The Montreal Canadiens had a free agent target in mind for this off-season, but rather than wait until October 9th they have decided to pull the trigger now. The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that they have traded impending unrestricted free agent defenseman Joel Edmundson to the Canadiens. The return for Carolina is a 2020 fifth-round pick.
The Canadiens now have nearly a month to negotiate exclusively with Edmundson on a new contract. A relatively young UFA at 27, Edmundson would be a great addition for the Habs. Edmundson showed this season that he is more than just his 6’4”, 215-lb. frame, posting both a career high 20 points and showing he is reliable defender with a career-best 55% defensive zone starts. Edmundson was less a rugged stay-at-home defender and more of a refined, two-way contributor for Carolina and the Canadiens hope that he can continue to grow in that role. Edmundson has also shown back in his days with the St. Louis Blues that he is capable of playing big minutes, which would provide even more value to Montreal moving forward. Given the lack of high-end talent on the Montreal blue line behind aging Shea Weber and 2021 free agent Jeff Petry, Edmundson could land a long-term deal with the Canadiens to lead a new generation of defenders, such as Victor Mete and Alexander Romanov.
On the other side, the Hurricanes have to be happy with landing a decent pick (No. 140 overall) for a player they seemed unlikely to re-sign anyhow. Edmundson was acquired by Carolina just last summer as part of a package from the St. Louis for Justin Faulk. While Edmundson was a valuable member of a very good ‘Canes team this year, prospect Dominik Bokk was always seen as the true prize in the return for Faulk. Edmundson was on an expiring contract and was joining the deepest defense core in the league, making him a likely rental candidate. The Hurricanes’ impressive blue line depth only improved this season as well, as the team acquired Brady Skjei and saw flashes of brilliance from young Haydn Fleury, who will join Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Jake Gardiner as the likely starters next year.
Nice
Gardiner next. Sign Vatanen.
They don’t need SV and dumping JG would be a bonus. Very deep on D.
Giving up a prospect to only acquire the rights of a mediocre depth player is not an ideal way to start an offseason.
They clearly feel very different about him and the situation. Why would a team that wants to play for the cup today give up an unlikely NHL regular prospect for a defenseman that could jump into their too 4 today
Top 4? If that’s the case, they aren’t trying to play for a cup.
@JDGoat – At the rate the Habs are going, Eddy will be Top-4 by default, not because he belongs there. You’re right, they aren’t really trying to win the big prize, and are still not seen as the coveted destination of decades past.
Edmondson was literally the Blues #4 D for their Cup run last year. He paired with Jay Bouwmeester on their 2nd pair.
@Doc – Yeah, I probably should have clarified that a bit. As long as the Habs are taking their time drafting & developing, he’ll be higher up the depth chart than if he was on a more competitive team. Although, it seems like most teams’ D-depth sometimes doesn’t go all the way to #4. So, he’ll be the veteran heir-apparent to Webs when he calls it quits (along with Petry, if they both stay, that is).
The Blues and Canes usage of Edmundson over the last two regular seasons and playoffs strongly suggests a top 4 defenseman. Both teams are deep on defense, were playoff bound, and surprisingly one won a cup. Where’s the proof that he isn’t a top 4 D?
@Mark Black – See my clarification to @Doc’s comment. It used to be that truly deep defense corps could go all the way down to #6. Me thinks that has shifted quite a bit in recent years, as teams struggle to find “the right guy” for their back end. On some teams, he’d be a de facto top-pair guy now. If #6 was back in his healthy prime, the two of them would potentially be an imposing top pair. Even so, they might help start to turn the tide in MTL. A lessened workload for CP and stronger overall D-play with (hopefully) solid veteran tutelage, might have the Habs in better shape than we might otherwise believe.
Really nice move by Bergevin here.
Don’t forget Jake Bean. He’ll be in Raleigh next season.
willing to give montreal benefit of doubt. Most said similar things about Chiarot.