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Game 82: Habs vs. Lightning, More Subban Controversy & 5 Final Q's |
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A firestorm brews in Montreal as the Canadiens get ready to face the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night at the Bell Centre in their final game of the season. It should have been a relatively quiet last morning skate, with the focus of giving the loyal fans who have stuck with the Canadiens one last reason to cheer in this disaster of a season. Instead, rumours and suggestions of a possible P.K. Subban trade happening before his no trade clause kicks in July 1st have taken over the airwaves, print and social media. Post practice, Richard Labbe of La Presse gave Therrien an opportunity to clear the air and support his superstar defenceman. Instead, he threw more logs on the fire by saying:
Perhaps Therrien earnestly did not want to comment on a player who was not going to be playing tonight. If so, he certainly could have chosen his words a little more carefully. The relationship between Therrien, general manager Marc Bergevin and Subban has been quite the roller coaster ride ever since the regime took over 4 years ago. Bergevin and Subban have had 2 contract disputes and only the intervention of owner and president Geoff Molson solved the big one, giving into Subban’s $9 million a year demand. Therrien has taken the tough love approach with Subban and has often made baffling decisions to those of us outside the dressing room. Subban has taken every punch and only comes back stronger each and every time.
The main components of the latest rumour has Subban going to Edmonton in return for their #1 draft pick, Darnell Nurse and more. While it would be foolish to say that Subban can never be traded, the return would have to above and beyond for Bergevin to truly consider trading Subban. Subban is arguably one of the top 5 defencemen in the NHL. The notion that he cannot play defence and is a liability has been disproven time and time again. Think of the past Stanley Cup Winners, each team has had a true #1 defenceman leading the way. Duncan Keith. Drew Doughty. Zdeno Chara. Kris Letang. Nicklas Lidstrom. Scott Niedermayer. Letang would be considered the weakest of the bunch but he is an integral part of the Penguins core and their general on the power play. Some have suggested that players such as Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty don’t like to play with Subban on the ice as it takes away scoring from them. That is a foolhardy notion. Pacioretty and Galchenyuk would not have the same production without Subban. Do Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin complain that Letang takes away from their points? No, they do not. Say the Canadiens get Auston Matthews, Darnell Nurse and a 2017 first round pick. They are still not replacing Subban’s minutes and skill. The Canadiens do not have another # 1 defenceman in their prospect pipeline. Next year Andrei Markov will be another year older and who knows how he will continue to hold up? For the Canadiens to consider trading Subban, they need in return either an established #1 or highly touted potential #1 defenceman such as a Victor Hedman, Roman Josii or Aaron Ekblad plus more parts.
In real news, Alex Galchenyuk has won the Molson Cup award as the Canadiens best player for the 2015-2016 season. In March and April, Galchenyuk has cemented his status as the team’s #1 centerman, taking full advantage of playing with Max Pacioretty and a rotation of right wingers. Now with Brendan Gallagher back and healthy, the Canadiens have a true top line. One has to wonder though, if David Desharnais had never gotten injured, would Galchenyuk ever have received this second chance at playing centre this season? Galchenyuk is a big part of the future success of the Canadiens and the sooner that Therrien accepts this and continues to put him in a position to succeed, the better off the team will be.
Paul Byron was awarded the Jacques Beauchamp award as the Canadiens unsung hero:
Byron has been one of the few feelgood stories of the Canadiens this season and deservedly won the award. He went from an early season depth waiver wire pick up to becoming an integral part of the Canadiens bottom six. Byron rarely took a night off and his speed and hockey sense were very useful assets, especially on the penalty kill.
For the Canadiens final game of the season, the lineup will be:
Brian Flynn has recovered and will return to the lineup for the final game of the season. Mike Brown and Stefan Matteau will be healthy scratches.
As for the Lightning, it is a meaningless game for them as well as they have clinched second place in the Atlantic division and are awaiting to find out if their first round opponent will be the Boston Bruins or Detroit Red Wings. The Lightning will be without the services of Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov and Ryan Callahan for their final game of the regular season.
Final 5 Questions of the season:
1) Will the Canadiens put on a good show for the crowd and win their final game of the season?
2) What kind of reaction will Jonathan Drouin get from the fans? Will they cheer for him in hopes that Bergevin acquires him in the off-season?
3) Will either of Galchenyuk or Pacioretty get to 30 goals tonight? They are each tied with 28 goals. Or will Brendan Gallagher score his 20th of the season tonight?
4) Media reports say that Bergevin will give Therrien a vote of confidence and keep him on for next season. Does Therrien deserve the chance?
5) Final question of the year. Will next year be better or could it possibly get even worse for the Montreal Canadiens?
Puck drops for the final time this season at 7pm.
Cheers & enjoy the game!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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