Can the Montreal Canadiens Find Their Way to the Playoffs?
The Montreal Canadiens made a big move this week, acquiring Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Laine is the missing piece up front for the Canadiens, as Montreal needed a top-six forward.
How Patrick Laine Makes Sense of the Montreal Canadiens
Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton and General Manager Kent Hughes are carrying out their complete rebuilding plan. They set the Canadiens up for success for years to come, not just one year.
Acquiring Laine was the next step as the younger players continued to develop. However, the next step for the team is to start competing in the finals.
The question is that with the acquisition of Laine, Can the Montreal Canadiens be a playoff team this season with the addition of Patrik Laine?
TSN Hockey analyst Frankie Corrado joined Laura Diakun on SportsCentre and was asked that question about the Canadiens playoff chances this season. He thought they would come slowly.
Writing for NHLRumors.com
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Laura Diakun: “Because the goal, of course, is to make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup. So have a quiet season until this Monday and this blockbuster trade. Do you think the team has done enough now to be able to fight for a play-off spot?”
Frankie Corrado: “I'm not there that they're a playoff team yet, but they're taking steps, and this is part of it, like you might bring in Patrik Laine not so much, to see what he's up to. get this year, to see if you can turn this around long term, and he can join this small nucleus of players moving forward if you finally try to make the playoffs.
And I think the Montreal Canadiens, they're where they need to be. You know, it's really crowded at the top of the Atlantic Division. You have Toronto, Boston, Florida, Tampa Bay. None of those teams are going anywhere, and there's some money on the books here in Montreal that you'd like to see go. That will happen naturally.
Can Patrik Laine return to being Montreal's leading scorer?
But now Patrik Laine has a chance to commit to this small group of players in Montreal and see if he can be part of the solution going forward and not the problem. “
Diakun “And you're right, it's a really interesting move, and the benefits could be huge for the Montreal Canadiens. We thought it was going to be a nice, quiet summer day in the NHL. No. Thanks for this, Frankie.”
While some may have wanted the Montreal Canadiens to do more this offseason, they are in rebuilding mode. If they follow suit, the Canadiens should be back in the playoffs next season.
However, if the Canadiens do not play meaningful games in March and April, the season will be considered a disappointment.
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