Top 5 offseason predictions for the Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens enter a critical offseason in 2019. Here’s a look at five predictions of what could happen.
By all accounts, the Montreal Canadiens had a successful regular season in 2018-19. They did far better than anyone thought they would, as they nearly made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Also, the Canadiens saw their young players grow and several players grow into cornerstone players.
Max Domi made a flawless transition to center, scoring a career-high 28 goals and 72 points in his first season in Montreal. Tomas Tatar, acquired in the Max Pacioretty trade, did a terrific job, posting 25 goals and 58 points. The Canadiens blue line stood out, as they treaded water even while Shea Weber was injured early in the season.
Despite all the positives, Montreal is under a ton of pressure this summer. It’s been 26 long years since the Stanley Cup has been won by the Canadiens. That’s a long time for the franchise which has won the most Stanley Cups.
The Canadiens issues are obvious. They no longer have depth issues. Rather, their issues are tied to their overall skill. The Canadiens were a fun team to watch last season and were among the league leaders in most underlying stats. However, at the end of the day, they couldn’t score enough goals.
Also, the Canadiens have to do something about their power play. There’s no reason a man advantage featuring options like Weber, Brendan Gallagher, and Max Domi should be converting on only 13.25% of their opportunities. That’s simply inexcusable and changes have to be made there.
In order to improve, the Canadiens are going to have to upgrade their roster. Luckily for them, they’ll have plenty of cap space to do it and tons of roster flexibility. Let’s take a look at five bold predictions of what will happen in Montreal this summer.
5. Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki will both make the Opening Night Roster
The Montreal Canadiens center depth used to be a huge area of concern. Suddenly, it’s become one of the greatest strengths. It’s about to get a lot better too, thanks to Ryan Poehling and top prospect Nick Suzuki.
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Poehling has already made his NHL debut, scoring three goals against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final game of the season. Suzuki is coming off an extremely impressive season, with 94 points split between the Guelph Storm and Owen Sound Attack. He’s been an elite player in the postseason with 42 points in 26 playoff games thus far.
Both players should get a chance to make the NHL roster. I think both of them will, at least to start the year, be on the NHL roster. Poehling has already proven himself. It’ll be hard to send him down to start the season after his debut.
Suzuki is someone the Canadiens will find it impossible to send down. His scoring upside is simply too high for Montreal to overlook. Suzuki won’t be going back to the OHL, that’s for sure.
Now, I don’t think Suzuki will stick in the NHL. He’ll probably go back to the AHL for some more seasoning. But giving him a quick trial run would make a ton of sense for the Canadiens, especially given their pedestrian goal scoring from last season.
4. Canadiens Will Trade At Least One Draft Pick
The Montreal Canadiens will have a number of draft picks at the 2019 NHL Draft. They’ll have 10, including three in the first two rounds. Expect the Canadiens to trade at least one of those draft picks for someone who can help them out right away.
It would take a lot for Montreal to trade their first round pick (15th overall). However, someone like Jacob Trouba (assuming an extension is a part of the trade) could make a ton of sense for them. It’s always hard to tell which players will be made available, but the Canadiens shouldn’t hesitate to offer their first-round pick for a scoring winger or a top-four defenseman.
The far more likely scenario is them trading one of their two second-round picks or one of their third or fourth rounders. This could easily net them a young wing or defenseman with a lot of potential.
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Trading a high draft pick makes sense for Montreal. Last August, Corey Pronman of The Athletic ranked their farm system as the sixth-best in the NHL. Even after graduating Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Noah Juulsen, Ryan Poehling, and Nick Suzuki, they still have quite a bit of depth down in the system.
Armed with three early draft picks, they could trade one of those picks to get an upgrade to their roster and still have the pieces necessary to infuse their prospect pool with some more talent.
3. Canadiens Will Sign A New Backup Goalie
Carey Price is still the starting goalie for the Montreal Canadiens. He deserves to be too, especially with how well he played in the second half. However, it’s time for the Canadiens to consider using him a little less to save him for the postseason. Head coach Claude Julien had no faith in backup goalie Antti Niemi, and it showed as he only played in 17 games.
Charlie Lindgren didn’t have a great season in the AHL, which means Montreal shouldn’t rely on him to be a viable backup goalie to Price. This means they’ll have to go out into free agency and find one.
There are several tempting options available. Cam Talbot has a track record of success and might be better in a backup role. Both Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney of the Carolina Hurricanes will be free agents. At least one of them will likely depart. Whoever the Hurricanes don’t sign would make sense in Montreal.
Also, there’s Brian Elliott, who would be a viable starter should Price get injured. The Canadiens likely won’t spend much on a backup goalie (and rightfully so since they’re paying Carey a ton of money). But I think they go out and get someone who can ease his workload.
2. Bergevin Will Be Given An Ultimatum
General Manager Marc Bergevin has been with the Montreal Canadiens since 2012. Since he was hired, the Habs have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs four times in seven seasons. However, should the Canadiens fail to make the postseason in 2019-20, they will have missed the playoffs in three consecutive years.
That’s unchartered territory for Montreal. They’ve only had one such streak in the modern era (1998-99 to 2000-01). Whether it’s fair or not, Bergevin’s job is likely going to be on the line this summer. This is why it can be expected for the Canadiens to be aggressive.
Bergevin has made his good moves and bad moves. However, his bad moves have cost the team quite a bit. For every Tomas Tatar trade, there’s been a P.K. Subban trade. He’s been a polarizing figure, but it’s hard to argue with his recent draft history.
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Still, the Canadiens aren’t going to tolerate three straight years of not playing hockey into April. Bergevin has to be getting some eyebrow raises from the ownership group after not using his cap space last season. Had he used some of it to upgrade the team, the Canadiens would have made the playoffs.
Life is rarely fair. If the Canadiens don’t make the playoffs, it likely won’t be completely Bergevin’s fault. But he’ll be the scapegoat.
1. Canadiens Will Make A Big Splash
As mentioned earlier, jobs are going to be on the line for the Montreal Canadiens this summer. Though they certainly have assets to trade, there are some free agents they should target. The two big ones are Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarin.
Of those two, the former is more likely to sign. Duchene would give the Canadiens incredible center depth. Just think, Montreal could trot out a lineup featuring Duchene, Phillip Danault, Max Domi, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Andrew Shaw, Jordan Weal, Nate Thompson, Ryan Poehling, and Nick Suzuki. Each of them has experience at center. It would also give Montreal options, such as maybe sending Suzuki down to the AHL to get more minutes.
Even if the Canadiens miss out on Duchene and Panarin, I’d be surprised if they don’t kick the tires on the other big free agents. Kevin Hayes, Brock Nelson, and Anders Lee, to varying degrees, would make a ton of sense for Montreal.
Should the Pittsburgh Penguins honestly shop Evgeni Malkin around, expect the Canadiens to sniff around him as well. He’d be a perfect fit for the team and would give them some much-needed snarl too.
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The Canadiens really have no excuse if they don’t make a big splash. Their cap space situation is in terrific shape. They can spend on someone big. If the Canadiens don’t, fans should rightfully have a ton of questions.