By J.D. Lagrange, Senior Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
It is no secret that Habs’ GM Marc Bergevin has been working on improving his team for a playoff run as it’s been reported by very reputable media sources. His original plans, however, might have just been tweaked due to the injury bug that has started to hit his team, especially on defense.
PENTICTON, BC. – The loss of defenseman Sergei Gonchar left a hole in the Canadiens’ line-up as the veteran has been a very pleasant surprise since acquired from the Dallas Stars in return for Travis Moen. At the same time it gave others a chance to show that they are ready to take on a bigger role, most notably his defensive partner and student Nathan Beaulieu.
Beaulieu, who credits his play to Gonchar any chance that he gets to do so, has shown that not only does he have the abilities to play in the NHL, but that he now has the maturity to be a positive contributor at this level. The 6’2” smooth skating defenseman has seen his ice time go from 13-14 minutes per game to a season high 25:10 minutes against the Florida Panthers and he didn’t look out of place.
While rumours had the names of Lars Eller and Alexei Emelin being sacrificed in order to get a top-4 defenseman and a top-6 forward fill some needs in the Montreal line-up, the shoulder injury to the rugged number 74 might have changed not only the earlier discussions with other teams, but also the urgency for Bergevin to address his need on defense.
Yes, you’re always in the game when you have the best goaltender in the game in net but the same cannot be said when you must give him a rest, as we’ve seen recently. Contrarily to what some fans claimed, Dustin Tokarski had himself a pretty good game against Ottawa but he has faced 38 shots in his last three starts. Few goalies aside from Carey Price will provide you wins with that kind of defensive meltdown, especially for a team struggling to put the puck in the opposing net on a regular basis.
I’m not so sure that Michel Therrien feels too comfortable going with Greg Pateryn, Jarred Tinordi (who had a rough night against Florida) and/or Mike Weaver, who’s play has regressed this season compared to last year.
So while the Canadiens do indeed need a top-6 forward who can put the puck in the net to help Max Pacioretty in that department, the team’s biggest need might just has shifted to a solid top-4 defenseman but as Bergevin knows too well, they come at a premium as there are more buyers than players available for that type of players.
THE TORONTO TALKS
Prior to Emelin being injured, it was interesting to read that Bergevin and his assistants Larry Carriere and Rick Dudley attended the Maple Leafs and Panthers’ game at the Air Canada Centre, and that Bergevin himself went to watch the Leafs’ farm team, the Marlies. To have such high hierarchy catch those games cannot be simply for a minor deal for pending UFAs like Daniel Winnik or David Booth as an assistant-GM and/or pro-scouts could do that work. This leads me to believe that they were talking much, much bigger deal. But what exactly?
If Bergevin went to watch the Marlies, there had to be some AHL parts coming to Montreal and for Habs’ brass to all attend the Leafs’ game, there had to be someone substantial, with years left to his contract, being seriously scouted.
Once again, the Habs needs were at the time a top-6 goal scorer and a top-4 defenseman. As Cody Franson had already been traded to Nashville at that time, this eliminates him. This leads me to believe that the Habs were (or still are) interested to one of Dion Phaneuf ($7M cap hit until 2020-21), Phil Kessel ($8M cap hit until 2021-22), Nazem Kadri (pending RFA), Jake Gardiner ($4.65M cap hit until 2018-19), Roman Polak ($3.1M cap hit until 2015-16) or often injured Joffrey Lupul ($5.25M cap hit until 2017-18).
It has recently been reported that Leafs’ GM Dave Nonis would like to get Michael Bournival and/or Christian Thomas but that would obviously not be enough to land one (or two) of the names mentioned above.
It’s also no secret that the Leafs are less than happy with their goaltending, a need which they thought that they had addressed when they traded with the Los Angeles Kings to acquire Jonathan Bernier. Both Bernier and James Reimer have had up and down seasons and while some of the blame cannot be put solely on them, they have also looked pretty shaky at times this season and cost Toronto some precious points.
Based on all of that, here’s another bit of speculation on my part: could the Leafs be making a pitch for Dustin Tokarski? Let’s face it, he is young, has won at every level that he’s played at and he has shown being ready to play at the NHL level. He would not be a sure thing in Toronto but he would definitely be given a chance to get that elusive starting job, something he won’t get in Montreal unless Carey Price gets hurt. I could see one of Bernier or Reimer being traded to the Habs to back up Price.
This is just a process of deduction and I’m following no source or rumour bloggers, so take it for what it is. I have no idea who could/would be heading the other way. Don’t take this to the back and mortgage your house on the speculations above folks, I’m just thinking out loud. Perhaps Emelin’s injury changed all of that but one thing is for sure, Bergevin will try to help his team in this difficult time and we should see some interesting action prior to the March 2nd trade deadline.
Go Habs Go!