Reconstruction | The other side of the coin

This time the recommendation does not come from an analyst assigned to cover the team or a blogger tired of the accumulated defeats, but from a seasoned observer of the NHL from outside Montreal.

Mathias Brunet
Press

Elliotte Friedman, of Sportsnet, now suggests that the Canadian put an end to his season and accumulate the maximum number of draft picks and hopes in return for his veterans.

Friedman’s suggestion is obviously obvious. But it also confirms that the disappointments of CH have now echoed everywhere.

Worse and worse

With this other defeat, Wednesday in Washington, the Canadian is now ten points behind the Penguins and last place giving access to the playoffs … with two games less to play than Pittsburgh.

By beating the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday, the Seattle Kraken is now ahead of Montreal in the standings. Only the Coyotes and the Senators, two clubs in reconstruction, do worse, but they have played fewer games than the CH.

It’s unclear whether Friedman was referring to a rebuild or a reset, but clearly Montreal may already go into seller mode.

We imagined last week a fictitious reconstruction in Montreal. Top of the list is Ben Chiarot, a possible unrestricted free agent. He would arguably earn a first-round pick, according to many observers. Could CH recover a first choice for Christian Dvorak? Who knows what a brave soldier like Artturi Lehkonen could be worth with eight points in his last eight games and several crucial playoff goals? Price? Gallagher?

A reconstruction, at what cost?

Let’s present the other side of the coin today. The principle of reconstruction may seem attractive, but it takes a lot of patience and there are never any guarantees.

Take these six clubs that have been rebuilding over the past ten years:

Edmonton, Florida and Toronto are among the top teams in the standings this season, but they have suffered a long time and there is no guarantee of a playoff breakthrough this spring. The Canadian, without ever rebuilding, has won six rounds since 2013 and reached the final last year. The Islanders have won five rounds since 2019, including two aces in the past two years.

To successfully rebuild, you must first be patient and also, above all, fish well. The Sabers, Oilers, Panthers, Devils and Maple Leafs wanted to cut corners and traded first-round picks and, or, prospects, too early in the process.

The Oilers took longer to become a top team because they didn’t always draft the best player in the front row (Nail Yakupov, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, even Taylor Hall). The Devils made a few mistakes along the way as well.

The Ottawa Senators remind us that the process is not short. They began their liquidation in 2018.

Their GM Pierre Dorion announced at the dawn of the season the end of the reconstruction and his desire to participate in the playoffs. The Senators are last in the overall standings. They will miss the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year.

A minor rebuild, reset or adjustment, you have to make the right decisions first. The Lightning, Bruins, Islanders (heading into this season), Avalanche and Golden Knights have proven over the years that no matter what the process, you have to hit the right shots.

A major investor for the Nordics?

The colleague of Journal of Quebec, Kevin Dubé, did a good job interviewing former Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos about a possible Nordiques return to Quebec. The response from Karmanos, a former heavyweight among NHL owners, is astounding.

“If I can find strong partners, I would be interested in using this magnificent amphitheater. In my opinion, Quebec is a fabulous market and the supporters there are passionate about it. I’m struggling to find a better place right now to set up a National League franchise. My opinion is that the NHL is making a big mistake by still not having a team in Quebec. ”