The Montreal Canadiens sit near the bottom of the NHL standings as we approach the NHL trade deadline on March 21st, which is less than two weeks away.
Usually that is a sign that a team is about to embark on a deep rebuild as they trade away veterans, acquire draft picks and look way down the road as they would need many years to climb from the basement to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But, could the Canadiens contend again next season?
This is a team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals just last season. Sure, they lost some key players like Shea Weber, Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar, but they brought in Christian Dvorak, Mike Hoffman and David Savard to fill the void.
Add in a developing and more well rounded Nick Suzuki and a full year of Cole Caufield and there was reason to believe the 2021-22 Canadiens could be a better regular season team than the 2020-21 version.
Obviously, that did not happen. But there are reasons to believe this team could be really good again next season.
First of all, superstar goaltender Carey Price has not played a single game yet this season. I may be going out on a limb here (though a pretty large one) but I believe Price will play more than zero games next season. More Price and Jake Allen and less Sam Montembeault is a good thing. No offence to Montembeault who has performed admirably this season under difficult circumstances.
Also, the new head coach Martin St. Louis may have an interim tag attached to his job title but that seems unnecessary. The on-ice product completely transformed as soon as he arrived behind the bench and the team is playing a fantastic style that is leading to far more scoring chances and far less scoring chances against.
Suzuki and Caufield were stuck in neutral for the first three months of the season but they both suddenly look like stars under St. Louis. Same with Josh Anderson and Mike Hoffman who suddenly figured out how to score again when they had a former star NHL player as their head coach.
Add in a healthy Jonathan Drouin and Christian Dvorak who are both due back soon, and the Canadiens have a pretty good looking top six forward group.
The line of Anderson, Caufield and Suzuki looks like an elite one. A trio of Drouin, Dvorak and Hoffman behind them would provide plenty of scoring as well.
That still leaves a potential third line of Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher and Artturi Lehkonen. It might not be quite the Tatar-Danault-Gallagher line of years gone by, but it would be a terrific defensive trio that could score a little bit as well.
Without adding anyone via trade or free agency, the Habs forwards are:
Caufield Suzuki Anderson
Drouin Dvorak Hoffman
Lehkonen Evans Gallagher
Pitlick Poehling Armia/Byron
That isn’t the most dangerous forward group in the division, but if the team has far more injury luck than this season, it is a deep group of forwards that could bring scoring from all four lines.
With Price and Allen playing in goal, they would be in great shape there as well. The Canadiens, as a team, have an .889 save percentage this season. That ranks 30th in the 32 team league. If Price and Allen are playing regularly next season, and the team has actual defensive structure, it is hard to imagine they would be outside the top ten in save percentage.
The only area that would need a little help is the blue line. Ben Chiarot, Brett Kulak and Chris Wideman are sure to be gone. That leaves Joel Edmundson and Jeff Petry as a top pairing and Alexander Romanov with David Savard on the second duo.
If Jordan Harris can get signed he could make the jump from college to the NHL to play on the third pairing with a veteran who is signed for cheap on the free agent market. Maybe even Brett Kulak.
A gaping hole could be opened up if Petry’s trade request is honoured. The team would desperately need a top pairing defender for the right side. Petry started this season slowly, but has looked amazing again under St. Louis’ tutelage. If he is traded, the team would need to fill the void somehow.
Kris Letang is available as a free agent, but is 35 years old and would cost a ton. His agent was Kent Hughes before he was hired as Canadiens general manager earlier this season and Letang is from the province of Quebec.
John Klingberg, Josh Manson and Hampus Lindholm would be other options as free agents, but there is no certainty they would fit as well as Petry has over the past few years.
Perhaps a big trade would need to be made, or the team may have to clear a bit more cap space to go big in free agency to replace Petry.
But really, that is the only big hole heading into next season. if Petry stays, or is replaced, there is no reason to believe the Canadiens can’t contend for a playoff spot next season.
A lot of it would rely on health, but even without major changes the team would have a top six that can score a ton, a bottom six that is great defensively and would surely outscore its opposition and a terrific goaltending tandem. A change of heart by Petry, or a big splash in free agency by signing Letang, and the Canadiens could go from the basement to the postseason in a single year.
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!