What the Montreal Canadiens could be looking to do this offseason?
David Pagnotta: On The Latest, talking about the Montreal Canadiens and what they could be looking to do this offseason.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Kate Pettersen: “… and Dave, let’s take a spin around the NHL and start with Montreal. What they were able to do this season, to make the playoffs coming out of Four Nations with such a slim chance. Didn’t want to exit in the first round. But hey, it was a great showing for a young team.
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And then we heard from Ken Hughes , addressing where he wants to make some moves. He wants to be stronger and tougher, and he’s looking particularly at adding depth at 2c. What can you tell us you’ve heard there?”
Pagnotta: “Yeah, you know, Hughes joined by Jeff Gorton as they addressed the media earlier today, on Monday, and yeah, they acknowledge that they want to be a little bit more physical. They want to be a little beefier in this lineup. And the 2C position is a priority for this club in the off season.
Now, we know there are a lot of usual suspects that are out there right now. We’re going to hear some bigger names as the off season progresses, gets close, as we get closer to the draft. But what the Canadians have done in the last little while, the last three years, was strategically utilized their draft capital and their cap space in order to pounce on certain circumstances.
That’s how they got Patrik Laine. That’s how they got Alex Newhook, and that’s how they got Kirby Dach. Now, Dach was supposed to be the two guy, the 2C guy. That hasn’t worked out. He’s dealing with injury.
They’re going to go out and try to find somebody in that early to mid-20s range that can fit with the rest of this core. They’ve got a lot of cap space to play with over the course of this summer. Money is not going to be an issue for them, and they’re willing to move some of their draft capital and some of their prospects in order to get some immediate help. Something to look at for the Canadians following a similar pattern that they’ve had.
But because of this successful season. Because of Ivan Demidov joining the club late. Because of the breakout year from the rookie Lane Hutson, likely the Rookie of the Year, there’s a lot of positivity surrounding this club. The oldest guy at the core is the captain, Nick Suzuki. He’s still only 25.
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So they can insulate that even further. It’s going to be something that the haves are going to want to do.”
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