Habs Must Remain Creative
Despite a disappointing ouster from the 2013 playoffs at the hands of junior rivals, the Ottawa Senators, the Montreal Canadiens can still count themselves among the NHL clubs who enjoyed the most growth during the lockout shortened campaign.
Worst in the conference one summer ago, the Canadiens ended the regular season as the Northeast division champs and, along the way, enjoyed some pleasant surprises. A stark contrast from the 82 games of disappointment, the Habs and GM of the Year candidate, Marc Bergevin, have to find the wherewithal to build atop the foundation of the future laid in 48 games of improved performances in 2013.
Fortunately, unlike the prior management regime, there are plenty of tools at Bergevin & co's disposal and it is highly likely that MB will employ everything in his arsenal to make sure he adds to the team. What good GM wouldn't?
Be it by subtraction or addition, the Canadiens still need help. It's most notable when you consider the outrageous level of hockey the current remaining playoff teams are demonstrating.
Nevertheless, it is key for Montreal to remain creative in seeking to improve depth, grit and the overall skill level of the club.
With that in mind, let's take a quick look at the tools, assets and needs of the Montreal Canadiens heading into the 2013 off-season;
Tools
Scouts:
Trevor Timmins: Head of Scouting
Shane Churla: Chief Amateur Scout
Doug Gibson: Professional Scout - East
Frank Jay: Amateur Scout - North America & Europe
Serge Boisvert: Amateur Scout - Canada/East
Elmer Benning: Amateur Scout - Western
Ryan Jankowski: Amateur Scout - Western Canada
Michal Krupa: Amateur Scout - Cz. Republic / Slovakia
William A. Berglund: Amateur Scout - Eastern USA
Pat Westrum: Amateur Scout - Western Canada
Vaughn Karpan: Professional Scout - West
Hannu Laine: Amateur Scout - Finland
Christer Rockstrom: Amateur scout - Europe
Bobby Kinsella: Amateur Scout - USA
Alvin Backus: Amateur Scout - British Columbia
Ethan Moreau: Pro Scout - Western
Donald Audette: Amateur Scout - Quebec/Maritimes
Mark Mowers: Pro Scout - Eastern
Artem Telepin: Amateur Scout - Russia
John Madden: Amateur Scout - NCAA
Staff:
Scott Mellanby: Director of Player Personnel
Martin Lapointe: Director of Player Development
Patrice Brisebois: Player Development coach
Assistant GM's:
Larry Carriere
Rick Dudley
GM:
Marc Bergevin
- With 14 amateur scouts, Marc Bergevin and Trevor Timmins should fetch a strong crop of players with the Habs 10 picks at the upcoming draft, yet with a slim UFA market opening up in July, Bergevin may want the input of his assistant GM's and the team's 4 pro scouts as to whether there is value in trading them for developed talent(MB's former connections in CHI outta help)? With 3 former pro's handling Player Development, it won't hurt Bergevin, Carriere and Dudley to make use of Mellanby, Lapointe and Brisebois when it comes to evaluating how to proceed. Whatever the decision, with a decent pipeline and a strong need to build the club into a contender, you know that Montreal will be involved in every form of trade talk. The key, that is - if they do it right - is to find a way to build with most of the picks while still managing to peddle a couple of them for immediate help for the big club.
Tough, no doubt. But with an eye on remaining creative (especially when the cap goes down by $6M...), the Habs will be exploring every avenue in order to improve.
Assets
Draft Picks: 10 in 2013 Draft (1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Prospects: With a stocked (though not necessarily "full") cupboard of prospects, Bergevin has some leeway in determining how to improve the club.
Players: Be it Hamilton or Montreal, there are undoubtedly a few players that Habs management could easily part with, yet there are also a handful of players that are on the fence. While these players possess value on the market, they pose an equal value to the current roster (making them much harder to part with unless it's the right price...and how often do those deals come along?).
Buyouts: 1 available compliance buyout can be used prior to 2013-14
Cap Space: currently $2.6M for 2013-14 (according to capgeek.com)
- Though it could be easy to list all the players who should go, or who could stay or go, I will leave that up to you. The key is in realizing that Bergevin won't take anything that won't address building the team into a better club. That notion makes it more complex as to what tactics and directions the Habs will take this summer. But that's why it is key for MB to maintain this level of creativity and diversity when addressing how to build his team.
Needs
Amateur: goaltending prospects/depth, big shooter(s)
Pro: size up front/on D, faceoff specialist,
Off-ice: continued improvement of player management
- Much like the team's assets, the list of needs can vary for many. It is often quite long, yet with the only true glaring need in the organizational structure being goaltending prospects, it's more about addressing tweaks to the lineup and building on the positive connections within the remaining signed players. As big as the job is in simply building a good team, it's equally as challenging to foster the right environment and atmosphere required to build a franchise into a dynasty. Or, in Montreal's case, back into a dynasty.
Using the 3 variables of the formula, what would you do and how would you put them together to provide the Canadiens with an even better result than that of this past season?
***Please visit Dskatehockey.ca to learn about Dskate Hockey, a fantastic Hockey Program for boys and girls (ages 8-16) living with Type 1 Diabetes.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»