For the Montreal Canadiens, the end of the regular season can’t come soon enough
It’s been a disappointing year for the Montreal Canadiens as the season seemed to slip away from the club the moment the puck was dropped on opening night. With only one victory in Montreal’s first eight games, the Habs dug themselves into a hole they were never able to climb out of.
To make matters worse, injuries and underperformances began to pile up making any desperate attempt at a late-season run nearly impossible. Now with less than a dozen games remaining on the schedule, Montreal can’t wait to put the awful 2017-18 season behind them.
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With nothing left to play for besides their pride, many fans of the Canadiens are hoping the team does its best to position itself for the highest draft pick possible. As of Thursday morning, Montreal has the sixth-best odds of winning the draft lottery. With players being shut down left and right there is a good chance those odds increase.
Shea Weber was the first to be shut down for the season and recently underwent surgery that’ll require a six-month recovery. It’s believed he should be ready for training camp in the fall which may be the best news the club has received since the calendar flipped to 2018.
Carey Price hasn’t played since Feb. 20 due to a concussion and although he’s been skating recently, it’d be wise for the team to shut him down for the remainder of the season. Price’s contract extension kicks in this summer where he’ll earn a cap-hit of $10.5 million through the 2025-26 season. The last thing the team needs is him returning in a meaningless game and picking up another injury.
Playing Price again for a feel-good moment to close out the year carries far too much risk to make the gesture worth it. It’s been no secret Price has dealt with his fair share of injuries over the years and although there’s no doubt the player would likely prefer a game or two at the end of the year, it’d be best to avoid it. Even if Price returns and plays well all he does is hurt Montreal’s odds of winning the draft lottery.
Along with Weber and Price, another key player for the Canadiens who has likely played his last game this season would be Max Pacioretty. In fact, the captain may have played his last game period while wearing a Montreal jersey. Pacioretty injured his knee on Mar. 3 and is unlikely to be back before the end of the year.
After trade rumors surrounding one of the few Canadiens capable of producing consistent offense at the trade deadline, there is a good chance Pacioretty could be moved in the offseason. He’ll be entering the final year of his contract next season with an incredibly cheap cap-hit for a player of his caliber of only $4.5 million. With such a low cap-hit for a proven top-line scorer, Montreal would have plenty of suitors should they choose to move their captain in the summer.
With nothing left to play for and with so many key contributors likely done for the year, the end of the season can’t come soon enough for the Canadiens. With fans rooting against their team with the hopes of potentially landing Rasmus Dahlin, the only bit of hope remaining is the dozen games left on the schedule flash by quickly.