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Under Montreal's Charm, by Andrew Saadalla |
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The month of January 2016 proved to be yet another futile stretch of 11 games for your Montreal Canadiens. They managed to secure 7 out of a possible 22 points, including the infamous “loser’s point” against the St. Louis Blues on the 16th. This month marked the first time this season that the Habs found themselves out of playoff contention when they once held a very comfortable first place stranglehold on the Atlantic Division. Currently, they sit in fifth, tied with the Ottawa Senators. They’re 3 points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins who have two games in hand and occupy the final Wild Card position (1 point behind Tampa Bay). To make matters worse, Montreal is in 11th position in the Eastern Conference, 4 points ahead of the 13th place Philadelphia Flyers who have 4 games in hand. The Habs are 9 points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are the second-worst team in the East with 43 points and 3 games in hand. Finally, the league’s least successful team beat the Habs twice by an aggregate score of 10-4 over the course of the past two nights. The Columbus Blue Jackets are also 9 points behind the Habs.
The first month of 2016 was marred with bad news and controversies. The Alex Galchenyuk domestic violence incident, in which he was reportedly assaulted by his girlfriend, would prove to be insignificant in determining the atmosphere surrounding this team. Nevertheless, it was a source of distraction for approximately one week, yet nothing could take the fan base’s attention away from the glaring issues within this team. Injuries continued to pile up, as Tom Gilbert, Paul Byron, and Daniel Carr hurt themselves. It was also announced that Carey Price would miss an additional 3-4 weeks, which certainly shook the players’ confidence furthermore.
General manager Marc Bergevin’s leadership was demonstrated during his 30-minute press conference less than a week ago, where he took the blame and insisted that all of the critiques should be directed towards him. He added, in short, that Michel Therrien was safe until the end of the season, regardless of the outcome. In a previous French blog, I had stated that the impression Bergevin gave me was that he had given up on this season. He essentially waved a white flag, which could explain why Therrien will be spared until further notice. I had mentioned that I agreed with the decision not to fire the head coach, who in his postgame remarks after the home game against the Boston Bruins defended his players in an emotional interview. After all, the coach cannot be solely blamed for what’s turning out to be an absolutely terrible season.
I believe that everyone in Montreal, from the fans to the experts and even the organization as a whole were under the charm and spell of a team that had started the year off with a franchise-best 9 wins in a row, securing 18 points in the process. We were all under the impression that Stanley Cup aspirations were not farfetched, given the 4 scoring lines and an ageless defense backed by the otherworldly Carey Price in net. Nowadays, it’s looking less and less likely that the Habs will make the playoffs this year. Fans are begging for this team to “tank” in order to secure the first overall draft pick in June, while others maintain that the Canadiens should absolutely be sellers at the trade deadline. The problem is that with only 13 points earned out of a possible 50 in their last 25 games, Marc Bergevin’s negotiating power is practically nonexistent. Dealing from a position of weakness will show desperation, and players’ values in the trade market will be grossly undercut by other teams. I don’t think anybody could have predicted that the Habs would be the worst team in the league in Carey Price’s absence…
For starters, I’d like to say that I had proposed that the team trade Tomas Plekanec before the start of the regular season. After 9 wins, his value would have been even higher than I had anticipated, and the return could’ve potentially been a second-line right-handed shot from a team desperately searching for a second-line center. Unfortunately, that ship has sailed, as he was re-signed for 2 years and he’s managed only 2 goals in his last 25 games.
Allow me to be the first to say that now, the solution could potentially be to trade Carey Price.
I know that most of you reading this would find that statement absurd, but here’s why I believe he could fetch an amazing return- the kind of return that Habs fans have been desperately begging for for countless years. Before I continue, I must remind my readers that he is the savior of this team and someone I once called an “untouchable”. I acknowledge what he brings to this team, now more than ever, but I will be writing strictly from a business standpoint.
He is without a doubt the best goaltender in the NHL, and arguably the entire planet. He’s won every single trophy imaginable at every level safe for the Stanley Cup, and last year he took 4 honours all to himself including the league’s MVP and Vezina Trophy awarded to the best goalie. He was also named Canada’s greatest athlete of 2015. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent by the end of the 2017-2018 NHL season, where he’ll be 29 years old and still capable of playing the game at a very high level.
There are two problems with Price, however. Firstly, he is exceptionally injury-prone. For the past few years, the team has completely fallen apart without his presence, dating back to the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Rangers when Chris Kreider infamously crashed into Price and injured his knee in 2014. That’s less than two years ago, and Price reported playing hurt in last season’s playoffs. Evidently, I don’t need to remind you all that he’s played in only 12 games this season…
Secondly, his agent will demand more than $10 million a year over 5+ years, and any other team in the NHL will gladly match or beat that price. With P.K. Subban’s salary cap hit at $9 million per year through the 2020-2021 season, it’ll be hard for Marc Bergevin to commit that kind of money to two players, even if the salary cap continues to rise slightly every year. If we keep in mind that Max Pacioretty’s salary is set to increase to a realistic figure of $6-6.5 million and Alex Galchenyuk becoming a restricted free agent in 2017-2018 while also commanding a higher salary ($5 million if he has a breakout season next year), there’s no telling just how much wiggle room there will be for the Canadiens’ organization to keep all of their star players.
Price’s value on the trade market is at the highest it’s ever been. Keeping his history of injuries in mind and the fact that he could be tempted to test free agency (should an actual Stanley Cup aspirant want to sweep him off his feet), it will be hard to keep him in the Habs’ organization until he’s ready to retire.
If word gets out that Price is potentially available, all 29 general managers are guaranteed to be calling to enquire about the asking price. In my opinion, he could easily fetch 2 top-six forwards, 2 first round draft picks and 2 prospects. While that would eventually leave a massive hole to fill between the pipes, Zachary Fucale is touted to be the replacement to Price in the years to come.
If Price comes back towards the end of the season – even if I’ve preached that he shouldn’t under any circumstances- and puts on a lights-out display of his old self, there’s no telling what the Habs will be able to get this offseason.
Of course, the implication is that this team will do badly over the next two years or so, but let’s face it: they’re not winning any championships anytime soon…
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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