Out of the Bleu, Blanc, Rouge: Montreal Canadiens & Potential

A restricted free agent this summer, Dach avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $3.6 million contract. He will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

Let’s be honest. Aside from his family and the odd podcaster here and there, the Kirby Dach fan club isn’t exactly overflowing with membership. If cats really do have nine lives, Dach should probably start practising his meow.

But that brings us to the real question. How long does someone have to “prove themselves” before we finally admit that the gamble didn’t pay off? At what point do we take off the rose-coloured glasses and look at the situation for what it is, rather than what we hoped it would become?

Former Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin certainly had his faults, but he had one philosophy when it came to young players: force his hand. If you were good enough, you would make it difficult for him to keep you out of the lineup.

Straight out of the WHL, Brendan Gallagher started the season in Hamilton because of the NHL lockout. The former fifth-round pick then earned his spot with the Canadiens directly out of the abbreviated training camp through his strong play. Bergevin kept his promise. Those were the only games Gallagher ever spent in the AHL.

That’s the kind of pressure young players should be putting on management and the coaching staff. And right now, there is a group of young Canadiens doing exactly that.

The youth is pushing for spots in the lineup, and some of those spots are being occupied by veterans who certainly bring experience and specific attributes to the team. The question is whether those attributes are enough to justify impeding the progression of younger, hungrier and more energetic players who are knocking on the door.

There is a shelf life to potential. At some point, potential has to become production, availability and consistency. Otherwise, it starts looking less like patience and more like an expensive habit.

The organization, including Kent Hughes, must recognize that some of the veterans currently occupying those spots may not bring more to the lineup than the younger players pushing for them. At some point, experience has to be weighed against energy, hunger and the potential for growth.

Because if the veterans can’t provide enough of an advantage, perhaps it’s time to stop asking the kids to wait their turn and start making room for them.

RAPID FIRE

Through his play and consistency, Florian Xhekaj is proving doubters wrong. He is NHL-ready and has earned a spot in Montreal to start the season. And the Canadiens need more of that type of players, not fewer.

Owen Beck is being highly underestimated by the Canadiens’ fan base because he’s not flashy. He too is NHL-ready and in a recent interview, he seemed frustrated with the fact that he could be sent down again.

Adam Engström led all Canadiens’ defensemen in ice time in Saturday’s game in Ottawa, playing over 23 minutes. He too is NHL-ready but he has too much competition on the left side. He can play the right side but that’s less than ideal at the NHL level.

David Reinbacher has shown enough to earn his spot, at least to start the season in Montreal while Kaiden Guhle is ready to return.

Jayden Struble quietly had himself a pretty solid training camp, discovery some offense too.

Desperate for hits, Nick Kypreos decided to use the Habs to get people talking. He stated that the Canadiens are after Mark Scheifele. If you think fans’ reactions were bad about Kreider, it was nothing compared to the reaction on social media towards Scheifele and his predatory hit on Jake Evans, and showing no remorse about it.

Frank Seravalli advanced that the Canadiens could have had a 2nd round pick for Kirby Dach, but they refused, wanting immediate help instead. Others reported that the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers have serious interest in Dach. A bit hard to believe, but here’s hoping. Sometimes, one should trust some “insiders” as much as they trust a fart after diarrhea.

Teams are lining up for Marchenko as in addition to the Canadiens, the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken are reportedly looking to potentially acquire the 6-foot-3, 201-pound 26-year-old Russian.

Back when the NHL put advertising on helmets, they said it was temporary (COVID). I said back then it would stay. When they put logos on the jersey, I warned they would become like European leagues. I was laughed at. It’s coming folks… dollars rule in today’s NHL.

New associate-coach Derek Lalonde, who is apparently responsible for the Canadiens’ penalty kill, has some work to do. In the split squads games against the Senators last night, all six goals scored by Ottawa were on the power play.

Samuel Montembeault had a good training camp so the Canadiens should feel comfortable sending Jacob Fowler to Laval to start the season, he who doesn’t have to clear waivers. Monty has participated in three pre-season’s games, allowing only one goal on 35 shots.