Montreal Canadiens: The moral of the Boston Bruins story
By Omar L
The Boston Bruins have been able to rebuild on the fly and remain as a top team in the league something the Montreal Canadiens will want to duplicate.
Just like a pen rolling down the incline of a desk, many were waiting to see when the Boston Bruins would fall. The Montreal Canadiens had the same kind of audience after the turnover on defence over the offseason. The 2017/18 season looked like the place for Boston’s fall to be after losing to the Ottawa Senators in the first-round the year before. Not to mention some decisions made prior that didn’t put general manager Don Sweeney in the best light. However, the Bruins have managed to remain a competitive team.
What decisions am I talking about when it comes to Sweeney exactly? Well, at the top list has to be the Dougie Hamilton trade, giving up a third-round pick for Zac Rinaldo, and the David Backes and Matt Beleskey signings (one which is no longer on the books). But the Boston Bruins emerged as one the league’s most dangerous teams as far as overall play goes.
Sweeney did what teams around the league should start doing more in adding young and spirited talent to an already effective core. Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara, and Tuukka Rask speak for themselves as to what kind of players they can be. However, the likes of David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Jake Debrusk, Danton Heinen, and Matt Grzelyck have been massive pieces to Boston’s success.
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Pastrnak is a superstar and a dynamic part of that top line with Bergeron and Marchand. Back-to-back 30+ goal seasons has made his contract more than worth it, and it’ll be interesting to see who he continues to grow. There were no surprises when it came to McAvoy considering how well he played in his debut which was in the playoffs last year. However, the young defenceman was a great help to Chara who by no means hasn’t fallen off, but it’s as effective as he used to be.
All those players are Bruins draft picks. Pastrnak, Debrusk, and McAvoy were all taken in the first round in 2014, 2015, and 2016 respectively. Heinen, a 2014 fourth-round pick, finished the year with 16 goals and stood out as a versatile player. Being able to slide in on either wing and up and down between the second and third lines helped Boston deal with injuries this season.
It’s easy to look at this team and hope the Montreal Canadiens will be able to do something similar. One thing to keep in mind is that none of this happens if Peter Chiarelli is still in charge which in many ways triggered this new wave of success in Boston. Using the parallel may imply that Marc Bergevin has to go.
The Montreal Canadiens Prospective
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Unfortunately, the Habs don’t have the same foundational core as Boston does. We can assume that the core moving forward will include Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault, Artturi Lehkonen, Paul Byron, Andrew Shaw, Shea Weber, Victor Mete, Noah Juulsen, and Carey Price. Because of the uncertainty around Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk, we can’t have them in this group, but it would be beneficial to keep the latter around.
Nikita Scherbak displayed the potential this year to have a role on the Montreal Canadiens for a long time. Besides that, the rest are question marks and maybes. It comes down to further shore up the organization’s drafting and development systems.
Tracking the Habs prospects in junior, college, and overseas has been uplighting this season, but the real work will be done once they get here. They need to be surrounded by players who do it the right way every night and know how to succeed in the NHL. Not only is it skill, but establishing the appropriate work ethic and mentality which enforces how important it is to make Gallagher and Byron’s play this season an organizational standard.
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This has to be the clutch of Bergevin’s plan. Identify the core and build around it with youth and speed. Sometimes you learn the best from those you’re meant to hate. The Bruins aren’t the only team who have made the best of this model, but it’s worked for them. It’s Montreal’s turn.