What the Habs need...

We all need something to get us through these winter blues. This winter has been brutal as far as I am concerned cold every damn day since the beginning of the year. Hockey helps get us through this frigid torture. Even better is the hockey trade deadline. An artificially created deadline date set up by the NHL it has become its own social media carnival. Everybody has the inside knowledge about what's about to happen. I assume their sister is a secretary to an NHL general manager and she eavesdrops on every conversation, or your brother-in-law is a hockey agent. Whatever most hockey rumours never come through. 

So my blog here is not to initiate rumours but to outline what the Habs need to get them to the promised land. What we have here with the Habs is a first place team that could have been way ahead if they put any effort defeating cellar dwellers. 

The Habs have the most confident goalie in the NHL in Carey Price. The same Carey Price that lost his nerve a few years ago and couldn't stop a beachball. The same Price that allowed the Ottawa Senators to eliminate and humiliate the Habs. I am uncertain how it happened but what we have now is probably the best goaltending since Patrick Roy. In fact Price is probably having the best season a goalie has ever had with the Habs. It has to end with a Stanley Cup. My hypothesis is that the goalie coach put Price on the right track. However, the gold medal performance in of all places Russia has made Price ooze with confidence. How can he lose his cool in an American city when he maintained it in Russia. In fact it appears that playing in the NHL is kind of boring and uninspiring. He seems to be psyching out all of his opponents. The Bruins are flustered, the Flyers are confused, the Penguins seem perplexed.

Besides Price, Max Pacioretty is putting on a virtuoso performance as their dominant sniper  and leader of the Offence. This is the same Pacioretty that was a perimeter player in the past. PK Subban and Andrei  Markov have been the dynamic duo of the defence . They have been inconsistent but when they decide to turn it on there is no one better.

So what do the Habs need this year to take them to the promised land. Last year the Vanek trade lit a spark in the Habs knowing that Bergy believed in their chances. Unfortunately Vanek failed to meet expectations and the injury to Price ended their Cup hopes. There is a lot of pressure on Bergy to recreate last year's magic in getting a key ingredient to let the Habs win it all.

If I was Bergy I would not mess with a dressing room that has been in first place for most of the year. Therefore unless we get a bona fide star no to trading anyone on the first three lines. I would also not trade any defenceman on the roster.  Therefore those rumours about Eller or Emelin I hope are untrue. Emelin is their only physical dman other than Subban. Does anyone realistically think we can throw in a suitable replacement in the last month of the season and expect everything to gel. Lars Eller played real well in the playoffs last year. Jacob de LaRose is showing a lot of promise but he is unproven. Galchenyuk almost broke through this year but he has retrogressed in the last couple of months. They may not be ready. I am very hesitant to trade fourth liners like Bournival. Bournival looks tradable but his speed is a commodity that many teams cherish. I still don't think he has been fully vetted by the Habs.

I am more open to trading Tinordi. It is always a risk in trading a 21 year old but he could help bring in the  most productive player. Others that could be traded are Pateryn, Dumont and Tokarski. We seem to have a good goaltending prospect  in Condon who is matching Price's stats in the AHL. We also have undersized players like Andrighetto and Thomas that have unknown potential. Since we still have undersized forwards in Gallager and Desharnais, we may have reached our vertically challenged limit in the NHL. 

So who should the Habs get? I really like Iginla and Hartnell but their contracts are pretty toxic. Iginla is less toxic than Hartnell. Vermette would be a good fit but he would probably force the Habs to give up a high draft pick. Maxime Talbot has good playoff experience. If the Oilers want to unload I would go after Yakupov or Eberle. Chris Stewart is almost paid like Pacioretty and he averages 15 goals a year. I think Jagr is a little long in the tooth. Keith Yandle is more of the same with the Habs an offensive dman and his contract may not fit the Habs cap. I also don't think defencemen can just step in like forwards. Wayne Simmonds looks an ideal match. A big power forward who scores and is underpaid. However, what do the flyers expect in return? Tinordi and a first rounder? Maybe and if I was Bergy I would be tempted.

Anyways... there are always the leafs and Kessel, Phaneuf, and Kadri