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Kent Hughes was first up in the batting order, and he spoke to the media at length. Understandably, his number one priority right now is the NHL draft, with the Canadiens getting a guaranteed top-3 pick, it’s obvious that the player they get has a good chance of being an impact player and that’s one pick you want to get right. This summer, he will try to clear some cap room but until he has a clearer picture it’s hard for him to plan. Will Price play again? Does Petry still want to go? Those are big questions from a monetary standpoint.
Hughes was clear though, there will be some changes in the line-up. At this point he couldn’t say how many changes, but he did mention that the Habs have a lot of young players that they want to evaluate and see where they are up to. He did add that if Petry still wants to go, they’ll probably need to fill his skates with another vet, he doesn’t think that having 4 rookies for 82 games on the blue line would be putting those guys in winning conditions that would allow them to develop properly. So don’t expect to see Harris, Barron, Guhle and Xhekaj all burst into the line-up, they’ll probably all get auditions, but there will be some experience on the blue line.
Can we expect to see new blood aside from rookies? That will of course depend on how much room he can clear on the cap and how successful he can be on the free agency market. Hughes did venture a guess and say that we may see 2 or 3 new players next season, but at this stage it’s impossible to know for sure.
Coaching wise, a deal will be worked on with Martin St-Louis and ideally, the Canadiens want to sign him for at least 3 years. In his own availability, the coach said that he feels comfortable with his coaching staff and doesn’t feel the need to hire a more experienced assistant right now: “I like the guys I’m working with, we work well together, and they’ve played the game, some of them recently and that’s important”. While it’s good to know St-Louis feels good in the current situation, something must be done with the special teams, whether it is to bring in a new specialist to deal with that or something else, something’s got to give. The results have been atrocious for years and that’s a big part of the game.
Amongst the most interesting media availabilities yesterday was Jeff Petry’s one. While the grizzled vet has just finished the worst season of his career, he did feel like he was finding his footing again towards the end of the year. Does he still want to move on? That’s not quite clear for now, he said that he loves this city and this team, and he doesn’t want to shut the door on coming back just yet. A family man, Petry needs to discuss with his wife and kids before deciding the way forward.
The pandemic was hard on the family and his wife went back to the USA with the kids, where she could have a better support system. What he didn’t say though is that his eldest son Boyd ended up in the hospital a little while ago with pneumonia and while his wife was with him throughout his ordeal, Petry’s mum was taking care of the other two boys. In a pandemic restrictions heavy Quebec, she couldn’t have had that kind of help. To be fair, it’s understandable that she felt the need to be closer to her family.
The defenseman added that his family was happy for 7 years here before the pandemic changed everything, in other words, his mind isn’t fully made up. He also mentioned that when he spoke about Ducharme’s system last season, it wasn’t personal, he was purely trying to convey what the team was feeling, he wasn’t just speaking for himself. I know that for many Habs’ fans, he spoke out of turn, and they can’t wait to see the back of him, but personally, I’m glad he spoke up and considering how few right-handed defensemen the Canadiens have, it would make sense to keep him should he want to stay.
As for Brendan Gallagher, he acknowledged that he has just gone through the worst season of his career and that was in part because of the way too short offseason he got. He went through a lot of injuries this year, but he’s confident that he will be back to his old self next season. Clearly, he’s got a big summer of training ahead to get back to his usual self and he’s confident he’ll be able to be his good old self next year. It’s with all this in mind that he felt he had to decline team Canada’s invite for the world championships. Does he want to be part of the reconstruction? Yes, he does, and he made that very clear. Gallagher wants to play and win in Montreal and said that the length of the reconstruction is up to the players, if they start winning, they’ll speed up the process.
Just like Gallagher, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki also turned down the invite from their respective country. Suzuki has been battling a lower-back injury that has made him miss a lot of practices this season while Caufield felt he didn’t really have a real offseason last summer and he needed one this year. When asked if he could see Nick Suzuki as the captain of the Habs next season, Caufield said that he could indeed see it. He mentioned that while Suzuki is quieter in the room, he leads by example and really handles himself like a captain.
Alexander Romanov also spoke with the media but through an interpreter to make the process easier and the young Russian did confirm that he will be staying and training in Montreal this summer, perhaps going to the USA a few times but he is not going back home. He’s now up for a new contract and he really wants to play in Montreal for as long as he can. Will he sign a bridge deal of a long-term contract? Kent Hughes probably has the answer to that one and it will be an interesting story to follow. Romanov was awarded the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson trophy for the last season as the player who played a dominant role without earning any specific honor for it and he said truly honored and grateful. That was an excellent choice considering how much his game has improved this year and how reliable he’s become. There is still room for improvement obviously, but he’s already come a long way.
Finally, Jonathan Drouin also spoke to the media and explained that he really wants to stick around and be part of this team long term. The style of play put forward by St-Louis really suits him, playing to your strengths and using your hockey IQ are concepts that really resonate with him, but it remains to be seen if the team will want to keep him. He’s dealt with plenty of injuries over the last few years, but his wrists should now be good to go (I’ve only got 2 he said jokingly since both have now been surgically fixed). Drouin’s contract will be up after next season and in all likelihood, should he manage to raise his stock by playing well, I see him get traded out of town at the next deadline.
What’s next for the Habs? Well, Tuesday Guy Lafleur will be laid to rest, and you can expect a fair number of players will be in attendance. Then, the players will go their respective way, Petry will have his chat with his family, Price will get his second opinion and then, the real work can start for Kent Hughes who should have the busiest summer of his life. In the coming days, I’ll report on the Guy Lafleur funeral, talk about the candidates to be the Canadiens’ first pick in the upcoming draft, report on news as they happen and just talk about the Habs generally. If there’s any particular topic you’d like to see me tackle, feel free to hit me up on Twitter and I’ll try to do it, the offseason will be long and there will be ample time to discuss whatever takes your fancy. Thanks for sticking with me this season and I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride…as much as possible in the circumstances.
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