The NHL trade deadline has come and gone. In the last month the Montréal Canadiens have traded away six players, including four who were with last season's Stanley Cup finalists. Here with the whys and wherefores is our National Sports (As Long As It's Hockey) Editor, Poor Len Canayen.
Here's what's happened since my last report on the hapless Habs. The most important change, by far, was the replacement of head coach Dominic Ducharme with Martin St. Louis, who starred for many years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and who I always thought would look great in the bleu-blanc-et-rouge.
Some were critical of that move, but the perpetual whiners (Hello, Kelly of the Gazoo!) have been proven wrong, wrong, wrong! Under St. Louis' tutelage the team has had a near-miraculous turnaround, and are actually have a winning pct now. And even when they lose in overtime, as they did against Boston last night, the games are entertaining, at last. The guys look like they're having fun now! Olé, olé, olé!
So that's good! Now let's see who coach St. Louis has to work with. Here's my rundown on who left and who's left.
Goal: The Habs have dressed five goaltenders so far this season, and if Carey Price is able to get into a game before the end, that'll be six. Andrew "the Hamburgler" Hammond, signed during the panic when Jake Allen got injured, played in one game, which he won. He's gone now. So is AHL goalie Michael McNiven, who played just one period. That leaves Price, Allen, Samuel Montembeault, and, down in Laval, Cayden Primeau.
Primeau needs to stay in the AHL at least another season. Truth be told, he may never make it in the NHL. Montembeault was thrown in at the deep end this year. Sometimes he swam, and sometimes he sank. He'd be happy, I'm sure, to play in Laval most of the time. For the rest of this year, Jake Allen clearly deserves to be the No. 1 goalie. He was sensational last night -- the old pro with a save pct .935 in "just another day at the orifice". Next year, he and a healthy Price (we hope) are a natural 1A and 1B.
Defence: With Shea Weber out for the season (and unlikely ever to play again), and Joel Edmundson on the IR until last week, Habs needed all the help they could get on defence. Ben Chiarot stepped up to become the top D-man, with Brett Kulak playing with more discipline and effectiveness. They were both traded away this week.
The top defence pair is now Edmundson and Jeff Petry. I have always liked Petry but he hasn't had a good season. Apparently he didn't get along with coach Ducharme, but a lack of on-ice communication with teammates seems to be a problem. He would like a move to the other side of the border (his hometown is Détroit) and will likely get it in the summer.
The other four defencemen on the ice last night were Alexandre Romanov, David Savard, Corey Schueneman and Chris Wideman. Romanov's play has improved greatly this season, now that he's started to think. He has become the first really hard-hitting Habs D-man since Alexei Emelin. Schueneman, still technically a rookie, scored his first NHL goal last week and shows promise. Savard and Wideman were acquired as "expendables", surplus to the requirements of their former teams, and remain so, IMHO.
Forwards: Tyler Toffoli, one of last season's stars, didn't do so well this year. Again, his relationship with coach Ducharme may not have been so good. He was traded to Calgary a couple of weeks ago. Artturi Lehkonen, by contrast, was having a breakout year, but went to Colorado in a last-minute deal yesterday. The will both be missed.
The good news is that under coach St. Louis, the two kids of whom much was expected, Nik Suzuki and Cole Caufield, have turned into a dynamic duo. Joining them on the top line is veteran Josh Anderson, who doesn't score as often but always has a strong presence on the ice.
Paul Byron and Joel Armia, both of whom missed a lot of games through injury, have come on strong since their return. Rookie Michael Pezzetta brings a fighting spirit to the team and looks like a keeper. Another rookie with a good future is Rem Pitlick, a nice surprise.
So you've got seven guys there, the nucleus of a good offence for next year. I wouldn't count on Brendan Gallagher. Although he's still the heart and soul of the Habs, the wear and tear has finally caught up with him. The same can be said of Jonathon Drouin, who has missed a lot of time and seems almsst afraid to step onto the ice
Ryan Poehling, the great hope of a couple of years ago, has been consistently disappointing. Jake Evans has speed and skill, but lacks toughness. AHL veteran Laurent Dauphin, who probably didn't expect to play much for the big team, tries hard but, to be honest, belongs in Laval, not Montréal. Mike Hoffman and Mathieu Perreault are two more "expendables" of whom not much was expected, and that's what they delivered -- not much.
Back to the good news, then. In return for the six dearly departed listed above, GM Kent Hughes got nobody you've ever heard of, but also several draft picks, for this year and next year and 2024. He's also freed up considerable cap space. So during the summer he can give away the expendables and shop around for a couple of defencemen and a couple of proven scorers.
And who knows? The Habs might win the Shane Wright sweepstakes. This year's entry draft promises to be a deep one, and Montréal should come out of it with, if not Wright, at least two top prospects. Put it all together and the Canadiens should be serious contenders for next year's playoffs. Lifetime pct .979.
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