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Kyle Potamiano Rabid Habs

Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2016

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Shea Weber Needs A Partner

We’ve been told that Marc Bergevin‘s main focus coming into this summer was to add some scoring and address issues on the blueline. The Canadiens general manager certainly looked to address scoring with the additions of Shea Weber, Andrew Shaw and Alex Radulov, but he has done nothing to address our lacking blueline, outside of the Subban/Weber swap.

While Subban and Weber have several things in common, such as being clear number one defensemen and possessing a right-handed shot, their style of play could not be more different. Subban is a puck moving defenseman while Weber is not. This will cause a few issues for Weber, as he no longer has Roman Josi to drive the offensive play and make tape to tape passes to him, as we have seen Josi do over the past few seasons. Weber needs someone to feed him the puck. Don’t believe me? Watch this video of all of Weber’s goals in the 2015-2016 season courtesy of DriveFor25.

So the question is, who will fill those shoes?

THE INTERNAL SOLUTION:

In the 1998 Draft; with the 162nd pick, the Montreal Canadiens selected Russian rearguard Andrei Markov. This pick evolved into who we now call The General, possessing two-way skill and great hockey IQ. In fact, it is this Hockey IQ that has created longevity in his career even after multiple knee injuries. There is no argument that Markov has been of the best defenseman in Habs history, however, he has been declining over the past few years. Yet, even with his decline, being paired up with PK Subban definitely helped him and kept his offensive game consistent.

Markov stats

Subban provided the speed and skill while Markov provided the brains of the operation. Now that Subban has been traded, what will become of Markov? Barring a trade, and due to Therrien logic, Markov will start the season on on the first pairing with Weber. I believe that this pairing will not succeed as their combined foot speed will be that of a turtle.

Moving on to our next candidate, in 2011 the Habs drafted the tremendously gifted skater Nathan Beaulieu. As much as I would love to believe that he could be Weber’s linemate with his fluid skating, I think that his potential is only that of a complete top four defenseman.

The last internal option that I believe can play with Weber is none other than our 9th pick in this past draft, Mikhail Sergachev. Now before you all say that he will go back to Windsor this year, let’s talk about Montreal’s philosophy when developing recently drafted players. For the most part, Montreal will let their players develop in the CHL, European leagues, ECHL and AHL before even considering calling them up to the big club. However, there are always exceptions to the rules. Most recently, coming in the form of Alex Galchenyuk. It also doesn’t hurt to get a huge compliment from Guy Lapointe, one of the habs best defenseman of all time.

“It isn’t crazy to think that he could play in the NHL as soon as next season” – Guy Lapointe on Mikhail Sergachev

Sergachev was viewed by many as the best and most complete defenseman heading into the 2016 NHL Draft. In fact, there was chatter that if the Columbus Blue Jackets had not chosen Pierre-Luc Dubois at number 3 and had chosen Jesse Puljujarvi instead, the Edmonton Oilers would have picked Mikhail Sergachev at number 4 in order to finally address their need on defense. I believe that if Sergachev is given the opportunity, he just might crack the opening night roster. It is clear that he possesses all the tools to compete at the NHL level and he proved that at the rookie camp.

Not only does he have speed and skill, but size and strength as well as he battled with McCarron on several occasions during camp. He is definitely the total package and is Montreal’s best prospect. So can Sergachev not only crack the opening night roster, but the first pairing as well? That will be relatively difficult, but not impossible. However, I believe that if he will not be playing in a top 4 role, he would be better off getting some seasoning with the Windsor Spitfires, especially since they are hosting the 2017 MasterCard Memorial Cup. The high pressure playoff experience will do him good.

THE EXTERNAL SOLUTION:

If Marc Bergevin believes that he needs to bolster his defense via trade then I think he would be interested in the following four candidates: Tyson Barrie of the Colorado Avalanche, Kevin Shattenkirk of the St. Louis Blues, Jacob Trouba of the Winnipeg Jets and Cam Fowler of the Anaheim Ducks.

Tyson Barrie

If you believe that because he just signed a 4-year, $22-million dollar deal he won’t be dealt, you would be wrong. The relationship between Tyson Barrie and the Colorado Avalanche was never great and things had gotten worse as contractual talks progressed. I am convinced that GM Joe Sakic would be willing to part ways with Barrie, but only at the right price. Barrie would be a fantastic addition to the Habs’ d-core and would be a fantastic number 2 defenseman who would move the puck and set up Weber. The only issue that I can see with this pairing is that they are both right handed.

Kevin Shattenkirk

Kevin Shattenkirk’s name has been in the rumour mill for the better part of the year due to his impending UFA status at the end of the 2016-2017 season. Also, with the emergence of Colton Parayko, it would seem that he is expendable. Shattenkirk has earned his elite status with his smooth skating abilities and rather good shot. He also is a fantastic quarterback on the powerplay and would make a dangerous combination with Weber on the first unit. One again, there could be an issue with them both being right handed. I truly believe that he could get dealt before or during the season at some point.

Own The Puck HERO Chart

Story 1

It is clear that these two are bona-fide top 2 defenseman.

Jacob Trouba

Still a very young defenseman, at 22 years old Jacob Trouba was a steal at 9th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. He still has RFA status and doesn’t seem to be sweating it at all. He currently skates alongside Dustin Byfuglien on Winnipeg’s first pairing. He still has a lot of potential, which is relatively scary, as he’s already really good. He is a very strong skater with great hands. The same issue appears once more, he is also a right handed shot.  However, I’d be really be surprised if he were dealt.

Cam Fowler

A couple of years ago, the Ducks would never even consider the possibility of dealing Fowler. However, with the emergence of Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm, Fowler seems to be expendable. In fact, a few days prior the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres were in discussions with the Anaheim Ducks over the price of Fowler. A few sources claimed that the Ducks were seeking the Canadiens 9th pick or the Sabres 8th pick for Fowler. In the end, neither team jumped at that price. So close to 2 months later, is Bergevin still interested? I believe so. Now I may not think that Fowler is a true top 2 defensemen but I think that he is an excellent puck mover and can really solidify our top 4 defense. He could be used on the 1st powerplay unit with Weber and the best part about him is that he has a left handed shot. The likelihood of this deal would probably be around 50%.

Own The Puck HERO Chart

Story 1 (1)

It is clear that Jacob Trouba can be a top 2 defenseman while Cam Fowler would be better suited in a top 4 role.

CONCLUSION:

Marc Bergevin should wait at least until training camp to evaluate his team and see whether or not he would need to make a trade in order to bolster his defense. Beaulieu or Sergachev might surprise us. In my opinion, this team is the most Cup ready since our Stanley Cup win in 1993. However, in order to compete with all the other contenders, Montreal needsanother top 2 defenseman and one more top 6 forward.

The time is now for the Montreal Canadiens, so what will Bergevin do?

Follow Kyle on Twitter: @BleuBlancRouge7

 


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Tagged in this article

Kevin Shattenkirk Andrei Markov Shea Weber Cam Fowler Tyson Barrie Nathan Beaulieu Montreal Canadiens St. Louis Blues Colorado Avalanche Anaheim Ducks National Hockey League
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