Poor Len gives up on Habs... for this season

Ed. here. Poor Len Canayen called me yesterday evening following the Montréal Canadiens 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, which puts the ABF nail in the coffin of their Stanley Cup playoff hopes. "Once you've finished crying in your Molson Canadian, write some advice to Marc Bergevin about what to during the summer to give fans a better team next year." Here's what he sent us.

Tank youse, Hed. Just to be clear, though, while I a happreciate evryting la famille Molson has done for Canada's team, I don't drink dat beer because it's just Coors in a can wit a maple leaf. I like Creemore Springs India Pale Ale. Look it up.

Hokay den, I'm not gonna rehash all the reasons/excuses for the Habs' poor performance, including two (2) 8-game winless streaks. I can't remember a season in which the team was so hard-hit by injuries, including two or three key players out at the same time.

Counting Charlie Lindgren, 8 of the players dressed for Thursday night's game vs Tampa Bay were from the AHL Laval Rocket. But there's more to the story than bad luck. If I could work out what's wrong, I'd be standing behind the bench instead of Claude Julien.

But I can't, and, since M Julien will be back next season, the most I can do is ask M Bergevin to ensure that Coach Claude has a bigger group of good players to work with. Here's my list of who to move and not move during the off-season which is fast approaching.

Players you keep, for sure: Carey Price and Shea Weber. Sure they're not getting any younger, but they're both playing well (allowing for the occasional off night) and are, with Brendan Gallagher, the glue that holds la Sainte Flannelle together. Besides, they both have hyuge contracts with years to run, and M Molson would have to eat part of their salaries if you trade them. And who would you get in return? Don't tell me about draft picks. You already have lots of picks; you just need to draft better prospects!

Jeff Petry. That guy's a horse. He can play 20-25-30 minutes per game without breaking a sweat. Sure he sometimes pinches too deep, but he's got a shot from the point second only to Weber's, and you need him on the power play. He's the only D-man you've got, besides Weber, who could even be in the conversation for the Norris Trophy.,

This year the Habs have had just one (1) solid forward line: Philip Danault, Tomas Tatar and Brendan Gallagher. I wish we have a dozen Gallaghers, the kind of players who punch over their weight and never give up, no matter what. Danault is one of the most under-rated centres in the NHL, and he's consistent. I haven't heard any talk about trading those two, but in the run-up to the trade deadline, Tatar's name was mentioned more than once. Why?! "Tuna" was a great pick-up, for cheap, and was having a great year until he got injured last week. Why would you even think about trading him?

Players should probably keep, unless you get somebody who is really good, not just a prospect, in return: Max Domi, Paul Byron, and Nick Suzuki. All three have speed and skill. The trick is getting them on the right lines. Suzuki impressed the hell out of me in the first half of the season, but seems to have hit a wall in his rookie year. He needs some stability -- being on the same line with more experienced players -- to develop. Domi needs to keep it simple and shoot more. Byron's never going to be a 20-goal scorer but he's invaluable on the PK, good for a couple of shorties every year. Joel Armia's worth keeping, just needs to have more confidence in himself.

Back on defence, you should probably keep Ben Chariot, who's been steady if unspectacular throughout the year. Of those who came up from the Rocket, I like Xavier Ouellet, also steady and not trying to do too much. Down on the farm, there's also Cale Fleury, who had a good start with the big team before being sent down for seasoning. [How come he doesn't speak French? Ed.] And behind him, in goal, rookie Cayden Primeau looks like being capable of taking the back-up role next year.

Guys you should get rid of: Charles Hudon, who's had more than enough chances. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, ruined by being poorly managed in his rookie year last year. Arturi Lehkonen, Mr Choke. Charlie Lindgren, who makes the guys in front of him nervous.

So there you go, mon cher Marc. I gave you 13 guys who I'd like to see on next season's edition of the Bleu-Blanc-et-Rouge. Shop everybody else around and see if you can get another 10 or 12 to round out the roster. Bonne chance! À la prochaine!