Despite two losses where the Montreal Canadiens played poorly, they remained in position for the final playoff spot on Friday night heading into their contest in Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes dominate Montreal usually and they did again, posting a 4-1 win.
Wilde Horses
There’s almost nothing to praise for Montreal in this one. They had only seven shots through two periods. It was the first game back for Kaiden Guhle after missing 21 due to a quad muscle surgery, and he didn’t look troubled at all.
In fact, after Guhle struggled in the first period a bit getting his legs back, he was strong and steady in the second and third. Guhle was able to slow down the play effectively when he was pressured. His decision-making was excellent. He didn’t have any turnovers.
The puck bounced off Guhle on the first goal when he was taking his man, but that’s hockey. It’s not anything to single out for criticism. Guhle will make a difference in the last 10, especially when the head coach decides on a six defender rotation that will stabilize things.
Josh Anderson scored the Canadiens goal. Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook and Anderson had the only high-danger chances. Montreal had a difficult time generating chances. They had 15 shots on goal on the night.
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The last time that the Canadiens won in Carolina was April 7th, 2016. It’s been almost a decade. They didn’t all look as difficult as this one. Montreal could do nothing against this stifling, and shockingly boring team to watch.
They are efficient. They are swarming. They are always on the correct side of the puck. They are patient. They are all the good things that a defensive hockey team should be. They wear you down.
The Hurricanes don’t even have a positive goal differential in the first period. It’s the second period and third that they establish their dominance. It’s not that they put you to sleep, either. It just feels like it.
Montreal had a bit more fight in this one, and paid more attention to detail, but it still wasn’t even close to enough against Carolina.
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General Manager Kent Hughes promises that the Canadiens will be aggressive this off-season looking for a second line centre. It’s the one hole in the lineup that has stopped Montreal from rising up the standings even further than they have this year.
The first line is top-10 in goals this season. The third line is middle of the pack. The fourth line was once the top scoring fourth line in the league, but even with sub-par production the last month, it is still top-10. However, the second line is one of the worst in hockey all season long. It’s the club’s Achilles heel and the GM knows he needs more.
He will get more with the arrival of Ivan Demidov in the fall. Demidov is the best player not in the NHL today according to many scouts and publications. Demidov will be the first true superstar skater in a Canadiens uniform this century. That’s the expectation.
However, he and Patrik Laine need a centre. They need a centre who plays a 200-foot game to make up for the defensive liabilities of the wingers.
There are three ways to acquire players: the draft, free agency, and through trades. The Canadiens have nearly completed this rebuild through the draft. They have done an outstanding job, but the final piece doesn’t have time for a draft pick to take four years to arrive.
The other two opportunities have their own challenges. Free agency is difficult for Montreal because of the taxes, and, for some, even the weather. The best opportunity for Hughes is to cash in on all of his draft and prospect capital to trade with a club who is starting a rebuild.
The truth is, and it’s been said here before, the best centre Hughes can acquire is Sidney Crosby. He has the most points 5-on-5 in the league this year. He has two years left on his contract. Many suggest that he should finish his career in Pittsburgh, but fan bases don’t care about nostalgia. They care about a rebuild.
Ask the Boston Bruins, who were not at all sad that longtime defenceman Raymond Bourque was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Bruins fans were happy to begin their rebuild, and happy when Bourque won a title as well. All that has to happen is for Penguins GM Kyle Dubas to realize that he must make moves, and that his roster must rebuild.
If it is not Crosby, then there are at least a dozen options for Hughes that make sense, some better than others. It could be a UFA like Sam Bennett. It could be an RFA like Marco Rossi. However, if it is a trade, then the next question is what is the price to pay to get that strong centre.
What a GM is trying to make sure that he doesn’t do is trade away an eventual star. For Hughes, the goal is to trade away only the players that he feels confident that he knows the ceiling of their development. A GM can’t acquire two years of Crosby by trading away 10 years of Crosby-lite and call that success.
This means there are untouchables. Demidov is the next star. His ceiling is the moon. He stays. Jacob Fowler is the best goalie not in the league today. He stays. David Reinbacher was drafted five overall, and he is looking outstanding in Laval. He must stay.
After that, it gets tricky. They don’t know the ceiling of Michael Hage. He was a point-per-game player in his draft-plus-one season in college. That is almost every single time an NHL player with star potential. If Hughes has to give a club Hage to get the second-line centre, that’s a 50-50 proposition that could be debated on social media for weeks without pause.
The rest? They have to be available to make it happen. That includes Owen Beck, Joshua Roy, Logan Mailloux, Adam Engstrom and Oliver Kapanen. None of these players’ ceilings scare Hughes that he has given up a game changer. He would know that he has given away NHL calibre, but not a top-of-the-roster player.
Here’s the predicted trade that will happen just before the NHL draft: Hughes acquires a top veteran centre off of a rebuilding team. In return, that team gets both of the Canadiens’ first round draft choices that are choices in their mid-teens, and a top prospect. Hughes fights for that prospect to not be Hage, but someone like Beck or Mailloux.
The dream here is that Dubas wakes up and recognizes that it’s time for a rebuild in Pittsburgh. Crosby grew up loving the Canadiens. He’s the perfect fit.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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