While the move to sign Alexander Radulov may have perturbed much of the Montreal Canadiens faithful, it is one that could pay off if given the chance.
The club inked the Russian forward to a one-year, $5.75-million contract on July 1, and while it appears to be a risk - given Radulov's questionable history - captain Max Pacioretty feels the Canadiens have an extreme talent on their hands, an opinion that was satisfied after watching a few YouTube clips.
"He could be one of the top-5 skilled players in the world right now," Pacioretty told reporters at Michel Therrien's charity golf tournament on Tuesday. "That's a guy as soon as we signed him I looked at his highlights on YouTube and I got goosebumps because this guy is one of the most skilled players in the world, and I'm really excited to play with him."
Heading into next season, Pacioretty feels the Canadiens could be underestimated, especially after their porous 13th place finish in the Eastern Conference last year. He feels that the team's opening day roster will be no pushover.
"I think we can go into this year and fly under the radar a little bit because of the year we had last year, but you pull up our roster and we really like the team we are about to ice," said Pacioretty. "We addressed areas that needed to be addressed. Our power play wasn't good enough last year and we need to score more goals.
"Shea (Weber) scores goals and Shawsy's (Andrew Shaw) really tough to play against, and that's an area we really need to get better at, and Radulov can help out in all departments as well."
Radulov has spent the past eight seasons in the KHL where he has captured the Golden Stick Award as the league's MVP three times.
