The Montreal Canadiens have had a decent record with taking a chance on players surrounded by doubt. There was no disputing Alexander Radulov and the skill he could bring, but there was still a risk in bringing him on board, given his previous stint in the NHL. Antti Niemi couldn’t stop a beach ball having a horrible start with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers while Ilya Kovalchuk looked as if his time in the league was over.
The Habs had relative success in each of those risks, with Kovalchuk being the most recent.