The Montreal Canadiens haven’t matched up well against the Buffalo Sabres the last two weeks. The Sabres won the first two games, and the Canadiens needed to have some push back in the final meeting of the season.
They did with a monster comeback in the third period to double the Sabres 4-2.
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All that consternation for years and years about whether Juraj Slafkovsky was the correct pick at one overall. It’s safe to say that they got it right. Slafkovsky is still only 21 years of age, yet he is already arriving as a star in the National Hockey League.
Slafkovsky scored his 21st goal of the season in the first period. It’s a career high and there are still 27 games left in the campaign. It was a power-play marker that looked like a simple pass from Nick Suzuki to Slafkovsky in the bumper, but it was much more than that.
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Slafkovsky showed his intelligence on the play as he slid into the soft spot smartly. Prior to the pass, Slafkovsky was covered by the forward. It was a simple small adjustment that made all the difference. This is why Slafkovsky is developing so rapidly, and assuredly.
Meanwhile, Shane Wright is on the third line, is on the trading block, and is on pace for 14 goals. The Kraken have seen enough. Credit to Nick Bobrov for having the courage to take Slafkovsky, who came from nowhere in the final stretch, over the consensus number one for two years, Wright.
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There’s another player having a breakout season, though it sounds impossible considering the success that Cole Caufield has already had. With his two goals in the third period, Caufield has 32 on the year. He is only five goals off his career high and is on pace for 48 goals.
It isn’t just the goals for Caufield, though. He’s turned into a complete player and he is taking a leap in points as well. His career high is 70, achieved last season. After a three-point night, Caufield is a point-per-game player on pace for 83. It’s remarkable what Suzuki and Caufield are achieving without a high quality winger on the other side.
Kirby Dach, however, could be worth a longer look after his night getting a chance on the top line. Alexander Texier was a late scratch with a lower body injury. Dach stepped in and was outstanding. On the go-ahead goal, it was Dach who was the first forechecker. He won it so cleanly that he was able to feed Suzuki, who fed it cross-crease to Caufield. Tic-tac-toe in less than two seconds.
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As a complement to Suzuki and Caufield, strong forechecking, some creativity and an ability to keep the play alive is exactly what Martin St. Louis is looking for. They don’t need Dach to be a shooter. They need him to win pucks and find outlets. Dach could work there.
The Canadiens completed a magnificent third period comeback with a third straight goal. With the Sabres net empty. Oliver Kapanen cleared it from 200 feet for his 17th of the year.
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However, none of the excitement happens without another strong night from Jakub Dobes. He made 38 saves. His Goals Saved Above Expected on the night was 3.58. That’s a good season for a goalie, never mind a night. Dobes is back to a respectable 2 GSAE for the season.
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It was a perfect week for the Canadiens with three straight wins against top teams — the Avalanche, the Golden Knights, and the Sabres. Montreal is now at a season high 14 games over NHL .500. They are on pace for 103 points.
Though there were times that the Canadiens struggled on the Sabres forecheck, the results are the results. Wins keep adding up, so no goats in honour of the stunning success that is this season. Montreal is seventh in the entire NHL.
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The trading freeze for the Olympic break starts in only five days. Teams that are dumping players and salary would love to not have to pay for a player they don’t want on the team. That means it could, in essence, be a busy “second” trading deadline day.
It’s a tricky time for GM Kent Hughes and the VP Jeff Gorton. The Canadiens are playing excellent hockey, but they also are aware that the seasons in front of them will also be outstanding. They have to decide how much of the future they want to mortgage to push the present.
Naturally, teams aren’t asking about secondary prospects in Laval. If the Canadiens want Robert Thomas, they’ll have to give up Michael Hage or someone as highly touted. If history is future, don’t expect the leadership to trade away any prospects who they have faith could be stars.
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Hughes and Gorton have traded away prospects, but it was always when they felt that they had a good idea of the prospect’s ceiling. They moved Jordan Harris, but only when they realized he wasn’t going to be anything more than a 5-6 defender. They moved Alexander Romanov because they felt he had peaked. They moved Justin Barron, but only when they could see his development was maxing out. Logan Mailloux was dealt because they felt that he was not improving his processing, nor would he.
Hughes has dealt only one player when probably thought he didn’t know their ceiling. That was Emil Heineman. However, it’s obvious every game this season how much the Canadiens needed a right-shot defenceman, so they made the trade that they had to.
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It was a must move to be anywhere near where they are this season. Montreal would be in a completely different “tax bracket” if they didn’t acquire Noah Dobson. He’s solidified the entire corps of blue liners. In fact, they’re still one right-shot defender short of perfect.
With history as a guide, it’s appropriate to surmise that the only trades Hughes and Gorton will make are when the player has hit his ceiling in their view, or they absolutely must meet a need to have a good team.
On the latter, there are no needs that are glaring. The club could use a star winger to play with Caufield and Suzuki, but Alexandre Texier is doing a fine job at the moment. And Alex Newhook will return to the line-up from injury soon. The club could use a star second line centre, but Oliver Kapanen has been a huge surprise this season, and they already shored up the centre ranks with Phillip Danault.
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On the former, they have no idea how outstanding Hage could be, or Alexander Zharovsky or Bryce Pickford. They know they absolutely must have Jacob Fowler for the future. Their prior thinking tells us that they won’t move these players because they don’t know their ceiling. They don’t want to see Hage get 85 points in a season on another team. It could happen, and GMs can’t sleep at night when they’ve traded away 85 point players.
That takes us to a surprising note. It seems that the club evaluates extremely well when a defender is done growing his game. The list of young blue liners they’ve identified properly as hitting their ceilings is long: Harris, Mailloux, Barron, Romanov.
They’ve been 100 per cent accurate on these extremely bold moves. None of these blue liners have expanded their games. They make the call and they are quick on the mark to make the move, before other GMs also realize the defender has finished developing.
It is possible, then, that a couple more blue liners are on the move. Jayden Struble is a serviceable back-of-the-roster defender, but his ceiling seems right in front of him. Struble could be moved. Arber Xhekaj is having trouble processing better to take him to the next level, but his intimidation skills are vital. That counters the argument that he could be moved on skills alone.
Then there is David Reinbacher. It is possible that he is moved. It would have to be for the right price as he is a fifth pick overall in the draft and, at 21, still very young for a defender. But he has not moved to the next level this season. They’ve moved two first rounders and two second rounders on the blue line already. They are not anxious about it.
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If Hughes and Gorton feel that Reinbacher is close to his ceiling, then they’ll move him before anyone else realizes. Reinbacher would fetch a lot. If the Canadiens decide to take a chance on mortgaging some future to push the present forward, Reinbacher is the player who gets the best return with the least amount of fear that he becomes a superstar like Hage or Zharovsky could.
It will be exciting. It will likely be busy too. Hughes has made 41 trades in four years. He sees a player’s arc, and his team’s needs, and he gets in front of it.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.
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