The Big Salary Bear Trap
When you consider that the Montreal Canadiens have put up a .500 record through 27 games, you don't really think about it as a positive.
Not when you've had to fire an assistant coach and overcome a swath of injuries that have overwhelmed the medical staff.
Yet if you consider that the Habs have been without Andrei Markov for all 27 games and have seen but 4 points out of Scott Gomez in the 13 games he's managed to skate in, then you have to realize that this roster has accomplished all of this with approximately 20% of their total available cap having
absolutely no effect.
With Scott Gomez's production
accounting for 0.7% of the Canadiens current point total of 27, it's safe to say that anything Montreal's accomplished this season, they've done without him.
Reflecting on the fact that $13.107 million dollars of cap space are being used up by #11 and #79, not to mention prolonged absences from Ryan White ($625K) and Chris Campoli ($1.75), and you come to the conclusion that this roster has piled up a .500 record while getting only 4 points and 13 games out of $15.507 million of the $64.4 or so committed against the cap this season.
Or, to be a bit more blunt, the Habs have managed to stay afloat with a roster that accounts for only 76% of the team's total payroll.
Add on injuries, illnesses and suspensions and the Habs have also lost out on production from Cammalleri (missed 5 games), Spacek (15 games), Gill (5 games), Kostitsyn (10 games), Eller (2 games) and Pacioretty (suspended 3 games) and is it any wonder they have yet to find consistency?
With such a vast amount of salary tied up in injuries, you could almost say the Canadiens have done it all with a payroll comparable Sens, Stars, Hurricanes and Predators as they're really only using about $50 million or so worth of their roster on a given night.
With $3.457 million available in Long Term Injury Reserve cap space, the Habs lead the league in cash available due to injury, certainly not one of the categories they planned on leading at the start of the year.
So, if you're drinking the kool-aid, you just might see this team as a glass half-full kind of team as they've only been able to use about 80% of their roster so far. Within reach of a playoff spot, it's hard to say Montreal's season is out of reach or that it's "time for the rebuild," but for those glass half-empty folks, the troubling trends which have haunted the club thus far likely only spell more problems for the remainder of the season.
Nevertheless, optimist or pessimist, the Canadiens can do nothing about the fact that they are experiencing bad luck. All they can do is continue to build towards overcoming their inconsistency.
A hidden bright spot for under-the-gun GM Pierre Gauthier is that he has some room to play above the salary cap. With nearly $3.5 million available beyond the $64.4 million limit, the Habs could - if they so chose to - insulate the roster.
Yet with all that bad luck and with a serious demand from the fanbase to not only make the team better but to do so without parting with any valuable prospects or draft picks, Gauthier is certainly not in a position of power.
With Gomez encapsulating what it is be a black void, and with the daytime Emmy nominated "Celebrity Rehab with Andrei Markov" set to run for at least another month, Habs fans should not be expecting any miracles anytime soon.
Quick fixes may become available, but in order to avoid burning up more 2nd round picks Gauthier may want to bite the bullet and ride out the month of December as he has the rest of the Canadiens roller-coaster season, that is, by not trading away any draft picks.
It's hard not to when you've got a roster that needs help now, but if the recent call-up and play of Louis Leblanc has hinted anything to this current management group, it's that strong prospects like the Montreal native are the cure for what ails them, and not high risk/reward gambles.
Time will tell what the Canadiens do about their current situation, but with a clear need to make the current roster better, it may only be a matter of time before Gauthier tosses another 2nd round pick on the roulette table.
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