PHN Mock NHL Entry Draft: Montreal Canadiens

MONTREAL – General Manager Bob Gainey has done wonders with the Montreal Canadiens. Take out the lockout year and Gainey is going into year five of a so-called five year plan, but you could just go back a year ago and see the influx of young talent that has started to emerge on the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge. Slated to finish out of the playoffs, the Habs quite unpredictably finished on top of the Eastern Conference. Even a second round knockout couldn’t mask the quick work Bob Gainey has done.
Looking at Gainey’s current roster, he is sitting front row center for year

five with plenty of options at his finger tips. In a salary cap world, Gainey has a lot of room to work with.
Out of the number of players that played a key role in last year’s success, Gainey has sixteen of them under contract. With only five RFA’s (restricted free agents) to sign and possibly the one UFA (restricted free agents), blueliner Mark Streit, Gainey has about 17 million to fool around with under the salary cap.
Let’s see where this money can go:
RFA’s
Andrei Kostitsyn: Probably the most important signing for Bob Gainey. It’ll be tough to see where Gainey will go with him, and we’ve seen monster long-term contracts go to many players in Andrei’s shoes, but Gainey sticks close to his chest, and if you look at players like Chris Higgins and Mike Komisarek, he may offer him a 2-year deal in the 4 million dollar range.
Ryan O’Byrne: He’ll sign for something just over what Maxim Lapierre received (2 years 1.4 million).
Josh Gorges: I could see a 3-year, 3 point something million dollar contract. That would be a bargain for Montreal because Gorges was able to fill some big shoes coming down the stretch for the Habs.
Jaroslav Halak: He may not be happy playing second fiddle to Carey Price, but his options are as limited as his experience, and he’ll get renewed minimally.
Mikhail Grabovski: Gainey had high hopes for him, but how many chances will he give him. Don’t be surprised to see him in Russia next year, but Gainey may pull something out of his hat.
Without signing Grabovski, Gainey has just spent 4.5 million on his RFA’s.
UFA’s
Mark Streit: It’s a bit of pickle for Gainey with all of the young talent he has in the farm system, especially on the blue line. Is it worth signing a power play specialist to a long term deal? Roman Hamrlik and Andrei Markov each have three years left and Mike Komisarek will be a big signing going into next year. Does Gainey want to handcuff himself on the blue line cap-wise (see Toronto for details) by signing Streit to a 3 year, 9 million dollar contract? You can bet Gainey wants a shorter, cheaper deal (2 years 5 million). I can see Streit leaving town for a better deal out on the open market.
Michael Ryder and Brian Smolinski: Ryder is gone, and Smolinski can stay for a pay cut to about a 1-year, 1.3 million deal.
If he lets them all go, Gainey will have $12.5 million to spend on the open market and he will not have to worry about signing (for example) a Marian Hossa to a long-term deal as both big contracts of Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev are up next summer.
At the draft:
Trade front: I don’t see any big deals landing on Montreal’s lap, but I do see Gainey swapping picks to move up and/or down to add more picks, or to get the player he wants. I think Montreal could be a tool for other GM’s to find their man.
In the system: You have to love the blueline of the future for Montreal: Ryan McDonough, Pavel Valentenko, Alexei Yemelin, David Fischer, P.K. Subban and Yannick Weber. Up front however, most of the eyes are on Max Pacioretty.
So, what will the Habs do come draft day?
The past two drafts for Montreal have been very heavy on the defense core. Don’t mistake Gainey however, if there is a blueliner that he likes that is still available, he will take him. All that being said, I do expect a heavy push on the forwards. As you can imagine Gainey likes two-way players, but looking at the forwards in Hamilton, Gainey knows he needs to get someone with a flare for finding the back of the net.
Montreal is also very low on right handed shots, and knowing any player Montreal drafts this year will not be in the lineup, it may affect some choices. With the 25th pick, if Gainey hasn’t traded it away, he’ll probably pick a center like Jamie Arniel from the Sarnia Sting.
So don’t expect much at the draft for Montreal such as a big trades, or by drafting a goaltender in the first round. They’ll be looking for a forward that can consistently turn on the red lamp. The centennial season of the Montreal Canadiens starts Friday on draft day in Ottawa, but Bob Gainey will probably wait until Canada Day to light the fireworks.
Special guest Sean Campbell from THE TEAM 990 in Montreal ( www.team990.com ), co-host of THE NHL TONIGHT show that runs every Saturday night during the hockey season, with his partner in crime, Mitch Gallo, gives PHN his two cents on what the Habs will do, not only during the free agency period, but in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft this Friday night.
To contact Sean, please email him at sean.campbell@team990.com
Also, don’t forget to catch PHN’s Brian Jennings guest appearance this Thursday nights as Sean fills in for Picard on the P on Sports show from 8-11 pm EST. Sean and Brian will be discussing the upcoming NHL Draft and the free agency period.
Photos courtesy of the NHL