Montreal Canadiens: Ideal 2018 Offseason Moves

The Montreal Canadiens finished fourth-to-last in the NHL standings this season. It was the second year out of three that they missed the postseason. Here’s how they turn things around.

The Montreal Canadiens should be tired of losing. Since 1993, the last time the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, they’ve made the playoffs 15 times in 25 years. Even after subtracting the 2004-05 season (lockout), that’s not great.

This season, they came in fourth-to-last place. After trading P.K. Subban, proclaiming themselves to be in “win now” mode, the Canadiens have lost in round one and missed the playoffs completely. In addition, they’re now without Mikhail Sergachev because Jonathan Drouin can totally play center.

So how do the Canadiens turn their franchise around – and do it the smart way?

Organization

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Starting with the front office, Montreal fans have pretty well had enough of general manager Marc Bergevin. His moves have placed the Canadiens in this position, and trading two dynamic defensemen is just the start of bad moves by the Canadiens’ GM. While he’s still in with ownership, Bergevin is firmly out with fans. It’s surprising Montreal hasn’t done the whole “billboards will fix this” thing.

Claude Julien still deserves time with the organization. He’s a Stanley Cup-winning coach and one of the best in the NHL. While Julien’s system has yet to take firm hold in Montreal, he’s not in charge of the roster. A roster on which the best defenseman is 32 and played just 26 games, and which lacks a first line center. He should stay.

Julien Brisebois, the assistant general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is next in line for the GM job in Montreal. He’s French-Canadian, has the pedigree, and has studied under the tutelage of Steve Yzerman, widely recognized as one of the greatest GMs in hockey right now. That’s someone the Montreal Canadiens should jump at the chance to hire. Any ideal summer for the franchise includes that hiring.

Team

There are a few notable players the franchise would like to sell that they shouldn’t. That includes Max Pacioretty, the captain of the Montreal Canadiens, as well as Alex Galchenyuk. Both will likely both be moved either in the offseason or at next season’s deadline.

In addition, there are a few players that Montreal should let go. Ales Hemsky and really anybody in the bottom six top that list. There just isn’t a lot of talent in depth positions for the Canadiens, and if they can get value back for those players, they should be willing to do so.

Which brings up a question – what players do you build around? How many, if any, of the current Montreal Canadiens, can play on a championship-caliber team?

Again, Pacioretty and Galchenyuk spring to mind first. Then there’s Andrew Shaw, who’s already won two Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks. That’s why he’s in Montreal. Phillip Danault, if he can return to form, still looks good as a middle-six center. Shea Weber still has value. Jeff Petry is fine as a second-pairing defenseman. Paul Byron, Brendan Gallagher, and Jonathan Drouin are all difference makers.

That’s who the Montreal Canadiens should build around.

What Moves Should Be Made

So how do you do that? How do you build around those players? It starts with the draft. The Montreal Canadiens are going to be tempted to trade down and take a center in a more natural position to do so. There is no top-tier center in this draft. They’ve already seen what playing a wing at center does.

But, as the experts always argue, take the best player available. For the Canadiens, that’s Filip Zadina with the third overall pick. He does a lot of things really well. While it might not seem like the Canadiens need a wing – especially with Gallagher, Galchenyuk, Pacioretty, Drouin, Shaw, and Byron – you can never have too many elite scorers. Especially with Pacioretty likely out the door in the future and most of those wings aging.

Galchenyuk needs to be converted back to a center anyway. He and Danault are likely the Canadiens’ top two best moving forward, at least on the current roster. He needs to be put in a position to succeed and left alone for a little while. Putting him with Zadina and Drouin could change his whole game and give the Montreal Canadiens even more to work with.

Then, the Canadiens need to see if they can sign John Tavares. Three centers are a lot better than two. If not, then the Canadiens need depth down the middle and could look at Riley Nash or Paul Stastny. Tomas Plekanec is almost certainly headed back, and he could bring Tyler Bozak with him.

The Process

In the end, though, Montreal is rebuilding. They have a good core to build around, but they really need elite talent on defense and elite talent down the middle. That’s not coming from their AHL team, who failed to make the playoffs. They’ve already made splashy moves in free agency at defense, and that didn’t work out.

The Canadiens do have some prospects at defense – Rinat Valiev, Mike Reilly, Victor Mete, and Noah Juulsen spring to mind – but none of them are the talents that Sergachev and Subban are. They need to build through the draft, and that will give them more control over their destiny.

Next: Each NHL Team's Mount Rushmore

Montreal fans are tired of waiting to start winning. But give the process a little longer under new management, and they might finally get where they’ve wanted to go.

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