The other day, my colleague Shawn Wilken took a look at three players who are looking to make a return to the NHL next year. While two of those players, Andrei Kostitsyn and Alex Kovalev, have been Montreal Canadiens before, it is the third man, Alexander Radulov who I believe Marc Bergevin shold make all efforts to bring to Montreal.
This Habs team had 110 points this year. They are pretty darn good, but they have one major weakness, they don’t score enough goals.
At just 28 years old, Radulov is right in the prime of his career. He would immediately become the most talented right wing on the team, a team that struggled to scored goals. They need to find another right winger, as the only reliable top two option is Brendan Gallagher, and he’s more of a second line guy than a true elite game breaker. This season the Canadiens used players like Dale Weise, P.A. Parenteau, and Devante Smith-Pelly in their top six, trying to find an answer at right wing.
The Canadiens must find that answer for next year, or scoring will again be a problem. If you want to look at the available options internally, we should start with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs (moving to St. John’s and becoming the Ice Caps next year). This team struggled to score goals, and there really is no one there who is ready for a place on an NHL contender’s top line. Sure Charles Hudon and Daniel Carr gave hope that they can be decent NHL players in time, but they didn’t show that they can be elite NHL game breakers. Expecting them to fill this void would just be too much at this stage of their careers.
Recent first round picks, Nikita Scherbak and Michael McCarron are junior players who will likely not be ready for the NHL next year. At this point they are just prospects and there is no guarantee that they will ever be half as talented as an Alexander Radulov. They are both 19 years old and will need time in the AHL before they are ready. In fact, I would say the chances of McCarron being more than a third liner are still doubtful, even if he’s had an excellent season. Meanwhile Scherbak does have the elite talent that could make him a productive player, but he needs some major work in his all around game before he is NHL ready.
Looking at those scheduled to be unrestricted free agents on July 1st, this is the most barren crop of forward talent that I have seen hit free agency in quite some time. There are literally no first line options there. Sure, there might be a Martin St. Louis, but he declined a bit this season and isn’t getting any younger. Beyond him, there is little to write home about, with the likes of Matt Beleskey, and Antoine Vermette amongst the most talented forwards available. That’s not really an option.
However in Alexander Radulov, here is a player who is just 28 years old, who is coming off a season where he led the KHL in scoring, and with the falling rubble, and mass exodus could be available. His KHL team CSKA has said that he is still under contract for one more season, but there are rumors that he may have an out clause with a limited window. We really don’t know, but the rumors have certainly been flying, with reports from NBC Sports even suggesting that the Colorado Avalanche and Patrick Roy have contacted Radulov. The existence of an “out-clause” in an KHL contract is not unprecedented as Vladimir Sobotka had a short window where he could sign with an NHL team, but choose to remain in the KHL.
Even without an out clause, we do know that Radulov’s contract with CSKA will be over in 2016. I would make the case that even if Marc Bergevin needs to wait a year, the difficulty in finding scoring help will continue to make Radulov an intriguing option next summer.
First thing’s first though, what about the reports that Radulov is a locker room cancer. A partier who was given a two-game suspension by Barry Trotz for breaking curfew in the playoffs. Well, a report from Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated suggests that the missing of curfew was massively overblown, with Radulov being about an hour late and that he wasn’t “that late.” That said, its a minor indescretion in the big scheme of things. Just look at Patrick Kane, who allegedly did far worse in a Buffalo area taxi, but with his talent is still looking for his third Stanley Cup in six years. With proper coaching and good leadership, Radulov can be a big part of a strong team.
Talent wise, we know what he can do. When he was in Nashville, at a much younger age, he showed he could score in the NHL without being a defensive liability. He scores points at even strength, and is great a working the half-wall on the PP something the Habs team desperately needs as their lack of powerplay production was a major concern throughout the season and into the playoffs.
In terms of playing in Montreal, Radulov played for the Quebec Remparts and handled the pressure of the province and won the Memorial Cup. He also played on CSKA one of the KHL’s most publicized and pressure filled teams. Playing in Montreal should not be a huge concern here.
He’s quite literally the exact player this Habs team needs to get over the hump, and Marc Bergevin needs to be looking at this type of situation to solve his team’s scoring woes while Carey Price, P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty are in the primes of their careers.
This is a superstar who would give Montreal another game breaker in the top 6, something the team desperately needs.
To illustrate this need, lets take a look around the league, specifically at the conference finalists. Lets look at their forward groups and compare them with what the Canadiens have. These may not be “true top line” talents, but if you took any of the following players and put them in Montreal, the case could be made that they would play play on Montreal’s #1 line.
- New York Rangers: Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis, Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard,
- Anaheim Ducks players who would be on the top line. Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler
- Tampa players who would be on the Habs top line. Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Ryan Callahan
- Chicago players who would be on the Habs top line. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad.
In contrast only one Montreal player would go on any of those teams #1 line, and that is Max Pacioretty. The Habs only have one true game breaker on forward on their team. They certainly hope Alex Galchenyuk matures to be a second game breaker for them, but he isn’t there yet. Even then, having three or four of these types of players would provide the offence needed for a Stanley Cup run. In Tampa we saw that when Stamkos was not scoring, they got the offense necessary from Tyler Johnson’s line. Meanwhile every team in the league knows that if they play Montreal in a playoff series, the key is to shut down Max Pacioretty, and they shut down the Habs offence.
Picking up Alexander Radulov is quite simply the easiest way to add another gamebreaker to the Habs lineup, without giving up the assets needed in a trade for a Phil Kessel or other star forward rumored to be on the block. And its a move the team should explore.
Main Photo- SOCHI, RUSSIA – FEBRUARY 18: Alexander Radulov #47 of Russia celebrates scoring a goal in the second period against Lars Haugen #30 of Norway during the Men’s Ice Hockey Qualification Playoff game on day eleven of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 18, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
