Mushroom season

I was listening to the TV pundits overanalyze Tyler Toffoli’s exchange with the fervor of theologians debating the gender of angels when my gaze wandered out the window.

Big sun. Nice blue sky. Inviting. I lifted my ass off the couch I had been propped up on for too long and went to check the weather. Not too hot. Not too cold. Just fresh. Wonderful. I put on my new running shoes with soles as white as Joe Biden’s teeth, and I went for a walk in the mountains.

I came back an hour later.

My soles were brown.

Cursed mud season.

It’s one of the ugliest times of the year. The one where there is as much snow on the ground as there are leaves on the trees. That is to say none. It’s too early for wade fishing. Too late for ice fishing. Too early to play baseball. Too late to go cross-country skiing. In the streets, potholes abound, dirt accumulates and the terraces have not yet been installed.

Meh.

Why am I talking to you about this again? Oh yes. Hockey. Between the mud season and the Canadian’s situation, there is a step that my new shoes allow me to take happily.

This is because the Tricolore is also in an in-between place. Neither at the beginning of its reconstruction nor at the end. Somewhere in the middle, in a long phase.

Remember the early days of the reconstruction project. Everyone was excited like children on a snowstorm day. The Canadian was the most popular broker in the National League.

Do you want a left-handed defender? Here is our most beautiful model, Ben Chiarot. A workhorse. But hurry, he will leave quickly. A first-round pick? Accepted. Do you want one too? We still have Brett Kulak. A second-round pick, and it’s yours. It’s beautiful ? Come on, let’s sign here.

Do you prefer a striker? We have Tyler Toffoli and Artturi Lehkonen. Our price ? A first choice, or the equivalent. The agreements multiplied. The CH quickly stocked up on first choices and hopes.

The following summer, the CH acquired Michael Matheson, Kirby Dach and drafted Juraj Slafkovsky. For many of the club’s fans, probably even the majority, rebuilding had become more fun than making the playoffs.

Except that in the months that followed, other teams decided to rebuild at the same time as CH. The Blackhawks. The Coyotes. The Ducks. The Sharks. The supply of veterans has exploded, outstripping demand. Consequence: prices fell. Little crash. From there, it became much more difficult for the Canadian to reproduce his 2022 strategy.

There were some clearings. Montreal obtained a late first round pick for Sean Monahan. An honest return, considering he was going to become an unrestricted free agent. CH was even briefly a buyer during the last draft, when it acquired Alex Newhook for two draft picks. But overall, everyone will agree that reconstruction is a lot less exhilarating today than it was two years ago.

On Friday, the NHL trade deadline, the Canadian’s only trade was sending Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils. This was obviously desirable to put an end to the unbearable menage a trois in front of goal, and to allow Cayden Primeau to play more often than three times a month. But if we take a closer look, it remains a relatively minor transaction.

CH will pay nearly 2 million next season to get rid of a cumbersome substitute goalkeeper. In return, he gets a second or third round pick, depending on how many games Allen plays in 2024-25. Know that a young person drafted in the third round has a one in ten chance of becoming an impact player in the NHL (200 points or 10,000 minutes).

This transaction is similar to the one that sent Joel Edmundson to Washington last summer for two draft picks. The Canadian had withheld 1.75 million from his salary. It also resembles the sleight of hand performed with Jeff Petry last summer. After two exchanges, CH found itself having to pay 2.3 million to Jeff Petry for two seasons. In return, he was able to acquire Nathan Légaré and a second round choice. The CH then passed on a player acquired with Petry, goalkeeper Casey DeSmith, for Tanner Pearson and a third-round choice.

In summary: since the fall, the CH has paid a few million dollars to acquire half a dozen choices divided between the second and seventh rounds. Lottery tickets, that is. How many of these prospects will play for the club one day? If we rely on historical data, not much. Maybe one or two. On the other hand, Kent Hughes will have the opportunity to use these baits to conclude a major transaction next summer.

Otherwise, as I explained earlier, the Canadian is stuck in an unfavorable market for sellers. This is the reason why David Savard and Joel Armia will stay in Montreal. Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher? Their albatross contracts scare other teams. So many factors which prevented CH from replenishing its bank of hopes with young people who could soon help the big club.

This is why the club is in between. Between the excitement of the first days of reconstruction and those which will mark its end. Between its winter and its spring. In its mud season.

Patience, the Canadian’s good days will return.

Just like the sun has always shone in summer in Quebec.

Except once.

In 1816.

But we’ll talk about that another time. I have to go clean my new shoes.