Montreal Canadiens must decide steps after 4 Nations break

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MONTREAL — Hope is fading for Le Bleu, Blanc et Rouge in the home of hockey.

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While the National Hockey League’s best players will hit the ice at Bell Centre in the next 48 hours with the start of the 4 Nations Face-Off, thoughts of the Montreal Canadiens are never far from the hearts and minds here, even with the regular season shut down until Feb. 22.

The break will give president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes time to think after the club went into the hiatus with a 2-7-1 record in their past 10 games and extended their losing streak to three straight games with back-to-back losses on the weekend.

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Six points out of the final wild-card spot in the East with 26 games left when the schedule resumes on Feb. 22 against the Ottawa Senators, the Habs can still make a push for the playoffs, but four teams in front of them are a huge hurdle climb.

The Habs are close enough to get into the NHL’s big dance, but they’re only a couple of losses away from falling out of the race completely and they’ve begun working the market to see what they can fetch for some players.

That’s why several league executives with playoff contenders have eyes squarely on the Habs because Gorton and Hughes have pieces that might be able to help a team that wants to make a push down the stretch.

Teams are kicking tires on the likes of forwards Joel Armia and Jake Evans along with veteran defenceman David Savard. The trio will be unrestricted free agents on July 1 and it makes no sense to let them walk for nothing in return in the summer if the club isn’t in the race.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported on the weekend the club has talked with Evans camp about an extension, but the two sides are nowhere close to a deal and the expectation is he’ll be dealt.

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The club has two defensive prospects in the system, Logan Mailloux and David Reinbracher, who could compete for jobs next year.

“This is probably the first time (since Gorton and Hughes) took over that they’re under scrutiny,” a league executive told Postmedia.

That’s because before the Habs went from selling promise in a full-scale rebuild to promising results. Those haven’t been good enough and now teams are waiting to see what they do.

If the Habs can add to the roster in the off-season, they can become contenders next year. They also need to decide whether to bring back Martin St. Louis as coach.

“They need more players with experience if they want to compete for a playoff spot,” another executive said. “They’re not going to get that at this deadline and that’s why it’s a difficult spot to be in.”

MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE?

The Calgary Flames are three points out of a playoff spot and we’re told that general manager Craig Conroy has been looking for another centre to see if the club can make a push down the stretch.

Of course, the market is thin and the teams with depth in the middle want to keep it. For example, we’re told that the Flames may have called to see if the Senators want to move centre Shane Pinto, a right-shot who can play up and down the lineup.

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The belief is if this talk took place, it would be a short conversation because Steve Staios, the Senators president of hockey operations and general manager, has no interest in moving Pinto or any of the club’s players that he considers to be part of the core.

The Flames aren’t the only club that has reached out to the Senators about Pinto, but if you wonder how much he means to Ottawa look no further than the club’s three losses last week without him and second-line centre Josh Norris to lend support top pivot Tim Stutzle.

Pinto is in the first season of a two-year deal that is paying him $3.75 million US per year and, as long as he continues to progress, then there is a good chance he’ll earn a nice long-term contract at the end of that term.

It would make sense for Conroy to reach out to New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello to see what his club is going to do with centre Brock Nelson.

The 33-year-old Nelson is an unrestricted free agent and could help a team down the stretch. If he has no interest in staying with the Isles, then the club is going to get something for him, but New York is back in the playoff picture in the East with 11 wins in 17 games.

Whether he’d want to go to Calgary is another subject completely because the Toronto Maple Leafs and Minnesota Wild have both been linked to Nelson, who has 17 goals and 35 points in 55 games this season.

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