Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Marc Bergevin, Free Agent, Jeff Petry, Joel Edmundson, Claude Julien, Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Patrik Laine, Taylor Hall
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — With the Stanley Cup being awarded last week, we need to give credit to the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) for the execution of the Return-to-Play plan that was put in place.
Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Lightning for being crowned the 2019-20 champions in difficult conditions. Spending so much time away from their loved ones, in combination with all the difficult safety protocols made this playoff run that will be remembered for a long time.
The attention of the league now officially turns to the 2020-21 season. When NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daily addressed the media ahead of the first game of the finals, they didn’t seem optimistic that the season would resume at the beginning of December, as tentatively planned.
The organizations this week will focus on the NHL Draft, with the first round being held virtually on Tuesday night, and the balance on Wednesday. Typically there are several trades that take place between teams leading up to and during the draft.
Joseph Whalen and Rick Stephens previewed the draft on the Canadiens Connection podcast, at the link found at the end of the column.
On Friday at noon Eastern time, it’s the opening of free agency. It is the beginning of the moment that organizations look at the market to fill gaps of their rosters.
I think that we can all agree that the Canadiens are several pieces away from being a contender. One of the benefits of the Return-to-Play was that it allowed Marc Bergevin and his staff to get a glimpse of how his current roster would perform in the post season.
In the sections below, I will review the main gaps that I think the general manager needs to focus during this off-season. Bergevin can take my recommendations and work with his team to close the gaps.
Scoring
The Canadiens finished 19th place in the regular season with 2.93 goals scored per game, and 17th during the post season with 2.30 goals scored per game.
“Scoring on a consistent basis was our downfall throughout the course of the year, and at times in the playoffs,” answered Jeff Petry when asked to identify needs. “Where we got in trouble is when you give up two goals but you’re not able to score two to make it a game.”
With Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Philip Danault, and Max Domi on the roster, it looks like the centre position is (finally) in good shape for Montreal. The four players listed aren’t fourth line players, which means that Bergevin potentially has an asset that he can use to acquire a scoring winger.
“When you can add a defenseman or a forward, a guy that can score a goal when you need it, it will definitely help the team,” said Jonathan Drouin at his annual golf tournament. “It has to be right player, it has to be the player you want, we have money under the cap but we have to be patient, and get the player that we really need.”
A winger that can generate offence would also help the power play, where Montreal finished 22nd overall in the regular season, after finishing 30th in 2018-19.
Taylor Hall is expected to hit the free agent market, and would be a good candidate to help Montreal offensively. As a bonus, he also plays on the wing. Sounds like a perfect match.
“I have to keep money for the team’s young prospects that will need to sign new contracts in the upcoming years,” Bergevin told Journal de Montreal newspaper in an interview on Tuesday. Well, scratch that name off the list.
Size
It looks like the organization feels that they need to get bigger. “We’re a fast team, but I think we lack some size as well, so somebody that has the ability to play that fast game but also brings grit, and a bigger body that can cause some havoc on the forecheck but not a guy that’s just there for his size,” said Petry at the end of the postseason.
Claude Julien would also like for the team to get bigger, but not at the detriment of talent. “It never hurts to be bigger, but you have to be efficient too,” said the coach at the conclusion of the season. “There’s no doubt if somebody comes along that’s a big size player that can help our team, we’re definitely going to jump on it.”
“Ideally, I’d like to bring a player with size that can produce offensively,” Bergevin recently told TVA Sports. “The teams that have big players that are talented, they don’t want to get rid of them, they want to keep them.”
With everything else being equal, I think the Habs need to add a bigger player, but they shouldn’t get bigger just for the sake’s of it. I got an idea, how about giving the Jets a call to find out about Patrick Laine? He’s number two on TSN’s Trade Bait board.
“To acquire a player of that caliber, you need to empty your team,” Bergevin told the newspaper. “We wouldn’t be headed the right direction, we would be moving laterally or backwards.” There goes another name off the list.
Defense
I think that Montreal needs a puck-moving defenseman that can play top minutes with Shea Weber. This would allow Ben Chiarot to play on the second pairing with Petry and it would allow Alexander Romanov to gradually get acquainted to the NHL, while playing on the third unit.
Well, this is awkward. Marc Bergevin traded a fifth round draft pick to Carolina for the negotiating rights of Joel Edmundson, signed him to a four-year contract, and told him that he’s playing with Petry. I doubt that the Canadiens acquire a top defenseman in the off-season, but at least Edmundson is happy to be part of the team.
“With the addition to me in the back end, and you got Shea [Weber], you got Chiarot, you got Petry. We got good size, and we can all skate in the back end,” was Edmundson’s analysis of the team’s top four defensemen.
Low Expectations
Bergevin has some valuable assets that he can use to improve the team. As mentioned earlier, the Canadiens have a lot of centers on their roster and can afford to include one in a trade. In a draft that some experts have said is deep, the team’s 16th overall pick can be valuable to another organization. In an interview with TSN 690, Bergevin didn’t hesitate to say that he’s willing to trade prospects and draft picks to improve the team.
From the free agency perspective, Bergevin has cap space that he can use to improve the roster. “We won’t get to $81.5-million [salary cap] because we will leave a cushion for injuries, but we won’t be far from it,” the general manager told TVA Sports.
The organization’s prospect pool is also a tool that Bergevin can use to attract free agents. “It’s certainly attractive for other players when the young 20-21 year olds are progressing and becoming important pieces to our team. It’s a fun thing to see for a free agent, and playing at the Bell Centre is incredible,” said Drouin. When Petry signed his new contract, he specifically mentioned that Suzuki’s and Kotkaniemi’s performance in the postseason was a factor in his decision to re-sign with Montreal.
Bergevin is certainly keeping expectations low on what should be expected. He continues to say that it’s hard to make trades and that free agency isn’t the best option. “I don’t believe you build your team, you make one more on July 1st [opening of free agency], and then bang,” he told TSN 690. “If you look at the past, the biggest mistakes I say, always have been made on July 1st.”
Canadiens Connection podcast
These issues and other current Habs topics were discussed on this week’s episode of the Canadiens Connection. Listen and subscribe!
By Chris G., Senior Writer
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