Canadiens head coach Claude Julien and captain Shea Weber were saying all the right things after practice Monday in Brossard about how they still believe they can make the playoffs.
“Because if we don’t, what are we doing here?” Julien asked before the Canadiens headed to Detroit to face the Red Wings Tuesday night. “Honestly, that’s the way I see it. If you don’t believe, why waste your time? Stranger things have happened.”
Added Weber: “I think we always have to have belief. If you don’t believe, then it can’t happen. I mean, crazier things have been done before, and this — why not?”
NHL coaches and players are paid to perform and win games, so they can’t afford to give up. But general managers are a different story and on Tuesday afternoon Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin officially threw in the towel on his team’s minuscule playoff hopes when he traded defenceman Marco Scandella to the St. Louis Blues.
With the Canadiens having a 27-26-8 record and only a 1.1 per cent chance of making the playoffs — according to Sportsclubstats.com — heading into Tuesday night’s game, Bergevin started to focus on next season and beyond, acquiring a second-round pick at this year’s NHL Entry Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick next year in exchange for Scandella.
It was the smart thing for Bergevin to do, getting a head start on Monday’s 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline and he got a great return for Scandella.
Bergevin acquired the Montreal native from the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 2, when he thought the Canadiens could still make the playoffs, giving up a fourth-round pick at this year’s draft. Now, the GM has turned Scandella into a second-round pick this year, along with a fourth-round pick next year.
There’s also a possibility Bergevin could re-sign Scandella this summer if he wants to bring him back. The 29-year-old defenceman is in the final season of a five-year, US$20-million contract and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The Canadiens will retain 50 per cent of what’s left on Scandella’s contract this season as part of the trade.
Bergevin looked into signing Scandella to a contract extension, but the defenceman wanted to wait and see what his value could be on the free-agent market, which was a smart move by the blue-liner. But Scandella made it very clear how much he loved playing in Montreal in front of family and friends. He played 20 games with the Canadiens, posting 1-2-3 totals and a plus-1 rating while averaging 17:38 of ice time.
Scandella joins the defending Stanley Cup champions, who need help on the blue line after placing defenceman Jay Bouwmeester on long-term injured reserve Tuesday after suffering a cardiac episode during a game last week. The Blues had a 32-17-10 record heading into Tuesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils and are in a heated battle with the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche for first place in the Central Division.
Adrian Datar, who covers the Avalanche for Colorado Hockey Now, tweeted Tuesday that he’s hearing the Avalanche could be interested in acquiring the Canadiens’ Tomas Tatar if attempts to get the New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider fall through.
Meanwhile, Darren Dreger said on TSN’s Insider Trading that Bergevin is having discussions with Ilya Kovalchuk’s agent, J.P. Barry, about trying to re-sign the Russian winger, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Dreger added there is considerable trade interest in Kovalchuk from other teams and that Bergevin would probably be looking for a second-round pick and more in any deal.
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