As the Stanley Cup conference finals wind down and some of the most exciting hockey is being played, it becomes clearer with each passing game that the Montreal Canadiens are not yet among the NHL’s elite. Despite finishing in 2nd place in the Eastern conference with 110 points, the four remaining teams are all that much stronger and deeper than the Canadiens. One might argue that the Canadiens outplayed the Lightning for the majority of the second round series. On the other hand Tampa Bay did not play their best game until Game 6 and then the Canadiens had simply ran out of steam with no answer for the Lightning. The Habs greatest problem is that they have most of the pieces to succeed in the regular season, but they exert so much effort and energy during that time that they simply do not have enough to give that extra gear come playoff time.
The Canadiens have 3 elite pillars that their team is built around - Carey Price, P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty. Carey Price is arguably the best goalie in the NHL and will soon win the Vezina, Hart and Lindsay Trophies. Only NYR Henrik Lundqvist could be mentioned in the same conversation as Price. Subban has already won the Norris and is nominated for a second time. Of the 4 remaining teams, 3 have a stud defenceman that their team is built around. As for Max Pacioretty, It won’t be long before he garners consideration for the Selke trophy with his remarkable improvement playing in the defensive zone and strong play on the penalty kill. His 10 game winning goals during the regular season was second only to Alex Ovechkin, a stat which he in fact led in the previous year.
Price was very good during the playoffs with a solid 2.23 GAA and .920 Save Percentage. Was he exceptional? Not quite. Yes there were many times that Price made a spectacular save. However his teammates more than once left him out to dry as he was unable to truly steal a game or series. P.K. Subban was certainly one of the Canadiens better players throughout the playoffs but one kept expecting him to take over a game, somewhat like he did in game 2 against Ottawa with his howitzer of a shot. That did not happen frequently enough for Habs fans. Was he overcompensating for the spotty play of his partner Andrei Markov? It was also very telling when Subban so admired the Tampa Bay power play as their players were given the green light in terms of creativity and freedom. Lastly Max Pacioretty came into the Ottawa series in game 2 and took time before he was able to fully shake off the rust as he recovered from his late-season concussion. Eventually he stepped up contributing 7 points in 11 games but unfortunately he did not have enough help.
The depth after the elite 3 drops off significantly. Each of the remaining teams boast enviable top six players on the top two lines. The Canadiens have Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk as solid top 6 players with the remaining two spots generally filled with David Desharnais and P.A. Parenteau. Compare that with Tampa’s top 6 of Johnson, Palat, Kucherov, Stamkos, Killorn and Filpulla or Anaheim’s Getzlaf, Perry, Maroon, Kesler, Beleskey, Silfverbeg. It’s not even close between the competition and the Canadiens. The Habs have solid players but are lacking the top 6 depth to truly make a difference. The bottom 6 of the Habs are for the most part solid and it's 4th line of Brandon Prust, Torrey Mitchell and Dale Weise can rival any in the league's.
Plekanec is a very good number 2 center who eats up lots of minutes and is a penalty kill specialist. His 26 goals and 60 points constituted a significant contribution to the Canadiens success. Unfortunately, so much is asked of him during the regular season that he routinely is unable to step up in the playoffs. Brendan Gallagher has the heart of a warrior and shows up night in and night out. Alex Galchenyuk has the talent but experienced tough growing pains, especially in the 2015 playoffs. Desharnais might give the effort but his 1 goal and 2 assists through 12 playoff games is not enough for a top 6 player. P.A. Parenteau is more effective playing on the 3rd line with additional time on the powerplay. It seems unlikely that help in the top 6 will come from the outside, be it free agency or trade. One has to hope that younger players such as Charles Hudon, Daniel Carr, Nikita Scherbak and Michael McCarron (who is having an outstanding Memorial Cup Playoffs) will soon be ready to step up to the big leagues and make a difference. Otherwise, expect much of the same...
Things fare much better for the Canadiens on defence although question marks going into the 2015-2016 season remain. Andrei Markov had an outstanding regular season playing with P.K. Subban on the Habs top unit. Once these two were finally put together there was no looking back. However Markov hit a wall and hit it hard during the playoffs. He took unnecessary risks leading to turnovers and seemed slower than in the regular season. Be it subconscious or not, it seemed that P.K. played somewhat conservatively to compensate for his partner’s shortcomings. How will Markov recover in 2016? He will turn 37 years old during the season and it will be time for Therrien to start limiting his minutes. The easiest way to do that is to relieve him of his penalty kill duties and somewhat limit his PP time. Too often on the power play Markov would be out for nearly the full two minutes. Markov averaged between 24 and 25 minutes of ice time between the regular season and playoffs. It is time to bring that closer to 20 minutes a game.
Another question is which Alexei Emelin will show up to training camp in September? He had a spotty regular season but his play dramatically improved once he was partnered with Jeff Petry. Emelin became his physical self which is when he is at his best. In the postseason, Emelin averaged more hits, blocked shots and takeaways while limiting his giveaways. Which brings us to Bergevin’s priority of signing Jeff Petry. The influence that he had on Emelin is worth the cost alone. Petry truly solidified the Habs top 4 and brought energy through physical play while contributing on the scoreboard as well. Tom Gilbert can fill that role on occasion but he is not nearly consistent enough. As long as Petry is re-signed, the Canadiens top 6 should still be among the top in the league with Nathan Beaulieu and Greg Pateryn having graduated to become NHL regulars. Without Petry though, this group will have cracks and Markov will be depended on a little too much.
The Montreal Canadiens have solid pieces but compared to the final four teams still fighting to make the Stanley Cup Finals, they have some ways to go. The goal-tending is more than there, the defense when at its best is on par with just about any team in the league. The offense though needs help and cannot go through the next season with the same top 6 mix of players. The coaching staff has to take the lessons learned this year and apply them the following season. The status quo cannot be maintained, nor should it be accepted. There were many positives this season but it is time to focus on what can and must be improved upon in order for the Montreal Canadiens to take the next step and join the NHL’s true elite.
Follow me on Twitter! Follow @Jenbcutler