The times, they are a-changin'. It wasn't all that long ago that the Montreal Canadiens looked like far and away the best team in the NHL. They were fast and tough and hard to score against and, ultimately, hard to stop. But then All World netminder Carey Price went down with an injury and suddenly everything changed. The unstoppable Habs no longer looked invincible, looked, in fact, all too human, all too flawed.
That trend has continued and, in many ways, worsened. The once league-leading Habs now sit in fifth in the Atlantic, 10th in the East. And while Montreal GM Marc Bergevin may have been comfortable guaranteeing head coach Michel Therrien's return "no matter what," last week, it sure sounds like he's been spooked by the team's sudden and comprehensive downturn.
"I've talked to a number of GMs, and they will acknowledge that there is a sense of desperation coming from Marc Bergevin, but he's in a precarious spot," Darren Dreger said Thursday, while appearing on Montreal's TSN 690, per Today's Slap Shot.
Of course, being in the position he's in, Bergevin's chances of upgrading his roster with a smart deal are beyond slim.
"Teams aren't lining up to help the Montreal Canadiens," said Dreger. "That's just not the reality of working things through when you're a team that's dealing from a position of weakness. They'll throw him the boat anchor, but they're not going to throw him the life preserver in this process. So any deal he makes is going to be a tough one."
As such, it may make the most sense for the Habs to stand pat, stick it out - like they're already planning to do with Therrien - and hope that Price's return comes sooner rather than later and gives them the boost they need to garner a playoff spot.
Back-to-back losses to the Columbus Blue Jackets are enough to shock any GM into action, but having those losses come on the tail end of a 2-7 stretch is certainly alarming. So Bergevin can certainly be excused for calling around anew and seeing what's out there after his team looked so out of sorts in recent weeks.
But a kneejerk deal to acquire a short-term piece or one that sees a talented young player like Alex Galchenyuk shipped out is pointless in the long run. Habs fans won't be happy to hear it, but if Bergevin is going to keep the team competitive beyond this season, he may have to sit idle while the rest of the league goes through the motions at the annual swap meet.
