***UPDATE: CANADIENS CLAIM LOGAN SHAW OFF WAIVERS FROM ANAHEIM***
Paul Martin has been placed on waivers and Montreal claims Logan Shaw from Anaheim on waivers
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 15, 2018
The 26 year old RW Shaw is a former 3rd round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2011 and has 10 G and 15 A in 150 NHL games. He has 2G and 6 A in 42 games this season with the Ducks.
Clearly, at this point, Shaw is a bottom 6 player so let the Bergevin stuffing his wallet with 4th line grinders GIF's commence.
GAME DAY
Coveted 2018 UFA John Tavares and the high scoring New York Islanders come into the Bell Centre looking to keep playoff hopes alive tonight when they take on the Montreal Canadiens at 7:30 pm EST.
Montreal is looking to build off a quality effort in their last game, a 4-3 SO loss to the rival Bruins, but the resolve will be tested yet again as they will be without top C P Danault for an undetermined amount of time.
Danault, as you already know, took a 123 Km/h snap shot off the right side of the head from aging defenseman Z Chara late in the 2nd period and was stretched off to the hospital shortly thereafter. Thankfully, news reports yesterday stated he was released from hospital to return home for recovery. Danault was apparently awake, and responsive the entire time so the hopes for a quick recovery seem realistic, but at this point in the season there is no need to rush him. He is a lock to be a very good #2 C for many years to come so let him heal properly in preparation for next season as this one appears to be simply counting down the days until playoff elimination.
The Habs received some encouraging news on Phillip Danault on Sunday.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 14, 2018
READ -> https://t.co/efTd2pO6Jg #GoHabsGo
With impending UFA John Tavares in the building I’m sure someone will ask him about his contract status and his intentions, but Tavares is a true professional and likely won’t give anything but his commitment to winning with the NYI’s, but I think we all can see the faint scribblings on the wall that he is likely heading out. As a Canadiens fan for almost 30 years I can say that we are all hoping if he makes it to UFA status that the Canadiens offer him the max salary hit and term along with multiple endorsement promises, but I’m getting too far ahead of myself.
Tavares is having himself a career season and what timing with his most lucrative contract set to be effective July 1st, or thereabouts. The Isle’s captain has 22 goals and 30 assists in 44 games to put him on pace for 41 goals and 56 assists and 97 points over a full 82 games. This would be 11 points better than his previous career best of 86 points in 82 games from the 2014-2015 campaign.
#NYI Tavares prior to facing #Habs tonight: “I hope to stay in Long Island. There’s no doubt, a lot of positive things going forward with the organization and our team here, so I haven’t thought about being anywhere else but with the Islanders.…
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) January 15, 2018
Tavares is putting the work in to become the highest cap hit in the league and I can think of no team more desperate for his services than Montreal. Well, except for maybe the Islanders I suppose.
Tavares is getting support too. Calder candidate M Barzal has put up 15 G and 29 A in 44 games so far to help push the Isle’s closer to the playoffs along with a out of nowhere career season by J Baily who’s 50 points in 42 games puts him ahead of Tavares 1.18 PPG pace by the smallest of margins at 1.19. Unbelieveable. Habs get a bit of break though as Bailey is currently on the shelf with a LBI for the last 2 games and his availability for tonight is questionable.
Lost in all these stories is the success of A Lee as well who’s break out campaign last year has been built upon with the LW leading the Isle’s in goals with 25 while also adding 15 assists in 44 games.
The way for Montreal to contend with the NYI is going to be through containing the Tavares line and exploiting a defense that is missing top 4 D men J Boychuk and C De Haan. The Habs must push the Isle’s back into their zone and pressure them into bad outlet passes or clearing attempts to keep the pressure up.
The next key will be to test the Isle’s net minders early and often as they have been bouncing back and forth between former Hab J Halak and tonights confirmed starter T Greiss. Greiss has started 18 games so far this season and has a pretty weak .882 SP% and 3.89 GAA. By these numbers the Canadiens could stand a solid chance of competing tonight, especially if they play like they did against Boston, but the key will be limiting Tavares and Barzal’s chances and staying out of the penalty box to avoid their 12th best producing PP Units.
Good news everybody! The Isle’s are actually worse on the PK than that 26th ranked Habs with NYI coming in at 30th in the NHL with a 73.9% PK.
This game could get bipolar in a hurry if the Canadiens jump on NYI’s early but revert to old habits of sitting back. The Islanders can score goals and are 2nd in the NHL in that catagory. The Habs need a complete game against a team that is one point away from their own rival NY Rangers for the last playoff spot in the East. This is a big game for Tavares and company and we will see how big it is for Montreal at puck drop.
Personally, as negative as it sounds I just want the Canadiens to play the young players to gather experience and take the growing pains straight into the top 5 of this summers draft. The Canadiens require some top notch prospects at F and D and a deal involving Pacioretty is the wisest use of the 29 year old asset with one more 4.5 million cap hit season remaining after this season. Pacioretty will bring in a small fortune and it must be done for next year to properly bring the Habs up the standings.
The Habs will be moving on from Pacioretty, Plekanec, and likely Benn and the preparations for next season must start accordingly as to avoid this again next year, or perhaps prepare for one more top 5 pick? I don’t think that is actually the plan as they should really waste more time with Price and Weber already in their early 30’s. It is definitely a difficult task ahead for Canadiens management to see if they can quickly retool this team on the fly and turn Pacioretty into 2-3 future top half players (or better).
The good news is that V Mete has returned and played an incredible game against the Bruins playing 17:35 and putting up 1 A to go with a +2 rating and 2 shots on goal. In fact, he was getting some good looks to finally get his 1st NHL goal, but it just wasn’t meant to be yet.
Jerabek looked good last game too and it is wise of the Canadiens coaching staff to really start putting him into top minutes like they have. He has played close to, or over, 20 minutes for 5 straight games and even though he has no points over that span he has 8 shots and is making good plays at both ends of the rink. Should Jerabek show he can be a quality puck mover then he could become the go to puck moving D for the 3rd pair next season which would allow Juulsen to come in and play 6-7 stay at home minutes to adjust to the NHL.
We are all going to sit here and watch the team bleed out into spring and while that can fan the flames of the most emotional of our fanbase we shouldn’t lose sight of what this season could bring for the future. This season likely forces the Canadiens to move on from core guys like Pacioretty and Plekanec and one of them is going to bring in a stellar return. The draft pick should be a future impact player this summer and the Habs have 3 2nd round choices, which has typically been a gold mine for the Canadiens.
Plus, who knows what the UFA period may bring. IF, I’m saying if, (just incase you didn’t notice, I’m saying IF) they managed to bring in a top C like Tavares this summer this team is drastically changed. There’s a shot we see Evans, Poehling, Juulsen, Scherbak next season too and the team is actually fairly set on the wing. They just need a C who can make plays happen.
Hang in there folks, things could turn around as quickly as summer.
Canadiens Practice Lines
These were the lines yesterday for the Canadiens practice. Great to see Galchenyuk staying on the top unit. He has really grown his game through this tough season and perhaps it was just what the talented young man needed to realize that work is required regardless of playoff positioning.
Galchenyuk - Drouin - Carr Pacioretty - Byron - Hudon Lehkonen - Plekanec - Gallagher Deslauriers - De La Rose - Froese
Alzner - Petry Benn - Jerabek Mete - Schlemko Morrow
Price Niemi
*Shaw off the ice for a Therapy Day
Galchenyuk has put up 6 points (3 G, 3 A) in his last 10 games and while that may not seem exceptional, it certainly is for this team. He is one of the few guys consistently generating opportunities and seems to be developing some chemistry with Drouin. That can only be a good thing long term.
Go Habs Go!