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Post by HTL on Jul 13, 2024 3:03:10 GMT
Unless they're offering him KK type money Hughes would likely match any offer. We all know how that worked out for the Canes.
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Post by BigTed3 on Jul 13, 2024 13:06:03 GMT
So Barry Trotz, GM of the Preds, who play in a no-tax state, has come out saying he thinks there's no doubt that being one of the tax-free states is a significant advantage in bringing in players. He adds that guys like Stamkos and Marchessault wouldn't only go there for the tax-free state and that they also wanted to be part of a winning team, but that his dollars go further and that players may be willing to accept a little bit less to sign there, enhancing the team's cap freedom. He also states that he thinks the tax issue is an even bigger incentive for 2nd and 3rd-tier players, who need to be more careful about every dollar they earn and where a few thousand dollars can make a big difference to them in terms of where they sign.
So we have yet another person supporting the idea that tax-free states matter, at least in perception. And this from a guy who is actively benefiting from it and has no incentive to admit it.
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regis
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Post by regis on Jul 13, 2024 16:30:34 GMT
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regis
Le Gros Bill
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Post by regis on Jul 15, 2024 15:10:51 GMT
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Post by maasart on Jul 15, 2024 18:25:35 GMT
I actually dont think any are particularly bold. I think Savard will get traded I think we will challenge for a playoff spot (probably fall short but if everyone is healthy and our kids continue to take strides...) I think Hutson will do well (although not certain he'll start the year on the main roster, im sure he'll finish there) I think 65 points for Slaf is well within his reach. Heck, he got 50 after starting the year with a handful of points in his first 30 games. Im not sure if Caufield will get an ASG nod (Who cares?) but i do think he'll have a strong year & will break 30... possibly 40.
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Post by habsology on Jul 17, 2024 12:48:07 GMT
I actually dont think any are particularly bold. I think Savard will get traded I think we will challenge for a playoff spot (probably fall short but if everyone is healthy and our kids continue to take strides...) I think Hutson will do well (although not certain he'll start the year on the main roster, im sure he'll finish there) I think 65 points for Slaf is well within his reach. Heck, he got 50 after starting the year with a handful of points in his first 30 games. Im not sure if Caufield will get an ASG nod (Who cares?) but i do think he'll have a strong year & will break 30... possibly 40. Yeah pretty bland predictions. But that does give food for thought. Perhaps we should start a Predictions thread of what we think will happen this coming season.
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Post by graeme on Jul 19, 2024 15:21:42 GMT
I feel like this year is going to tell us a lot about how on-track the rebuild is. So many questions: 1.) Is Lane Hutson able to play at the NHL level and dominate offensively? 2.) Can Kirby Dach bounce back from his injury? 3.) How do Mailloux and Reinbacher handle the jump? 4.) Does Slaf continue his upwards trajectory? 5.) Can Caufield get his shooting percentage back up? 6.) Can Roy show he's a legitimate second-line winger?
(I'm also still holding out some slim hope Demidov can get out of his contract this summer (similar to Michkov): it's not overly likely, but I'm sure Montreal will be looking at all possibilities).
If a lot of those things fall our way, the team probably finishes in the middle third of the league and the rebuild will appear to be on track (we're still probably waiting for 2027 to be true contenders - need to give some more time for maturation and a few more players to arrive, plus for the last of MB's dead-weight contracts to come off the books, but the future will look bright).
On the other hand, if a lot of those questions don't fall our way, we could easily be a bottom-five team again, and the prospects for becoming a true contender start to look bleaker: even with players like Demidov on the way, suddenly we have a lot of other question marks and the rebuild starts to resemble a Buffalo or Detroit - good pieces but too many holes and lack of high-end talent.
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Post by BigTed3 on Jul 19, 2024 16:27:06 GMT
I feel like this year is going to tell us a lot about how on-track the rebuild is. So many questions: 1.) Is Lane Hutson able to play at the NHL level and dominate offensively? 2.) Can Kirby Dach bounce back from his injury? 3.) How do Mailloux and Reinbacher handle the jump? 4.) Does Slaf continue his upwards trajectory? 5.) Can Caufield get his shooting percentage back up? 6.) Can Roy show he's a legitimate second-line winger? (I'm also still holding out some slim hope Demidov can get out of his contract this summer (similar to Michkov): it's not overly likely, but I'm sure Montreal will be looking at all possibilities). If a lot of those things fall our way, the team probably finishes in the middle third of the league and the rebuild will appear to be on track (we're still probably waiting for 2027 to be true contenders - need to give some more time for maturation and a few more players to arrive, plus for the last of MB's dead-weight contracts to come off the books, but the future will look bright). On the other hand, if a lot of those questions don't fall our way, we could easily be a bottom-five team again, and the prospects for becoming a true contender start to look bleaker: even with players like Demidov on the way, suddenly we have a lot of other question marks and the rebuild starts to resemble a Buffalo or Detroit - good pieces but too many holes and lack of high-end talent.
I know these are more rhetorical questions at the moment, but my feeling as to how these things unfold:
1. I think Hutson probably starts the year in Laval playing next to Reinbacher, barring our trading 1-2 LHD before the start of the season. Matheson, Savard, Harris, and Barron all require waivers, so they're likely starting the season with the big club. There's a zero percent chance Guhle gets sent down. That leaves really two roster spots for Xhekaj, Struble, Mailloux, Reinbacher, Hutson. Have to figure Xhekaj gets one and with our being short at RHD that Mailloux has the inside track on the other. If the Habs want Hutson on the roster to start the year, it'll take a trade or an injury. Barring that, I just get the feeling they're not in a rush. Now if he does play, I think he'll play well. He looked very comfortable last year. I think he would eventually get PP1 minutes, and I could see him putting up 0.5 points per game. But for me, the more realistic scenario as we speak is that he starts in Laval and comes up as roster space frees up during the season.
2. I think Dach will be effective again coming off injury. His game isn't predicated on his speed, it's about him using his size and being in the right spots, and I don't think it'll be that hard for him to find that again. My question here is whether he can stay healthy.
3. As per point 1, I think Reinbacher starts the year in Laval. Assuming Mailloux makes the Habs, I think expectations here should be low. It's more likely that we run Matheson-Guhle as pair 1 and then either Harris-Savard or Xhekaj-Savard as pair 2. So Mailloux is probably more of a rotational player with Barron on the 3rd pairing. I think the Habs will be judicious as managing his minutes, and if he gets PP time, it'll be 2nd wave to start. If Hutson's on the team with Matheson, Mailloux may get very limited PP, since the team has typically gone 1 D man per wave under MSL. I think Mailloux will show waves of offensive ability, but I think this is more of a growth year for him and I expect we'll see a decent number of defensive lapses and growing pains here. Patience will be key.
4. Yes. The skill is there. This was a matter of confidence and his figuring out that he could play in the NHL. I don't see him turning back.
5. I think CC's injury affected him more than he's let on. His shot hasn't been quite as good as it was 2-3 years ago. I think we'll see his shooting percentage rise up a bit, but his getting a big jump in points is probably going to depend more on how the PP works and whether there are alternative threats to score or create that free up more space for him. If Hutson makes the team, I think that helps Caufield's production. But I think we're looking at about 30 goals or a tad more for him this year. I'd be surprised if he challenges the 45-50 we were dreaming about a year or two ago.
6. As with Mailloux, I think patience is needed with Roy. The problem here is a lack of top 6 winger options after CC and Slaf. So two guys are going to be forced into playing roles they're not really suited for. I think Roy will play as an NHLer, but he's ideally a 3rd liner for now, playing with the likes of Newhook and Armia. If we ask him to take on tougher minutes, it will be more of a challenge for him. The encouraging thing for me last year was that he was playing well without having superior speed. He was getting chances and goals simply by being in the right spot. So that bodes well for his chances of continuing to bang in garbage goals going forward. I think we're potentially looking at a 14-18 goal season for Roy, which is fine for a player of his age and experience. But he's not quite a 2nd liner for me yet. The best news for us would be if a guy like Heineman can seize a top 6 role and keep Roy in the right seat.
As I've said in previous posts, I thought a few months ago that this could be a team that challenged for the bottom of the playoffs but was more likely to fall just outside. However, as the off-season has progressed, we sat silent in free agency and haven't forced the issue to make a jump. I thought HuGo would go after a veteran top 6 forward (and he did seem to have inquired about the likes of Marchessault and Kane) to try to bolster overall team performance, but the way the chips have fallen, this is looking like another stepping stone year. I think over the course of the season, they're going to try to work in players like Roy, Beck, Heineman, Mailloux, Reinbacher, Hutson, Primeau, etc. Some improvement will come from our core getting better and from these younger guys increasing the overall skill of the team. But ultimately, I don't see us having closed the gap on other teams all that much, and many of the teams just in front of us have improved as much if not more than us. So as it stands, I think we'll be in the mix of 3rd to 10th worst again.
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Post by graeme on Jul 19, 2024 16:36:55 GMT
All fair points. We may not have answers to all of those questions this season (e.g. Roy or Mailloux's ceiling), but I feel like we should have a lot more data than we do now.
I don't necessarily expect for Hutson and/or Reinbacher to start the year in Montreal, but suspect we see them both get meaningful time in the NHL (although I still think we'll see a trade or two to clear up LHD logjam). The idea of having them play together in Laval is interesting given that's a potentially effective first pairing (basically you'd have Reinbacher as the steady rock while Hutson goes all Leroy Jenkins to generate magic).
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Post by BigTed3 on Jul 19, 2024 16:45:22 GMT
All fair points. We may not have answers to all of those questions this season (e.g. Roy or Mailloux's ceiling), but I feel like we should have a lot more data than we do now. I don't necessarily expect for Hutson and/or Reinbacher to start the year in Montreal, but suspect we see them both get meaningful time in the NHL (although I still think we'll see a trade or two to clear up LHD logjam). The idea of having them play together in Laval is interesting given that's a potentially effective first pairing (basically you'd have Reinbacher as the steady rock while Hutson goes all Leroy Jenkins to generate magic). Agreed on ceilings, this isn't the year to know that for many of these young guys, it's about getting in minutes and building their level of play.
As far as D men go, I think it's clear the Habs envisioned playing Reinbacher with Hutson when they drafted him. They saw him as being a complement in terms of size, handedness, and style of play. It's similar to how the Canucks paired Hronek with Hughes, how Ottawa had Methot to go with Karlsson, and how we used Komisarek with Markov. The defensive guy is considerably less valuable than the offensive guy, but they're duos that can work well together to maximize each player's strengths. Hutson-Reinbacher played together at camp last year and spoke about how the team saw them as being a good fit. Likewise, Xhekaj and Mailloux worked well in Laval last year and could be something we see again. But that means the odd men out here are Guhle, Harris, and Struble on the left and Barron on the right. Is Barron a good fit for Guhle? Or do we need to figure out how to re-vamp our 2nd pairing (assuming Hutson-Reinbacher is your future #1 duo and Xhekaj-Mailloux is best suited for being a 3rd pairing)? This is why I thought drafting a Parekh wouldn't have been the end of the world, as he could have been a good fit to pair with Guhle. I think we're still looking for another RHD to fill out our top 4, and I personally don't see Barron as being the answer.
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Post by maasart on Jul 19, 2024 17:03:27 GMT
I'm also still holding out some slim hope Demidov can get out of his contract this summer (similar to Michkov): it's not overly likely, but I'm sure Montreal will be looking at all possibilities As you said, likely very unlikely but wow, what a boost that would be. IIRC, KHL players have to buy out their own contracts so unless he has the money in the back, i dont think the team could step in? (Obviously they can reimburse him after the fact, but i dont think they can send him a money order to actually pay it) so it seems unlikely unless he has some wealth already...
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regis
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Post by regis on Jul 20, 2024 1:36:18 GMT
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RCAF48
Captain Kirk
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Post by RCAF48 on Jul 22, 2024 21:37:11 GMT
RHP suffers LBI.........may be ready for training camp..............maybe not..................so it begins.
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regis
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Post by regis on Jul 22, 2024 21:49:33 GMT
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Post by maasart on Jul 22, 2024 22:46:18 GMT
RHP suffers LBI.........may be ready for training camp..............maybe not..................so it begins. oof. the worst luck. lets hope this is not his future...
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Post by ramcharger440 on Jul 22, 2024 23:07:38 GMT
RHP suffers LBI.........may be ready for training camp..............maybe not..................so it begins. oof. the worst luck. lets hope this is not his future... Honestly I feel for the kid but I do not see him as part of our future he is fairly limited in what he can bring to the team.
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Post by maasart on Jul 22, 2024 23:39:54 GMT
oof. the worst luck. lets hope this is not his future... Honestly I feel for the kid but I do not see him as part of our future he is fairly limited in what he can bring to the team. For sure. he's not a core player but if he could get back to that sort of bottom 6, 15-20 goal range, he's a useful player to have. Right now he's looking like Benoit Brunet 2.0
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regis
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Post by regis on Jul 23, 2024 20:39:23 GMT
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Post by BigTed3 on Jul 24, 2024 1:32:51 GMT
The Athletic running a piece today on John Tavares and how the CRA is saying he owes 8M in extra taxes... apparently Tavares had 15M of his contract with the Leafs shifted to being a signing bonus because he (and many other players) believed it would allow for a tax loophole that allowed him to pay taxes on that amount as a US resident and not a Canadian employee. But alas, the CRA has said that's not the case and that Tavares was at heart a Canadian and spent more than half the year in Canada, therefore making him ineligible to use that loophole. The case has implications for many other athletes trying to get out of paying Canadian taxes.
In the article, several tax specialists and agents are cited and make specific note that they advise clients to avoid playing in Canada if taxes are important to them. They also state that the cost of living in many Canadian cities is higher than in many of the American NHL cities. So they add that there is a double disadvantage for Canadian teams when it comes to negotiating. The bonus loophole was one way Canadian teams clawed back some of the difference, but if this type of thing is being challenged (whether it goes through or not we won't know apparently for several years), the agents feel like this will further dissuade players from wanting to play in Canada.
So yet further evidence from the horse's mouth that taxes matter and that the discrepancies do play a role in players' decisions. The NHL really needs to act on this to level the playing field...
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Post by maasart on Jul 24, 2024 14:21:59 GMT
The Athletic running a piece today on John Tavares and how the CRA is saying he owes 8M in extra taxes... apparently Tavares had 15M of his contract with the Leafs shifted to being a signing bonus because he (and many other players) believed it would allow for a tax loophole that allowed him to pay taxes on that amount as a US resident and not a Canadian employee. But alas, the CRA has said that's not the case and that Tavares was at heart a Canadian and spent more than half the year in Canada, therefore making him ineligible to use that loophole. The case has implications for many other athletes trying to get out of paying Canadian taxes. In the article, several tax specialists and agents are cited and make specific note that they advise clients to avoid playing in Canada if taxes are important to them. They also state that the cost of living in many Canadian cities is higher than in many of the American NHL cities. So they add that there is a double disadvantage for Canadian teams when it comes to negotiating. The bonus loophole was one way Canadian teams clawed back some of the difference, but if this type of thing is being challenged (whether it goes through or not we won't know apparently for several years), the agents feel like this will further dissuade players from wanting to play in Canada. So yet further evidence from the horse's mouth that taxes matter and that the discrepancies do play a role in players' decisions. The NHL really needs to act on this to level the playing field... The simple solution is that teams in states/provinces with higher taxes get a higher cap, but would the NHL do that?
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