Montreal Canadiens Should Have Traded For Matt Duchene

Did the Montreal Canadiens hit a double whammy by not trading for MattDuchene and watching a division rival acquire him?

Ask any Montreal Canadiens fan what their biggest team need is. The nearly unanimous answer would be a franchise center. And rightfully so. They are darn near impossible to find. Drafting them is hard unless you get lucky to get a top 10 pick (and even then you rarely find them). Top centers hit free agency about as often as Haley’s Comet is visible from Earth. The Canadiens had an opportunity to get one in Matt Duchene. And they failed.

Not only that, Montreal hit the dreaded double whammy. The Canadiens had to watch the Ottawa Senators, a geographical and divisional rival, trade for the Colorado Avalanche’s star center. So not only did Montreal lose out on a franchise center, a team in their division got him. Yikes. These are the decisions teams tend to regret many times each year.

Canadiens fans have every reason to be mad that they didn’t get Duchene. It was quite plausible for them to trade for him. Let’s take a look at why the Canadiens should have gotten him, and why they’ll regret NOT ponying up in the offseason to get him.

The Package

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Most Canadiens fans are probably confused right now. They’re wondering “how could they have gotten Duchene, we have like no top prospects?”. And this is fair – the Canadiens don’t. But guess what? The Senators managed to get Duchene without giving up Thomas Chabot or Colin White, also known as their top two prospects. Yes, Shane Bowers was a first round pick in 2017. But his upside is closer to a second or third line player.

The Canadiens had a top prospect they could have used to get Duchene – Mikhail Sergachev. Or, you know, they could have kept him, which would have also been a darn good decision. Instead, the Canadiens traded a guy who’s on everyone’s Calder Trophy shortlist for Drouin to solve their center issue. There’s just one tiny problem – Drouin isn’t a franchise center. Duchene might not be one either, but he’s far more proven there.

If you’re going to trade a guy like Sergachev, you’d better make sure you fix a huge hole in your lineup while doing so. The Canadiens could still really use a top line center, so it’s safe to say they failed. Drouin has 11 points, but he’s been playing far more than Duchene (who has 10 points). Not to mention the latter has proven to be a consistently better possession player than the former. Drouin hasn’t been trusted with the roles most associate with a top center. He’s been relatively sheltered as far as zone starts (58.2 percent). Drouin’s defense is still a work in progress.

Buyer’s Remorse

The Canadiens signed Drouin to a long-term extension. Maybe this factored into why they traded for him. But the Canadiens traded for Drouin thinking he’s a first line center. It’s fairly obvious he’s a darn good player. Maybe even a first line wing. But Drouin is not at his best at center. He hasn’t played that position since juniors. Even when the Tampa Bay Lightning had injuries galore down the middle, he wasn’t a regular center.

Montreal probably would have had to throw in a draft pick as well. But they definitely wouldn’t have had to throw in the high quantity of prospects and picks that the Senators had to. Because unlike Ottawa, the Canadiens had a top-tier prospect to offer in Sergachev.

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The Habs are a must win team right now. Their Stanley Cup window is closing. So maybe Drouin’s willingness to sign a long-term extension shouldn’t have mattered. Duchene would make them better right now and next season. Conveniently, their Stanley Cup window is probably closed after next season unless the right roster moves are made. And general manager Marc Bergevin has done very little to prove he’s capable of making those moves.

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