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Season Finale: Habs Vs. Leafs + Tavares Rumors + Thank You |
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The end is here.
The pain of 2017-2018 is about to cease.
The healing is soon to begin…
At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
I think while many see this season as an overwhelming negative, and they are definitely justified in that opinion, it’s a season that forced management and coaches hands in playing all the youth that many have wanted to see up for a while. Players like Scherbak, Carr, De la Rose and Hudon. The team was forced into putting them into the lineup for extended periods due to injury and now gives them a fresh perspective on what they believe they have in them.
The defence was touted as better than last seasons by Marc Bergevin in a quote that ended up being a massive bear trap he set that he got himself caught in roughly a quarter of the way into the season. I think we will here nothing but speculative quotes and “we will see” type statements this offseason heading into next October, regardless of who is added to the team.
I don’t think a guy like Bergevin enjoys putting his feet in his mouth with a media group like Montreal has. I’m sure he knows that even if he won the Stanley Cup next season he would hear about his “better defence” for the next 5 years. So expect more shoulder shrugging and “its up to the players” quotes in the summer ahead.
That said, he did address the defensive issues in season with the additions of Mete, Juulsen, Reilly, and Lernout. All of which should start next season on the Habs barring any massive new addition to the LD core. All of which I have been impressive so far in their rookie debuts with the Canadiens. Technically, Reilly isn’t a rookie but he hasn’t played a full season yet and is only getting his shot now with the Habs.
It’s been a season that became a rebuild year due to injuries and subpar performances from two pillars on the team in Price and Pacioretty. The season will yield a elite prospect along with valuable experience for the green players who have endured and persevered through the campaign.
For fans screaming for a rebuild, they should look closely at what’s transpired instead of tuning out and they could see they are getting what they wanted (aside from firings). So if they were going to lose, at least they lost big in a draft where it looks to be very deep until around pick 8-9 overall.
Maybe there could be a core addition in the summer via Free Agency or Trade that helps level out the team on offense…
TAVARES RUMORS GAINING STEAM
John Tavares is looking like he will be the most sought after, and valuable, UFA to the market in…. Well…. I’m struggling to think of an impact player on the same level of JT to hit UFA? Maybe Kovalchuk and his cap circumventing deal with the NJ Devils? I would still say Tavares is better though.
Talking heads like Dreger and the like have been mentioning lately that when it comes to who will be pushing hard for Tavares’s services it will be Montreal at the front, and then everyone else.
I can’t speculate how Tavares would view moving to Quebec to continue his career. I think that there is definitely a case to be made to him to join the Canadiens and show his value to the franchise. His value is likely to be the max allowable contract, like it or not. The Canadiens have to overpay due to the market and taxes. I know he is currently playing in a market that also has a high tax rate so perhaps that won’t bother him as much considering that he will also make US funds while living in Canada as the NHL’s highest paid player.
Regardless, at this point in the Canadiens history they have a few of the key components that Julien had in Boston except a player like Patrice Bergeron. Tavares could be the missing gear that gets the entire engine motoring again.
There was tweet or article I had read recently in which Petry stated that a big reason he came to Montreal was because of the quality person Carey Price is and his character. This was actually reiterated in an intermission interview with Karl Alzner where he stated he had heard about how great it was to play with Price and that he was happy the rumors of his character were true.
The NHL is a tight knit fraternity and Price has played with all the big names in the league whether its at the Olympics, Juniors, or annual All Star Games. It’s very clear that not only is Carey Price one of the games best, he’s also one of the games most respected.
This could be a major play in the teams attempt to land a elite C like Tavares, or even a second line C like Stastny. If all fails, there’s always a shot at Seguin next summer…
HABS SEASON ENDS IN TORONTO
The Canadiens look to serve a slice of humble pie to the Maple Leafs tonight in Toronto to close out the mega disappointing 17-18 season.
The Maple Leafs are likely to rest some key vets but the Habs are likely to start every able body at their disposal. The Canadiens practice lines yesterday looked like this (from Montreal Canadiens official Twitter):
Byron - Drouin - Gallagher
Galchenyuk - de la Rose - Lehkonen
Carr - L. Shaw - Rychel
Deslauriers - McCarron - Froese
Benn - Petry
Alzner - Lernout
Reilly - Juulsen
Schlemko (therapy day) and Hudon (injured) did not practice
That’s about 10 players that didn’t start the season in Montreal…. Yeesh.
Price is going to start in goal and draft position be damned is likely what he’s going to be thinking tonight. It’s tough for me to say I would rather see the Habs lose against the Leafs on a day like today, but a regulation win could move them from 4th overall to 6th overall and I don’t want to see that happen either.
Hopefully Vancouver, Detroit, and Arizona give the Habs a little help in the standings just in case the Canadiens walk away with 2 points tonight. Then I’ll be happy.
PS: Sounds like Evans intends to sign in Montreal from some of his comments recently. We can all breath a sigh of relief... Now if they could just convince J Schuldt to join the team...
THANKS FOR READING!
It’s been a tough season for all of us that root for the CH with fanatical devotion. Especially tough for me personally to take on this gig writing and sharing my thoughts with you all in a season that almost seemed cursed at times.
It’s been difficult to find gas to put in my #Optimism bus but I hope I have given you a different opinion than some of the big league writers who have zero problem dragging every player under the bus, justified or not.
I know I have done better than some paid professionals who fabricated personal life stories for some of the teams star players that were utterly disgusting to read. Difficult to see players accused of uttering homophobic slurs which was refuted by all involved yet were still bashed because of an incident in the past. Hard to fathom someone paid them to spread that filth, but that’s the internet nowadays. It’s fueled by hate and negativity, but I simply didn’t want to go down that road.
It’s been a fantastic opportunity to use this forum as a creative outlet and I’m honestly very grateful to Eklund and his team for allowing me to be their Montreal Canadiens writer. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this experience and I appreciate all the ppl who have talked with me through HockeyBuzz and Twitter.
I appreciate all the podcast invites that I respectfully declined, sorry. Private guy.
I will keep putting my opinion out there for you guys until my password no longer works.
So thanks for reading and thanks to all you die hards in the comments section that keep coming back to either support or bash me. Don’t worry, I didn’t take anything personally.
Well, except from Not_Yan, Tatar was not worth a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd from Vegas! He has 4G and 2A in 19 games! Terrible trade then and now! Hahaha. That’s all. (Not really mad at Not_Yan)
I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the offseason with some fresh #Optimism as the news comes in.
Oh, and I’m pulling for the Winnipeg Jets to bring the Cup home this spring on the back of a Herculean effort from All World goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
Thank you all and Go Habs Go.
Godspeed to all heartbroken this week… I pray you receive all the support you need…
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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