, in my opinion.

Here is what I think are the trade values of some of our dearly loved Hab players, who, through no fault of their own, should depart our dear and beloved community.

I tried to take everything I could into consideration, and the results down below are mere speculation, and should be taken with as healthy a dose of salt as one can take, in this health conscious era that we live in (I have a resting heart rate of 54, I can take more). As with any trade scenario, there is always somebody, somewhere, willing to do something stupid for a player they really want (“paging misters Clarke and Milbury, misters Clarke and Milbury”). So we could get lucky. But barring such a miracle, here are what I – emphasis on I, me, myself – think we could get for some Montreal players.

(we should have a standard, legalese disclaimer for all posts like this – The opinions expressed in this here post are those of the poster, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of HabsRus, or in the case of BadCompany, any rational, sane person…)

Yanic Perreault:

Some people think Panic Yanic is our best trade asset – who wouldn’t want the league’s best face-off man, a guy who routinely chips in 25 goals, 50 points? Well, the answer is, most people. Habs fans are not the exclusive holders of TV remotes (though in my house, I am) and everybody in the league can see what he is, and more importantly, what he isn’t. He was once traded for Jason Podallan (yes, THAT Jason Podallan) and a 4th rounder. Now, being older, slower (though not necessarily more productive) and an impending UFA, his trade value ain’t so great. Playoff-bound teams (the usual buyers of UFAs-to-be) have no use for him, as his soft, non-defensive play is not conducive to today’s brave new NHL, with traps and systems, and roles and assignments. Non-playoff bound teams have no use for him, because, well, why would they?

Having said that, I do think there is a market for him. A team that thinks they are playoff bound, but has no aspirations once they get there, but for whom it would be a tremendous coup to just do so. A team with injury problems, but who nonetheless wouldn’t really care if Perreault walks in the off-season (and who would likely want him to do just so). I’m talking, of course (of course?), about the Atlanta Thrashers.

I would love to get Jeff Cowan from them, and with a couple of other tough-guys on that roster, the Thrashers could probably afford to let him go. But he is a good dressing room guy, especially for a young team like Atlanta, and they might want his leadership still. Serge Aubin might be an easier sell for them, but I think Montreal would be getting the short-end of the stick there. Throw-in some picks, here and there, to work out the differences.

Perreault to Atlanta for Aubin and a 6th.

Donald Audette

Even during his “good” years, Audette never had much trade value. Kamil Piros and a 4th, during the year he scored 30-some odd goals, 70+ points. So expecting anything for him now, is, well, optimistic, to put it nicely. A team like New Jersey occasionally takes on projects like Audette (witness their supposed interest in Sergie Berezin), but with that contract…

Nil. No trade possible.

Andreas Dackell

Another (sigh) guy with not a heck of a lot of value. He plays okay, much better than some people give him credit for, but he doesn’t bring much that most teams don’t already have in their system, in much younger legs. We got him for an 8th rounder, which is probably his current value. A team with big-time injury problems might be willing to throw a pick away, for the warm body, but if that’s the case, we might actually be better off keeping him around. The Kings come to mind, as a team that could have some interest in Dackell.

Dackell to Los Angeles for Jon Sim, or an 8th rounder.

Craig Rivet

Oh, were it not for that contract… 4 more years, at $3 million per? Were it not for the impending CBA battle, and the length of Craig’s contract, I think teams would be lining up for him. Even with his poor play this year. Rivet is just the character player teams love having going into the playoffs. Not as a #1 of course, but as a #4?? Oh, I think they would love that. Philadelphia, Colorado, St. Louis, Detroit (with Hatcher out), Toronto, no shortage of suitors. But, that dang-nabbit contract complicates things. Colorado, I think is out. For all the bally-whoing (what, exactly, is a bally-who?) about the amount of money they have, they aren’t a bottom-less pit, and are probably the poorest of the big money teams. Plus, if they go far in the playoffs, they might want to resign Kariya, to keep the dynasty together and/or compensate for the possible loss of Forsberg. But the length of Rivet’s contract might scare them, and if they do have money, they are probably keeping it in the bank for a goalie. Just in case, you know. Toronto, fug-get-about-it. Not with History Man Gainey at the helm. Not going to deal with Toronto, cause, well, they’re Toronto. That leaves St. Louis and Philly. I’ll say Philly is the most interested, because Rivet seems like a Clarke kind of guy. They are also the most likely to overpay (which is good for us).

Rivet to Philly, for Sami Kapanen and a 2nd.

[MPLABBE]

How about the Thrashers?

Atlanta are desperate. They don't appear willing to meet Lowe's price on Comrie and of course Savard is out for 2+ months. Their offence is Kovalchuk, Kozlov and not much else.

I'd love to get Ilya Nikulin or Kiriil Safronov or something like a 3rd rounder for Yanic Perreault.