Can the Montreal Canadiens take a swing at Mathew Barzal?

Mathew Barzal is a no-doubt number one centreman.

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He brings an effective two-way game as well as the offence to match the reliability in his own end. Barzal finished his Calder-winning rookie season with 22 goals and 63 assists for 85 points in 82 games. That was before Trotz joined the show.

Barzal has an eye for offence, skates very well – which compliments Montreal’s system – and makes his linemates better, especially those who shoot. Having him on a line with the likes of Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Tatar, or Cole Caufield down the line, would be a great asset to the Habs, especially with a blue line that’s continuing to look more mobile with the young players coming up.

Barzal checks off several boxes for the Montreal Canadiens. As effective as Phillip Danult has been, he’s not a number one centre. He may be the Habs’ number one, but he’s a three on most teams, which is no slight on him. Not to mention the emergence of Nick Suzuki that makes Danault even more expendable.

It won’t be easy, and there are a lot of factors to consider. The salary cap hasn’t been an issue for the Habs in a while, and Bergevin may want to keep it that way. Handing out a big contract to Barzal with Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Ryan Poehling coming up could make things a little claustrophobic to the point where significant subtractions from the core will need to be made.

But is that worth the risk to score a number one centre? Do the Montreal Canadiens feel they can rely on what they have or is this opportunity impossible to pass up?

Let’s think of the Toronto Maple Leafs here who put themselves in a cap lockdown by signing John Tavares to a big contract as a UFA while signing Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to significant deals. Their blue line is still in shambles, and they’ve struggled with finding the space and opportunity to fix it.

The Montreal Canadiens have answers coming in Alexander Romanov, Cale Fleury and Josh Brook; but is it fair to rely on three young players to stabilize the defence corps. That may be where Bergevin wants to focus on.

It’ll be an interesting development to track once the season ends. Lou Lamoriello is a no-nonsense general manager, but he should understand how important Mathew Barzal is to the future. However, if he chooses to move on, perhaps the Montreal Canadiens are the team to swoop in and benefit.