MONTREAL–Marc Bergevin has never been in a more unique position at this time of year.
The Montreal Canadiens’ general manager, who’s in his seventh season at the helm of the club, has enough cap space at his disposal to add several top-end players to his team without sacrificing a single roster player. He can also add up to seven more contracts before reaching the 50-contract limit. And yet, he’s under very little pressure, if any, to make moves.
We know what Bergevin won’t do. On Jan. 7, he emphatically stated he wouldn’t give up any of his top prospects or part with a first-round pick for a rental player.
“It’s just not going to happen, so I want to be clear, today, it’s not happening,” Bergevin said. “I can’t mention names, but there’s names I’m hearing out there and the cost is a first-round pick and that player will not make a difference between winning a Stanley Cup or barely getting in. So that’s not going to happen.”
[snippet ID=3322139]
What Bergevin hasn’t ruled out as a possibility is sacrificing a prospect or pick for a player with term left on their contract. A player on the right side of age 30, who can help the Canadiens now and in the future.
That said, those moves are harder to pull off in February than they are in the summer months.
Perhaps Bergevin will add a couple more depth pieces, ones that add some playoff experience to a group that doesn’t possess much of it. Or perhaps he’ll trade away a player or two from the margins of his roster. But barring an absolute shocker, Canadiens coach Claude Julien let it be known this week that nothing major is going down.
“I don’t think you have to worry about [messing with the chemistry of the room],” Julien said on Wednesday. “As mentioned before, we’re not looking for any blockbuster trades.”
Needs:
At the top of the list would be a defenceman who supplants Mike Reilly as Jeff Petry’s partner, as we touched on one week ago. They’d want someone who serves as a steady presence in his own end, but who also is capable of helping the 31st-ranked power play.
A top-six right winger who shoots left is desired as well. Brendan Gallagher is entrenched in his role on the top line, but the Canadiens are relying on a mix of Andrew Shaw, Paul Byron, Joel Armia or Artturi Lehkonen to fill in on their second line and all of them would help improve the depth of the team if an upgrade was brought in to play above them. If said player shoots left and can serve as a one-timer option from the right faceoff circle on the power play, it would be a bonus.
This team might also be in need of a more reliable backup goaltender. Granted Antti Niemi has gone 8-5-2 this season, but his level of play has been inconsistent at best and downright awful on more than a couple of occasions. Case in point: He’s allowed 11 goals on the last 59 shots he’s faced after stopping 52 of 53 in a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Jan. 15.
Pending free agents, age, salaries:
RFAs:
• Joel Armia, 25, $1.85 million
• Charles Hudon, 24, $650,000
• Artturi Lehkonen, 23, $839,166
• Brett Kulak, 25, $900,000
• Mike Reilly, 25, $725,000
UFAs:
• Nate Thompson, 34, $1.65 million
• Jordie Benn, 31, $1.1 million
• Christian Folin, 28, $650,000
• Antti Niemi, 35, $950,000
Potential assets to move:
Matthew Peca was signed to a two-year, $2.6-million deal to potentially serve as a reliable fourth-line centre, but he’s been used sparingly through 61 games. It’s highly doubtful he’d fetch anything more than a low-end draft pick, so expect him to remain with the Canadiens.
Charles Hudon, given his low salary and the fact that he scored 30 points in 72 games last season, could prove appealing enough to another team to net the Canadiens a mid-level pick, but there’s a sense that Bergevin might prefer to hold on to him for depth.
You’d have thought, going into the season, that Jordie Benn would be in play at this time of year, but as Julien pointed out this week, Benn appears to be worth more to the Canadiens at this stage.
“He had a tough season last year, but he’s been pretty steady to date,” Julien said Wednesday. “He had a little dip at one point, but it’s been a good while that he’s played well for us. He’s become a pretty reliable defenceman and he’s in the right position on what’s become a reliable pairing.”
You have to wonder, though, if Bergevin is able to obtain an upgrade on his second pair, would Mike Reilly or Brett Kulak be moved to replenish assets given up to acquire someone else?
Draft picks:
2019: 1st, 2nd, 2nd (Columbus), 3rd, 4th, 5th (Arizona), 5th (Chicago), 5th (Edmonton), 6th, 7th (Winnipeg)
2020: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th (Winnipeg), 5th, 6th, 7th
One bold move the team could make:
Leverage their cap space to take on another team’s problem while adding either a player who can help now and in the future or a prospect or a pick.
Bergevin did this over the summer, obtaining Joel Armia and two draft choices from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for B-prospect Simon Bourque by taking on goaltender Steve Mason’s expiring $4.1 million salary.
I think the Canadiens shouldn’t…:
Stray from their plan for any reason.
This season has been a nice surprise. The team has been firmly in a playoff position since October after virtually everyone in the hockey world pegged them as a draft lottery favourite, but no single move—or series of moves—made now will turn the Canadiens into a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
They could very well beat a team, or two, if they make the playoffs. Heck, Carey Price can win them a series on his own and they could continue to shock the hockey world by going deeper than anyone thinks they will. But if they don’t, it will hardly be considered a disappointment.
Sacrificing any one of Nick Suzuki, Ryan Poehling, Alexander Romanov, Josh Brook or Jesse Ylonen—players who all but ensure the Canadiens can move into the upper echelon of the NHL in short order—for a short-term fix would be a grave error at this stage. As would giving up a first-round pick.
[relatedlinks]
