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 (@Potsy_70) 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?.
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?
