Montreal Canadiens Prepare for the Playoffs: Deadline Day Moves or Lack Thereof

Pierre Gauthier has already made more moves than I expected.

James Wisniewski, Paul Mara and Brent Sopel have all played in Habs jerseys after a depleted D-corps was in serious need of help.

I like to believe, however, that after Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges went down to injury, the addition of the veteran defensemen were necessary adjustments—call them Band-Aids if you'd like.

There have not been any impact trades—those made by teams hoping to add the missing pieces to compete in the postseason—by the Canadiens general manager.

Last season, Gauthier only made one move during deadline time in trading for Dominic Moore. It seemed like an irrelevant trade, but the doubters were proven wrong down the stretch and in the playoffs: Moore was a valuable utility forward and Gauthier was redeemed.

I'd like to hope that there is a big move on the way, but I'm certainly not holding my breath.

Gauthier has made some big internal adjustments to improve the club.

Since being called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs for his third NHL stint, Max Pacioretty has been a legitimate top-six forward. In 33 games this season, he's amassed 20 points, including 11 goals. He has picked up some of the slack left by the disappointing performance of Scott Gomez and his occasional line-mate, the hot-and-cold, enigmatic Andrei Kostitsyn.

David Desharnais, simply put, has been a revelation. Though the diminutive centre-man has seen his ice-time cut considerably over the past few games (for reasons only known to head coach, Jacques Martin, I might add), he has made the best of his opportunity.

In my opinion, his play has far surpassed that of Gomez. It is only because of his astronomical salary and 10-plus years in the NHL that the underachieving Gomez has remained a center on one of the team's top-two lines.

Remember a player named Dustin Boyd? Okay, good. Now who would you prefer on your team: Boyd or Desharnais?

That’s what I thought.

Michael Cammalleri has recently returned from injury and seems to be finding his groove. After being blanked in his first two games back, he has seemingly caught fire: He scored a goal and added an assist against both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes.

Cammalleri missed a month’s worth of games. The Canadiens posted a mediocre 5-5-2 record in his absence.

It would be very difficult to maintain a playoff position if they played .500 hockey. With his return, if he plays to his full potential, the Canadiens acquired an impact player that could veer them towards more victories.

To the untrained eye, it would seem that the team that is currently being iced is quite different than the one we saw on Opening Day. It would be ignorant to say that Gauthier has stood idly by and watched as the competition improved.

As a fan, I believe that we have a young, competitive team and would not want to mortgage our future just to land a “big impact player” that may or may not guide the Canadiens to the promised land.

The Habs may be a few years away from being legitimate contenders—I would be perfectly content with another run as a dark horse without, quite literally, selling the farm.