Sitting last place in the Atlantic Division, it’s safe to say things haven’t gone to plan for the Montreal Canadiens this season.
In an effort to reverse their fortunes and expedite the growth of the young core, the Canadiens are reportedly looking to add a forward to their ranks, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
“It’s been widely reported that the Canadiens are looking at defensive help,” Friedman said on Hockey Night in Canada‘s Saturday Headlines segment. “We can also add that they have started peeking around for a forward, too. Particularly someone with edge.”
Earlier in the week, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that the Canadiens were looking for help on the defensive end and wanted to add a top-four blueliner to their ranks.
Seravalli said that the team is “checking prices around the league,” for blue-line help and, preferably from a right-handed shooting defenceman.
However, the caveat was that the team is more so looking at a stopgap for the time being rather than infringing on what should be the team’s future defensive core, with young guys like Lane Hutson, Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher still key to the Canadiens’ long-term plans.
Friedman clarified that the help the Canadiens want in order to replenish their forward core falls under similar guidelines, with the team not wanting to sacrifice their future for their present.
“One thing the Canadiens are telling everybody is that they will not do anything that interferes with their long-term planning with their roster after this season,” Friedman explained.
Coming into Saturday, the Canadiens have a 2-4-1 record, their 2.57 goals per game rank 25th in the NHL and their 179 shots rank 28th in the league. Pair that with their 3.86 average goals against (28th), and it’s apparent that this season hasn’t gone as hoped for the young Habs squad.
That started pre-season when big trade acquisition Patrik Laine suffered a knee injury before suiting up for the team.
While their top line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky has done well, combining for 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) so far this season, the rest of the team’s forward groups have struggled to produce. Coming into Saturday, no other forward on the team had more than three points.
Furthermore, Slafkovsky is set to miss the next week with an upper-body injury.
Past Slafkovsky, no forward on the Canadiens has yet to eclipse the 20-hit benchmark this season. Fourth-liner Emil Heineman has 19 but isn’t in the top-50 league-wide in the statistic.