The Hockey News columnist Ken Campbell sent out a tweet asking if a Canadiens rebuild was an option last night. While it did make me chuckle and was definitely hyperbole, he did have a point. Kind of.
Habs at an interesting crossroads. Do they take a few steps back and rebuild or forge ahead hoping goaltending can win a Cup?
— Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) May 13, 2015
But hey, at least this isn’t as bad as when Damien Cox asked if Habs should trade two of Carey Price, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, or Alex Galchenyuk for the Edmonton Oilers 2015 first round pick….. In February….. Sorry for reminding you.
While the Montreal Canadiens aren’t fully ready to contend for a Stanley Cup just yet, a rebuild right now is hysterically laughable. They have an out of this world goalie in Price, who can steal games with jaw dropping saves night after night. They have an elite Norris Trophy winning defenseman in Subban, who is one of the best two-way defenseman in the game. His offensive game and cannon from the point is what makes him stand out though. They also have a multiple 30-plus goal scorer in Pacioretty. He has been one of the NHL’s best even strength goal scorers since his first full season in 2011-12, with 80 goals in 276 games, behind Steven Stamkos (96) and Rick Nash (82). That’s some good company. That’s great and most teams are lucky to even have one of these, it’s still not enough to bring home the Holy Grail.
The Habs future number-one center is Galchenyuk. His development is taking a bit longer than expected, but is still exciting nonetheless. We should see him moved to center in 2015-16. Tomas Plekanec is one of the league’s better, and underrated, shut down centers and is also able to provide an offensive punch to any line. Lars Eller is not the center the team envisioned him to be, but when he isn’t invisible, he can be useful on the third line. David Desharnais is about the same; useful on the third line, but his offensive abilities make him more attractive then Eller. The fourth line center spot can be filled by multiple players on the team. Sven Andrighetto and Michael Bournival are both prospects who could make an impact on the team very soon.
The left wing is where the Habs lack a bit and will need to pick up a piece. After Galchenyuk, who spent most of the year as the number two left wing behind Pacioretty, it’s Brandon Prust and Jacob De la Rose. Hardly good choices for an offensive player beside Plekanec, despite De la Rose being a great late season call up. They do have intriguing prospects on left wing in the Bulldogs system in Charles Hudon (he can switch between left wing and centre), Tim Bozon, Daniel Carr, Artturi Lehkonen, and Connor Crisp. Hudon is the only one who might be able to make the jump next year but expecting him to take that #2 spot right away and produce is insane.
On right wing, they have a few more quality guys, but aside from Brendan Gallagher and P.A. Parenteau sometimes, they aren’t top six players, which is what the Habs desperately need.
Gallagher is that spark plug that every team needs. He’s capable of scoring 20 or more goals a year, he can get in the dirty areas, and he’s a true warrior in the crease. His new contract is just a pure bonus. Parenteau is a decent player, but he’s soft, isn’t durable, and his days of scoring 40 or more points are past him.
Devante Smith-Pelly is a nice addition from Anaheim but still has work to do if they want him to produce. Dale Weise is a great 3rd line winger, but him playing second line isn’t the best scenario. In the prospect pool, they have an exciting player in Nikita Scherbak. He is still a season or two away from breaking into the team, but he is looking like a great draft choice and should help the team score goals down the road. Michael McCarron is a big guy at 6’5, but as for him being an offensive player that the Habs need, count him out.
The defense corps for Montreal is looking healthy with Subban, Andrei Markov, Jeff Petry, Nathan Beaulieu, Alexei Emelin, Tom Gilbert, and Greg Pateryn. Petry is an UFA, but his play since coming from Edmonton warrants a new deal with the team and would give the Habs a great one-two punch on right-handed defensemen in Subban and Petry, even Gilbert too. Jarred Tinordi and Pateryn are all still waiting to make the full time jump and if Petry does jump ship or if Emelin is finally traded, one of the two or both will make the transition nicely.
We all know the situation in the crease. Price owns it and anybody who says different should be forced to sit in a room with Cox, Glenn Healey, P.J. Stock, and Nick Kypreos for a day. That being said, Dustin Tokarski is a competent back up for the team but a trade seems likely to give him more playing time as he has shown he has skill. Behind him, the club has Mike Condon, who proved himself this year with the Bulldogs. Joey Macdonald played backup, but he isn’t much of anything really. Just a placeholder until the real prize comes along; Zach Fucale. The 36th overall pick in the 2013 draft has been absolutely killing it in the QMJHL and should be in the Bulldogs next season. Both Tokarski and Fucale make for good trade bait for this ever so elusive scoring winger.
So no, Mr. Campbell. The team does not have to rebuild. The Canadiens are on the right track and are just one scoring forward away from being a true contender. Marc Bergevin has done an incredible job forming this squad and the foundation. Michel Therrien may need to go but if he doesn’t, the organization and the players itself are still in great hands. The team is in good enough shape to send a roster player or two plus prospects or picks for that elite or top six winger that Montreal needs to be the dominant team they used to be known as and Bergevin is the man to orchestrate that deal. Go Habs Go.
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