2021-22 State of the Habs

[CaptWelly]

13 minutes ago, BigTed3 said:

Subban has pretty much always had the toughest match-ups to face. He's been playing against a lot of the other team's top lines with NJ and it was similar when he was here in Montreal, where he was often tasked with shutting down the likes of Crosby and Ovechkin. That's one reason I think he could be a guy we can sign for a year and have him play the top 4 successfully while we wait for our young guys to develop.

I don't think there were teams lining up for him at 9M a year. I do think there will be takers on a short prove-it deal.

I'd rather Petry in general. That said, Subban was popular with most of his teammates when he was here. Most of them have said that. Subban's problem was that Therrien was an awful person who dragged him through the mud.

Even when he was drafted , it was reported he may have went in the first round but there were attitude questions. There were reported issues in Nashville. One of the reasons given for his original exclusions from team Canada was ego/attitude. He does have a history of "rubbing" people the wrong way. So it hasn't all been "one" coach a long the way. 

Can he still play probably, would he be a giant distraction ..............probably. Do we want a player that's going to promote himself first and send the message to the young guys it's all about you not the team. Big difference in New Jersey is supporting cast. Markov propped up Subban here and he looked good in Nashville as a supporting cast. 

He has done great community efforts in Montreal and Nashville both. On ice he makes bad decisions and stupid dangerous things like the slew foot which he was doing as a HAB unfortunately. All the skills just never learned to play within a system or know when to take or not take chances. 

 

[jennifer_rocket]

I no longer have strong feelings about Petry.

We're not going to be competitive next season, so if he wants to be traded, I'm fine with trading him. If he wants to stay now that Bergevin and Ducharme are gone, that's fine too. Not really interested in bringing in 35-year old Kris Letang. Especially on a multi-year deal. Also not interested in bringing in Subban on a one-year deal.

I would rather just let some of the kids play. Even if that means we struggle at times.

[maas_art]

58 minutes ago, jennifer_rocket said:

Not really interested in bringing in 35-year old Kris Letang. Especially on a multi-year deal.

Age is defintiely a factor with Letang (as is, how many of his points come from playing behind Crosby and Malkin etc) but one thing in his favor is the mileage. He may be 35 but he's only played 941 NHL games because of all the injuries he had early in his career.  Compare that with guys his age like Kopitar and Ovechkin (both over 1200) he's had far less hard mileage than some 35 year olds in this leage.

Id still be very hesitant to give him more than 3 years.. maybe 4 if we absolutely have to.  5+ is a nonstarter for me.  Id rather pay him an extra $2m a year and make it a 2 year deal tbh. 

[BigTed3]

1 hour ago, maas_art said:

Age is defintiely a factor with Letang (as is, how many of his points come from playing behind Crosby and Malkin etc) but one thing in his favor is the mileage. He may be 35 but he's only played 941 NHL games because of all the injuries he had early in his career.  Compare that with guys his age like Kopitar and Ovechkin (both over 1200) he's had far less hard mileage than some 35 year olds in this leage.

Id still be very hesitant to give him more than 3 years.. maybe 4 if we absolutely have to.  5+ is a nonstarter for me.  Id rather pay him an extra $2m a year and make it a 2 year deal tbh. 

Mileage or not, the fact remains he's 35 and on a 4-year deal, he'd be 39 by the end of it. Hard to think of too many D men who have been playing at a high level at that age (and if Letang is asking for over 5M AAV, which you think he would, then he'd better be playing at a top 4 level to earn that). Even the guys who have made it to 35, you look at what's happened to them between age 35-39:

- Shea Weber... played 48 games at age 35 and then shut down his career because of injury

- Roman Hamrlik played decent hockey at ages 35 and 36 albeit not as well as he had during his prime, but by age 37 there was a marked drop in his level of play and by age 38 he was out of the league

- Zdeno Chara was still a decent player into his late 30's but there was a marked decline at age 35 in terms of production per ice time and minutes played per game.

- Andrei Markov is another guy like Letang who missed a lot of time with injuries and the injuries probably set him back, in that his mobility was never the same after. He was simply not as valuable a player in all situations and match-ups as he slowed down but still had great value as a puck mover and PP QB. He gave us decent production at ages 35 and 36 and thereafter he was more of a role player and then out of the league at 38.

- Sergei Gonchar showed a significant drop-off at age 36 after very productive years in his early 30s.

- Duncan Keith likewise seemed to decline quite a bit around age 36.

- Brian Campbell was okay through his mid-30s, saw some drop-of after 35 and was out of the league by age 38.

All that to say that a lot of D men who played at a high level through their 20s and early 30s really saw a drop-off in terms of production and minutes/role played after 35. I wouldn't have signed Markov or Hamrlik or Chara or Weber or Keith to a 4-year deal at age 35 and I wouldn't do it with Letang either. Also important to keep in mind that some teams will purposely gamble on long-term deals with players knowing there will be bad years at the end of the deal in exchange for getting strong years out of them at the front end. You might think about the Leafs signing Tavares and thinking they can challenge for a Cup now with Matthews/Tavares even if the back end of that deal might end up hurting them. But in our case, we're nowhere close to challenging for the next two years. So it seems a bad strategy to try to get two good years from Letang when you can't compete and then handicap your salary cap in years 3, 4, or 5 when you might actually want to spend to the cap to make a Cup run. It would just be a very poorly thought-out idea.

So from my end, signing Letang for a year or two, maybe three, can help your team now. Signing him longer than that means you're at very high risk of doing cap damage to yourself in years that matter, and then you've essentially done what Bergevin always did and failed to identify what your Cup window is and how to build towards a winning team at a given moment.

[Regis22]

4 hours ago, CaptWelly said:

Can he still play probably, would he be a giant distraction ..............probably.

 

Probably not 

https://thehockeywriters.com/canadiens-should-not-trade-for-subban/

Subban remains a polarizing figure in Montreal and unjustifiably so, but everyone in town should be all too eager to move on from this season, as one of the worst in team history. No one’s solution should be to try to make up for lost time with Subban and relive an almost-as-depressing period in team history right after, out of what? Nostalgia? There’s only one way out for this team and it involves putting the Bergevin era in the rear-view, the Subban trade included. That doesn’t mean to reverse it though, for crying out loud (unless it’s to back up over it again and again). Reversing it means to reverse course. It’s all about moving forward. Subban willl always be an honorary Montrealer at heart, but his time as a Hab should be over for good. 

 

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/p-k-subban-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-shuts-down-chances-to-get-traded

 

Subban is 32 years old and has declined as an offensive force: ( will be 33 in a week )

But he needs to focus on hockey, especially if he wants to be taken seriously.

 

https://nesn.com/2021/10/p-k-subban-has-fallen-in-love-with-slew-footing-his-opponents/

 

P.K. Subban Has Fallen In Love — With Slew-Footing His Opponents

[kinot-2]

Jake Allen is the Montreal Canadiens nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy!

[habs1952]

2 hours ago, maas_art said:

Age is defintiely a factor with Letang (as is, how many of his points come from playing behind Crosby and Malkin etc) but one thing in his favor is the mileage. He may be 35 but he's only played 941 NHL games because of all the injuries he had early in his career.  Compare that with guys his age like Kopitar and Ovechkin (both over 1200) he's had far less hard mileage than some 35 year olds in this leage.

Id still be very hesitant to give him more than 3 years.. maybe 4 if we absolutely have to.  5+ is a nonstarter for me.  Id rather pay him an extra $2m a year and make it a 2 year deal tbh. 

So, what your saying is Letang is injury prone. 

[kinot-2]

The Canadiens have agreed to a 3-year entry level deal with the Halifax, Nova Scotia native.

The deal will pay Kidney $750,000 in 2022-23 and $775,000 for the remaining two years.

Kidney will also receive a signing bonus of $92,500 in each year of the contract. He would make $80,000 per season at the AHL level.

The Canadiens selected Kidney 63rd overall in the second round of the 2021 draft.

The 19-year-old was seventh in QMJHL scoring this season as he tallied 30 goals and 70 assists for 100 points with the Acadie-Bathurst Titans.

[jennifer_rocket]

Cool to see Hughes getting a few young kids squared away on entry-level deals starting next year.

Joshua Roy
Riley Kidney
Emil Heineman

I wonder if we'll have greater success developing some of these kids now that the Bergevin era is behind us.

[Regis22]

1 hour ago, habs1952 said:

So, what your saying is Letang is injury prone. 

He did have a stroke I recall

[maas_art]

1 hour ago, BigTed3 said:

Mileage or not, the fact remains he's 35 and on a 4-year deal, he'd be 39 by the end of it. Hard to think of too many D men who have been playing at a high level at that age (and if Letang is asking for over 5M AAV, which you think he would, then he'd better be playing at a top 4 level to earn that). Even the guys who have made it to 35, you look at what's happened to them between age 35-39:

- Shea Weber... played 48 games at age 35 and then shut down his career because of injury

- Roman Hamrlik played decent hockey at ages 35 and 36 albeit not as well as he had during his prime, but by age 37 there was a marked drop in his level of play and by age 38 he was out of the league

- Zdeno Chara was still a decent player into his late 30's but there was a marked decline at age 35 in terms of production per ice time and minutes played per game.

- Andrei Markov is another guy like Letang who missed a lot of time with injuries and the injuries probably set him back, in that his mobility was never the same after. He was simply not as valuable a player in all situations and match-ups as he slowed down but still had great value as a puck mover and PP QB. He gave us decent production at ages 35 and 36 and thereafter he was more of a role player and then out of the league at 38.

- Sergei Gonchar showed a significant drop-off at age 36 after very productive years in his early 30s.

- Duncan Keith likewise seemed to decline quite a bit around age 36.

- Brian Campbell was okay through his mid-30s, saw some drop-of after 35 and was out of the league by age 38.

All that to say that a lot of D men who played at a high level through their 20s and early 30s really saw a drop-off in terms of production and minutes/role played after 35. I wouldn't have signed Markov or Hamrlik or Chara or Weber or Keith to a 4-year deal at age 35 and I wouldn't do it with Letang either. Also important to keep in mind that some teams will purposely gamble on long-term deals with players knowing there will be bad years at the end of the deal in exchange for getting strong years out of them at the front end. You might think about the Leafs signing Tavares and thinking they can challenge for a Cup now with Matthews/Tavares even if the back end of that deal might end up hurting them. But in our case, we're nowhere close to challenging for the next two years. So it seems a bad strategy to try to get two good years from Letang when you can't compete and then handicap your salary cap in years 3, 4, or 5 when you might actually want to spend to the cap to make a Cup run. It would just be a very poorly thought-out idea.

So from my end, signing Letang for a year or two, maybe three, can help your team now. Signing him longer than that means you're at very high risk of doing cap damage to yourself in years that matter, and then you've essentially done what Bergevin always did and failed to identify what your Cup window is and how to build towards a winning team at a given moment.

Yeah i think we're mostly saying the same thing. I hope that Hughes, as an ex agent, looks closely at these contracts & makes the right decision based on where we are today, tomorrow and a few years from now. I think he will but we shall see. 

 

1 hour ago, Regis22 said:

Probably not 

https://thehockeywriters.com/canadiens-should-not-trade-for-subban/

Subban remains a polarizing figure in Montreal and unjustifiably so, but everyone in town should be all too eager to move on from this season, as one of the worst in team history. No one’s solution should be to try to make up for lost time with Subban and relive an almost-as-depressing period in team history right after, out of what? Nostalgia? There’s only one way out for this team and it involves putting the Bergevin era in the rear-view, the Subban trade included. That doesn’t mean to reverse it though, for crying out loud (unless it’s to back up over it again and again). Reversing it means to reverse course. It’s all about moving forward. Subban willl always be an honorary Montrealer at heart, but his time as a Hab should be over for good. 

 

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/p-k-subban-shoots-himself-in-the-foot-shuts-down-chances-to-get-traded

 

Subban is 32 years old and has declined as an offensive force: ( will be 33 in a week )

But he needs to focus on hockey, especially if he wants to be taken seriously.

 

https://nesn.com/2021/10/p-k-subban-has-fallen-in-love-with-slew-footing-his-opponents/

 

P.K. Subban Has Fallen In Love — With Slew-Footing His Opponents

Its a fair article & Szporer makes good points but I disagree with the idea of this being an MB reclamation project. If the goal is to distance ourselves from MB then bringing back Subban actually meets that goal because i guarantee MB wouldnt have brought him back in a million years.  I highly doubt we're seriously considering it & I fully understand some fan's reservations if we indeed are. 

 

1 hour ago, habs1952 said:

So, what your saying is Letang is injury prone. 

Well he was. I dont think you can say "is" anymore.  He's been quite healthy the last 5 years, playing close to full seasons in those years.   His stroke & early concussion issues seem to be behind him but yeah, at 35 you never know. 

 

25 minutes ago, jennifer_rocket said:

Cool to see Hughes getting a few young kids squared away on entry-level deals starting next year.

Joshua Roy
Riley Kidney
Emil Heineman

I wonder if we'll have greater success developing some of these kids now that the Bergevin era is behind us.

Gosh I hope so. It still makes you wonder if we've been bad at developing players or if we are just simply overvaluing the quality of our prospects.    

[BigTed3]

18 minutes ago, maas_art said:

Yeah i think we're mostly saying the same thing. I hope that Hughes, as an ex agent, looks closely at these contracts & makes the right decision based on where we are today, tomorrow and a few years from now. I think he will but we shall see. 

***

Gosh I hope so. It still makes you wonder if we've been bad at developing players or if we are just simply overvaluing the quality of our prospects.    

I also have a lot more faith in Hughes than Bergevin, but we do have to remember GMs are human. Bergevin couldn't see the fault in his friends like Therrien and Lefebvre. He couldn't detach himself from players he loved like Gallagher and Weber and move them before their value dropped. Similarly, Hughes has relationships with Bergeron and Letang and so on. If they want to come here, might he be more obliged to give them what they want and over-value them as a result? HuGo has largely hired people in the front office that they know from their past roles, so while it's fine in general to bring in people you trust, you also need to be able and willing to cut ties if it's not working out well.

As for the prospects, not to be a downer here, but there are stats guys who project career paths for these players based on comparables at the same age and while the projections always have more variation for guys who are 18-19 than guys who are 21-23, the projections right now are suggesting players like Roy and Kidney have reasonable chances of becoming NHLers but are still unlikely to become star players. In other words, don't hold your breathe for a 30-goal center or a 40-goal winger. It's still a win if we get guys who can play the middle 6 well, but at the end of the day, the data has shown us over and over that while you occasionally get surprise diamonds in the rough down the draft, the large majority of elite NHLers are drafted in the top top 5-10 of the first round. It remains far more important for the Habs to nail the 1st pick this year and possibly get another top 5 pick next year. The top end potential of a Wright, Cooley, Fantilli, etc. will play far more into how good are team is in 3-4 years than the play of Kidney or Heineman.

[habsisme]

there's something wrong with either or both of drafting and developing of players. Timmins is gone, drafting has to be somewhat different. I think you guys are way too hard on Bergevin, but I think Hughes in particular is going to make damn sure player develop to their full potential and players get a chance. I honestly think in his mind it would be unetical to do otherwise

[claremont]

Here's my evaluation on the Petry RHD  alternatives as it is not an easy decision for HuGo

1) First preference is to try to retain Petry as a leader in the new MSL era. I doubt that he's tradeable at the deadline next year as teams usually look for short term rentals vs he would have 2 more years at $6.25M and salary retention would be in play. Of course keeping Petry depends on his family situation and the trade offers this off season

2) If Petry is moved, it's a pretty big hole on the top pairing and PPlay. The GM's job with the coach is to supply/develop the best players to compete and win within the constraints of the cap. With our cap hampered by several long term contracts (Gally, Hoffman, Armia),  and the uncertainty of trading Weber's LTIR contract, I agree with the consensus of NOT signing Letang or anyone else to any term greater than 3 years. I'm not opposed to Subban on a 1 year contract, but the question I ask, is a markedly upscale top pairing RHD going to take the 2022-23 team to a substantially higher level - like winning 15 more games and putting us in a wild card position? Unlikely, so why bother to get a higher priced F/A or give up assets in a trade for a RHD top pairing player, other than to provide some developmental help to Barron, Savard etc.

3) Moving Romanov to the Right side or doing a rotating platoon on the right with Harris, Guhle, Barron  has developmental consequences. I am ruling out Savard - he can play reasonable minutes but he's not a top pairing skater.. It's a huge vote of confidence to the players but if they fail, the setbacks and fan/media pressure can do immense harm. There are not that many players in the league that are capable of playing top pairing minutes on their wrong side. It may be a little defeatist to expect that from such a young group, and management sends a wrong message that it is acceptable to fail / lose and be 22nd - 32nd overall

 

[Regis22]

1 hour ago, maas_art said:

 

Gosh I hope so. It still makes you wonder if we've been bad at developing players or if we are just simply overvaluing the quality of our prospects.    

As fans I think we over value the quality of the prospects . Every year we say how bright the future is and we list off a bunch of prospects and then then the nd t year we wash rinse repeat with a new bunch of prospects . Meanwhile the guys listed in the previous yr are no where to be found . It’s like theres a belief that because the guy was drafted he’s going to make it to the show . 
 

[claremont]

36 minutes ago, habsisme said:

there's something wrong with either or both of drafting and developing of players. Timmins is gone, drafting has to be somewhat different. I think you guys are way too hard on Bergevin, but I think Hughes in particular is going to make damn sure player develop to their full potential and players get a chance. I honestly think in his mind it would be unetical to do otherwise

I like the way the organization is moving with respect to trying to develop a winning culture with the Laval Rocket and using them as a proper training team, and that they are feeding it more with our draft choices vs. just signing players to AHL contracts. If you look at next year for the Laval Rocket, they will almost certainly add Arber Xhekaj and Mattias Norlinder to their LHD side (Harris / Guhle could have stints there) to supplement Fairbrother / Schuneman. At Centre, Jan Mysak will land there to enable Hillis and a longer term project of Schnarr. Possibly Oliver Kapanen. At LW, Heineman is likely to be added to the LW development pool. I would expect C- Kidney and LW Joshua Roy to go back to junior next year, but the year after they could serve time in Laval. In Goal, depending on whether we feel Cayden Primeau has had his chances vs RFA extension, the year after next could see Frederick Dichow leave Frolunda, and Jakub Dobes come to Laval. The Laval Rocket look like they are getting younger via our recent drafts. 

[maas_art]

27 minutes ago, claremont said:

the question I ask, is a markedly upscale top pairing RHD going to take the 2022-23 team to a substantially higher level - like winning 15 more games and putting us in a wild card position? Unlikely, so why bother to get a higher priced F/A or give up assets in a trade for a RHD top pairing player, other than to provide some developmental help to Barron, Savard etc

This is indeed the question.   IMHO I actually think it might.   Assuming we draft Wright or Cooley I think we will get a #2 centre to step right in & with guys like Suzuki, CC, Anderson etc, we will actually have a decent group up front.  I think if we either keep Petry or replace him with a player like Letang there's a good chance we're a bubble team.  

Now, you could argue that 1 more year or futility would be better (long term) than being that bubble team next year so maybe it behooves us to let Petry go and NOT replace him, but I dont think we're going to be anywhere near as bad next year as we were this year. 
 

3 minutes ago, Regis22 said:

As fans I think we over value the quality of the prospects . Every year we say how bright the future is and we list off a bunch of prospects and then then the nd t year we wash rinse repeat with a new bunch of prospects . Meanwhile the guys listed in the previous yr are no where to be found . It’s like theres a belief that because the guy was drafted he’s going to make it to the show . 

For sure. I think every fan base does this to an extent but we seem to be almost as bad as leaf fans in that regard.    Recently we've had some high end prospects in CC and Suzuki - you could see them make an impact right away.  I love the Jake Evans, Rem Pltlicks and Ryan Poehlings of the world - and you need them to flesh out your team - but we need some more impact players like CC and Suzuki.   Even guys like Romanov, Barron, Harris - all good but can they ever be more than mid-tier players? Not sure.  I think when you get one (like Moritz Seider in Detroit) they tend to just start taking over games almost immediately. 

[habsisme]

5 minutes ago, claremont said:

I like the way the organization is moving with respect to trying to develop a winning culture with the Laval Rocket and using them as a proper training team, and that they are feeding it more with our draft choices vs. just signing players to AHL contracts. If you look at next year for the Laval Rocket, they will almost certainly add Arber Xhekaj and Mattias Norlinder to their LHD side (Harris / Guhle could have stints there) to supplement Fairbrother / Schuneman. At Centre, Jan Mysak will land there to enable Hillis and a longer term project of Schnarr. Possibly Oliver Kapanen. At LW, Heineman is likely to be added to the LW development pool. I would expect C- Kidney and LW Joshua Roy to go back to junior next year, but the year after they could serve time in Laval. In Goal, depending on whether we feel Cayden Primeau has had his chances vs RFA extension, the year after next could see Frederick Dichow leave Frolunda, and Jakub Dobes come to Laval. The Laval Rocket look like they are getting younger via our recent drafts. 

you know we have a lot of draft picks this year, unless we use a bunch in some kind of trade, I would really like to use at least one to draft a goalie (I would even draft 2! One early, one late). We don't need to draft the next Price but let's get us some Halaks and Huets in the system 

2 minutes ago, maas_art said:

This is indeed the question.   IMHO I actually think it might.   Assuming we draft Wright or Cooley I think we will get a #2 centre to step right in & with guys like Suzuki, CC, Anderson etc, we will actually have a decent group up front.  I think if we either keep Petry or replace him with a player like Letang there's a good chance we're a bubble team.  

Now, you could argue that 1 more year or futility would be better (long term) than being that bubble team next year so maybe it behooves us to let Petry go and NOT replace him, but I dont think we're going to be anywhere near as bad next year as we were this year. 
 

see that's what I disagee with and why I don't want to let HuGo off the hook. The right thing to do is let Wright develop another year, unless he REALLY stands out, like he really looks good enough to play on the first line. But even if he was that good, I don't think that will make us a bubble team, we would still get a top 10 pick.

Everything that has happened this year has all happened before, it means nothing if we reload immediately after. We NEED ONE, JUST ONE YEAR, of rebuild, where we go into the season not trying to win.

[claremont]

22 minutes ago, habsisme said:

you know we have a lot of draft picks this year, unless we use a bunch in some kind of trade, I would really like to use at least one to draft a goalie (I would even draft 2! One early, one late). We don't need to draft the next Price but let's get us some Halaks and Huets in the system 

Goalies are longer term development projects - Quite honestly Dichow and Dobes have both had excellent seasons. Dobes at #136 5th overall - 2020 at 6 ft 5 Big Ten Goaltender of the year and a Freshman all star in the Big Ten for Ohio State in a highly rated NCAA conference.  Dichow 6ft 4 plays in the Swedish league and is also promising (5th round 138 overall). In most draft rankings for this year, the top goalies Tyler Brennam 6 ft 4, (WHL - Prince George), and Topias Leinonen 6ft 5 - a Finn or at the U18 Swede that stood on his head 5 ft 10 Hugo Havelid are ranked anywhere from 90 - 115 so you're drafting them in the late 3rd or 4th round. Anything else is a huge reach. 

[BigTed3]

FWIW, my gut is that Petry will be here next year and the whole discussion of a replacement might be moot. He likes the city and the issue his family had was always the COVID restrictions, which largely seem to be out the window now. So with where we're at, if Petry isn't itching to take a run at a Cup and if HuGo isn't intent on trading him to help the re-build, I think he'll be here.

[electron58]

Joel Armia playing for Finland vs Switzerland H2H for 5 May 2022?  Also playing, Otto Leskinen.

[jennifer_rocket]

13 hours ago, BigTed3 said:

FWIW, my gut is that Petry will be here next year and the whole discussion of a replacement might be moot. He likes the city and the issue his family had was always the COVID restrictions, which largely seem to be out the window now. So with where we're at, if Petry isn't itching to take a run at a Cup and if HuGo isn't intent on trading him to help the re-build, I think he'll be here.

I kind of expect Petry to be here next season as well. And I don't blame him for wanting out from under the MB regime. I think Petry, Savard, and Edmundson are locks to be in the lineup next season. Romanov, Barron, Harris, and Guhle battling it out for the remaining spots. I don't mind that D. Is it world-beating? No. Will it be alright in a transition year? I think so.

[Regis22]

https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/a-look-at-canadiens-goaltender-depth

Canadiens' goaltending: Stuck between a rock and a hard post

With Carey Price in injury limbo, Jake Allen unable to carry a starter's load and others struggling, Habs face a crease crunch next season.

In a perfect world, Carey Price will meet with a doctor for another opinion about his wonky knee and the doctor will suggest a course of action that will allow the Canadiens goaltender to resume his career in October.

 

But this is not a perfect world and that’s the least likely scenario facing Price and the Canadiens.

 

There is the possibility that Price could undergo further surgery, which would most likely mean he would miss most, if not all, of next season.

 

And there is the distinct possibility Price’s 700th game on April 29 was his last.

 

Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes will be awaiting the latest medical news about Price because he needs clarity as he prepares for next season. The only good news is that, if Price is unable to play, the Canadiens will be able to place him on long-term injury reserve. The Canadiens would still be on the hook for his salary — he has US$7.75 million coming his way next season, including a $6.75-million signing bonus to be paid on Sept.1 — but they would free up his $10.5-million cap hit

That would give Hughes some flexibility, but some of the savings would have to go toward finding help in the net.

 

During an interview with 91.9 FM Wednesday, Hughes admitted that the Canadiens are without a No. 1 goaltender.

 

“Until a goalie shows he’s a No. 1 in the NHL, you can never know if you have one,” said Hughes. “I think with goalies it’s always difficult. We saw with Jake Allen that he was very, very good when he came back from injury. But we don’t have anyone yet among our goalies that has shown, year in and year out, that he is a No. 1.”

 

Hughes was being generous when he said Allen was “very, very good” because his performances were wildly inconsistent. He did see a lot of shots — more than 40 in six of his 10 starts after he came back from the injury — but he had a 4-4-2 record before he suffered a second groin injury and he allowed 36 goals in the 10 games.

Allen has been a No. 1 as recently as 2018-19 with the St. Louis Blues, but the Canadiens acquired him two years ago as someone who could play 25 to 30 games and give Price some much needed rest. The problem is that Allen needs some rest and when he has been asked to play a lot of games over an extended stretch, he has struggled. His record on the season was 9-20-4 with a 3.30 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.

 

When Price was sidelined at the end of the 2021 regular season, Allen appeared in 18 of 19 games down the stretch. He played well enough for the Canadiens to back into the playoffs, but a 7-9-1 record isn’t going to get the job done over a full season. Allen has one year remaining on a deal with a cap hit of $2.875 million.

 

The other goaltenders under contract to the Canadiens, Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau, are restricted free agents and it will be a surprise if either one gets a one-way contract.

 

Montembeault, who was acquired on waivers from Florida when it became apparent Price wouldn’t be ready to start the season, struggled with an 8-18-6 record and a 3.77 GAA, while Primeau had a 1-7-1 record with a 4.62 GAA. Primeau will turn 23 this summer, which is still young for a goaltender, but unless he can dominate at the AHL level, the guy who was once tabbed as the goaltender of the future will be remembered as a seventh-round gamble that didn’t pay off.

 

Next: Who’s available in free agency?

[jennifer_rocket]

Yeah... Goaltending sure is up in the air right now. Of the available free agents, I would be very, very hesitant to give multi-year deals to Fleury, Campbell, Kuemper, or Koskinen. Husso, maybe... Maybe you can go after him.

[habsisme]

6 minutes ago, jennifer_rocket said:

Yeah... Goaltending sure is up in the air right now. Of the available free agents, I would be very, very hesitant to give multi-year deals to Fleury, Campbell, Kuemper, or Koskinen. Husso, maybe... Maybe you can go after him.

I would rather do nothing. Jake Allen, Montembault, and Price (however much he plays) is more than enough for a team nowhere near stanley cup contention