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Habs postmortem - All eyes on Price, Galchenyuk and Radulov |
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To hear Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin and head coach Claude Julien speak at the team’s postmortem on Monday afternoon, the only reason that the New York Rangers defeated the Canadiens in the first round was because of the outstanding play of the goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Absolutely he was outstanding and elevated his play against the Canadiens with a 1.70 goals against average and .947 save percentage through six games. However, outside of game one, was Lundqvist really needed to steal a game?
Throughout the series the Canadiens had more scoring chances than the Rangers at 63-37. Yes, Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk combined for zero goals. However, what Bergevin and Julien neglected to discuss was how the Canadiens had five leads that they failed to protect. On a defensive team that is unacceptable. If you are not going to score, you better not allow your opponent to do so. The Rangers were too talented not to capitalize on the Canadiens mistakes and on a number of goals the Canadiens defenseman (ie: Jordie Benn, Nathan Beaulieu) failed to tie up their man.
Part of this blame lies with assistant coach J.J. Daigneault. He has been with the team since former head coach Michel Therrien picked him over Larry Robinson to become an assistant responsible for the defensemen. Under Daigneault, has a young defenseman reached their full potential? It is hard to imagine that P.K. Subban would not still be a member of the Canadiens had he been able to learn under the tutelage of Robinson. Yes he won a Norris trophy and was nominated for a second one as a Hab. However, Daigneault and Michel Therrien always seemed intent on changing Subban rather than find ways to tweak but still allow him to play his game. Or perhaps Nathan Beaulieu who Bergevin deemed is “at a crossroads in his career" would have prospered as well. Now it is doubtful that Beaulieu will even be back with Montreal come Fall of 2017. Marc-Edouard Vlasic of the San Jose Sharks credits Robinson for taking his game to the next level. Could have, should have, would have…
Julien said that he would meet with his coaching staff on Tuesday and that all future decisions would only happen afterwards. It is hard to imagine a scenario that he does not bring in some new blood behind the bench, starting with replacing Daigneualt.
The other big news from yesterday’s postmortems centred around Carey Price, Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov. Regarding Price, all indications point to Bergevin extending his contract after July 1st. He was adamant that he was not going to trade Price and that he would do everything within his power to keep him in Montreal.
“We're going to do everything we can to make sure he stays until the end of his career."
That’s a stark contrast compared to the last time that he had to negotiate with a star player on the Canadiens… Bergevin may as well present Price a blank cheque.
For his part, Price seems to genuinely want to stay with the Canadiens. He enjoyed playing under Julien and repeatedly spoke about the future of the team as though it included him.
“The style of coaching that Claude brings is going to benefit me, too."
"We've got a lot of character on this team, we've got great chemistry here. It was one of the most fun years I've had here, with this group of guys... We have a bright future. You see guys are gaining experience, and every year you gain experience is great."
Everyone seems to agree that Montreal and Radulov go together like peanut butter and jam. It was a risky free agent signing that finally paid off for Bergevin while Radulov perhaps redeemed himself for how his last tenure in the NHL ended with the Nashville Predators. He earned $5.75 million USD this past year and will be in line for a healthy raise. The likelihood is that any deal involving Radulov does not happen until after the NHL expansion draft so that the Canadiens do not have to worry about protecting him as it would be too risky for Las Vegas to draft a pending unrestricted free agent. Could a five year $6.5-$7 million a year contract work? Bergevin has to save money for Price and eventually Max Pacioretty. On a team starved for offense, it would be very difficult for Bergevin to replace Radulov’s contribution on the top line. Said Bergevin on Radulov:
"He's definitely a player that we want to bring back to Montreal, but there are limits to what we can do financially, with respect to the salary cap and term. He's 30 years old, not 25 or 26. We like him a lot. He brought a lot of positives to the organization and the guys love him... We're going to do everything we can to bring him back…With every negotiation, there's a price involved. I hope the two sides can agree.”
Regarding Galchenyuk, the flip flopping continues as to whether or not he is a winger or a top line centerman. Through the first 25 games of the 2016-2017 NHL season, Galchenyuk was undoubtedly the team’s number one center. He was on his way to a career year as he led the team in scoring with 23 points in those 25 games before suffering a knee injury. Unfortunately it appears as though he returned to soon from injury and never regained his confidence. He looked lost throughout the majority of the playoffs. The potential is still there to become that center that everyone wants him to be. However, Julien and Bergevin are not wrong when they say that he has to be more of a complete player and be better in his own zone. At the same time, Julien is used to having the likes of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci as his top centers. It is perhaps somewhat unfair to expect Galchenyuk to become as responsible as them...
Bergevin on Galchenyuk:
"We had a good meeting with Alex this morning. He knows he has things to learn to become the kind of centerman he'd like to be and we'd like him to be. For now, for his short-term future, the best place for him to help the team is at the wing… Hopefully, he took one step back this year to take two forward next year. That's what we hope."
Julien on Galchenyuk:
"Ideally, we would love to have him play center. Ideally. But, I think he realizes the same thing we realize right now. As a centerman, it's one of the toughest jobs there is because you've got to be all over the ice and you've got to be able to skate. You've got to be responsible. Right now, he's not at that stage. He needs to work to get to that stage.”
Julien did not mince words when he went on to say:
“Right now, the No. 1 center job, he wasn't ready for it. It would have hurt his development and it would have hurt us as a team."
While Galchenyuk may very well be on the chopping block if he is able to bring in a valuable asset, Bergevin and Julien seem very prepared to move forward with him should he still be with the bleu-blanc-rouge come training camp. The future development of him likely hinges on what other moves Bergevin is able to make this Summer and if he is able to lure a top two center to Montreal or trade for one. It is hard to imagine Philip Danault as the team's number one center for a second consecutive year... Perhaps, this is just like two years ago when Bergevin tempered expectations at the Canadiens then postmortem and said Galchenyuk might never become a centerman only to have former head coach Michel Therrien meet with him in Florida to tell him to train as a centerman... Bergevin always seems to have some type of card up his sleeve...
There will be much to further discuss and dissect leading up to the draft. Please send in your Q’s for a postmortem regular/playoff mailbag! You can ask in the comments, message me on Hockeybuzz or ask away on Twitter!
Cheers & follow along!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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