Will the Montreal Canadiens ever regret the Josh Anderson trade?

SC: In the midst of the current hype around prospects Cole Caufield and Alexander Romanov, the Montreal Canadiens track record in regard to drafting has been shaky, to say the least. Because of this, for as long as he’s been with the Canadiens organization, I believe Trevor Timmins is on less solid ground than he’s been in year’s past. While the Canadiens pipeline is rife with promising prospects at the moment, the lack of true first-round talent from the team has left the Canadiens just that, promising prospects, rather than proven ones. Aside from Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who rebounded from a mediocre performance in the regular season with a strong showing in the playoffs, most of the Habs’ top players at the moment are comprised of veteran acquisitions or products of other team’s scouting departments.

Even still, the question remains whether the Habs ultimately made the right choice in selecting Kotkaniemi, instead of already proven stars like Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes or Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk. Timmins comments on not selecting QMJHL prospects has also led to criticism, as while I can agree with why he personally chose not to select from the league in this year’s draft, his previous track record of missing on proven players like Samuel Girard, Anthony Beauvillier and Nicolas Roy leaves Habs fans questioning both his selection processes and future with the Canadiens organization, especially with Montreal putting more focus on drafting than ever before.

OL: I’m taking my answer on two fronts: management and player personnel.

The Montreal Canadiens did their best to add more scoring this offseason with Toffoli and Anderson. Additionally, another year of Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi will do nothing but good for either. This will address their 5v5 production, but all eyes are on the powerplay, which hasn’t been consistent for years. Bergevin handed these toys to Kirk Muller, and if the powerplay puts up the same results next season, it’ll be tough to see him remain behind the bench. Special teams are key in the NHL, and in a year where the Habs may be playing against Canadian teams, they’ll need to be able to convert. If they don’t, I could see the temperature turned to critical on Muller. However, he stepped up in a big way for Claude Julien when he was in the hospital.

When it comes to personnel, it starts with acknowledging the Habs’ future salary cap situation. The days of weaponizing cap space are over. Gallagher has been paid (deservingly so), and Petry will be paid (deservingly so while doing the organization a favour). Anderson and Tofolli nearly make $10 million between the both of them, while Kotkaniemi and Poehling are due this upcoming summer, with Suzuki expiring in the next.

Money will need to be moved, so there’s room for all of this. That could see players such as Armia, Lehkonen, Drouin or even Phillip Danault moved. Armia has been on bridge-deals for some time and may be looking for a long-term deal with a decent payout, and with the upcoming commitments, the Habs will have, I don’t think Bergevin will want to do it. Lehkonen, I could see sticking around at a lower number if the expectations of him breaking out as a 20-goal player subside. Drouin and Danault are different stories.

The idea of moving Drouin should completely disappear if the magic between him and Suzuki continues. The two were in-sync against the Philadelphia Flyers, and that over the course of the regular season would be an interesting experiment. That could keep Drouin here, especially if he returns to that 50-60 point range with Suzuki.

Danault is a very underrated player and doesn’t get enough credit. The Montreal Canadiens don’t want to move him, but I feel there will come a time when it will happen. There are already signs of separation as Danault doesn’t want his role to change and may see how Gallagher was compensated for his time in the organization wanting the same thing. However, Suzuki and Kotkaniemi are the future one and two of this team, which will leave Danault as the third-line centre.

Danault may not want that, but the writing is on the wall. If he doesn’t want to accept the reality and the fact that he can’t cash out as high as he’d like in that role, that may see him part ways with the Montreal Canadiens.