The Montreal Canadiens had another disappointing season, one that found them well outside of the playoffs for most of the year. Once again, a big reason why they failed to make any noise was due to the lack of star power on the team. With Juraj Slafkovsky not at that level yet and Cole Caufield struggling to be a consistent goal-scoring threat, that leaves Nick Suzuki as their top scorer, and that isn’t good enough to make the playoffs.
So with that, it’s probably time for the Habs to take that next step and land a big piece for their team to build around. There’s already some big names in play on the trade market and in free agency, so who would be the right move to make?
Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discussed which big names would be a great fit for the Habs on Daily Faceoff Live.
Frank Seravalli: I think they need more difference-makers, that’s the one thing that stands out for me. I know it’s the unholy thing to think about, but Mitch Marner, Montreal Canadien? I don’t think it’s ever going to happen, I don’t think the Toronto Maple Leafs would even make the deal, but that should be the type of quality of player that the Habs, with their prospects and picks and also their burgeoning defense core, that’s exactly the type of thing that they should be trying to get in on.
Same thing with a Marty Necas from Carolina. I think he’s someone that has some game-breaking talent that could be one of those players that they’d be targeting.
Tyler Yaremchuk: And the bad blood’s gone between Carolina and Montreal, because both GMs have moved on, right?
Frank Seravalli: I don’t know that it ever truly ends when you have owners involved. But I would still love to see something like that happen.
You can watch the full episode here…
The New York Rangers fell short of their ultimate goal this season, which cannot be argued — but something that can be said is they laid the groundwork and created a foundation for what’s to come in the 2024-25 season.
After a disappointing first-round exit in the playoffs, many questions needed to be addressed. The 2023-24 Rangers had a lot to prove to not only the league but also to themselves.
“I think our guys are confident in themselves. They know exactly what we did this year. They know how we work — they know how we went about our business and I think that they’re disappointed and angry,” said coach Peter Laviolette said on the team’s break-up day Tuesday. While this year may have felt magical, it was still a learning experience for everyone under a new coaching staff.
Players took on new roles, some emerged while others couldn’t quite get it going when it mattered most, but it would be naive to not recognize that we’re talking about a team that has made the Eastern Conference Final in two of the last three seasons. They’re knocking on the door, but there’s now a new standard.
One of those players that stepped up in this postseason was two-time Stanley Cup Champion, right winger Barclay Goodrow. “From the belief and the confidence that we have in the group, I think the standard is always to win the Stanley Cup,” Goodrow said. “We came into the year with that goal and expectation, I’m not going to say it’s a complete failure if you don’t get there, but you’re not satisfied unless you do.”
