Habs Need to Improve Scoring in Offseason
An examination of the ways the Habs should consider increasing their goal production this offseason
In many games last season, the Habs were able to generate a ton of shots and scoring chances but failed to capitalize. This placed a huge amount of pressure on the defense and goal tending to be perfect all the time. The odds were, if the Habs couldn’t score more than two goals, especially without Carey Price, they weren’t going to win.
The Habs biggest need in my opinion isn’t necessarily a positional need, it’s a need for more goals. Adding a few players who just have a special talent for their powerful wrist shot or a knack for jamming in lose pucks around the net. No matter the player type, adding scoring ability will go a long way next season.
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The good news is that there is scoring talent available this year, whether through free agency or the draft. The free agent market has a wealth of scoring depth this year. In comparison to years past, this one is loaded with players who will be able to produce. The Draft has a few players at the top of the rankings who could be day one starters and contribute right away.
Scoring Available in the Free Agent Market
The free agent market is deep with players that have produced at a high rate over the majority of their career. Players like Steven Stamkos, Kyle Okposo, Andrew Ladd, David Backes, and Loui Eriksson. All of these players may come with a high price tag but all should be able to give a boost to the teams goal scoring. Leadership and experience are an added bones to a Habs team that could have many young players.
If the high cost of term and dollars scare you off, there is some second tier talent that could also add scoring to the lineup. Players like David Perron, Jamie McGinn, Mikkel Boedker, and Troy Brouwer haven’t always been consistent but in some seasons they have proven to be really effective within their roles. These players could possibly boost the teams power play, which would be a huge addition considering how the Habs struggled mightily on the power play last season.
How Habs Should Attack Free Agency
In my opinion the Habs should swing for the fences this off-season and make Steven Stamkos an offer he can’t possibly refuse. It’s extremely rare to find a player of his caliber available in free agency. If the Habs can’t land Stamkos then I would consider Kyle Okposo or Loui Eriksson.
I wouldn’t consider the size of the contract or term to be too much of a problem to take on for the Habs. The contracts of Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec, Lars Eller and David Desharnais will be ending within two years. This opens up cap space for the team to keep core players like Alex Galchenyuk, Carey Price, and Max Pacioretty. They also have young players with high potential on cap-saving, entry-level deals as well.
Scoring Help Available in the Draft
The Draft has some players at the top of the rankings who could step right in to the lineup and play. Players such as Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi, Matthew Tkachuk and Pierre-Luc Dubois. These players are widely considered to be the the top 5 in this years draft class.
The Habs pick 9th overall and chances are there won’t be any of those pro ready players available when the Canadiens are set to pick. The issue then becomes whether or not to trade up and land one of these potentially NHL-ready players.
The first two picks in the draft owned by the Leafs and Jets and are unlikely to be traded. The next three picks, however, have been rumored to be in play. The Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks are all said to be listening to trade offers. The cost of moving up could cost a kings ransom in draft picks and prospects as well a roster player or two.
How Habs Should Attack the Draft
I think the Habs would be better off with a more conservative approach to the Draft. Trading up for any player in the top 5 would place a ton of pressure and high expectations on any player. This could be too much for an 18 year old to handle in the media frenzy of Montreal.
Trading down in the draft actually makes a lot of sense for the Canadiens. This would allow the Habs to add extra picks in this years draft and possibly a few extra picks for next year. This draft class has been deemed a very deep class, so why not have a few extra darts to throw and try to land a wealth of good players rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.
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Final Thoughts
This is a very important off-season for the Habs because they need to take some pressure off the defense and goal tending. Providing some extra goal support would help the Habs get back to the way the they played at the beginning of last year.
When they had three lines scoring coupled with their defense and goal tending, the Habs were winning and looked like a Cup contender. The goal of the off-season should be to get back to that point and sustain it over an 82 game schedule.