Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin is not afraid to make a splash.
He has done so in consecutive Junes now, with his latest blockbuster having brought Jonathan Drouin to Les Glorieux in exchange for prospect Mikhail Sergachev.
Drouin will add some much-needed punch to a Canadiens offence that slumbered through a six-game first-round exit to the New York Rangers this past post-season, at the cost of an unproven piece in Sergachev.
“Montreal traded a junior hockey defenceman who looks like he could be a pretty good player, for a guy who looks like he could be a first-line scorer, second-line at worst,” said John Grigg on Saturday’s Sportsnet Hot Stove.
“And they’re a team that needs scoring, and needs playmaking help.”
The Canadiens could still use help on the blue line, and down the middle, and could potentially dangle 23-year-old Alex Galchenyuk in any such deal.
But while Bergevin has expressed a desire for a No. 1 centre, it’s quite possible the Drouin acquisition can give Montreal enough depth on the wings to get by.
“The Habs are in win-now mode,” said Grigg. “They’ve got one more year of Carey Price at a reasonable cap number, they’re a year older from Andrei Markov and down, so they needed to address the lack of playmaking on that team immediately.
“Granted, do I think they could use a centre over a winger? Yes, but what they could use is somebody who can set up goals for other people.”
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