Rumour: Only 4 untouchables in Montreal if rebuild takes place

The Montreal Canadiens appear to be at a crossroads and significant decisions are expected to come within the organization, both on and off the ice.

Fans have had enough of the Habs’ terrible start to the 2021-22 season and are hoping to see a complete rebuild take place in Montreal. Reporter Mathias Brunet of La Presse has imagined what a complete rebuild would look like in Montreal, and it’s interesting to see what he believes could take place shortly for the Canadiens.

First of all, he believes that a new GM should be appointed to start off with a clean slate : a manager that has no connection to players and staff in place, someone out of the current organization. Once appointed, that new GM should be given free reins on what takes place in the office, on the coaching staff and roster.

Brunet targets four players who should be considered untouchables by the new GM: forwards Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield as well as defensemen Kaiden Guhle and Alexander Romanov. He believes the rest of the team should be available to the highest bidders on the market.

This would include goalie Carey Price, whom he would not hesitate to agree to absorb part of his salary for the last years of his contract in order to convince another club to acquire him in a trade. Same goes for gritty forward Brendan Gallagher who, due to his new deal, doesn’t have much market value at the moment.

Jonathan Drouin, Christian Dvorak, Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson, Ben Chiarot and the rest of the roster should all be offered to other teams on the trade market as well, and see what offers come up.

According to Brunet, the Canadiens must acquire as many draft picks as possible as well as young prospects while reducing the team’s payroll and then use it to accommodate other clubs with bad contracts in return for high picks and additional prospects.

Brunet claims fans in Montreal would need to be patient and accept to lose with young players within the organization in order to provide them with more ice time and room on the lineup to acquire experience, but inevitably, would make mistakes that the passionate fanbase should tolerate.

However, Brunet reveals that, for now, he does not think the Canadiens are willing to take on a full rebuild. But you have to wonder if that mindset won’t change if the loses keep piling up…