Proposal: MTL-UTAH Jordan Harris for Jack McBain

[callan819]

Habs will likely have Matheson, Guhle, Xhekaj, Hutson on the left side next year and Savard, Barron and Kovacevic on the right side leaving Harris as the odd man out while also needing help on forward.

McBain being a centre on Utah, is behind the likes of Cooley and Schmaltz and they also do not have any dmen signed next year.

Harris has 1 year left paying 1.4 million posting 31 points in 121 games played over 2 seasons

McBain has 1 year left paying 1.6 million posting 52 points in 149 games played over 2 seasons

Is this a fair trade?

Click to read more...

 

[Mrfenn92]

Not sure Arizona is looking to move McBain. Seems to be the type of player Armstrong likes.

 

[Jormungandr]

Hell no. McBain is the perfect future 3rd/4th line grinding center who matches up well against top lines.

And Schmaltz is not a center. Center depth in Utah right now is Hayton, Bjugstad, Cooley, McBain.

 

[Gurglesons]

McBain is a god.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

I don't see the upside for Utah here.

 

[SnS]

Zero reason for Utah to do this other than to help out Montreal.

 

[HabbyGuy]

McBain is a god.

 

[SamHabsFan]

Zero reason for Utah to do this other than to help out Montreal.

help Montreal with what?? we do not gain cap space, nor quality of player..we already have DVO and Evans for 3c and 4c which are comparable to Mcbain, I would even argue that Evans is better. so yeah..lets not act like Montreal is fleecing Utah or something here

 

[Miller Time]

Zero reason for Utah to do this other than to help out Montreal.

Or, perhaps, to add to their razor thin defense group

McBain : Harris is about as good a value & team need proposal as I've seen around here. Well done op.


I'm sure both GMs will be targeting superior upgrades for their respective roster needs, but as a fall back, this deal makes perfect sense for both.

 

[dgibb10]

Just be patient and you can find Jordan Harris on waivers

 

[CristianoRonaldo]

Just be patient and you can find Jordan Harris on waivers

KH kept three goaltenders, almost the whole year, he won't waive Harris.

 

[biturbo19]

This seems like about the biggest and easiest of Nopes for Utah.


Harris is okay, but he's a sort of Swiss Army Knife #4/5D at best. Not really great at anything, not terrible at anything. But a guy that you really want to push down the lineup if you can. On a Contender he's probably more of a 6D who can sort of slot in anywhere with injuries. Not a bad player, but certainly not the sort of piece that teams move pieces like McBain for. Big young Centers with a well established Bottom-6 NHL floor? Those ain't cheap.

KH kept three goaltenders, almost the whole year, he won't waive Harris.

He won't waive Harris. But realistically speaking...you can sometimes find players like him on waivers. Heck...the Habs got Kovacevic that way and he's in a similar tier.

 

[pth2]

Solid proposal of equivalent players.

Good work, OP.

 

[CanadienShark]

As a Habs fan my first and only thought was "done."

 

[rt]

Utah says no.

Solid proposal of equivalent players.

Good work, OP.

Utah gets ripped off.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Random note:

Matheson - Guhle
(Struble/Xhekaj) - Savard
Harris - Barron / Kovacevic
7D = Barron / Kovacevic
injury callup = Struble / Xhekaj

This is the D, with Struble not Hutson. There are too many young LHD for Hutson to be making the roster so soon without multiple trades. Habs fans want Harris traded so that Struble and Xhekaj can both be full-time Habs and then Hutson can move up into the "injury callup" role. Hutson being amazing and forcing a spot on the roster would necessitate a second trade, but this first trade has to happen regardless of that.

 

[HabbyGuy]

Random note:

Matheson - Guhle
(Struble/Xhekaj) - Savard
Harris - Barron / Kovacevic
7D = Barron / Kovacevic
injury callup = Struble / Xhekaj

This is the D, with Struble not Hutson. There are too many young LHD for Hutson to be making the roster so soon without multiple trades. Habs fans want Harris traded so that Struble and Xhekaj can both be full-time Habs and then Hutson can move up into the "injury callup" role. Hutson being amazing and forcing a spot on the roster would necessitate a second trade, but this first trade has to happen regardless of that.

Struble can be sent down to Laval as he's waiver exempt, I would bet that Kovacevic is the one that will be traded before Harris or Barron. Hughes will not rush in moving one of his young D until he knows exactly what he has in them. Dmen need time to cook.

Harris is useful in that he's smart and steady, and Barron still has untapped potential, his tool kit is promising. Even if Hutson forces himself onto the roster the habs can easily carry or even play 7 D.

This is not an issue. (Yet)

 

[jfhabs]

I don't think Utah has a surplus of Centers like we have a surplus of LHD. I'd probably offer Struble instead. I think he's similar to Harris with added physicality. Don't think Utah would take it either. I've been listening to their coach on radio and he loves McBain.

 

[Miller Time]

He won't waive Harris. But realistically speaking...you can sometimes find players like him on waivers. Heck...the Habs got Kovacevic that way and he's in a similar tier.

The bolded highlights that your assessment of Harris is way off.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Every team in the league would see McBain as a potential long-term, impact piece in the bottom of their lineup. I don't think Harris carries that type of clout or potential.

McBain is the definition of a playoff-style bottom 6er. Harris is a good enough player but he's not an archetype that teams go looking after... in fact he's probably more of an archetype of the kind of guys teams seek to upgrade on when they are looking to really compete.

I don't think Utah has a surplus of Centers like we have a surplus of LHD. I'd probably offer Struble instead. I think he's similar to Harris with added physicality. Don't think Utah would take it either. I've been listening to their coach on radio and he loves McBain.

Pretty spot on thought process here

 

[Joseph Nathan]

Mcbain was traded for a 2nd round pick. Utah isn’t trading him for a lesser value player

 

[Dead Coyote]

help Montreal with what?? we do not gain cap space, nor quality of player..we already have DVO and Evans for 3c and 4c which are comparable to Mcbain, I would even argue that Evans is better. so yeah..lets not act like Montreal is fleecing Utah or something here

You should try watching hockey games before you make statements like this. There is no world in which McBain is a worse center than Dvorak or Evans, and I'm a huge Dvorak fan even now.

McBain is a huge, physical, nasty goalscoring center who is great on the cycle, not afraid to stand up for his teammates, and can play up and down the lineup. He got time as a 1C with Keller and Schmaltz this year and was great in that role because he fits perfectly. He needs to work on his faceoff skills but there's no reason why he should not be an excellent tweener in the NHL, and he's 24.

Harris would be a pretty good add to the roster and I'd take him as the 5th/6th/7th D but he's not better than Moser, nor is he really better than Valimaki, at least when Valimaki is on. Simashev, Duda, and Kolyachanok are all LD that are coming up as well.

McBain is just much more valuable than a steady decent two way defenseman. I would certainly throw a pick Montreal's way if Harris is the odd man out, but there's also a decent chance he could be picked up off waivers, and there's an even more decent chance that someone will be picked up in FA like Skjei, Ghostisbehere, etc and that one spot will be left open for Koly, Duda, Soderstrom etc to fight over.

Regardless though McBain likely isn't moving with how horrible Utah's center depth is, they have 3 NHL d-man (Moser, Valimaki, Durzi) who can play the left side well, and several guys knocking on the door. There's no reason to pick up a guy who isn't going to be at least better than Moser/Durzi. They don't need more tweener guys, they need guys who will push their current roster down to where they should be. Moser/Durzi is a great second pair. Valimaki is a pretty good 5D. They're all reasonably young. No real reason to make a trade like this.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Utah is not trading McJesus. Unless its for the Oiler's McJesus.

 

[BKarchitect]

McBain is a guy who is going to be a useful in the playoffs for a contender at some point as a middle six center. He’s big, rugged, very good defensively, strong on the puck and has sneaky good hockey sense.

Harris is simply not built for the second season….so even if he can do a job as a lower tier blueliner for most of a season, that’s simply going to neuter his value. For a guy who doesn’t provide exceptional offense from the backend, he’s undersized. And he plays small. He’s Jacob Bryson, not quite as small. I’d be shocked if he’s in the Habs’ plans past this year. So many better and more role-fulfilling guys on the way in Montreal.

This isn’t so much like “omg McBain is so awesome and Harris is useless”. Its simply a matter of evaluation past their current usage and how they project onto a more competitive, physical and mature team - which both Montreal and Utah are trying to become.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

You should try watching hockey games before you make statements like this. There is no world in which McBain is a worse center than Dvorak or Evans, and I'm a huge Dvorak fan even now.

McBain is a huge, physical, nasty goalscoring center who is great on the cycle, not afraid to stand up for his teammates, and can play up and down the lineup. He got time as a 1C with Keller and Schmaltz this year and was great in that role because he fits perfectly. He needs to work on his faceoff skills but there's no reason why he should not be an excellent tweener in the NHL, and he's 24.

Harris would be a pretty good add to the roster and I'd take him as the 5th/6th/7th D but he's not better than Moser, nor is he really better than Valimaki, at least when Valimaki is on. Simashev, Duda, and Kolyachanok are all LD that are coming up as well.

McBain is just much more valuable than a steady decent two way defenseman. I would certainly throw a pick Montreal's way if Harris is the odd man out, but there's also a decent chance he could be picked up off waivers, and there's an even more decent chance that someone will be picked up in FA like Skjei, Ghostisbehere, etc and that one spot will be left open for Koly, Duda, Soderstrom etc to fight over.

Regardless though McBain likely isn't moving with how horrible Utah's center depth is, they have 3 NHL d-man (Moser, Valimaki, Durzi) who can play the left side well, and several guys knocking on the door. There's no reason to pick up a guy who isn't going to be at least better than Moser/Durzi. They don't need more tweener guys, they need guys who will push their current roster down to where they should be. Moser/Durzi is a great second pair. Valimaki is a pretty good 5D. They're all reasonably young. No real reason to make a trade like this.

Alright, I'll accept the rather have McBain than Harris and Dvorak. Dvorak, aside from his first season has been hurt, or not useful.

Now, McBain is easily not better than Evans and I'm kind of wanting a tougher centre.

McBain sucks at faceoffs while Evans is at 54%, while McBain was at 46%.

Evans played a ridiculous amount of time on the pk, I believe he took the most faceoffs shorthanded and finished at 46%. For comparison McBain had 36% shorthanded.

Now, Evans produced more offensively. He didn't get a chance on the top line with good players.