Montreal Canadiens: Five Players That Need To Go

I think it’s safe to say, enough is enough when it comes to Jonathan Drouin.

Granted, expectations probably wouldn’t have been so high if he wasn’t traded for Mikhail Sergachev. Also being drafted third overall in a draft that featured the likes of Seth Jones, Darnell Nurse, Bo Horvat and Anthony Mantha picked after him, doesn’t help his case either.

That being said however, the soon to be 28 year old has had a plethora of chances to prove his worth in the NHL. After showing signs of absolute dominance in the QMJHL, Drouin has proven to be an injury prone player with 20 goal per season potential. This is a player that both in Tampa Bay and Montreal was given the opportunity to express his talents and become the player he can be, but instead a mix of ego and unwillingness to work has made a frustratingly inconsistent player.

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Drouin is set to enter the final year of his contract next season at a $5.5 million cap hit. Unless the Canadiens chose to give him one last chance at redemption, buying his contract out would be the best option. A buyout would give the team a $1,833,334 cap penalty for 2022-23 and 2023-24 therefore actually saving money by buying him out.

We’ve tried, it didn’t work. Time to move on once and for all.

If there ever was a player the Canadiens didn’t need this past offseason, it was Mike Hoffman.

After failing to acquire him at the trade deadline last season, Marc Bergevin managed to snag Hoffman and signed him to a 3 year $13.5 million contract. That’s $4.5 million a year for a winger who will give you 15 to maybe 20 goals at this point in his career and be responsible for the opposing team to score at least 30 of them throughout the year.

Granted, the one time he does work his tail off defensively, it results in a sketchy penalty shot call.

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There was no reason to sign him then and there’s no reason to keep him now, especially when you’re trying to to instil a system focused on skill and hard work.

Buying him out is feasible as he would count for a $1,166,667 cap penalty but for the next 4 season. You’re still saving a little over $3 million in total salary but if you’re using this buyout on Jonathan Drouin, this option becomes less financially viable.

Some teams might be willing to take on the 32 year old but the Canadiens would have to sell him at a loss. Regardless, i’d rather watch Rafael Harvey-Pinard get some NHL minutes than watch another game of Hoffman coasting for 59 minutes a game.

The old Jeff Petry had indeed returned in the final month or so of the season. Worked hard, played smart and put up some points to boot.

That still doesn’t erase what happened at the beginning of the season.

Jeff Petry showed his true colors at the beginning of the season when he started pouting because he didn’t want to play for Dominique Ducharme. For all the faults Ducharme has had during his short tenure as Canadiens head coach, he didn’t deserve to have players completely give up to a point where the safety of teammates were put at risk.

We’re all going to remember that Zack Kassian hit that nearly took out Samuel Montembeault as Petry was seen just gliding along and watching the whole thing unfold. His sarcastic and sometimes downright mean treatment to the media as he threw everyone but Youppi under the bus showed that his time here is done.

His wife Julie added fuel to the fire when she started criticizing Canada as a whole for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, to a point where she packed up the kids and moved back to the United States. Petry had to finish the season without his wife and kids in the area.

Kent Hughes has stated more than once that he will try to trade Petry and make a trade that “made sense for everyone.” There were rumors that a trade was verbally agreed with the Flyers but that seemed to have dissipated now that the Flyers are also facing a full scale rebuild.

The Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars remain the apparent favorites to land the Michigan native.

Not going to lie, I was going to put Joel Armia on this list but it might take another season or two to even envision the possibility to trading him. Instead, i’m reluctantly putting Paul Byron in his place as a player that needs to go.

I don’t dislike Paul Byron. At all. This is the greatest waiver pickup in Habs history and his contribution to the Canadiens has been stellar. If there was ever a player that never got criticized for his work ethic, it’s Paul Byron.

That being said however, Byron’s fragile body is starting to catch up to him. Since 2018 Byron has only suited up for 158 games.

Unfortunately, it’s also a matter of finances that tips the scales on whether to keep him or letting him go. He has two years left on his current contract with a $3.4 million cap hit.

Due to his leadership and being a hard worker, a team like the Ottawa Senators might call and give him the chance to finish his career in his home town.

We all love Byron, but at this point anyone else on the Canadiens’ roster can do his job at a fraction of the cost.

There is literally only one reason why Carey Price would make this list.

Distraction.

I’m not going to go into the salary category. We’ve covered that ad nauseum. The issue is that there needs to come a time where the Canadiens need to plan the future without Price between the pipes, and that time is now.

Jake Allen is committed to remaining in Montreal despite what any rumor might tell you, and Samuel Montembeault deserves a new contract as the team’s backup goaltender. Getting a 60-40 split in starts between Allen and Montembeault is definitely a viable option.

Cayden Primeau has shown that he isn’t NHL ready and still struggles in the AHL. Kevin Poulin will continue to be a fringe AHL starter while the likes of Joe Vrbetic, Jakub Dobes and Frederik Dichow are still nowhere near ready to see NHL minutes, at least not for another season or two at the very minimum.

We can’t have another season of “will he play or not?” involving Price. It’s exhausting for everyone wondering day in and day out if your supposed number one goaltender will play or not. Now with his recent vague comments in which he doesn’t seem sure himself if he can play at an elite level anymore, I think it’s safe to say that Price needs to pull a Weber and hang them up.

He may have not gotten that Stanley Cup, but Price gave Canadiens and hockey fans in general many moments to remember. He can retire with his head held high and let this new generation of players take over the spotlight.

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