I was chatting with a former colleague who was at the Bell Centre for the 4 Nations Tournament a few weeks ago. I asked him, for fun, what he thought about the future of Sidney Crosby.
He replied that after seeing Sid in the Canadian dressing room, he believed more and more that he won’t finish his career in Pittsburgh. 50/50, in his opinion.
In the midst of a debate about whether his pride is greater than his loyalty, he told me this: “I couldn’t conceive of such an athlete not trying to win another Stanley Cup”, before adding that it would be a crime against hockey. “The Penguins must do the right thing for Sidney Crosby”, he added, indicating that reverse loyalty also exists.
This former colleague in question is from Nova Scotia and has occasionally rubbed shoulders with Sidney Crosby. “The Canadiens would always have a chance. He has a very, very, very great appreciation for the Montreal crowd and the respect they show him”, he mentioned. “But it’s a business, and the Canadiens are a lot of ifs, and the Avalanche is a lot of trophies”.
It was Marco D’Amico, who broke the news of Ivan Demidov’s arrival in North America, who spoke these words.
(Credit: Getty Images)At the time of having this discussion, the Canadiens were far from being in the playoff picture, more precisely ranked among the 10 worst teams in the league. It was therefore logical to speculate that if #87 chose the team he wanted to be traded to, it wouldn’t be a gamble on a young, unaccomplished team.
Sure, the Avalanche is concrete. The guys have won. They have MacKinnon, they have Makar.
Montreal, at the time, was nothing concrete except for the mix and his attachment to the city and the blue-white-red.
I suggested that Montreal would probably have been considered more if the habs had had the time to fight for a playoff spot and show some great things when it counts, if only for a round or two. A bit of concreteness, that is. Marco agreed with this theory.
The situation has already changed since then. The Canadiens will participate in the playoffs, unless a catastrophe occurs, after a very impressive third quarter of the season.
The early arrival of Ivan Demidov, widely considered the best prospect in the NHL, has the potential to change everything. In my opinion, of course.
He scored 49 points in 65 games with less than 14 minutes of ice time this season in the KHL. He scored 3 goals and 2 assists in 6 playoff games, playing 17 minutes per game, with SKA. His coach, Roman Rotenberg, believes he will have an immediate impact in the NHL.
Without claiming that the young Russian forward will propel the Canadiens into the top tier, we can’t claim with certainty that it’s not possible.
In reality, NO ONE knows what the Montreal Canadiens can accomplish by adding a forward of Ivan Demidov’s caliber to a team that’s already turning heads. Playoff hockey is a matter of momentum, timing, energy, and emotions. We could have argued, before yesterday’s news, that the habs already had all that.
My colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois said it yesterday: the guys in the habs’ dressing room must feel invincible.
And concretely, the habs have a good team. One of the best top trios in the league. A powerplay specialist in Patrik Laine. A third trio of veterans on fire. A future Calder winner on the blue line. Veterans, on defense, in addition to a solid young man in Kaiden Guhle. A number one goalie in the NHL. And now, a dynamic young sensation that nobody knows and nobody has studied.
Don’t get out your camping chairs just yet, that’s not the point. But the Canadiens can be a Cinderella team.
And if that’s the case.
We’re chatting: Montreal eliminates Washington, the best team in the East. They offer a good opposition to the Hurricanes in the second round.
Would Sidney Crosby be crazy to think that if he joined this team, the hope of lifting the Stanley Cup would be real?
I don’t think so.
Overtime
I’ll add this, but the Canadiens have a lot more stock to give to the Penguins than the Avalanche, in a trade, if Kyle Dubas wants to rebuild and start from scratch.
It’s not to be neglected.
