A Winning Habit
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Possible NHL Award Nominees for the Montreal Canadiens in the Future

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 01: Jesperi Kotkaniemi #15 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates a victory with goaltender Carey Price #31 against the Washington Capitals during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on November 1, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Washington Capitals 6-4. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 01: Jesperi Kotkaniemi #15 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates a victory with goaltender Carey Price #31 against the Washington Capitals during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on November 1, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Washington Capitals 6-4. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
VANCOUVER, BC – JANUARY 4: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /

Rocket

Although the award is named after Montreal Canadiens great Maurice Richard, no player in the organization has won it since it’s creating in 1998.

Additionally, the other scoring dominators of the league will make it a hard trophy to contend with. Alex Ovechkin is chasing down Wayne Gretzky’s record and is sure to be in the running every year while Pastrnak and Matthews will continue to get better. However, the closest chance the Montreal Canadiens have again is a player who hasn’t even played a game in the league yet in Caufield.

He’s the best pure goal scorer in the organization at the moment, and it’ll take time for him to insert himself into those conversations.

Norris

As I mentioned previously, the evaluation of defencemen is tougher than forwards. When it comes to the Norris, an individual’s point totals have greatly impacted who wins. Take Brett Burns, who won the Norris in 2017 after putting up 29 goals and 47 assists for 76 points.

That’s an incredible stat line for a defenceman, but by no means was he the best defender that year.  Perhaps that changes over the next five years; however, it’s a fact that points matter.

Again, we have to put faith in a player who hasn’t touched NHL ice yet, but is Alexander Romanov the best option for the Montreal Canadiens?

His style of play lends itself to get the attention of media league-wide. He’s explosive and dynamic willing to carry the puck, get involved physically, and make continuous plays to his forwards. That style can lead to a lot of points if the plays turn into goals.

Next. Handling Ryan Poehling. dark

The defensive play will take time to improve. The best defencemen in the league needed a number of years before they began to be recognized as the best in their craft.

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