With a talented forward core, who can score goals, the Montreal Canadiens are in good shape for future seasons. Even with an eight-game losing streak, Claude Julien's squad is currently sitting at second place in their division.
The teams forwards have done well since the beginning of the season, and anything is possible when Carey Price is at his best. The blue line is yet to improve though, which may make that Marc Bergevin's priority. The right side is pretty well represented, with captain Shea Weber, who's on pace for his best season, along with Jeff Petry and young promising rookie, Cale Fleury.
The left side, however, is weak, with an overworked Ben Chiarot as first left defenseman.
Sportsnet made a list of 6 left-side defensemen who may be in Marc Bergevin's sights to improve his blue line squad.
The American defenseman is not a shadow of who he was two years ago, but he is still an offensive d-man built for the Habs' needs. Given Provorov's improvement lately and the fact that Gostisbehere has been a healthy scratch, there are a lot of trade rumors and the Habs GM is on the top of the list.
It's time for a complete rebuilt in Anaheim, and one of the most worthy players on the roster is Cam Fowler. The left-handed defenseman is on pace for a second 40+ points season and could be a great addition to the left side of the Habs' blue line squad.
3-TJ Brodie
His name has been associated with the Canadiens several times in the last year. T.J. Brodie's certainly a talent that could help the Canadiens' cause. While he's long been a staple in Calgary and unlikely a name to move out, especially after his recent medical incident, the 29-year-old has seen his role take a tumultuous ride at times over the past few years.
4-Oliver Kylington
With the Flames almost out of the playoffs, they may want to move some players and with Brodie's last medical incident, Kylington could be the one to be sacrificed.
5-Juuso Riikola
The 26-year-old Finn is talented enough that the Penguins opted to move him to forward for a spell, during their recent rash of injuries, to try to get him ice time while their blue line was fully stocked. He could potentialy thrive in Montreal and would certainly cost less than his competitors on this list.
The 27-year-old broke out with a massive 60-point campaign last year, chipping in with 0.76 points per game, while skating more than 22 minutes a night. The question is whether the Blackhawks think that effort is repeatable, or whether it should instead be used as value, to move Gustafsson to a team in desperate need of blue line help, like Montreal.
Source: Sportsnet
