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Habs Should Trade Lars Eller and Alexander Semin

By Mat Germain |

I blame Michel Therrien for the lack of production so far from both Lars Eller and Alexander Semin, and that’s what leads me to the conclusion that both should be traded. After all, the coach is obviously not interested in playing either player, and his vendetta against them is hurting the second line’s production, Alex Galchenyuk‘s progress at centre, and is forcing Brian Flynn to play a style of hockey he should not be asked to play.

There’s really no point to explaining the position that Michel Therrien has when it comes to Lars Eller since it’s been well documented for half of a decade now. These two cannot co-exist, and when Marc Bergevin decided to keep Michel Therrien around, he essentially hung Lars Eller out to dry and should have moved him before the season began.

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It’s also obvious that others in the organization believe more in Eller and Semin than Therrien does since they’re the ones who pushed for them to play on the second line with Galchenyuk. With he most likely influence being Craig Ramsay – someone I’d love to see take the reins from Therrien – it seems that their power only went so far since as soon as there was a hiccup, the entire attempt was blown up. It happened way too quickly and was indicative of the power Therrien has in the organization.

In my opinion, there’s no reason to continue with the charades that are going on in Montreal. It’s either Therrien or Eller and Semin. I can’t see Montreal giving up on Therrien with Montreal’s record being what it is, so we instead go the trade route. Unless, that is, you enjoy watching both players be tortured all season long and enjoy the thought of taking these strained relationships into the playoffs.

MATCHING TEAMS

There are plenty of teams out there looking for production from forwards like Lars Eller and Alexander Semin. The Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, and Pittsburgh Penguins are a few of the most obvious matches at this point, so I’ll attempt to see what a deal could look like if the trigger was to be pulled by Marc Bergevin. The caveat is that these are only examples of possible targets and are centred on the premise of ending the series of benching and lack of playing time Therrien offers Eller and Semin.

*all figures courtesy of Cap Friendly

Oct 31, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Winnipeg Jets center Andrew Copp (9) steals the puck from Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Brandon Saad (20) during the second period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

  • Habs Get: Brandon Saad, LW, Cap Hit $6,000,000
  • Habs Trade: Lars Eller, LW/C, Cap Hit $3,500,000, RW Alexander Semin Cap Hit $1,100,000, and Greg Pateryn Cap Hit $562,500
  • The CBJ need depth up front more than anything at this point, and they need to have a better defensive team. But more than anything else, they need a better D, and Pateryn would give them some depth there as well. They’ll obviously be leery of dealing a player so soon after acquiring him, but the truth is that this franchise needs a serious makeover.
  • The Habs need a steady scoring force to put in there with Galchenyuk. Saad can provide the Habs with years of scoring alongside him and has already shown he can perform in the playoffs. He has 16 points in 19 games in 2013-14 playoffs, and 8 goals in 23 games during last season’s playoffs.

Oct 29, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa (2) and St. Louis Blues right wing Dmitrij Jaskin (23) fight for the puck during the third period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

ANAHEIM DUCKS

  • Habs Get: Kevin Bieksa, D, Cap Hit $4,600,000
  • Habs Trade: Lars Eller, LW/C, Cap Hit $3,500,000, Tom Gilbert, D, Cap Hit $2,800,000, and Jarred Tinordi, D, Cap Hit $850,000
  • The Ducks are obviously having serious early on in the season and could be looking to shake things up. They need size and strength on D and it’s evident that Bieksa isn’t working out very well in Anaheim. Having someone like Eller who could become a shut-down third line C could go a long way for them, and Cam Fowler now leads their D corps.
  • The Habs would be adding a second bruising defenseman to complement Alexei Emelin. Bieksa’s experience and skills would give the Habs the best group of 6 defensemen of any team. It would also ensure that if Andrei Markov does retire after his contract is done, Bieksa may be able to take the reins and pair up with P.K. Subban.

Feb 27, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Washington Capitals forward Eric Fehr (16) takes a 3rd period shot against Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal (12) at PNC Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals 3-0. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

  • Habs Get: Eric Fehr, F, Cap Hit $2,000,000
  • Habs Trade: Alexander Semin, RW, Cap Hit $1,100,000 and Greg Pateryn, D, Cap Hit $562,500
  • Sidney Crosby is having the slowest start of his career and needs a spark. He’s shown a little more recently, but the Penguins are the kind of team that could embrace Semin’s style of play and playing with Crosby could get Semin scoring again.
  • The Habs need consistency more than anything else on the second line and Fehr would provide that. If the Habs want, they can also use Fehr on the third line and promote someone else to the second line.

I’ve normally advocated being patient and waiting to make trades until the Christmas time-frame. However, watching Therrien’s approach to dealing with Lars Eller and Alexander Semin is so frustrating that I can’t help but hope – for them – that they can find a way out of Montreal. Truthfully, I loved the line as it was and thought it had a lot of potential. I’m positive others will agree and will attempt to complete a deal for one or both of these players. They may not be vocal about their plights to this point, but you have to realize that behind closed doors, these players are fuming and looking to find a way back into an important role, regardless of whether it’s in Montreal or elsewhere.

The added bonus if the Habs do make a deal that involves more players going the other way than coming to Montreal is that it opens up the possibility of promoting players from the St-John’s IceCaps without exposing them to waivers. For example, if the Habs did complete the proposed deal with the Blue Jackets, they’d be able to promote Charles Hudon and have him playing alongside Galchenyuk and Saad.

The Habs should trade Lars Eller and Alexander Semin. It’s not because I don’t like each player or how they’ve played this season. It’s simply because Michel Therrien can’t get the best out of these players and clearly wants nothing to do with either one. Therefore, if Marc Bergevin’s paying attention, he’ll attempt to make the team better by ending these tumultuous relationships and making the entire team environment better as a result.

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