After winning the Atlantic division in the
2014-2015 season, the Montreal Canadiens appeared to be on the verge of
something special. Optimism continued to grow when the team won the first nine
games of the 2015-2016 season. Soon after, everything fell apart. Reigning
Vezina trophy winning goalie Carey Price was injured after 12 games and did not
return. His replacements, Mike Condon and Ben Scrivens, were far from
acceptable and posted a combined .904 save percentage.
The
Canadiens didn’t have enough offense to overcome their poor goaltending. Only
two players scored at least 20 goals this season, Captain Max Pacioretty and
Alex Galchenyuk, who both lit the lamp 30 times. Even with All Star defenseman
P.K. Subban scoring 51 points (45 assists), the team just couldn’t generate
enough offense, especially on the power play. The Canadiens ranked just 25th
in the NHL with the man advantage.
Pending
Free Agents: Montreal does not have a lot of pending free agents, which is
actually a problem for a disappointing team with little cap space. Two players
that could be cap casualties are Center David Desharnais and Defenseman Alexei
Emelin. The two make over seven million dollars combined, but produced a total
-13 rating.
There
have been rumors that the team could look to trade Subban as he would likely
draw a significant bounty in return. He is signed through the 2022-23 season at
nine million dollars a year. He was a top five defenseman in points per game
this year, so while he is paid a lot, it would be very hard for the team to
replace him.
Draft
Picks: Many of the top players will be off the board by the time Montreal makes
its pick at number nine overall, so they may be in the position to take the
“best player available”. Two forwards that may be available are Michael McLeod
and Alex Nylander (younger brother of Toronto Maple Leaf William Nylander). If
they decide to take a defenseman, Olli Juolevi or Jake Bean should be
available.
Free
Agent Additions: Considering their lack of salary cap space, the Canadiens will
have a hard time being active in free agency. Kris Versteeg and Kyle Okposo are
two forward options the team may consider, but the main sticking point will be
finding enough cash. A backup goaltender would likely be wise to add, but this
free agent market is extremely thin at the position. Former starters Cam Ward
and James Reimer, while no longer able to carry the full load,
may be too expensive for the Canadiens to add as Price’s backup.
Labels: Eric Bokobza