The hazards of reconstruction | Press

“Reconstruction” has been a buzzword for the Canadiens for a few days, but the term seems more and more cursed in Ottawa …

Mathias Brunet
Press

We don’t associate patience with reconstruction for nothing.

Four years after the start of the work, the Senators are not winning more. Despite their good youth, they languish in last place in the overall standings with a 4-14-1 record and they will miss the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year. They won just one game in November.

COVID-19 hit their locker room hard, but they were already playing badly before this ugly tile.

Defense is fragile. 25million goalie Matt Murray has just been sent back to the minors.

Like most 19-year-olds, Tim Stützle knows his ups and downs. Despite some nice flashes, he has only one goal and nine points in 18 games.

Obtained in return from Mark Stone, young defender Erik Brannstrom is still unable to establish himself in the National League. Shane Pinto is injured. Alex Formenton is not producing. Captain Brady Tkachuk has four goals in 16 games and sometimes fishes out of discipline.

Here is the catch. We know the start date of a reconstruction, but never the end of it. DG Pierre Dorion has erred by excess of enthusiasm by announcing the end of this reconstruction at the dawn of the season.

Not only are the Senators’ best players still very young, but they had never played under pressure before. And the margin between having fun with nothing to lose and the need to win games on a regular basis is enormous.

A different context in New York

Which brings us back to the Canadiens and their new hockey boss, Jeff Gorton. Some fans are hoping Gorton will have a rebuild similar to the one he started in New York City. However, the context is very different between the two situations.

Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, Michael Grabner and Kevin Hayes were all going to become free agents without compensation when they were traded between 2018 and 2019.

Ryan McDonagh and JT Miller were on contract for just one more year when they moved to the Lightning in return for Vladislav Namestnikov, Libor Hajek, Brett Howden and first and second round picks in February 2018.

In Montreal, Ben Chiarot is the only possible free agent without value compensation. Jonathan Drouin will achieve autonomy in 2023. Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, Christian Dvorak, Tyler Toffoli, Joel Armia, Jeff Petry, David Savard, Mike Hoffman, Joel Edmundson and Carey Price are under contract until at least 2024, and we speaks of a minimum of 2025 in the cases of Price, Savard, Petry, Armia, Dvorak, Anderson and Gallagher.

In this era of salary caps, where every penny is counted, it’s getting harder to get top prospects and top draft picks in return from long-term contract players.

What fate for Carey Price?

Still, it will be interesting to see what fate he will reserve for Carey Price. The goalkeeper of the Canadiens is 34 years old, probably at least three or four good years to give, who knows the return offered, if obviously the CH agrees to absorb a significant portion of his salary. The same could be said for Brendan Gallagher, Tyler Toffoli and a few others.

But the Canadian already has ten players 25 or younger in his current lineup, including five 23 or younger. He has drafted 38 times in the last four vintages, including 17 times in the first three rounds. He holds first, second and three third-round picks in 2022.

At this point, a reset would be more appropriate, as Patrick Roy said so well on Tuesday.

And in the case of reconstruction, anyway, you have to be prepared to suffer. For real, and for a long time. Talk to Senators fans, whose stations of the cross are not over.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi has fun

Rod Brind’Amour had the good idea to replace Jesperi Kotkaniemi in his natural center position recently, even if it means demoting him within the fourth line. The change had a beneficial effect on the 21-year-old. Kotkaniemi scored his sixth goal of the season on Tuesday night, a third straight game with one goal, his fourth goal in his last six games, a fourth point in his three most recent meetings. And for the second time in three games, he’s averaged over 14 minutes. There will be other ups and downs, as in the case of a majority of 21-year-olds, but the jury will have to wait a few more years before making a decision.