The Montreal Canadiens suddenly look all too human. The team that seemingly couldn't lose even if they tried the first month and a half of this NHL season now can't seem to string two wins together to save their lives. Of course, losing Hart and Vezina Trophy-winning netminder Carey Price will put a damper on any team's positive play, and the Habs and Mike Condon have done everything in their power to keep the ship upright and rolling since Price went down. On Monday, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin enacted a trade aimed at keeping the wolves at bay by propping up Condon and the rest of the Montreal roster until Price is able to finally make his way back onto the ice, acquiring Ben Scrivens in exchange for Zack Kassian.
But Bergevin, tired of sniffing the Cup and likely determined to finally hold it aloft, probably isn't done. And while there's many games and a couple of months to go before the league's trade deadline, it sounds like we're starting to get an idea of just what Bergevin is willing to consider as he chases that elusive Stanley Cup championship.
According to a Saturday report from Pierre Durocher of Le Journal de Montreal, there are "rumors" that involve young Habs center Alex Galchenyuk making their way around the NHL stratosphere. Of course, that means little. Rumors and reports flow in abundance at this point of the schedule every season, so Galchenyuk isn't suddenly on the trade block.
But, it's interesting that Galchenyuk's name is even being mentioned as possible trade bait. Galchenyuk, 21, is a former first-round, third-overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. He's supremely talented and looks well on his way to matching or quite possibly surpassing his 20 goals and 46 assists from last year.
Unfortunately, Galchenyuk is also a still-developing player on a team built to win now. He's also smaller - 6-foot-1, 198-pounds - than the team would probably like in a top forward, especially considering Brendan Gallagher is just 5-foot-9 and David Desharnais is just 5-foot-7, though of course that ironically puts Galchenyuk on the bigger end of the relative spectrum.
It would be shocking if Bergevin were to pull the trigger on a deal that involved Galchenyuk considering his talent level and the room for growth in his game, but crazier things have happened in the NHL. Adding Scrivens early Monday plugged one hole, but it won't fix the lack of size on offense that has beset the Habs for nearly the entirety of Bergevin's tenure (especially considering Kassian, a guy once viewed as the next great power forward, was the piece heading out of Montreal in the deal).
Shipping out top forward talent doesn't seem the answer to what ails Montreal, but who knows what Bergevin may be able to acquire in return?
