It seems as if the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers are in sync with each other. They both rose together in terms of their on-ice success this past decade and then they fell to the bottom together last season. Five years from now, both may once again be back near the top or top of their conferences.
With the draft and free agency getting closer and closer, Marc Bergevin and his staff will be putting together their wish lists. As we like to do at this time of the year, we take a look at their situation at each position to see what positions the team should target. As always, we start with the goalies.
While there had been speculation that defenceman Rinat Valiev was going to the KHL next season, he has instead re-signed with the Habs on a one-year, two-way contract.
Daniel Carr had an up-and-down year. After clearing waivers, he worked his way back up to the big club and got off to a very strong start. Despite that, there is a chance that he doesn’t receive a qualifying offer next month.
The Habs added some depth to their prospect pool on Monday as they signed defencemen David Sklenicka and Michal Moravcik to entry-level deals.
The final chapter is about to be written for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, where the expansion Vegas Golden Knights will face off against the Washington Capitals.
Even though he wasn’t moved at the trade deadline, there seems to be a level of expectation that Max Pacioretty will soon be dealt. With that in mind, our writers offer up their thoughts on who Marc Bergevin should be targeting for trade talks.
While Marc Bergevin has stated he expects the Habs to turn it around next season, going the other way is the better way to go, even if it means another frustrating year.
This morning, the Montreal Canadiens announced the signing of backup goaltender Antti Niemi to a one-year deal worth $950,000. Niemi was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
The midseason waiver claim of Logan Shaw was a bit of a headscratcher but after a couple of months with the team, has he done enough to land himself a qualifying offer in June?