Canadiens: Three Players Who Should, But Won't Be Scratched

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Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin added a few pieces to the roster before last week’s trade deadline.

The deadline for adding a player was April 12th, and Bergevin was fairly busy leading up to that day.

He traded for Eric Staal from the Buffalo Sabres about a week ahead of the deadline for third and fifth round picks. He also signed Cole Caufield to an entry-level contract which should help bolster the forward group at some point this season.

Bergevin then picked up a couple of defencemen in the hours leading up to the deadline. Jon Merrill was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings for a fifth round pick and Hayden Verbeek. Erik Gustafsson was then acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a seventh round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

So, Bergevin added some veteran depth at centre, got his star prospect signed and then picked up two defencemen who aren’t stars but have plenty of experience at the NHL level.

The couple of defenders have been quarantine in preparation of joining the Canadiens on their current road trip. The Habs play five games in the next eight days against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. The three games against the Flames are looming large as Montreal holds a slim lead over Calgary for the final playoff spot.

We will eventually see some lineup changes, though head coach Dominique Ducharme has been reluctant to change things up. However, he will want to fit in the new guys at some point and should be using his depth to his advantage.

It will be interesting to see who gets shuffled out of the lineup in the near future to make room for Caufield, Merrill and Gustafsson.

These three players should be sitting out due to either a lack of production or a desperate need for rest, but we probably won’t see them in the press box anytime soon.

Eric Staal

Eric Staal is a veteran of 1280 NHL regular season games and he has scored more than 1000 points. He has won the Stanley Cup, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a title back in 2006. Staal also has his fair share of experience representing his country, playing for Canada on some of the greatest teams ever assembled, like the 2010 gold medal winning Olympic team.

However, all of those accolades are in the past. Well in the past. He won a Stanley Cup 15 years ago and he last played at the Olympics over a decade ago. He is now 35 years old and just hasn’t been effective for the Canadiens.

Staal stepped into the lineup and was given a terrific opportunity to succeed. He was placed on a line with the team’s leader in assists, Jonathan Drouin, and the team’s leader in goals, Tyler Toffoli. However, he just didn’t find any chemistry and couldn’t fit with those wingers.

He was then moved down to the fourth line but still doesn’t look comfortable. He is playing with Artturi Lehkonen and Corey Perry recently and the line just hasn’t been great. Staal looks slow, uncomfortable and out of sync no matter who he is on the ice with.

Staal did score the overtime winner in his first game with the Canadiens. But in his last seven contests he has zero points and a plus-minus of minus 8. He has been ineffective offensively and lost defensively.

It would make a lot of sense to put him in the press box and get Jake Evans back on the ice, but I wouldn’t count on Ducharme benching a respected veteran leader like Staal.

Paul Byron

While Eric Staal should be sat due to being ineffective, Byron should be sat in part due to his play but in part due to just keeping him rested.

The veteran winger was picked up on waivers by the Canadiens years ago and turned into quite a find for Marc Bergevin. He was tossed aside by a Calgary Flames team that decided to keep Brandon Bollig instead, and then Byron turned into a consistent 20 goal threat who was one of the fastest players in the league.

Byron appears to have lost his goal scoring touch this season. He has played 41 games thus far and only put four pucks in the net. He does still have some value as a fast, penalty killing, veteran winger with tons of hockey sense. However, the Canadiens have plenty of smart, defensive wingers in Byron, Artturi Lehkonen, Joel Armia and Corey Perry.

What they need more of is goals.

Cole Caufield has scored plenty of goals in his hockey career and just needs to show it at one more level, the NHL. In order for him to get into the lineup, a veteran bottom six winger is going to need to sit out.

While Byron would be missed on the penalty kill, that workload could go to Armia and Lehkonen. Meanwhile Caufield could step in and take a huge role on the power play, which is something we won’t be seeing from Byron.

At 31 years old and having battled injuries each of the past two seasons, Byron doesn’t appear quite as quick as he used to be. He is still an above average skater, but he isn’t blowing past defenders to create odd man rushes and breakaways like he did in the past.

It wouldn’t hurt to have sit out from time to time during a busy schedule to ensure he is at his best when he is in the lineup. It would make a lot of sense for him to take the odd night off, especially since it would be making room for Caufield.

But will Ducharme sit Byron for a rookie who would be making his NHL debut? I wouldn’t count on it.

Shea Weber

This is probably the least likely to ever occur, but would be the most beneficial for the Canadiens.

When the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship in 2019, their star player was Kawhi Leonard. He played 60 of the Raptors 82 regular season games that season but it wasn’t due to injury. Leonard sat out 22 games to manage his workload. The team literally called it load management when he was out of the lineup.

The Canadiens should strongly consider doing the same with Shea Weber.

When the Habs were off the ice, just like everyone else, for more than four months last season, a handful of their players looked way better when the team returned to action in the playoff bubble.

After resting, Weber looked quicker, sharper and younger on the ice in July than he did in March. That’s because he wasn’t in the midst of a grinding schedule in March. He had to play against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin every other night, but he took four months off leading up to it.

Obviously, Weber can’t take months off, but the Canadiens finish off their schedule with 12 games in the next 24 days. Does Weber have to play all 12? No, sit him out for four of them and get a longer look at newcomers Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson to see which of them can help in the playoffs.

The Canadiens aren’t guaranteed a playoff spot just yet, but it’s very likely. If Weber plays 22 minutes per night 12 more times, they are pretty much guaranteed a first round exit as their highest paid defender tries to chase Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews around the ice in round one.

Next. 3 reasons Caufield needs to be in the lineup. dark

I’d be shocked if Ducharme sat Weber to rest him for the postseason, but it would give the Canadiens their best chance at playoff success.

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