Montreal Canadiens Roster – Who Stays, Who Goes? Pt. 2
**Over the next few days, I will examine the Montreal Canadiens roster and see who are likely to return and who may be playing their final games with the bleu,blanc et rouge. In Part 2, I will be examining the Left Wings currently on the roster.**
Yesterday, I examined the current Centers on the roster and whether or not Habs fans should expect them to return next season. You can view that analysis Here.
Today, I will be examining the Left Wing’s on the roster. Here are the contract details for the following Montreal Canadiens Left Wings.
Left Wing – Remaining Term & Cap Hit*
Max Pacioretty – 3 years @ $4.5 million
Paul Byron – 3 years @ $1.16 million
Daniel Carr – RFA
Jacob de la Rose – 1 year @ $0.925 million
Stefan Matteau – 1 year @ $0.612 million
Lucas Lessio – RFA
Charles Hudon – 1 year @ $0.625 million
Michael Bournival – RFA**
John Scott – UFA***
*All contract terms and salary figures courtesy of General Fanager
**Bournival has yet to appear in an NHL game this year but has played 89 games the previous 2 seasons
***Though Scott likely will never wear a Habs jersey, he still has an NHL contract and has been included
Top 6
The only legitimate top 6 Left Wing in the entire Habs organization is Captain Max Pacioretty. This has been an issue for several seasons now and has been a primary factor as to why coach Michel Therrien has insisted on using Alex Galchenyuk on the left side. If Montreal has any aspirations of being Cup contenders next season, GM Marc Bergevin is going to have to address the 2nd line LW weakness.
Saying that, Montreal does have a premier top line LW in Pacioretty. Over the past 5 seasons he has scored 147 goals for Montreal, which ranks 6th in the entire NHL, behind only Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Corey Perry, Joe Pavelski and Tyler Seguin but ahead of superstars John Tavares, Patrick Kane, Jamie Benn, Phil Kessel, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, etc.
After back-to-back 35+ goal campaigns, Pacioretty has regressed slightly and may not crack the 30 goal mark. Despite the regression and the disappointing season as a whole for the first-year captain, Pacioretty still remains as Montreal’s only legit scoring forward. As such, I do not envision Pacioretty being moved this summer, especially when he still has 3 years left on what has turned out to be an amazing value deal for Montreal. Virtual Lock to Stay
Bottom 6
What Montreal lacks in top end talent, they do make up for in bottom 6 depth. The epitome of that depth is the waiver claim of speedster Paul Byron and his subsequent importance to the Habs, so much so he recently signed a 3 year extension.
Despite his small stature(5’8″, 158 lbs), Byron plays with a huge heart and even bigger speed. His ability to generate offense while the Habs are short-handed has led to him tying Jonathan Toews and Jamie Benn for 2nd in the NHL for shorthanded points with 5(including 3 shorthanded goals). Byron’s presence has been a big factor to Montreal’s Top 5 penalty-killing unit on the season at an 84.5% success rate. Marc Bergevin made signing Byron a priority before the trade deadline which gives me all I need to know to say that Byron is a near lock to continue using his speed to help the Habs kill penalties next season. Very good chance he stays
Daniel Carr’s strong rookie debut was cut short due to a season-ending knee injury. It is really unfortunate because the 24 year old rookie was making waves with his net presence and ability to disrupt goalies, similar to Brendan Gallagher. All told, Carr registered 21 points in 24 AHL games before scoring 5 goals and 8 points in 19 NHL games before his injury. Carr does not possess top end skill but he has enough determination and drive that I believe he is going to be a very useful middle-6 winger and in my honest opinion, he showed enough in his brief time to warrant a 1 or 2 year contract extension. Good chance he stays in Montreal or St. John’s
The Depth
It seems as though Jacob de la Rose has spent years within the Habs organization but in actuality, it has been just two seasons. It probably feels longer because Montreal continually uses him as their go to call up from St. John’s as well as their go to send down when the roster hits its limit. De la Rose will never light up the scoresheet(he has 29 points in 113 combined NHL/AHL games) but he is still just 20 years old and has an advanced feel defensively for a player his age. As much as I believe de la Rose will be a stalwart 3rd line defensive forward, GM’s around the NHL likely know of his potential and I believe he will be the odd man out if Bergevin acquires a Top 6 scorer this summer. Likely to be traded
Stefan Matteau was a deadline acquisition from New Jersey for Devante Smith-Pelly. You can read more about Matteau Here. Matteau is very similar to Smith-Pelly in that he is a physical winger but he offers a bit more on the defensive side but his offense has stagnated at the pro level. Players like Matteau represent the kind of cheap depth that Marc Bergevin is known for acquiring and he should have a place on Montreal’s roster as a 12th-14th forward. Likely to stay due to lack of trade value
Lucas Lessio was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes for Christian Thomas earlier this season. I have to admit that I am a pretty big fan of Lessio from his Junior days in Oshawa. Saying that, I do realize that Lessio’s potential has a cap on it but I’ve been impressed with his game in his short sample in Montreal. He’ll have to remain healthy in order to crack Montreal’s lineup next year. I think if he can find his game, he could be a solid middle-6 winger. As for next year, I can’t envision him having too much trade value and should sign very cheaply(less than a million) and on a two-way deal. Likely stays as a depth winger
Charles Hudon is one of Montreal’s top prospects and had a nice two game debut earlier this year, recording two assists. If Marc Bergevin does not acquire a scoring winger for the 2nd line, Hudon should be the top candidate to take that spot. He has had back-to-back solid seasons in Hamilton/St. John’s with a 0.76 points per game average in both seasons. Hudon is also solid defensively which should bode well in his transition to Michel Therrien’s system.
The only real knocks on Hudon’s game are his lack of size(5’10”, 195 lbs) and his lack of elite speed for a small player. Hudon does make up for it with sound positioning and that’ll play a big part in his transition to a full-time NHL roster spot. As for next year, Hudon should remain in Montreal barring a trade for a scoring winger. Likely stays and plays a middle-6 winger role
I’m going to put John Scott and Michael Bournival together as I view their situations somewhat similarly. Scott had a roller coaster season on and off the ice and his story has been well documented so I won’t spend too much time on it. Scott was an unwanted part of the Tinordi for Elliot for Bartley trade and as such, has only seen action in 14 games since the trade for St. John’s and in those games he has posted just a single goal and 44 minutes in penalties.
Michael Bournival on the other hand has been with the organization for over 5 seasons. Injuries have plagued the 23 year old for almost 3 years now and he has been bypassed by several players on the depth chart. He’s only played 20 AHL games this year and I do not envision him being tendered a contract for next year. Both will be elsewhere next year