Cornwall Ontario – Short of pulling a rabbit out of his hat and using some of that $8M in cap space, Habs GM Marc Bergevin is in a tricky position that might see him lose his job.
After consistently overpaying for less valuable assets the Habs are in a position of weakness and a clear bubble team, if even that.
You can have the best goalie in the world, or in the Habs case, most expensive, but anyone that has studied hockey knows that a weak D leads to more goals, not less against.
An aging Shea Weber still doesn’t have a true defense partner. Victor Mete may have a future in the NHL, but plunking him next to Weber straight from Junior is generally not a recipe for success.
There are many bodies on the team, but most are at best 5-6 d men, not 1-2 or even 3-4. And Bergevin has been going against the trend of getting faster more mobile D men. Andre Markov and his passing skills have not been replaced unless you think Mark Streit at 39 is a replacement?
The Centre issue also has not been resolved during the off season. Jonathan Drouin at Centre is a recipe for a lost asset in today’s heavy hitting concussion era. As it is, other than being a Quebecer, Drouin is not an improvement over Alex Radulov; likewise Karl Alzner is a push at best for Markov. Sergachev is gone and will be beast, in the division with Tampa.
The team right now is not of cup caliber. Frankly unless something dramatic happens it might not even be play off caliber.
Not winning any pre season games doesn’t necessarily mean that the team won’t have a good season, but it certainly doesn’t indicate a good season. Winning is after all always better than losing. And right now losing may be the best solution for the team as it may finally mean Bergevin being terminated and a good draft pick for the next GM to build on.
It might be time for Geoff Molson to give Serge Savard a call about being an Interim GM and Club President to do a rebuild rather than see more Hab fans enjoy Toronto’s run to the playoffs this season.
Right now Leaf Nation are seeing the fruits of a strong rebuild program which just might be where Montreal is as it has no major young assets to build a franchise around.
What do you think Hab fans? You can post your comments below.