The Montreal Canadiens' house of cards is completely demolished
As recently as last July, the Montreal Canadiens lost the Stanley Cup Final in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. During this epic journey, the team was led by four great leaders: Shea Weber, Corey Perry, Carey Price and Phillip Danault. We can even add Joel Edmundson to those, he is very verbally involved in a game.
As of today, October 8, 2021, this group of leaders is "MIA". It has been completely razed. Shea Weber is sidelined for the entire campaign, Carey Price will be out for at least 30 days, Phillip Danault and Corey Perry have left for another organization, and Edmundson is on the injury list.
From there, the team has to rally and the players are exactly clutch in that mode. Without being pessimistic, we have to be realistic, in my opinion. Yes, a team can come together in the absence of its number one goaltender, its captain recognized as the best leader of his generation, its "shark" (Corey Perry) and a solid defenseman who can play 25 minutes... but in the long run, the past indicates that this is a near impossible mission.
Guy Boucher has often said it: for him, the goalie, the defensive top-4 and the center line are paramount. Currently, the Habs have no top-4 defensemen and must get by with two brigadiers who are not true top-4s. Currently, the number 1 goaltender position belongs to Jake Allen, who has been considered a 1B since the beginning of his NHL career.
Dominique Ducharme wants to continue to tighten up his squad, but if he doesn't have the pieces in place, it's a problem that will become difficult to solve.
Anyway, I heard 98.5 Sports ask the following question: "Do you think the Habs will make the playoffs with Price and Weber out?"
I'll let you stew with the analysis I just made...
