• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Subscribe
  • Log In

Recrutes

Recrutes: Hockey scouting from a professional perspective from Grant McCagg and Habs coverage from a 33 year veteran covering the NHL from Brian Wilde.

  • Home
  • Habs Content
  • Rocket Content
  • Draft
    • 2023 NHL Draft Rankings
    • 2022 Recrutes NHL Draft Guide
    • Recrutes’ First Round NHL Draft Study
    • Draft News
    • Past Draft Guides
  • News & Notes
  • Video
  • Archives

It’s Time to Fully Stock the Prospect Cupboard

December 28, 2017

By Grant McCagg

The trade freeze is over, Mr. Bergevin. The time has come to fish or cut bait. The answer is indeed in the room, and it is clearly “No…this team is not good enough.”

The Habs needed to be back to .500 after 32 games to be back in the playoff race, but the objective was to keep playing .600 hockey after that, not .400 hockey. Nine points back of both the Leafs and Bruins and no games in hand with a moribund offence that never has more than two or three players producing at the same time? Even though there are still 45 games left this playoff race looks to be over.

It is time for players with letters on their sweaters to move on, and I’m not talking about Gallagher and Weber. The team that let Lafleur, Robinson, Savard and Lapointe move on can do the same with the two veterans who are clearly on the decline offensively even if they are the team leaders in career points by a country mile.

This is no time to be nostalgic; it’s time to be shrewd. Pacioretty has had 19 games to break out of this slump…it’s not going to happen in Montreal. It’s not just a question of being snakebitten, he is simply not playing well enough to even be a 20-goal scorer this season. The only center with the skills to get him going on this team is Drouin, and it’s highly evident that there is more chemistry between cats and dogs than those two.

I don’t like the term rebuild in today’s NHL. Teams don’t truly rebuild as there are pieces on every team…yes…even the Habs. The core players are all in their prime or just reaching it, so no use dealing the top defenceman or goalie, this team can get good in a hurry with a few right moves.

This is turning into a pretty solid draft in terms of depth, and Trevor Timmins has shown an ability to excel at the draft table when given the ammunition in strong draft years. With three top 60 picks in 2007 the Habs selected Ryan McDonagh, Pacioretty and PK Subban; last year with three top 60 picks they grabbed Ryan Poehling, Joni Ikonen and Josh Brook. They were all very solid picks.

The other variable is picking in the top ten in the draft. That is where you get top-line players the vast majority of the time as teams don’t often trade them away. Trading away a few veterans increases the team’s odds of finishing at the bottom of the standings and ensuring that the club has a top-ten selection. Timmins has selected Price, Galchenyuk and Sergachev with top-ten picks since 2005 on the three occasions the club has had high selections; it just goes to show the importance of drafting in the top ten on occasion if you ever hope to contend.

So no time like the present. The Habs biggest needs at this time are a young defence prospect or two that can play in the top three down the road and a top-two center prospect, and the best way to ensure that is to deal Pacioretty, Plekanec and anyone else that might be able to secure a young defence or center prospect and draft picks.

Pacioretty is the best chip the club could use in seeking a blueliner that can vie for a top-pairing spot in the future. A team like Carolina might be a great option if they are willing to part with Jake Bean or Haydn Fleury. They are loaded with young defencemen, and at some point, one would think GM Ron Francis will pull the trigger to get a veteran forward to help the team win now. Attendance isn’t getting any better in Carolina, and the team has a new owner that is going to want to win after several years of mediocrity; the time to win is now.

I would think that at this point the Hurricanes are higher on Bean than Fleury, so Fleury may be the more viable option if they have any interest in Pacioretty. What would make that trade even more intriguing is that it would mean both Cale and Haydn Fleury would be in the same organization.

If the Habs can’t pry a potential top-three defence prospect from a team for Pacioretty, the other option is to look at obtaining a younger center with top-six potential, or perhaps even a big winger with some goal-scoring abilities that doesn’t mind going to the net.

Those are the club’s three biggest needs going forward, and it is hoped that there is a club out there that will be willing to part with one of those three pieces to get Pacioretty and bank on him regaining his scoring touch playing with better offensive players.

The fourth option if none of those tickle Bergevin’s fancy is to seek a first-round pick (or more) for Pacioretty, and if even that is not plausible, at that point you don’t trade him at all and hope that somehow he can break out of his troublesome funk. That would surprise me though, there are 20 or more teams in the playoff race, and as Nashville showed last season, sometimes all you need to do is get in the dance to shake your booty.

Fans that are reticent to see #67 depart argue that the club will not be able to “replace a 30-goal scorer”.  That is likely true – the Habs won’t get a current 30-goal scorer in return for him – but the fact is, Pacioretty right now is a “one goal in 19 games scorer.” That is a five-goal scorer. Obviously, Pacioretty isn’t a five-goal scorer, but he’s no longer a 35-goal man on this team. He is quite replaceable by Nikita Scherbak, who is leading the AHL in points per game this season.

Scherbak will not likely ever be a 30-goal scorer in the NHL, but there is a strong likelihood that he will be a 30-40-assist playmaker who creates a ton of chances, especially on the power play, and that is almost the antithesis of Pacioretty, who has ten power play points in his past 85 games and two power-play goals in his past 52.

Plekanec will be of value to teams seeking a shutdown veteran center at the trade deadline. It may shock some Habs fans just how much he will garner on the trade market if Geoff Molson agrees to pay half his salary over the remainder of his contract, money that he most definitely will be able to spare, particularly if it results in the Habs getting a late first-round pick from a team making a serious run at a Cup. At the very least Plekanec gets a second-round pick, and the Habs go into the draft with a minimum of five top 60 picks for the first time in 30 years.

The last time they had an abundance of top-60 picks they took Andrew Cassels, John Leclair, Eric Desjardins and Mathieu Schneider…an indication of what a team can accomplish when given the opportunity to draft five or more times in the top two rounds.

It need not stop there either. Brett Lernout will require a roster spot next season or he’ll be lost on waivers, and as far as I’m concerned he is ready to replace Jerabek, Benn, Alzner or Morrow at any time. All four should be candidates to be moved as will Schlemko, and yes…even Petry if he can fetch another first-round pick, especially if trading Pacioretty nets the team a young mobile defenceman like Fleury.

Up front Danault, Shaw, Byron and Froese should all be available. If Danault or Shaw can get first-round picks they would be moved, and if a club comes looking for Byron for a second-round pick…same deal.  Hard to pass on a second-round pick for a player obtained on waivers if the club falls out of the race.

You can “retool” pretty quickly if you have three or four first rounders and four or five seconds, especially when you consider that Juulsen, Scherbak, Mete, Poehling, Brook, Walford, Evans and several others are also going to be pushing for NHL spots within a couple of years.

Some of those picks can be used in trades, or, even better, to move up in the draft. It might finally be time for the Habs to leave a draft with two top 15 selections in the system. The last time the club did that was in 1984 and the team selected Petr Svoboda and Shayne Corson.

Adding Noah Dobson and a center like Joe Veleno, for example, would go a long way towards plugging the holes in the system, and in Veleno’s case, in particular, he is likely only one more year away from playing in the NHL with his all-around game and the fact that he already has three years of junior under his belt.

Dobson and Veleno would be making an impact in the NHL within a couple of years along with Poehling, Juulsen, Scherbak and others…the team’s talent level could be upgraded in a hurry.

Let’s say the Habs enter the draft with the 8th, 23rd and 27th picks in the draft along with five second rounders. With that type of surplus, you don’t hesitate to package the 23rd, 27th and a second for the opportunity to move up to the early teens if a player like Veleno is there and you want him. There are no guarantees a team will accept such an offer, but it will be enticing to a club that only has one or two picks in the top 60 to turn a top 15 pick into three top 50 ones.

Even if you can’t trade up, the depth is good and the Habs will get solid prospects in the 20’s if they end up with three first-round picks, or even two.

To a certain extent the Habs can control their destiny if the owner is on board for a retool, and at this point, I don’t see why he’d object.

A young core of Gallagher, Galchenyuk, Drouin, Lehkonen, Hudon, Scherbak, Poehling, Ikonen, Veleno, Dobson, Brook, Juulsen, Mete, Lindgren, several second-round picks from 2018 and secondary prospects is an intriguing scenario for a team that has a goalie in Price who should remain among the league’s best for the length of his new contract. That would give the fan base plenty of hope, and right now that may be the most important thing of all.

About Grant McCagg

Read "A Scout's Story" to learn more.

View all posts by Grant McCagg

  • Stu Johnston says

    December 28, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    I’d like to see them move in this direction if done properly. I just really wonder if MB has the balls or the brains to do what needs to be done along with maximizing his moves.

  • Mike.p says

    December 28, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    Yes.right on brian !! Great article.luv it

  • Rene Mathieu says

    December 28, 2017 at 5:58 pm

    Right on.
    And in the case of Pacioretty the sooner the better, we know we don’t want to extend him at the price and for the term he’ll ask for so the longer we wait the more difficult it becomes to get good value.
    And like you pointed out a complete rebuild is not necessary. There are some good players on this team, we just don’t see them shine right now because the team is in such a bad shape.
    I just don’t know if I trust MB to react soon enough, he seems to have a lot of faith in this group.
    I don’t.
    He needs a boss to push him in a new direction and he doesn’t have one.

  • Alex Laberge says

    December 28, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    Great read as always. Thank you. I agree that would be best for the future. I’m not sure it will happen with MB, specialy if he feels his job is on the line. Do you believe he might loose his job if the team doesn’t make the playoffs? Also, I’m not a fan of the coaching staff in place. I know Julien is probably not going anywhere even if MB is gone. But Lefevre has one foot out the door, right? (been thinking that for the last three years..)
    Have a good one!

  • Job Goulding says

    December 28, 2017 at 8:21 pm

    Grant. I agree with everything except, I hope they keep danault. Well written.

    • Grant McCagg says

      December 28, 2017 at 11:11 pm

      I would hold onto Danault unless they can get a first for him. I think they can turn that into something more than a third liner this draft. I don’t think Danault is going to be a top-six player.

      • Massimo Miceli says

        December 29, 2017 at 7:40 am

        If mb would have just signed radulov and Markov like any gm with half a brain would have done,would we even be talking about this right now?

      • Bobby says

        December 29, 2017 at 9:18 am

        Unfortunately we have an owner who is terrible and he won’t sign off on this! Tough to sell condos when your rebuilding and tearing down a team!

  • Moe says

    December 29, 2017 at 8:56 am

    Grant, Trevor Timmins doesn’t draft any more! It’s Shane Churla!

    You should know this!

    • Grant McCagg says

      December 31, 2017 at 12:20 am

      LOL..why are so many people trying to tell me who runs Montreal’s draft? No…Timmins is still the boss on draft day.

  • Moe says

    December 29, 2017 at 9:03 am

    Oh and by the way Evans isn’t signed by the Habs and could become a free agent. And with Bergevin’s track record of putting together solid teams, would you blame him if he didn’t want to play in Montreal.

    #FireBergevin!

  • Bobby says

    December 29, 2017 at 9:17 am

    You do know that Trevor Timmins doesn’t do the drafting any more right?

    It’s Shane Churla!

    • Grant McCagg says

      December 31, 2017 at 12:19 am

      I know very well who is drafting…I used to scout for the Habs. Trevor Timmins runs the draft..don’t let the titles fool you.

  • Elisabeth Di Niro says

    December 29, 2017 at 10:30 am

    This was a great article!!! I really loved the options you put up for #67’s value. And 14 is ready to go as well. I think someone will want him and that will be a good trade as well. However, do you really believe danault and Shaw will be on the block as well? I don’t know about this one… I wonder if MB will be willing to part ways with them. He was really high on these players. If Petry can get him a 1st rounder or 2nd rounder, I can see him being moved. He is good trade bait at the deadline and someone will want him. He’s been playing really well lately and can help a team in the playoff push.

  • Daniel Mongrain says

    December 29, 2017 at 11:39 am

    I absolutely agree with your article, although I’m not too convinced you could nail a first rounder for Plekanec, still worth a try. That’s where the team’s at right now. It’s time for a drastic rebuild. We can’t keep patching holes and become a serious contender. And if Bergevin and his team can’t embrace that philosophy,maybe it’s time to part ways…
    My question to you Grant, is it time for the Patrick Roy era?

  • Remy Danton says

    December 29, 2017 at 1:12 pm

    I noticed you had put Trevor Timmins as the person that drafts. Yes he did draft well, but it’s Bergevin’s buddy Shayne Churla who’s in charge of that has been since last year. Foxhole buddies!

    • Grant McCagg says

      December 31, 2017 at 12:17 am

      No he isn’t. Timmins is the head scout.

  • Francois says

    December 29, 2017 at 3:29 pm

    Don’t believe that Trevor Timmins has the power that you are giving him credit for. He had a lip on during the Draft last summer and he may not be there this time around. For that matter Bergevin may well be on his way out as well. Molson would feel that sting a lot more than picking up half of Plekanec’s salary.

  • Antoinne Patton says

    December 30, 2017 at 1:56 am

    Max has to go

  • Ken Macleod says

    December 31, 2017 at 12:32 pm

    I was intrigued by your bold design for reconfiguring the Montreal Canadiens lineup for future success. A couple of noticeable (well, to me, anyway) flies in the ointment, though.
    I just can’t go along with your vote of confidence for Brett Lernout and a roster spot for next season, waiver situation or not. In my eyes, the man is not now and probably never will be an NHL-quality defenceman. If traded right now, I doubt he would fetch more than a fifth-round pick in a fair trade. In Laval when they were both on the same ice surface at the same time, even an older player like Jerabek looked to be the better option for the future.
    I also wouldn’t lump Danault in with Shaw, Byron and Froese as pieces to peddle for picks. To me, he is just the type of young two-way centreman, with the right ethnic background for the market (always a consideration in La Belle Province), that a team like the Canadiens would have to trade for if they already didn’t have, which is kind of what they did in the first place. He got 40 points playing up and down the lineup last season and should do the same again this year. And it’s not his fault that a prototypical third-line centre for a good team has to play top six on a roster that arguably has no credible scoring line centres at all.
    That said, I fully agree that shedding players like Pacioretty and Plekanec has to happen this season. And Pacioretty may be the ace that trumps every other team’s offer for a quality defender like Haydyn Fleury. (Somewhere in the back of my mind, I seem to recall a North Carolina connection with Katia Pacioretty, though that could all just be wishful thinking.) God knows the Hurricanes will never be able to fit all their blue-chip defenders on an NHL roster at one time, so they might as well get the best bang for their buck by adding to a relatively weaker offence with an elite piece like Pacioretty.
    Overall, it’s hard to argue with your approach here. The fewer points we collect from here to the end of the season, the better our longshot chances of landing Rasmu Dahlin with the first pick overall in June.
    The team that gets this generational player won’t have much to worry about on defence for many years to come.
    But even if we fall short of that admittedly ambitious goal, a future NHL difference-maker or two can likely be obtained this year with a couple of picks in the top 20.
    I’m not sure is Bergevin is ready just yet to take this giant leap of faith, but here’s hoping . . .

  • Chad O'Brien says

    January 1, 2018 at 10:21 am

    Agree with everything except danault and byron being moved. I think they can help the team with their speed and work ethic.
    But this “re-tool”, definitely needs to happen now!!!

  • Primary Sidebar

    Recent Articles

    Heineman Has Earned a Callup

    Rasmus Ekstrom – Late Bloomer?

    Michael Hrabal vs. Fargo March 4

    Brindley Leads Michigan to Big Ten Glory

    Struble’s Laval Debut

    InStat
    Please visit our sponsor!

    2022 Draft Guide

    Valley Snapshots

    Click Above To Order!

    Draft Prospect Profiles

    Search our directory of 2023 NHL Draft draft prospect profiles.

    Valley Snapshots

    Valley Snapshots

    Click Above To Order!
    • Home
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us

    Copyright © 2023 · Recrutes.ca. All rights reserved