30 for 30 in 30 - Montreal Canadiens

**AS OF TIME OF WRITING**

Bik Nizzar: Bienvenue à Montréal en tant que Bik Nizzar et TJ Molland continuer à rajeunir la LNH comme nous briser les Canadiens dans un autre 30 pour 30 à 30.

Cards on the table – I totally just Google translated that so if any of my French is incorrect, please correct it. As for the Habs – not gonna lie, I kinda like this team and I don’t think their position in the standings truly reflects how good this team can be next season. You’ve got some good building pieces, an attractive market for free agents, and a top pick. I see a bounce-back season...

TJ Molland: Uhhh oui oui? (my French is a little rusty)(also you cheater) Don't get too excited about the Canadiens next year. This team looks set up to be good in the future but they are still lacking some key pieces. Not to pick on them but Desharnais and Pacioretty are not the guys you want to be leading your charge. Great players, but I don't see them being able to carry an offense. Plekanec still needs a legit scorer on his wing (DO NOT SAY ERIK COLE). If they can bolster up the offense a little they could prove me wrong.

I actually am pretty fond of their defensive core but they are still maturing and it won't happen overnight. Gorges is going to emerge as a real leader on this team and he needs to keep the young guys like Subban and Diaz on the right path. Price's numbers will have to improve if they want any sort of sniff at playoff hockey. They could prove me wrong but I think they are still a couple years away.

Most importantly this off season though, will their coach speak French....because we all know that is the deciding factor in them winning the Stanley Cup.....right?

Bik Nizzar: I don’t even wanna get into discussing who the coach might be (because I don’t speak French so I don’t know if I can intelligently speak about who the coach might be...).

Contrast these following players:

Player A: 82 GP, 30 G, 34 A, +10, 25 PP Points, 251 Shots, 84 Hits, 20:28 Average Time on Ice

Player B: 79 GP, 33 G, 32A, +2, 9 PP Points, 286 Shots, 104 Hits, 18:15 ATOI

Player C: 82 GP, 32 G, 35 A, -10, 19 PP Points, 251 Shots, 124 Hits, 20:36 ATOI

Don’t those 3 players all look pretty close?! If I asked you to pick one of these players moving forward for your franchise and then told you Player B was 23 years old. Wouldn’t you give him a slight edge based on his upside? Player A is Patrick Marleau (turning 33 before next season), Player B is Max Pacioretty (24 during season), and Jarome Iginla (35 before season).

And just so you don’t think I’m skewing Pacioretty’s stats versus elder guys...

Player D: 78 GP, 38 G, 27 A, -8, 23 PP Points, 303 Shots, 215 Hits, 19:48 ATOI

That’s Alex Ovechkin (27 before season). Now that year for AO8 is obviously a bit of an aberration and well below his usual capabilities.... Here’s the point: Pacioretty is putting up those numbers with David Desharnais (They played EV Strength 20% of the time this year with Erik Cole on the other wing, who I don’t know why you dislike... A power forward that can skate REALLY well and pop in 35 goals). I don’t mind Desharnais but perhaps getting a more elite center is what’s best for Patch. If that’s his “ceiling” with Desharnais, I can see that being his “floor” when Montreal gets a legitimate #1 C.... and thankfully they pick 3rd and will have a chance to select either Mikhail Grigorenko or Alex Galchenyuk, let's give them Grigs

TJ Molland: I am by no means saying Pacioretty is a bad player. He can contribute offensively while playing responsibly in his own end. I just think the team can use a player who is a step above him in offensive capabilities. I want to see how he plays with expectations. And Erik Cole's numbers have been skewed by the players he plays with. Say what you want but his worst offensive season (where he wasn't hurt) was when he was in Edmonton without a legit #1 center to help inflate his stats. And it was a brutal season for him. But like I said, this could be a team that surprises me.

For a team that hasn't had a great draft reputation in recent years the prospect pool on this team has to excite you right? Leblanc showed some promise last year, Eller played well once given the chance. Add in whomever (correct usage? If so....nailed it) they draft this year and they should have a young core they can finally be proud of. I want your take on Price though. Is he good enough or are his inconsistencies going to be a problem?

Bik Nizzar: Erik Cole spent most of his time last year with Desharnais and Pacioretty and put up impressive numbers. He showcased that his speed hasn’t the least bit diminished, and can be an offensive threat. I don’t think wingers are their issue and really when you look at the pieces they have in comparison to the teams that we’ve already featured and will soon be featuring – they’re in a better position than nearly all of them. As for Carey Price, he’s the least of their problems. It could be said that he single handily put this team into 3rd to last #dubioushonors. The Habs had a league worst .297 Winning % in 1 goal games and 16 of those losses came in OT or the shootout. That number won’t once again be that low (to really illustrate how low that is – Carolina was 29th and they had a .341W%) and will bounce back towards the average, which if my math is correct, (sketchy at the best of times) was .511w% last season. Scoring was and will continue to be the issues (more on the defense below)

 So with a core of Price, Pacioretty, Subban, Gorges, Eller... plus a return of Andrei Markov (albeit you can’t really bank on his playing time – but if he does play it will vastly help their PP which was 28th in the league last year), the continued emergence of defenders like Alex Emelin (who was nothing but impressive in the 2nd half of the season) and Raphael Diaz. (Can we just start referring to him as a Ninja Turtle? We can? Okthaaaaanks) Oh and by the way – we’re still tacking on the likes of LeBlanc, Jared Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, Danny Kristo, Brendan Gallagher in their prospect ranks.

Gorges – Subban

Emelin – Markov

Tinordi – Diaz

Kaberle (gulp) – Beaulieu

That is a reasonable expectation of what their defense might look like next year and it’s arguably the best of the lottery teams.

This team is trending up and with the thin depth/erratic changes in the Eastern Conference; a return to the playoffs next year for Le Bleu, Blanc et Rouge wouldn’t surprise me in the least. And that’s just what they have under contract – What Free Agents do you think that might sign in the attractive market that is Montreal?

TJ Molland: This is where it gets real tough with the Canadiens. Their cap situation is going to be tight. Price, Subban, Diaz, Emelin, Geoffrion and Eller are all RFA's as of July 1st. And you have to imagine that the Canadiens will want to sign all of those guys. At the moment they have a little over $18 mil in cap space (so room to play) but those guys will take up probably close to $10 mil (ballpark numbers, I didn't figure out what each would get EXACTLY). That leaves you approximately $8 mil to make 5-6 signings. Good contracts to hard working players will be the key. Moen and Darche would be good players to bring back. Use this as an opportunity to get tougher though. Add a few guys like Greg Campbell, Dominic Moore or Paul Gaustad. Guys that will finally get rid of that "soft" label that has been surrounding this team for years (They're as tough as butter in the sun). I don't disagree with you that they will be better this year but playoffs I think is still a stretch. This is the one team I feel could prove me wrong though.

PS: I hope you took a breath somewhere in that enormous rant