It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
It’s that time again…. YEAH – WOOHOO !!!!!
What’s next for The Habs?
This quick exit from the playoffs should not have surprised anyone. If not for a tremendous season from Price, the Habs might have never made the playoffs to begin with. While the Habs motto is “No Excuses”, they seem to have plenty as they clean out their lockers:
1) No top line center: neither Plekanec nor Desharnais is a good fit for the job.
2) No scorers: we could use at least two top-six caliber wingers who are capable of finishing a play by lighting the lamp.
3) No coaching: despite having led the team to an Atlantic Division title, there’s no love-fest with Therrien and the frustrating limitations of his defense-first system. His inability to match the adjustments made by Tampa Bay or even motivate his troops to meet their opponent’s intensity in this must-win game, will only fire up the pro-coaching change crowd.
4) No veteran leadership: a 36-year-old defenceman with 66-year-old knees plays 25 minutes a game on the first pairing and the power play and was all-around lousy
5) No size: the most dangerous forward in the playoffs was 5’9″ and was drafted in the fifth round
6) No special teams: on the PK, his name was CAREY PRICE and on the PP…. let’s not even go there!
Going into 2015-2016, the Habs have some key elements in place…
– an elite goaltender in Price (28 years old); a stud defenceman in Subban (26 years old); a forward who can score in Pacioretty (27 years old)
– Galchenyuk and Eller should be designated the number 1 and 2 centres. They have the size and the talent. It’s time to give the kids a chance to prove what they can do
– Gallagher is the Energizer Bunny… the only concern being his ability to survive the pounding he takes on every shift
– De La Rose showed promise and may develop into a good third-line forward who might even score 10-15 goals
– Beaulieu and Pateryn are ready to become NHL regulars
– Petry… should be Bergevin’s top priority. He will have to come up with some very creative math to keep Petry in Montreal
While we can’t expect Bergevin to find all the missing pieces over the summer, he certainly has his hands full if he wants to supplement the talents of his existing stars within the three to five year window that will mark the peak of their NHL careers.
Thanks for a fun-filled season of hope. Enjoy the summer and see you in the Fall!
