A Look At Competing Next Season

Team: 2023-24 Montreal Canadiens

Initial Creation Date: Mar. 12, 2023

Published: Mar. 12, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

This is not my personal preference. I want to stick with rebuilding and developing for another year at least.
Hypothetically, if we DID want to compete, we need at minimum a top 6 center, top 4 RHD, and starting goaltender.
You can add/remove to balance the trades if necessary. I'm just shooting for ballpark to illustrate what we are giving up by rushing the rebuild or cutting it short.

Dubois: It's going to cost to get him now versus later. If we aren't willing to be patient, we pay. I don't recommend it, but the point is to show what a rushed rebuild might look like.

Hart: A gamble, but I simply don't see Montembeault as the guy, admirable as he's been in a poor situation. Hedging our bets here and running a tandem. Philly gets a temp netminder and a do-over pick high in the 2nd where one of this year's goaltenders may be available (or they can simply go for BPA).
Alternatively we run with Monty/Allen and draft a goaltender ourselves.

Murphy: Might take more, but he's also a placeholder to show we are going to have to pay an approximate price to add a top 4D from somewhere.

Hoffman and/or Edmundson can be moved out. Trade value doesn't matter here. It's just to get cap compliant. Otherwise they are in rotation and we bring up the others at the end of the season and pinch some pennies elsewhere.

Synopsis:

Overall I don't feel like this is a top team. More of a get in the playoffs and make some noise team.
In order to reach that top tier, we're going to have to be patient and stingy with our assets. We've taken a few measured risks with Dach and our other acquisitions, and a couple of project players, but we need the elite young talent you normally only get through drafting and developing, to compete with the NJ's, Buffalo's, and Ottawa's.

This upcoming season is a big draft and then a likely remodeling of the forward group in progress.
24/25 is when we really start looking at making the playoffs. The opportunity cost is simply too high for that to be our goal for next season.
25/26 is when we start looking at upgrades/rentals using our excess accumulated assets.

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