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The Montreal Canadiens have built a promising young defense corps, but are they still missing one crucial piece on the blue line?
In this episode of The Starr & D’Amico Show, Shaun Starr and Marco D’Amico break down the current state of the Canadiens’ defense and discuss what Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton may still need to add before the Habs can become a true Stanley Cup contender.
Can the Canadiens rely on their current group featuring Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, David Reinbacher, Arber Xhekaj, Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier? Or is Montreal still lacking that impact right-shot defenseman who can play heavy minutes in all situations?
We examine:
🏒 The biggest strength of the Canadiens’ defensive group
🏒 The one missing ingredient on the blue line
🏒 Which current defensemen fit into the long-term core
🏒 Potential trade and free-agent options
🏒 How the Habs defense stacks up against other playoff contenders
🏒 What Kent Hughes may be targeting this offseason
With the Canadiens continuing their rebuild-to-contender transition, finding the final piece on defense could be one of the most important moves the organization makes.
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Go get Brandon Schneider
Gorton/Hughes have done a masterful job of managing fan expectations. The thing working against them is the playoff performance of Jacub Dobes, who has many fans thinking we are a contender when a first round OT loss would have kept most Habs fans in line with the program.
Raddysh signed in Toronto 8 yrs at 8 mil. for a 5th rounder….was he of interest to HUGO or too pricey?
I sure hope they're not done. They're good skaters and puck movers but with no size or grit. There's no way we're winning a cup with this D core
Kesselring and Raddysh unfortunately off the board. Those two would've been nice fits
All I know is that by next summer they have to make a long-term decision on Reinbacher. They can't wait for him forever.
Habs should just pick up an experienced RH defenceman. He does not have to be a super star, just someone, big who can move the puck out of their own zone. Also, he would be a great teacher to Reinbacher and the other inexperienced players.
I’ll be honest – I stopped watching hockey after Montreal lost. Couldn’t care less. But now that it’s over, it seems Carolina handled Vegas pretty well considering the Knights looked like they were on a magical run to the Cup. The Canes needed multiple OT wins to knock off the Habs. That’s something. Other comments have said it. Patience and careful tweaks are the key. No panic moves.
Dach was a really bad move and a few others have also been poor decisions by Hughes but some have been good moves.I like Newhook but he was NEVER worth 2 first round picks so again Hughes is sometimes out to lunch.
MTL does NOT need to trade for anymore D they need to first get a real coach AND to get some more toughness.Hughes needs to build a playoff team not a poser team.
IDC what anyone says or thinks MTL has not deserved to win a single playoff series over the past two seasons.
The TEAM does not need ANY specific positional players they need to play smarter exactly like Carolina pinch up on the passing lanes cover the points cover players proactively instead of chasing the puck around and leaving guys wide open all over the ice.
Craig Ludwig
To me the clear option is to let reinbacher in the ahl another year and next year let go of carrier to give him his place with ghule. So they need a top 4 RHD right now
the defense needs to be permitted to play a little meaner. It has to be tougher for opponents to enter and stay in our zone. Even roster players with that capability are not being used in that manner.
Patience grasshopper
whitecloud is definetively a good pick.. i think is the kind of guy who can help ghule and xhekaj to step up.. grind time in pk and add the grit we need.. or maybe a Perbix..
The Canadiens were unbeatable down the stretch with their current line up during the regular season. The issue is Who to get for the playoffs. They have time.
I’m nervous Toronto will take another step.. Habs need to be careful with their next move..stick to their identity
To do nothing with Suzuki caufield and companies door opening as they did last year is a waste and not doing there job. Simple pay to upgrade we don’t have the holy grail of all prospects contrary to what our delusional fans say
Time to put xhekaj with dobson, on the first pair, xhekaj is the best
What is the real plan considering Reinbacher & Engstrom? If Management really wants to Give them A Fair Shot, Struble, Xhejax & Carrier should be worried.
Trouba & Carlsson We can Forget them in Montreal
Put in rienbacher ! Bring in beck ! Go get Dimitri voronkov sign aj Greer and trade for a center ! Evans , kapanen . Dach . Etc etc trade off we've seen enough!!! That should be enough to get knives from Toronto!! This is what we need to do . And this would put us over the top !
He keeps throwing Matheson out there and he keeps getting burned. On the penalty kill Matheson must be perfect . On the ice when goals were scored. Yes he is the golden child. What’s incredible is how you fall in line saying how valuable Matheson is. Like the coach, you need your heads examined.
Conner Murphy is a top 4 d-man????? On what planet?
If you trust players to get you to the 3rd period, you should trust them in the 3rd. It's a marty problem I'm pretty sure.
I think Marty's a lot like Mike Babcock in some ways. After the way he treated Gally and Xhekaj in the playoffs.
Our defensive systems arent great.. An elite D coach would be nice.. Passive man to man(passive way to say it) isnt working. MSL gets hate. Hes grooming our offense on both sides of the puck, with success.. Matheson isnt a 28 min guy. Hes amazing value at 21 mins. Management has been great in terms of player management. We need a true D coach.. The passive man to man is lackluster.. Habs are still a work in progress. Were here for it. Great work gents. Edit Robertson at 11 with Demi.. Yes plz..
It's almost like we could use Ryan Leonard or Zach Benson. I'm not sure if I'll ever get over the 2023 draft, the real stain on this rebuild.