With the Habs playoff hopes thoroughly dashed Captain Pacioretty has found his scoring touch just in time for rumor season. The Captain has 7 goals and 2 assists in his last 8 games for the struggling Habs and no doubt helping to justify Marc Bergevin’s asking prices (if he is shopping him).
The rumors are hot and heavy around Montreal and realistically it took until this recent 3-7-2 stretch that began on December 23, 2017 to really hammer home the cold reality that the Habs will not be dealing 2nd round picks for rentals this Spring.
Nope.
We are going to witness a leadership change with a high risk probability as the Habs shop their best goal scorer. But the harsh reality of the business is that Montreal needs help and Pacioretty is getting 8 million (I’m guessing) next contract for 7 years until he is 37. Pacioretty needs to be turned into a windfall of assets and the Habs could move exponentially in the right direction, long term, if he is utilized properly.
MacKinnon Bringing The Avs Closer To Playoffs
.@jodrouin27 and Nathan MacKinnon will grab dinner on Monday night.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 22, 2018
Then, the pair face off on Tuesday.
READ -> https://t.co/YEF1vDkt6a #GoHabsGo
Nathan MacKinnon is the best player in the NHL right now and his next stop is Montreal to face Carey Price and the Canadiens.
Mackinnon is fresh off being named the NHL’s 1st Star of the Week after putting up 4 goals and 2 assists in 3 games. Actually, that doesn’t sound impressive enough for MacKinnon. He has 8 goals and 11 assists in his last 9 games. There, now that’s the praise he deserves.
If the Av’s can keep playing the right way, the addition of Barrie and possibly some help at the deadline could make them a Dark Horse contender in the West. MacKinnon is taking over games and if this is his year to dominate then the sky is the limit for Colorado.
With the Duchene drama gone, MacKinnon has been able to make the team his own and in the process the Av’s have moved from historically bad to 8th place in the Western Conference. All this without #1D T Barrie as well.
Of note, the Ottawa Senators are currently 5 points behind Montreal, with 2 games in hand, and 29th in the NHL.
Big Picture Planning
The Habs are currently 27th.
The Canadiens need to go no higher than the position they are in now to have the best possible chance at a top draft pick. A very key part of the unfortunate outcome to the season and it needs to be utilized in the best possible manner and that is to increase your odds at winning the draft lottery.
The top 5 according to ISS Hockey is: R Dahlin, B Tkachuk, A Svechnikov, F Zadina, O Wahlstrom. I think that while Dahlin is the runway #1 this year, it doesn’t mean there isn’t high end prospects still available early.
My personal slant on the order would be: Dahlin (D), Svechnikov, Tkachuk, Wahlstrom, Boqvist (D), with Zadina at 6. All have been impact players this season. You could even add E Bouchard (D) and Hughes (D) as high end D prospects. The Canadiens need an impact D man to produce oftensively with speed and high end passing ability, but every team wants impact Forwards too.
The good thing is the Canadiens will take one of these Blue Chip prospects in addition to whatever they may do at the Trade Deadline.
If they can’t secure 1st overall in the lottery from the bottom 5 then I would like to see them secure A Svechnikov as he is a dominant goal scoring RW, or O Wahlstrom who was a cut from Team USA’s Junior team, but also the camps youngest player at 17. Wahlstrom has had a great season in the USDP U18 team scoring 26 G and 19 A in 34 games, finding great chemistry with possible 2019 1st overall pick Jack Hughes. Wahlstrom has also dominated his USHL league with 13 G and 8 A in 13 games.
These two could be impact forwards and address an organizational need. If I had to pick a D man outside of Dahlin then its fairly obvious from my list that I would be happy with 17 year old Adam Boqvist.
Boqvist is regarded as an dynamic offensive defenseman with high end puck handling ability and good speed. He has 12 G and 7 A in 20 games in the SuperElit overseas and had 1 G and 7 A in 5 games for Sweden’s U18 team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
Either way the Canadiens need to remain in their current standings postion or lower to achieve the best possible chance to add an impact NHL player and start fresh next year.
Rest In Peace Mr. Fisher
I just had a long talk with Red Fisher’s daughter, Cheryl. She is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the love and affection that is being shown to her late father and she sends her profound thanks on behalf of her family to everyone for their generosity and kindness.
— Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) January 21, 2018
I always find myself saddened when someone so close to the fabric of the Canadiens passes away and Red Fisher was no different.
I hope his family is coping well and it’s good to hear they feel the need to thank the community for their support in this situation. It’s an honor in death not afforded to many and a testament to the character of the deceased and their impact on their community.