I know a lot of you want Zadina with the 3rd overall pick but drafting a winger with such a high-end pick may prove to be the death of this team and put us in purgatory for another 10 seasons.
I know Zadina is a great prospect and will likely be an NHL star but Bergevin needs a clear direction right now and he has 2 paths he can choose: build around a 1C or building around a 1D. Adding another winger to this squad is not the answer. And no, we're not getting a 1C by dealing Patch.
We have tried for years to get that elusive #1 center and we have failed. Judging from the other top teams in the NHL and the past Cup winners, the next best thing to do if you do not have a #1 center is to get a great defensive corps lead by a Doughty/Keith/Karlsson/Hedman/Carlson/Josi type of guy.
The Habs have an interesting D with Weber as the experienced guy who will lead the way for Mete and Juulsen. But there is little else. Getting a defenseman like Dobson/Boqvist/Bouchard to play the role of #1 on that top-4 would give us quite the punch on the backend and would make us real hard to play against. Not to mention Petry as a fine #5.
Assuming Carey Price regains form (because if he doesnt we are doomed regardless) the best thing Bergevin can do is to build up that defense, giving us a real solid fundation going forward.
Now you're gonna say; alright, who scores the goals? Looking at our offense there is no reason for us to struggle to win games if we have the rest of the important stuff in check (goaltending, defense, coaching). It's not like we lack skills. We do lack a #1 C, but guys like Pacioretty, Drouin, Galchenyuk, Gallagher, Lehkonen, Hudon, Scherbak, Danault and Poehling certainly have the making of a top-9 that can perform up to standards. I mean, look at Vegas' top-9. It's not the best, but it's not the worst. And we can still tweak it in the coming years.
Alright, alright so where are we going with this? Bergevin needs to follow the ''build from the net out'' model. By adding only one player (with our 1st rounder this summer) this can be achieved: a true #1 goalie to go along with a solid top-4 defense.
Not only that, but among the core players only Price, Weber and Pacioretty are old, and to be honest, they're not THAT old. We have a very young team. It will be up to Claude Julien to get the most out of the group.
It's either this plan, or you fricking blow it up and hope to land a true #1 C in the next 2 drafts.
