Montreal Canadiens must change the nature of their roster construction

The Montreal Canadiens have prospects in the system who may be ready to play. Rushing a young player never does them any good, but if they’re ready, a team with young talent would be exciting to watch. Sure, the likelihood of making the playoffs would be low unless Price drags them in, but imagine a team with Jesse Ylonen, Jake Evans, Alexander Romanov and Cale Fleury while Kotkaniemi and Poehling return filled with fire to do away with the 2019-20 season.

Coaching and mentorship will be critical as they’ll need to be shown the way of the NHL on a nightly basis, but having a group of young players come together and grow together will lead positive results. And at the same time, the fan base will have their answer as to what the Montreal Canadiens are.

Take the New York Rangers, for example. That letter the organization released to their fanbase was the beginning of a cascade of good moves by the Rangers.

They stockpiled picks and prospects from drafts, made their hits, and when the time came, spent in free agency to add Artemi Panarin to the equation. This season saw the benefits of those decisions as they were on a heater for a wild-card spot and would make it if the NHL stuck to their 16-team format but focused on points percentage. Either way, they were only two points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second spot.