by Blain Potvin, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
MONTREAL, QC – With the NHL Entry Draft complete and Free Agent Frenzy behind us, we can see a more complete picture of the direction Marc Bergevin has decided on for the fourth season of his five year plan.
Goaltending
Carey Price has been cleared and is 100 per cent healthy again. His off season workouts have already begun and he has said he will be ready to play in the World Cup of Hockey this September. This is excellent news for the Habs and bad news for the rest of the NHL as he will be motivated to win after missing an entire season.
This left Mike Condon as the presumptive backup goaltender. However management felt that they needed an inexpensive yet proven veteran backup capable of shouldering the pressure of backing up a star goaltender. And they were able to dip into the July 1st free agent frenzy by signing Al Montoya who over last season with the Florida Panthers backing up Roberto Luongo, posted a 12-7-3 record, a 2.18 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in 25 games. And it is very likely he decided to be the first UFA to sign with the Canadiens so quickly after receiving an offer he simply couldn’t refuse.
First UFA to sign with #Habs gets tickets for Bouncy castles in Halifax pic.twitter.com/G8K5ylIiOt
— Blain (@BlainPotvin_THW) July 1, 2016
This leaves Montreal with three very capable young goaltenders in the system that can compete for the AHL starting position, and also be used in any potential trade in the offseason.
Defence
Just like the majority of Canadiens’ fans, I was stunned when seeing the news on the P.K. Subban – Shea Weber deal. For years, many fans were wishing Marc Bergevin would step away from his slow and steady process and make a bold move. And Bergevin did just that, unfortunately for the hardcore P.K. fans, he chose to trade Subban for Weber thus changing the dynamic of the team in one major and unexpected move. You can read two discussions of the trade here: Habs Fans and P.K., A Love Affair and Habs Trade P.K., Is This Real?.
Defensively, the top pairing has been upgraded with Weber’s arrival. He provides Montreal with a big, aggressive top-pairing defenseman who is excellent in one-on-one situations and keeps the defensive and transition games simple and efficient allowing him to play heavy minutes with his typical physical play. Offensively, Weber brings in a more effective and feared shot from the point, but he is not a dynamic skater. His leadership and experience will be very helpful to captain Max Pacioretty and to help control the emotions in the dressing room over the course of a long season.
The second and third pairings remain unchanged. With Jeff Petry returning healthy, that leaves Alexei Emelin and Nathan Beaulieu to compete for the second pairing ice-time, as well as to provide some even strength amd penalty kill ice time relief to Andrei Markov. Management is very likely looking for Beaulieu to take another step forward and reach his potential as a consistent and productive second pairing defenseman, if not look for another move this summer. And look for Mark Barberio to provide the depth needed as a fill in on the third pairing.
The addition of right handed Zach Redmond provides Montreal with another solid depth defenseman known for his puck moving capabilities. It also provides the Habs with eight defensemen under NHL contracts.
In the system, the Canadiens allowed Darren Dietz and Morgan Ellis to walk away as UFAs when they were not tendered qualifying offers. With Noah Juulsen likely graduating to the pros, the loss of Dietz was not as painful as losing Ellis. Yet on July 2nd Phillip Samuelsson was signed and will provide a more experienced player to help lead a young Ice Caps roster.
But the largest impact to the future blueline had to be the addition to the system of the 2016 ninth overall pick Mikhail Sergachev. He is projected to become a top pairing defender and has a desire to emulate Drew Doughty’s style of play, he also may be NHL capable as soon as this season but will likely play out the year with the Memorial Cup Host Windsor Spitfires. He also answers the question to who will replace Andrei Markov.
Forwards
While offensively, Montreal was able to score exactly the same number of goals this season (221 goals) as they did the season prior when they finished second overall in the Eastern Conference. It was also well known that they were unable to provide the timely goals this past season as it did the season before. This stemmed mostly from a lack of proven top six forwards and a sluggish power-play. Enter Alex Radulov. He has excellent puck control and playmaking ability, but his best weapon is a powerful and accurate wrist shot that he is capable of firing while at top speed. He has game breaking speed and ability but has been inconsistent in the past during his time in the NHL. Marc Bergevin did his due diligence looking into his known maturity issues. And as Bergevin stated in his press conference on July 1st, it is now up to Radulov to prove he can marry his high talent with the focus needed to be a top line right-wing in the NHL. His one year $5.75 million deal was shrewd as it allows the player to prove himself, but also gives the franchise the ability to walk away as this is his last chance to become the impact player the Predators’ thought they drafted 15th overall in 2004.
This leaves one top six forward position open at the moment. Management seems satisfied to allow the youth in the system to fight over this opening as Artturi Lehkonen, Charles Hudon, Daniel Carr, Sven Andrighetto, Micheal McCarron and Nikita Scherbak are all seen as talented enough to possibly fill that role. But if they are not ready it is likely that management feels Andrew Shaw can fill this role if needed for now.
The addition of Andrew Shaw to the top nine adds flexibility as he can play all three forward positions. Losing Lars Eller seems to hurt the 3rd line, however the addition of Shaw more than makes up for this loss as he brings a very aggressive agitating style of hockey Montreal was lacking. He also provides experience as he has two Stanley Cup rings from his time in Chicago.
The Aftermath
The addition of Kirk Muller to run the Power Play along with a talented winger in Radulov should provide more goals scored and in a timely fashion. The defence should be capable of cutting back the goals against now that Price is healthy and a veteran backup in Montoya is able to play at a high level over a short span. Defensively Weber provides opposition forwards their own version of Fear Factor every time they try to enter the zone or establish themselves in the slot. This as well should only help cut back the goals against. This should allow for a positive goal differential once again, making this team a playoff team. Also once in the playoffs, with the added experience size and grit to go with the added scoring depth this team, if healthy, can look forward to a deep run.
Possible moves
The addition of Vadim Shipachyov is still a possibility now that it is known he can sign with an NHL team. But will Bergevin still be as interested in adding him. Also once the Free Agent Frenzy is behind us, NHL General Managers will begin to focus on trades that will improve their teams now and prepare for the expansion draft in the coming offseason.
Having the depth in NHL capable defensemen, young talented forward prospects, a collection of bottom six forwards as well as three talented goaltending prospects the Canadiens have allows for several options. Moving some in trades to upgrade the second line is the most glaring need. And as useful as David Desharnais has been in the past he is now in a roster spot that would be better served for the Canadiens to be filled by one of the many young players knocking at the NHL door.
There is still a serious need to upgrade the second pairing on defense as well if Beaulieu is not capable of taking that step forward in his progression and add consistency to his game. Marc Bergevin’s work is far from complete and may require another bold move before Lord Stanley’s Cup takes a fondly remembered route through downtown Montreal.
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After the Radulov acquisition, TSN prepared a revised depth chart for 2016-17. What would your Habs lineup look like?
Why no mention of one of Montreal’s best defensive defencemen, Greg Pateryn?
He’s a good 3rd pairing D there is no doubt. But he is on the 3rd pairing that remains unchanged. I also didn’t talk about Galchenyuk or Gallagher either. But if you want to see what I wrote on any of them please, refer to the Season’s End review series.
Pateryn is a good 3rd pairing Dman no doubt. There was also no mention of Galchenyuk or Gallagher either as there is no need to cover the unchanged portions of the roster. And Pateryn is on the third pair and that remains unchanged, as mentioned. There is a full write up on the defense on the season end reviews
Pateryn could play with Weber right now. Has a very similar style to Bill Nyrop who was the perfect foil for Robinson , Savard and Lapointe , a consistent effective stay at home defenseman.
So you think that Pateryn ( A RHD) should play on the top pairing with Weber (another RHD). Not to mention that Weber has the defensive side covered and pairs best with a more offensive dman as he always had in Josi/Suter. Forgetting of course that Pateryn is not a 1st pair dman at all…….are you sure on that? Can you honestly think a 3rd pairing dman that has difficulties on a 2nd pair and no experience on a 1st pair is the right “fit”. I would love to read your evaluation on how that pairing would ever work using the actual players and not some distant memory of different players from the ’70’s
Perhaps you could explain how you get experience as a first pair D man unless you are given a chance to play there O Wise One.
Billy- It’s got nothing to do with experience.
R D plays with L D, with your “reasoning”, I guess we could put DeLaRose with Chucky and Pac on the 1st line and put DD in nets for “experience”….shaking my head…
Don’t hurt yourself !
1st – Pateryn will never be a 1st pair dman. He is not capable of ever being one. He is a #6-7 Dman at the NHL level. That is his talent level. Which is fine. Can he do spot duty on a 2nd pair? Sure, for a shift or two. It is pretty obvious he lacks the foot speed, mobility, positioning, passing, vision and talent to ever be a 1st paring man.
You guys are obviously incapable of understanding what I am saying.That becomes obvious when you ,a blogger can make a definitive if uneducated statement about Greg Pateryn’s chances of playing on a top defensive pairing .I don’t know where you bought your crystal ball or how you were gifted the ability to see into the future and make statements like never being capable.You must be brilliant or think you are to write this stuff.Your Experience is weapons apparently.Stick to it because you obviously are not a good writer and you shoot yourself with some of these ludicrous statements you make.Have a nice day ,count some bullets.cause there is no need to reply..Fan since 1955.
Wait, because you’ve been a fan since 1955 suddenly your uneducated opinion hold water? Nyrop is a left handed Dman, not Right handed like Pateryn. And, how is my post “uneducated” yet yours about giving a RHD time on a top pair on the left side to a player who has never played on the left, let alone never played on a top pairing in the NHL just needs…..”experience” there? Did you see that in your crystal ball? If so, your crystal ball is clouded by fanboy love and cataracts.
You left Pateryn out of your original article and it was reported by 2 people.S truck a nerve so you try to denigrate those who see your mistake.I am one of the few people who respond to your blog’s and I can now understand why.Sarcasm and insult don’t win readers.I will take my 59 years of watching and learning about Montreal hockey and respond to other sites.Thank you once again for waisting my time.
I was very clear why I didn’t delve into Pateryn. he’s on the third pairing and it remains unchanged. It’s right there in the article. And you still haven’t shown me, or anyone how Pateryn is anything more than a 3rd pairing dman. or deserving of being on a top pairing as you stated. How is placing a dman incapable of being a top pairing defender on a top pairing, on his off hand as well no less, beneficial to the player or the team? Because that “experience” would not be good. You can watch hockey another 59 years and it won’t change that fact. Also, you’ll note no one else who comments on these articles is as condescending as you either.
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