Upcoming Draft Will Seal Habs Management’s Fate
by Michael Ham-Fan, Managing Editor, Le Magazine All Habs
MONTREAL – With the 2016 NHL draft approaching, many fans are feeling unsure about the Montreal Canadiens’ organisation going into next season. With the loss of Carey Price due to injury in 2015-’16, the Habs struggled mightily to win games. Even the wins were not very convincing. There were not many bright spots this past season, aside from Alex Galchenyuk who took the first steps to developing into a dominant centre.
Heading into the draft, the Habs hold the ninth pick of the first round, as well as six other picks in the latter rounds. The inability of the current management team to find a top-6 winger, combined with a lack of sure-fire prospects has the Habs fanbase worried. The lack of top flight wingers has resulted in a constant juggling of lines, often seeing bottom-6 players like Brian Flynn and Paul Byron having prominent roles in the Canadiens’ top two lines.
As for the prospect pool, for all the recognition that Trevor Timmins gets, there has been a lack of sure-fire prospects in the Habs organisation, especially on the offensive side. There are a few good prospect that are closing in on being NHL-ready such as Nikita Scherbak, Artturi Lekhonen and Martin Reway. But aside from those three, the Habs prospect pool doesn’t have enough pure offensive talent.
Therefore, heading into this year’s draft, Marc Bergevin has to find an immediate solution to his top two lines. The team lacks depth in that area, and I do not agree when Bergevin said that acquiring first or second liners was impossible. A depth top line player could also be a player that is one-dimensional and can only contribute offensively.
I personally think that a player like Brandon Pirri could have been had at last season’s trade deadline and would have been a perfect depth player for the Habs offense. Bergevin will have to put emphasis on exciting offensive players who can create plays on a consistent basis. Now, there is obviously the debate whether coach Michel Therrien would want to play those type of players, but that is another story for another day.
For a team who we are told is built from within, the prospects weren’t exactly at the centre of last year’s season. It seems that many prospects got a short taste of the NHL, but none of them were given any real responsibility nor showed consistent potential.
Michael McCarron, Daniel Carr, Sven Andrighetto, and Charles Hudon showed glimpses of their capabilities but they have yet to prove that they can become top line forwards. This is why the upcoming draft has to, in my opinion, be focused on top liners. With his seven draft picks, Bergevin should focus on high risk-high reward players, players with pure talent.
The obsession of the current management with hard workers and bottom-line players has been insufferable. The acquisition of Phillip Danault and Stefan Matteau at the end of last season mean that the Canadiens have enough players for nearly four “third lines.”
In my opinion, if the current management wants to stay in place, and if the ownership wants to keep fan interest, they will have to build a more exciting team for next season. With the current Stanley Cup finals starring two high octane offensive teams, one would hope that the Habs’ management would be proactive and not rely on Price’s return to get back on the road to success. If they fail to do that, I honestly think that, in the first time in years, fan interest will not be as high as it usually is for the Montreal Canadiens, and the current management team will have failed.
Keep an eye on All Habs Hockey Magazine in the coming weeks as we will be providing comprehensive coverage of draft prospects. In addition, our All Habs team will be reporting live from Buffalo. I, personally, will also give my take on who the Habs should target among the players I consider with “high level talent.”