All Habs Mailbag: Thrower, Demotions, Top Prospects & Projections, Left & Right Wings, Long-Term Contracts

Yes he does. CHL rules stipulate a player must be 20 years old, or turn 20 years old before the New Year of the season about to start to be AHL eligible for CHL-drafted players. With Thrower being a late 1993 birthday, he will be 20 by December of 2013. When Thrower completes his final season this year in the Western Hockey League, he will be free to sign an entry-level deal with Montreal and start playing at the pro level.

Paul: What are the rules regarding any potential demotions for Gomez, Kaberle, etc.?

Essentially, you can demote as many players as you want to the AHL if you’re looking to bury salary, provided that player does not have a No-Movement Clause. This isn’t the same as a No-Trade Clause, which only stipulates a player can choose to turn down being traded, a No-Movement means they can deny being sent to the AHL. Neither Gomez, Kaberle or perhaps Bourque have such a measure in their contracts to protect them. The other option for the Canadiens is loaning the players to European clubs, albeit Montreal must still pay their contracts. The Chicago Blackhawks did this in 2010 when they were looking to shed salary and needed to bury former Canadiens goaltender Christobal Huet.

Matyp: Who are your top 10 Habs prospects, where will they fit into line up and what is the eta to play in NHL?

Without ranking anyone between 1 and 10, I would name these 10:

Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Jarred Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, Morgan Ellis, Louis Leblanc, Danny Kristo, Sebastian Collberg, Michael Bournival and Tim Bozon. I base this on best projectable upside and proximity to transitioning to an NHL role as a contributing player.

As for where they fit, Galchenyuk, Collberg are potential Top-6 skaters for scoring talent. Gallagher, Bozon, Leblanc, Kristo are more Top-9 offensive forwards based on current projectable abilities, although Top-6 is not out of the question. Bournival likely projects as a Bottom-6 checking forward. Tinordi could project as high as 1^st-pairing defence as a punishing, minute-eating defensive defencemen. Beaulieu projects presently as a 2^nd-pairing offensive defencemen, due to concerns about his drawbacks defensively. Ellis could potentially be a Top-4 two-way defenceman.

As per ETA to the NHL: I’d expect Leblanc to potentially move into a spot in the current lineup, and Gallagher, Ellis may get opportunities as well. Galchenyuk, Tinordi and Beaulieu will each begin auditioning for a permanent spot in the 2013-14 season. I would expect Bournival, Collberg and Kristo to get their chances for full-time in 2014-15. Tim Bozon will likely get his first honest chance in 2015-16.

Dan: How do you see dealing with all the righties in Habs forward prospect pool? (Gallagher, Leblanc, Kristo, Collberg…)

Unless the team wants to try some swaps for left-handed shooters or LWs, the team may just have to adjust to having an abundance of right-handed shots and have some RWs convert to the left. It is not a wholly ideal scenario but if Montreal is committed to drafting, developing and preparing players for their fishbowl market it’s a dilemma. It may be better to have the players they know are more able to handle it and committed to the game than the prospects, players from other teams they are far less confident of. Granted it is not ideal to force players to play on their off wings if they are a ‘natural’ left or right wing either. On the other hand, with a rich prospect base at the right wing, the team could also deal from a position of strength as they need to if the right deal comes up for a strong left wing candidate. I don’t think Montreal should try anything dramatic, just develop the talent they have and see what it comes out to.

Herman: Should we be concerned that Habs are giving out too many long term deals? Ex: Price, Gorges, Moen, Prust.

I would not stay up all night over the matter. Price and Gorges were signed to 6 years each because they are core talent that will determine the outcome of many games over the foreseeable future. It’s a good commitment that locks up solid talent for good stretch, but not so long that changing circumstances make the player immovable if they have to be dealt. Halfway through the term, only 3 years are left on the deal and teams are willing to take on the player in attempt to turn them around often enough. When you compare this to 3 years into a 12-year deal when the player has become a problem and the team has no beneficial way to drop the contract, it’s pretty solid. As per Moen, he’s a very useful grit player and is earning less against the salary cap now than when he was signed in 2009. Even if Moen slows down, it’s not a major inconvenience to buy him out if it comes to that. I’ve been pretty vocal in my dismissal of the Prust deal in term and dollars, but Prust should be able to give at least 2-3 serviceable years I believe and one benefit of the current NHL environment is the overvaluing of the Prusts. Teams are a bit too much in love with the character players at present, even if their skills are very limited and are willing to pay out more than they should to get one.