3 Moves the Montreal Canadiens Should Have Made at the Trade Deadline

The Montreal Canadiens were certainly winners at the NHL trade deadline on March 2, making three moves that will help the team as it heads into the playoffs as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. 

General manager Marc Bergevin was able to acquire one of the top defensemen available, Jeff Petry, and two physical forwards in Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn. And he gave up a grand total of zero roster players in doing so. 

The message sent to the team was clear: Bergevin believes in the core of his squad, and he thinks just a couple of small tweaks could put it over the top. 

As a team sitting comfortably in a playoff spot, Bergevin was in a position of power. There were likely dozens of ideas floated around by himself, his management team and even other GMs, but ultimately, he chose to just make the three deadline moves. 

There are, however, a few moves that he could've made to help Montreal's playoff chances. A game-breaking forward to pair with Max Pacioretty would have been nice, or even just some power-play help. There's also one bad contract that Bergevin could've shipped away. 

Here are three moves the Montreal Canadiens should have made at the NHL trade deadline. 

Traded for Jaromir Jagr

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Jaromir Jagr

The Montreal Canadiens are a fast team up front that depends on its forwards to play responsibly in their own end. 

Jaromir Jagr is slow and, at minus-10 on the season, certainly won't be in the running for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded each year to the top defensive forward in the league. 

So why should the Canadiens have acquired the 43-year-old future Hall of Famer? 

One reason: power-play help. 

Montreal's power play has been a struggle all season. It currently sits at 16.5 percent, 25th in the league. If the season ended today, only the Minnesota Wild would enter the postseason with worse power-play numbers than the Habs. 

Jagr would have helped with the man advantage. There's no denying that. Even at age 43, he still has plenty of offensive talent and vision. He would've looked great dishing the puck off to Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban for one-timers. 

In the playoffs, games tighten up, the ice becomes smaller and it's harder to score. That makes taking advantage of the power play vital to a team's success. The Canadiens have been struggling while up a man all season long, and Jagr would've been a nice addition to a postseason run. 

Traded Alexei Emelin

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Alexei Emelin

After acquiring Jeff Petry, Bergevin should have focused his efforts on shipping Alexei Emelin off to the highest bidder. There are a couple of reasons why.

First, he doesn't really fit into the lineup even when he's healthy. The Canadiens are set heading into the stretch run and postseason, assuming no one gets hurt. P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov, Sergei Gonchar, Tom Gilbert, Nathan Beaulieu and Petry are the top six. It's clear-cut.

Second, his contract. Considering the trade deadline has passed, this year doesn't really matter much anymore for cap reasons, but Emelin is signed for $3.9, $4.2 and $4.4 million over the next three seasons. It's just too much for a third-pairing defenseman. 

The Habs are going to need to re-sign restricted free agent Beaulieu next season and also try to replace Gonchar and Petry. Shedding Emelin's salary would have been great for financial flexibility. 

Third, he was playing his best hockey of the season in the few games leading up to his latest injury. There must have been a few opposing GMs who noticed and would've been willing to take a chance on the 28-year-old. 

Some might argue he's still around for depth, seeing as Bergevin loves stockpiling defensemen. Yet the Canadiens still have options if a D-man goes down, even without Emelin. 

Greg Pateryn looked great in his recent stint with the squad. He didn't deserve to be returned to Hamilton, but the Habs just ran out of roster room.

The Habs also have Mike Weaver still watching from the press box. The veteran has largely been forgotten about this season, but there's no reason to think he couldn't jump in and play the inspired, shot-blocking hockey he did during last year's playoffs if need be. 

The bottom line is this: After acquiring Petry, Bergevin should have shipped out Emelin. And maybe he tried, but it's hard to believe that no offers were sent his way. Getting anything in return would have been a win. Emelin is now a $3.9 million depth defenseman with a contract that looks like it'll cause problems for the next three seasons. 

Acquired a Game-Breaker

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Phil Kessel

As long as Montreal enters the postseason healthy, we will know this about the team: It has a great goaltender and a good defense corps. That combination can carry a team deep into the playoffs. 

But when April rolls around, there will be questions about the Canadiens' offense. The team doesn't score enough as is, never mind once the defensive intensity picks up come mid-April. 

Up front, the only real game-breaker is Max Pacioretty. Perhaps another will step up in the playoffs, a la Rene Bourque last year. The front-runner to do so is Alex Galchenyuk, but it's hard to depend that heavily on a kid who just turned 21 and has 10 playoff games under his belt. 

It would sure be nice to head into the playoffs with another game-breaker type. Would the Toronto Maple Leafs' Phil Kessel have met that definition? Absolutely. 

Granted, the price would have been astronomical. Montreal would have been giving up a big chunk of its future for possible success this season, which is something Bergevin refuses to do. 

Ultimately, it's probably for the best. Montreal is set up for long-term success, and nothing short of a Stanley Cup is worth mortgaging that.

You have to admit, however, that it would have been fun seeing the Canadiens enter the playoffs with Carey Price in goal, Subban and Markov on defense and Pacioretty and Kessel up front. With that combination, Montreal would have been the odds-on favorite to win the East. 

All stats from NHL.com.