The Montreal Canadiens had a great second half of the season to make the playoffs.
Although the Canadiens were eliminated in five games by the Washington Capitals, it was still a successful season for the team. Now, entering the offseason, NHL insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the team is looking to get more physical in the offseason.
“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,” Pagnotta said on ‘The Latest’ on May 6. “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, as we get closer to the draft. But, what the Canadiens have done in the last little while, the last three years, was strategically utilize their draft capital and their cap space in order to pounce on certain circumstances. That’s how they got Patrick Laine, that’s how they got Alex Newhook, and that’s how they got Kirby Dach. Dach was supposed to be the 2C guy. That hasn’t worked out; he’s dealing with injuries.”
The Canadiens have a good young core, and Pagnotta believes they are looking to add size. Montreal has plenty of assets in draft picks and prospects that they can use in trades to acquire. It’s uncertain who the Canadiens will target, but Pagnotta says adding size and physicality is key.
Montreal has nearly $9 million in cap space.
Canadiens Willing to Move Draft Picks to Acquire Players
With Montreal having made the playoffs, the rebuild appears to be over as the Habs are looking to build off their successful season.
Pagnotta says Montreal wants to acquire someone in their mid-20s, which fits their core.
“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’s 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…
“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. So, if they can insulate that even further, it’s going to be something that Habs are going to want to do.”
Montreal has two first-round picks as well as two second-round picks and three third-round picks, and 12 picks in total.
Canadiens GM Wants to Add More Talent
After the successful season in Montreal, Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes says he’s looking to add more talent to the roster.
Hughes believes the rebuild is over and says the time is now to compete.
“Experience, leadership and continuing to add to the team. There are certain things we can and can’t say today. Because we don’t want to reveal our plan to the 31 other teams. That said, there’s no doubt we want to add more talent to our team. And we need to determine to what extent we want to add experience versus gain experience (with the players we have),” Hughes said at his year-end press conference.
Montreal finished the year with a record of 40-31-11.
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