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Grant’s Slant – Habs Need to Make a Deal

November 3, 2017

By Grant McCagg

I agree that the Habs need to make a trade, but not necessarily just for a center or defenceman unless the right deal comes along.

I am getting a very similar feeling to the one I had in December of 2015 when I opined quite vociferously that the season was lost unless the Canadiens traded for a goalie. Obviously, the circumstances are different this time around as it’s not because Carey Price has a long-term injury even if he’s missing the next game with a lower-body ailment. The trouble is, though, that he may as well be out long-term, at the very least right now he is “injured” mentally.

No…the issue right now is that the Habs don’t have a goalie in the organization who can stop the puck more than 90 percent of the time, and it’s a simple fact in today’s NHL that you don’t win unless you do have such a specimen. Yes, there are issues on the blueline and up front. Alzner, Pacioretty, Plekanec and others aren’t playing well enough, and they’re supposed to be veterans on this team that lead by example.

It’s usually not too hard to spot a team suffering a crisis in confidence, however, and that’s the case in Montreal as the players see the once-reliable Price allow questionable goals that have given the opposition early leads in eight of his 11 starts. To make matters worse…he’s not shutting the door after the first goal either; last night it took him all of ten seconds to let in another one, and you could tell the team was deflated.

Al Montoya is not the answer to the goalie woes; if it’s possible he has been even worse than Price since Day 1 of training camp having even worse first periods in training camp and letting in soft goals.

I thought in training camp that Charlie Lindgren may well supplant Montoya as the team’s backup, but the club’s management, to no one’s surprise given their recent history, chose to stick with the veteran over the youngster, and right now calling up Lindgren to try to win some games seems improbable as well since Lindgren has been struggling as much as his NHL brethren.

If Bergevin fears for his job if the club misses the playoffs, his number-one priority in improving this club right now may well be to deal for a goalie. They are often more available than defencemen or centers at this time of year as teams only need two on their NHL rosters, and they’re also more likely to come in and surprise as goalies are, even on the best days, an unpredictable lot.

Look at Mike Condon. He was four games below .500 in a starting role in Price’s place in 2015-16 – he moves to Ottawa and fills in as a starter when Anderson was out last season, and kept the Senators in the playoff hunt going five games over .500 and playing better than he did in Montreal. Devan Dubnyk was waiver wire material in 2014…he goes to Minnesota and almost singlehandedly gets them back in a playoff race the following season.

An organization that has goalies struggling in the NHL, AHL and ECHL needs help in that department, so pick one up and hope he can at least save more than 90 percent of the shots he faces and give the club a chance to win. The Canadiens have 14 of 17 at home after this short road trip. Bring in a goalie, give him a few games, and see if he can string together a few wins.

It’s not like picking up a goalie is as difficult as trying to pry a defenceman from a club either – of the five deals made since the start of the season, three involved goalies…there are deals to be made that won’t cost a ton of assets, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a blue-chip goalie either…just one that may make a few stops right now. Even if a new goalie doesn’t pan out; if nothing else it hopefully wakes up the franchise goalie.

Al Montoya is not the answer to getting this club out of its funk; it also doesn’t look like Price is right now either. Perhaps someone giving Price a hard push for his starting job wouldn’t be such a terrible thing. He is quite competitive; if suddenly there is another goalie truly giving him a push for the starting role, perhaps he gets that spark back sooner than later. Competition, as they say, is healthy.

Maybe that’s all Price needs…a push. Pretty tough for him not to be a little complacent right now…he knows no matter what he’s the starter more than 80 percent of the time unlike when Halak was around; he just signed a cushy eight-year deal…beautiful wife…as Joe Walsh might say “Life’s Been Good to Me So Far”…well… maybe it’s time for life for Carey Price to be uncomfortable.

Galchenyuk is the proverbial whipping boy with this management and coaching staff…seems like he’s the guy who always gets the short end of the stick. Not Pacioretty or Price though…they are the team pets no matter how lousy they may be playing…and frankly…that has to stop. No one should be getting a free pass…even the darlings.

About Grant McCagg

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  • Kurtus Niessen says

    November 3, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    Lots of great stuff to think about there Grant. I think we all want to see Price succeed in Montreal and be the next in a long line of netminders that have brought the Cup back to its rightful home. I’d be lying to say I wasn’t a little worried right now. It seems like almost every game Price allows a goal in the first three minutes. I can only imagine how stressful and frustrating that must be for a team to always be behind the eight ball so early on almost a nightly basis. Coming back from am early deficit has to take its toll mentally and physically.

    Please humour me for a moment while I play armchair GM. I’d love to hear what someone smarter than me thinks of a scenario I bounced back and forth last season. Brian, feel free to weigh in as well.

    Last season, I was thinking if a Price for Tavares straight up deal would have been realistic. Both are elite and had almost identical contract situations. I know that Price’s new deal and Tavares’ lack of one changes things dramatically, but how close do you think that hypothetical trade could have been to being fair for both teams?

    Keep up the amazing work!

  • Anthony says

    November 3, 2017 at 6:19 pm

    Loved this article Grant!

  • Marc Bartschat says

    November 3, 2017 at 6:57 pm

    How about a few suggested targets. Who is realistically to be had?

    Could had Halak last year for a song…

  • Serge Levy says

    November 3, 2017 at 9:26 pm

    Its a slump… something is affecting Carey’s play (injury?personal problems? new equipment? Who knows!). Things will get back to normal eventually.
    But you make a good point on accountability. Julien is just too nice to everyone. I fear that at this point in his carreer, he wants to be liked(loved?) more than respected (feared). Maybe Carey needs a kick in the behind, maybe an angry Carey is enough to distract him from his  « distractions».

  • Pino says

    November 3, 2017 at 9:41 pm

    Interesting insight Grant, I may not always agree with your opinions but the main reason I am happy I subscribed to Recrutes is that you & Brian give me something NEW to think about. On trading to get a goalie, I believe you’re the first to suggest this and it may actually make sense but I can’t see Bergevin pulling the trigger on it. It would mean for the second time in his short GM career that after he awards a long term contract to player, the following year he in effect changes his mind. I think he would only do this if Price is injured.

    • Grant McCagg says

      November 3, 2017 at 11:28 pm

      I don’t see how in any way getting a solid backup goalie would be “changing his mind.” I’m not professing that MB trade for a number one goalie..just one that can win a few games right now until Price gets his act back together.

  • Patrick Moss says

    November 3, 2017 at 10:52 pm

    I have a hard time gauging goalies. So I’m just asking here: Is it possible the game has become too fast for Price? He’s out of position a lot, which means one of two things: either his defense is giving up a lot of high danger scoring chances from up close – which I DO believe can explain some of the goals. But can’t it also mean that the sheer level of speed and youth – combined with the crackdown on slashing and stick work – in today’s game has become a bit too much for Price to handle? Maybe that’s not all of it, but can’t that be a partial answer to what’s going on? And frankly, can’t that explain a lot of what ails the Habs right now: that with the PK trade, the Andrighetto trade, The Shaw trade, protecting Benn over Beaulieu, losing Radu for nothing, hiding Galchenyuk on the 4th line, signing Alzner to 5 years — that the Habs no longer have enough mobile skaters and puck movers to compete with the best teams? I mean, I look at our roster and compare it with teams that are doing well, like Tampa, or Columbus or hell, even the Kings – and on paper, we are too old and slow.

  • Paul Crites says

    November 4, 2017 at 8:04 am

    I 100% agree that everyone needs to be held accountable. If Galchenyuk had a 1st period like Pacioretty did against Minnesota, he wouldn’t have seen any ice for the rest of game…and likely a healthy scratch vs Winnipeg.
    Not sure I agree with picking up another goalie until they at least try Lindgren for a couple games. His numbers may not look great in Laval, but it’s not like that’s a defensively sound team in front of him. Give him a couple games and see how he does, before even thinking about giving up assets.

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