Canadiens Should Do Unthinkable And Trade Carey Price

The Montreal Canadiens, having once again been eliminated early the Stanley Cup playoffs, must seriously consider doing the unthinkable, trading superstar goalie Carey Price in order to rebuild this team from the ground up.

This was the year the Canadiens were set up for a deep run in the playoffs. Alex Galchenyuk was supposed to come of age and be the dynamic scoring centerman the Habs desperately needed. Tomas Plekanec would have his usual solid two-way game and be able to contribute a bit on offense as well. Andrew Shaw would be another experienced center and perhaps Philip Danault would surprise.  KHL import Alexander Radulov would add skill and the ability to score. Nathan Beaulieu was going to blossom into the rushing, offensive defenseman he always wanted to be under the tutelage of Shea Weber. And Carey Price would hold down the fort like has done since he joined the Canadiens in 2011. GM Marc Bergevin even brought in three big bodies late in the season, Steve Ott, Dwight King, and Andreas Martinsen, in order to make sure the Habs did not get pushed around come the playoffs.

In the end, none of it panned out. Galchenyuk ended up as a third line winger, although he was the team's second leading scorer. But nether he nor Pacioretty, the leading scorer, broke through versus Henrik Lundqvist. Plekanec, Shaw, and Danault produced less than half a point a game each this year, and only Plekanec had a playoff goal. Ott, King, and Martinsen were held pointless the entire series. Beaulieu ended the season being benched. Only Radulov surprised to the upside, being an offensive force in the regular season and the playoffs and playing a decent two-way game.

The Canadiens' Achilles heel has been scoring and it's been that was for over a decade. Incredibly, the team has not had a player finish in the top ten in scoring this century. Over one-third of their wins this season came from games which they won scoring only two goals or less. The offense effectively came from just one line and, when the Rangers shut that line down, there was no one to pick up the slack. There appears to be no one down in the AHL at St. John's who is going to come up and plug the offensive deficiencies. So, the Canadiens have to rely on a good defense and Carey Price. Price had a .933 save percentage and a 1.86 GAA in the Rangers series yet the team still lost. 

More importantly, Price becomes an unrestricted free agent after next season. Looking at the present roster and the lack of stars at St. John's, it is hard to see how this team improves on offense next year. Galchenyuk, Radulov, ageless wonder Andrei Markov, and Beaulieu are all unsigned for next year as are Ott, King, and Martenson. GM Bergevin is focused on resigning Galchenyuk and Price for longer terms. Price says that he wants to stay but how long is he going to put up with carrying this team on his back. Even if the Canadiens make the playoffs next year, the offensive woes will just make it another short visit. Price has won at every level and there will come a point when he will want to win a Cup. It is hard to see that happening next year for this team.

Rather than struggle through another woeful offensive year and another quick exit from the playoffs and then see Price leave for free agency, the Canadiens would be better off trading him this summer for a boatload of offensive talent and rebuild this team from the ground up. There are teams like the Flames, Stars, Panthers, Sabres, Canucks, and Jets who would love to have Price and actually have some young talent who can score to give up. You can teach a guy to become a great two-way player but you can't teach a guy to score. And Price, as he has shown in Montreal, is a guy who can take a mediocre to bad team and give it a chance to make the playoffs. 

The Canadiens had a three year window to make a deep run at the Cup. A midseason collapse last year kept them from even making the playoffs. Woeful offense kept them from winning a playoff round this year. And there is nothing to make you think next year will be any better. The window is shut. Time to rebuild this team from the ground up.