from Jack Todd at the Montreal Gazette,

Shea Weber has been everything he’s supposed to be, a tower of power, an intimidating force, a leader. The problem is that on defence, the drop-off in talent after Weber is spectacular. The Canadiens this season could have had a Big Three of Weber, Andrei Markov and Mikhail Sergachev. Instead, it’s Weber, Kneel and Pray.

Whatever the approach was that Bergevin took to signing Markov and Alexander Radulov, it resulted in the CH losing both players: Bergevin, with $8.5 million left in the kitty, came up a day late and a dollar short. Markov went back to Russia to play for Kazan, and Radulov signed with Dallas.

Up front, that meant the Canadiens lost size, muscle and scoring ability. An undersized crew of forwards seems even smaller without the bull-like Radulov out there breathing fire and daring opposing defencemen to try to move him off the puck. The only remaining forward with any size, Max Pacioretty, plays like he’s 5-foot-6 and 135 pounds. The Canadiens lead the league with 36.6 shots per game but rank next-to-last in goals per game, because only Brendan Gallagher, Andrew Shaw and Paul Byron drive the net.

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