Habs players believe that Toffoli being traded first could trigger the start of a rebuild
The Montreal Canadiens have had a nightmare 2021-22 season, which ultimately led to the club making the first blockbuster deal of 2022, sending Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames earlier this week.
Many have begun to speculate that the Toffoli deal has triggered a rebuild in Montreal - something that the organization has been reluctant to embrace for some time. Now, even some of the team's players are acknowledging that it may be coming.
Per TSN's John Lu, Habs All-Star center Nick Suzuki took the Toffoli trade as a sign that a full-blown rebuild is on the way.
The Habs are expected to meet with the media for a press conference on Wednesday and there is some speculation that the organization will reveal its intentions to the fans.
With how passionate the fanbase in Montreal is, there was some concern over whether fans would accept a rebuild, but after the train wreck of a season that the Canadiens have endured, perhaps fans would be more receptive to the idea. Changing the course and starting from scratch seems to be the only way that the Habs can right the ship at this point.
Unfortunately, a rebuild likely means the end of Carey Price's run in Monteral. The same could be said for Josh Anderson, Jeff Petry, Christian Dvorak and several other key players from the Habs' Stanley Cup Finals run last year.
The idea is probably a good one, given how top-heavy the Atlantic Division is and how unlikely it is that the Habs would be able to compete with the top teams. A scorched earth rebuild seems like the only path to success at this point.
