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Montreal Canadiens: What If Alex Radulov Re-Signed In Montreal?

By Ken MacMillan

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 16: Alexander Radulov #47 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrtaes his goal at 15:35 of the third period against the New York Rangers in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 16, 2017 in New York City. The Canadiens defeated the Rangers 3-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 16: Alexander Radulov #47 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrtaes his goal at 15:35 of the third period against the New York Rangers in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 16, 2017 in New York City. The Canadiens defeated the Rangers 3-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 02: Alexander Radulov #47 of the Dallas Stars skates the puck against Shea Weber #6 of the Montreal Canadiens in the third period at American Airlines Center on November 02, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 02: Alexander Radulov #47 of the Dallas Stars skates the puck against Shea Weber #6 of the Montreal Canadiens in the third period at American Airlines Center on November 02, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

2018-19 Season

Radulov was great in his first season with Dallas but was even better in year two. He scored 72 points once again but this time he did it while playing just 70 games. Scoring at over a point per game pace is great for anyone in the NHL, and something we have not seen in Montreal in far too long.

Radulov likely would not have scored at quite the same rate with the Canadiens, because he would not have had Seguin and Benn with him at even strength and on the power play. A couple of big trades in the offseason would have given the Canadiens some interesting options for setting up their lines last season.

Their best line was newcomer Tomas Tatar with Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher. There is no reason to believe this trio would be any different if Radulov were still in Montreal last season. With Domi in town playing centre, he would have been a perfect linemate for Radulov. They both bring the same level of intensity on every shift, and they both ended the year with 72 points, showing they can offer quite a bit on offence. Add Drouin to that line on the left side and the Habs would have had a very dangerous top six last year.

That still would have left Jesperi Kotkaniemi on the third line with Artturi Lehkonen, Joel Armia or Andrew Shaw. That is a pretty deep group of forwards. Considering the Habs missed the playoffs by two points without Radulov, they definitely would have grabbed a wildcard spot with him in the lineup.

Though the 2018 postseason was never going to happen for Montreal, the same can’t be said about last year. The Canadiens were so close that they just needed a small extra push to get in and Radulov would have provided more than enough. Both wildcard teams last season moved on as the Columbus Blue Jackets took out the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes knocked off the Washington Capitals.

It is hard to predict how far the Canadiens could have made it in last year’s postseason, but they definitely would have been playing had they re-signed Radulov in 2017. Also, they had over $8 million in unused cap space, so fitting him in would not have been a problem at all.

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