Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield nearly changed the script on Saturday night as they did so often last year.
It took Kirby Dach being moved to the right flank following patrolling the center for the first two periods for the Canadian to put on an interesting show.
But this is precisely the problem that Martin St-Louis must solve. And does he have the manpower to do it?
If Suzuki and Caufield are handcuffed for 40 minutes, the attack does not cause the opponent any concern. The Los Angeles Kings were never bothered until St. Louis said, “enough is enough.”
Josh Anderson seemed a logical choice to replace Dach alongside the team’s top two forwards. After all, St. Louis wanted to allow the ex-Chicago Blackhawks player to regain the position for which Kent Hughes made his acquisition. And we still believe he will be the organization’s second center behind Suzuki.
Anderson failed
So the opportunity to cast Dach in this role lent itself well with the absence of Sean Monahan. Trouble was, Anderson failed to fulfill the mandate given to him and Dach’s trio failed to take over while Suzuki was watched closely by the visitors.
Result: the Kings had fun like thieves at the fair until, in the third period, their famous system failed before the perseverance and tenacity of the Suzuki trio with Dach on the right flank.
However, when an organization chooses to make a complete shift, as decided by the leaders of the CH, there is always a price to pay and conditions to meet:
- It needs patience.
- You have to take advantage of the bargains that the market will offer.
- The development process needs to be running at full speed.
- You have to accept daring situations to achieve the objectives.
- We must take all the financial means to find solutions.
Payroll too high
The CH currently has a payroll that is far too high for the quality of the staff in place.
It will be necessary to reduce this payroll in order to be able to ensure that a player like Cole Caufield remains within the organization for several years.
The fans made a harsh judgment at the end of the first period, on Saturday evening, booing, but it must be understood that the current team is the one we will observe by the end of the season.
Certainly, there will be changes of players. Veterans will leave. But these will be business decisions.
We all agree that this first quarter of the calendar surprised everyone. The spectacle provided by Caufield— and Suzuki has aroused fans. We hope it will continue like this, but matches like the one on Saturday, there will be others. As the campaign progresses, the competition will become even more intense.
With the roster in place, if Suzuki and Caufield don’t produce to the standards they’ve set so far, there will be nights where fans’ patience will be called upon.
It’s inevitable.
Not overnight
When you decide to change the culture of a company and you recognize that it will be necessary to modify the training to achieve the objectives, you have to deal with adversity and respect the business model.
But it doesn’t happen overnight.
Not with the management system advocated by the National League.
Most general managers repeat this every day.
“We want to make transactions, but the salary cap does not allow us to do so. »
A good partner
Find a partner…
As it becomes more and more difficult to make roster changes, a key player from the National League told me this week that “more and more, the trend will be to find a business partner”.
In other words, what Kent Hughes and Brad Treliving did last summer in the Sean Monahan case might become a trend.
Hughes enabled the Flames to acquire Nazem Kadri by agreeing to welcome Monahan and his $6.375 million per season contract to Montreal. And the general manager of the Canadiens also asked Calgary for a first-round draft pick.
“What we have to watch out for is that we might see transactions involving three teams, two teams exchanging skaters and a third playing the role of financial partner,” my informant continued.
In the sector 13
In recent seasons, clubs with low salary caps have accepted contracts from inactive players in return for a first-round pick.
This formula was sent to line 13 for various reasons.
On the other hand, a business partner might solve the problem. He would come to the aid of a team having to give up an important contract to acquire a player.
Brock Boeser’s House
Representatives for Brock Boeser have received permission from the Vancouver Canucks to talk to other clubs in the league. Boeser earns close to $7 million a year.
Interested organizations cannot go further in negotiations at this time due to the salary cap. They are looking for a financial partner.
By March 3, the deadline for completing the transfers, it is to bet that we might see three-way transactions.
