Moving Forward In Montreal
from Michael Traikos of the National Post,
Rebuild, retool or reset?
“The choice of words is not important,” said Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes during his introductory news conference on Wednesday. “I want to establish a plan that will allow us to compete every year.”
It was a very diplomatic — if not vague — answer. But it was also the correct answer.
Whatever you want to call it, the Montreal Canadiens are headed for a transformation. How big of a transformation will depend on whether Carey Price agrees to be traded, whether the lottery balls fall in their favour at the next two NHL Entry Drafts, and whether a young core that includes Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Alexander Romanov can take a huge step forward after taking a step backwards.
As we saw last year, when the Habs went on an incredible run to the Stanley Cup final, there’s a lot that can go right and help speed things up. But, as evidenced by the team’s plummet to the bottom of the overall standings, there’s even more that can possibly go wrong and slow it down.
“I think there are some really interesting pieces here in Montreal that can be built around,” said Hughes. “There’s a different set of players. We have young, exciting players, whether it be a Suzuki or a Caufield. And we have more established, older veteran players.
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