Acquiring an Artemi Panarin in Montreal this summer? A former Habs head coach makes a disturbing statement

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Julien Trekker
March 7, 2023 (9:59)

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As we know, the Montreal Canadiens have been in the midst of a rebuilding process since the arrival of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton over a year ago.

Despite a much better season this year, there is still a lot of work ahead for the organization's leaders, but at least the Canadiens' prospect pool is very well stocked and the future looks promising.

But for some Canadiens fans, Gorton's presence within the organization is reassuring because he went through the same process as general manager of the New York Rangers. He even wrote a letter to hockey fans in the area asking for patience and stating that the team was entering a rebuilding phase.

We can now see that the Rangers are very serious contenders for the championship this year, and the organization sent a very clear message that they were going all in this year with the acquisitions of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane.

However, it must be said that the free agent market helped the Rangers with the signing of Artemi Panarin in the summer of 2019, which significantly accelerated the team's rebuilding. And that's why Canadiens fans can be optimistic, because after all, Jeff Gorton knows the recipe.

Unfortunately, attracting top-class free agents is much easier to do in New York than in Montreal, and as Nicolas Cloutier reports, a former Canadiens coach has given his opinion on this always delicate subject.

In a recent column on the TVA Sports website, Michel Therrien stated that despite all the efforts the Canadiens organization can make, it is still very difficult to attract free agents to Montreal.

"If the Rangers were able to accelerate the process, it was in part thanks to the market in which they operate. New York has always been a sought-after place for free agents, like Artemi Panarin."

"For years, the Canadiens have had trouble attracting players. It's been an eternity since elite free agents have chosen to establish themselves here. It complicates the task of the leaders."

A statement that is certainly worrying in relation to the possibility of signing a big-name free agent, like Gorton did with Panarin.

Therrien is not convinced that the Canadiens can sign their own "Artemi Panarin."

Although he is not entirely wrong, it must be said that several big-name free agents came very close to agreeing to sign with the Canadiens. Like Steven Stamkos, even Therrien had stated that it had come very close to happening in the summer of 2016, but the forward ultimately decided to continue his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Yes, there are taxes, the pressure of playing in Canada, but it remains true that if the Canadiens become competitive faster than expected, some quality free agents could sign with the Canadiens in the coming years, like a certain Pierre-Luc Dubois, for example.

To read Michel Therrien's column, click on the link below.