The Vegas Golden Knights are an example that talent is always present if you take the time to use it and the Montreal Canadiens should follow that message.
The Vegas Golden Knights have continued to defy the odds after sweeping the two-time Stanley Cup Champions in the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. On the surface, there’s nothing that makes sense about what they’ve done this season. For all the other teams who missed out on the playoffs, like the Montreal Canadiens, there’s a simple lesson to take from the knights in gold armour.
It’s more than just having good management, but also identifying the right players to get the job done. One of the reasons why many quickly discounted the possibility of Vegas being competitive this year was because of the crop of players they had. Although the NHL made it such that each team was set to lose a somewhat decent name from their roster, it was still difficult to look them and think they’d finish anywhere outside of the bottom ten even with Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes.
The Athletic‘s Justin Bourne had a very telling tweet around the makeup of the Golden Knights Tuesday night
Every single NHL team should see Vegas’ success and think, “hey, maybe we should give that buried player who we insert in the lineup every fourth game for 10 mins a better opportunity? Maybe he can do more with a legit chance?”
— Justin Bourne (@jtbourne) April 18, 2018
Players such James Neal, Jon Marchessault, and David Perron had an impact on their former teams on a nightly basis. However, 43-goal scorer William Karlsson and Erik Haula averaged around 13 minutes on Columbus and Minnesota respectively and not to mention Alex Tuch who rarely saw more than 10.
It’s the same on defence. Brayden McNabb would bounce between the second and third pairings on the Kings while Deryk Engelland, who many criticized Vegas for selecting from Calgary, has been a reliable option on the blueline.
Sometimes a player needs to feel important or that they have a purpose of bringing out the best in themselves. Another recent example, but on a much smaller scale, was Tomas Plekanec‘s performance in Game Three for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Before then, the 35-year-old was stapled to the fourth line, but he was promoted to the second line with the task of shutting doing the Patrice Bergeron line and looked better than he did in months.
Shining the Spotlight
The Habs have a few names who could step up if given an opportunity. It already happened this season with Victor Mete, Nikita Scherbak, and Noah Juulsen. Claude Julien allowed Mete not only to play this year but on the top pairing with Shea Weber, unfortunately, that didn’t last long, and the 19-year-old was demoted to the bottom pairing with one of David Schlemko or Jordie Benn.
Once down there, Mete’s play didn’t pick up as nicely as the coaching staff would’ve liked, but he returned to form once slotted in on the top pair with Jeff Petry before getting injured. Scherbak, on the other hand, was usually left to confines of the fourth line as well whenever called up from the AHL but this year he finally stood. Why? Because he was given the chance to play higher in the lineup with Alex Galchenyuk and Jonathan Drouin at times.
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Juulsen was never held back after making his NHL debut as Julien gave the 20-year-old key minutes including time on the penalty kill. The 2015 first-round pick improved every game to the point where he’s virtually slotted into a roster spot for next year.
Jacob de La Rose was on the verge of having a throwaway season that would’ve made his future with the Montreal Canadiens a mystery. However, Julien used him more in a shutdown role after Plekanec was traded, and it brought out a better and more impactful version of the Swedish native. You also can’t discount Nicolas Deslauriers who many assumed was just a physical fourth-line presence but displayed a goal’s scorer’s touch that earned him a two-year deal.
Do the Montreal Canadiens have a Karlsson?
Well if Marc Bergevin can work some magic, maybe Erik Karlsson can join the Habs’ ranks (in a miracle world). What I mean by this is whether there’s someone in the organization with untapped potential who needs that one shot to prove themselves. Michael McCarron is someone that comes to mind, but he has work to do over the summer surrounding his skating.
I’m thinking of players like Jeremy Gregoire and Zachary Fucale who are itching to make their debut with the Montreal Canadiens. The same can be said about Jake Evans who could easily work his way into a roster spot in October. However, just like George McPhee did at the Expansion Drafts, it’ll be about taking a chance.
This isn’t to say that Gregoire or Evans will score 40 goals one year, but there other things of value they can bring to the Habs.
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It won’t be a sure thing, and a lot of the time, nothing in professional sports is. But if the Montreal Canadiens truly want to turn a corner, perhaps being more loose with their player selections and usage would work in their favour.