Offseason Keys: Montreal Canadiens
As teams are eliminated from the playoffs, it means that the offseason has arrived for several more squads. Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return and the ones ousted in the Qualifying Round, we shift our focus to the ones that were eliminated in the official first round. Next up is a look at Montreal.
The regular season was not a good one for the Canadiens who were sellers at the trade deadline. However, the expanded postseason format gave them the final spot and they went on to make the most of it, upsetting Pittsburgh in the Qualifying Round before putting up a good showing against Philadelphia before ultimately being eliminated. GM Marc Bergevin has already started his offseason work with the acquisitions of goaltender Jake Allen and defenseman Joel Edmundson but they still have some things to accomplish over the coming months if they want to get back into playoff contention.
Add Scoring Wingers
With Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi showing some positive signs in their young careers, the Canadiens now have some depth down the middle which gives them an opportunity to try to work on upgrading their scoring on the wings for the first time in a while. They’re a team that’s built on trying to score by committee but as their series against Philadelphia showed, they don’t have a go-to option when they need a key goal.
Brendan Gallagher has been Montreal’s closest thing to a top goal scorer in recent years. He had surpassed the 30-goal mark in the past two years and while he didn’t get there this season, he scored at that pace (22 in 59 games). Tomas Tatar led the team in points during the regular season and was second the year before. After that, however, it thins out in a hurry; no other winger had more than 16 goals this year.
Jonathan Drouin has underwhelmed for the most part since joining the team from Tampa Bay while Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen, and Paul Byron are more known for their play in the defensive end. One of their better offensive contributions from a winger this season came from Ilya Kovalchuk after his contract was terminated by the Kings but he was also thrust onto the top line quickly which played a role in his brief success.
While they’ve spent a good chunk of their cap space already, Bergevin would be wise to look for another reliable scorer on the wing. The odds of being able to afford and acquire a front liner are slim but there are some players in free agency who would give them a lift offensively and at least deepen their by-committee approach towards scoring.
Domi Decision
When Montreal acquired Max Domi from Arizona two years ago, he was coming off of a tough year and a bridge deal made some sense. Since then, he had a breakout 72-point campaign in 2018-19 but had another tough year this season as his output dipped to just 44 points. While there is still some uncertainty surrounding what type of offensive player he can be, a short-term contract doesn’t make as much sense now that he’s arbitration-eligible and two years away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency unless they do a contract that’s three seasons or longer to buy a bit more team control.
Further complicating things for Bergevin is the presence of Suzuki and Kotkaniemi, their hopeful top two centers of the future. Committing a long-term deal to Domi if they envision him as a third liner doesn’t make a lot of sense and Phillip Danault (more on him in a bit) is also in the picture as well. There’s the possibility of moving him to the wing but Domi has made it known that his preference is to remain down the middle. It’s also worth noting that he has changed agents as well, moving from Pat Brisson to Darren Ferris.
A year ago, it looked like Domi was going to be part of Montreal’s long-term core but now, that’s not as certain. If their inclination now is that he won’t be, this may be the right time to try to move him even though his output dipped this season. There are no impact centers available in unrestricted free agency and quite a few teams will be looking to trade for help down the middle so Bergevin should be able to still yield a good return if he wants to go that route.
One way or another, a decision is soon pending for the 25-year-old. Getting to arbitration is an outcome that they likely will want to avoid because of Domi’s 72-point campaign which means that they’ll have to do something in the near future and choose what their plans are for him.
Extension Talks
There aren’t many teams that have as much cap room for 2021-22 as Montreal does but there’s a reason for that. They have just three forwards signed for that year with Gallagher, Tatar, Danault, and Armia among those set to become unrestricted free agents. So will defenseman Jeff Petry. While this gives them some potential flexibility for Seattle’s expansion draft (it’s unlikely a pending UFA would be protected), having that many core players enter their walk years is certainly risky.
Petry and Gallagher are the likeliest to have early extension talks. Petry has become a strong number two defender over his time with Montreal and should be in line for a raise on his current $5.5MM price tag. Gallagher, meanwhile, has been one of the better bargains in the league at $3.75MM while other 30-goal players are getting closer to $6.5MM to $7MM on the open market. That’s probably the price range that would be needed to get an early extension done. Tatar’s quiet showing in the playoffs likely hurts his chances of getting a new deal done this offseason.
Then there’s Danault. He indicated after the season that his role in 2020-21 would play a factor in deciding whether or not to re-sign. He has been a fixture on Montreal’s top line the last two seasons but with their youngsters potentially ready for more ice time, Danault’s spot on the depth chart is probably going to change. If they can find a role that he’s comfortable with and the right price point (his cap hit is just under $3.1MM currently), it’s possible that they could get a deal done now which would further put Domi’s future into question.
After Montreal’s elimination, Bergevin indicated that he intended to be careful this offseason knowing that this situation was on the horizon. Getting one or two of these players signed would go a long way towards giving them some certainty in cap planning even if it winds up hurting them a bit when it comes to who they lose to the Kraken.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Rochester, Dubnyk, Danault
The Rochester Americans have added a new pair of assistant coaches, and Buffalo Sabres fans will certainly be familiar with them. Mike Weber and Adam Mair, who suited up for a combined 839 regular season games for the Sabres in their playing careers, will join Seth Appert‘s staff in the AHL this season.
Mair is moving over from the development side with the Sabres where he has served for the past five years, while Weber is making the jump to pro coaching from the OHL. Appert, who will be coaching a pro team for the first time, has decades of experience at the collegiate level and with the USNTDP.
- Devan Dubyk’s name has come up lately in the rumor mill, as the Minnesota Wild continue to reshape their roster heading into next season. Michael Russo of The Athletic touched on the goaltender in his latest piece, explaining that he has heard the Wild will not be buying out Dubnyk this offseason. That suggestion has surfaced because of the $4.33MM cap hit that the veteran goaltender carries this year despite losing the crease to Alex Stalock and posting a .890 save percentage in 2019-20. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noted today that the Montreal Canadiens did consider Dubnyk before eventually trading for Jake Allen earlier this summer.
- Speaking of the Canadiens, Friedman also wrote today that Phillip Danault‘s name is “out there” generating interest, though there is still uncertainty about whether he’s actually available. The 27-year-old center is heading into his final year under contract before reaching unrestricted free agency for the first time. The Canadiens currently have only three NHL forwards signed past the 2020-21 season (Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron and Nick Suzuki), meaning GM Marc Bergevin can pretty much do whatever he wants to shape this group for the years to come.
Snapshots: Galchenyuk, Shinkaruk, Costantini
While it should not come as much of a surprise, seeing as he was viewed as a throw-in rental in the trade that brought him to Minnesota rather than a core, long-term piece of the return, Alex Galchenyuk is not expected to return to the Wild next season. GM Bill Guerin told the media this evening, including the Star Tribune’s Sarah McClellan, that the impending free agent forward is unlikely to return to Minnesota this off-season. Galchenyuk was acquired by the Wild from the Pittsburgh Penguins in February – his third trade in two years – alongside prospect defenseman Calen Addison and a first-round pick in exchange for veteran forward Jason Zucker. Although Galchenyuk, a 26-year-old with two 50+ point seasons on his resume, was far from a useless addition for the Wild, it was Addison and the first-rounder that were the real prizes for the club. Given Galchenyuk’s expiring contract and the downward trajectory of his career, few expected Galchenyuk to stick long-term in Minnesota. Galchenyuk seemingly peaked early in his career, setting career highs in goals and points in 2015-16 and points per game in 2016-17, at the ages of 21 and 22 respectively, with the Montreal Canadiens. In each year since, his final season in Montreal and stops with the Arizona Coyotes and Penguins, his per-game scoring has dropped off, reaching a career-low this year. Although his seven points in 14 games with the Wild was better than his overall rate for the year, it wasn’t enough to convince the club that he was worthy of an extension. Galchenyuk will hit the open market as an intriguing player, one of the younger UFA’s and certainly the most accomplished for his age, but also stuck in a downward spiral for the past few seasons. He needs a fresh start and would benefit from some long-term security, if he can find it. If Galchenyk can return to 50-point form, he could be one of the best bargains available this off-season.
- One young player who won’t be returning to the NHL altogether next season is Hunter Shinkaruk. Another former Canadien, although best remembered as a long-time prospect of the Calgary Flames, Shinkaruk has opted to re-sign with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star for another year, the league announced. After he was not qualified by Montreal last summer, Shinkaruk did not find another NHL home and eventually signed with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. However, he left the team mid-season to join Kunlun. He recorded nine points in 19 games, which was among the team leaders in per-game production. Playing on a Red Star roster that is loaded with NHL and AHL veterans, Shinkaruk can play a greater role than he would likely find in North America, while continuing to play a familiar style with peers from whom he can learn. While Shinkaruk, 25, can no longer qualify as an NHL prospect, he has a better chance than most to find his way back to the league one day given his age and ability.
- One legitimate NHL prospect who is headed to a new home is forward Matteo Costantini. A 2020 NHL Draft prospect gearing up to hear his name called in a few weeks, Costantini has also revealed where he will be headed in 2021-22 and beyond. Costantini, who is committed to the BCHL’s Penticton Vees for the coming season, will then take his talents to the University of North Dakota, the Vees announced Tuesday. Constantini, who hails from Ontario but has been playing with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres for the past few years, has appeared on a number of draft boards this year. Most notably, Constantini was given a third-round draft grade by TSN’s Craig Button, who has him ranked No. 77 in his final draft board. The goal-scoring center will be a nice addition for North Dakota, a top NCAA program with several current and future NHL prospects on their roster right now and committed for next year.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Joel Edmundson
The Montreal Canadiens took a chance when they traded a fifth-round pick for the negotiating rights of Joel Edmundson, but it has worked out the way they hoped. Today, the Canadiens have signed Edmundson to a four-year contract that will carry a $3.5MM average annual value. Edmunson will also receive a 10-team no-trade clause in the deal, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.
Edmundson, 27, is coming off the best offensive season of his career, scoring 20 points in 68 games with the Carolina Hurricanes. That followed his arrival from the St. Louis Blues as part of the package that landed Justin Faulk, just a few months after Edmundson won the Stanley Cup. While he certainly should not be considered an offensive defenseman, he has logged big minutes in the past and was a big contributor to Carolina’s penalty kill. That defensive acumen was obviously coveted enough by Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin for him to go out and use an asset to acquire Edmundson before he hit the open market, while also handing out a long-term contract.
Montreal of course has star defensemen Shea Weber and Jeff Petry manning the blueline, but the latter is heading into his final year under contract. The team has now shored up the group with another capable defender, though it’s unclear exactly how the playing time will now shake out. Alexander Romanov was expected to challenge for a spot on the NHL roster immediately, but Edmundson’s addition actually gives the Canadiens a glut of left-handed options. Still, having defensive depth was always going to be required for the Canadiens to compete in the Eastern Conference and the team had plenty of cap space to work with this offseason.
For Edmundson, this contract represents the first real long-term stability he has had in his NHL career. He’d previously been playing on short-term deals, including just a one-year $3.1MM contract awarded through arbitration in 2019-20. While this doesn’t represent much of a salary increase on his last two contracts, he does get some financial security and is now locked in through the 2023-24 season.
Canadiens Loan Jesse Ylonen To Finland
While Canadiens prospect Jesse Ylonen left his Finnish team late in the season to get a head start on playing in North America, his time playing at home isn’t over yet. GM Marc Bergevin confirmed to Mathias Brunet of La Presse that Montreal has loaned the winger to Pelicans Lahti of the SM-liiga.
The 20-year-old was a second-round pick (35th) overall back in 2018 and has spent the last two years with Pelicans. His offensive numbers dipped a little bit in his sophomore campaign but he still managed to finish fourth in team scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists in 53 games. He left the team in late February to report to Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval for their stretch run but he was hurt upon arrival and the pandemic arrived soon after so he never got the chance to suit up.
Instead, he’ll play back at home for a few months while awaiting the beginning of NHL training camp which is when he will return to Montreal. Bergevin confirmed that their other three prospects on loan – defenseman Otto Leskinen, center Lukas Vejdemo, and winger Hayden Verbeek – will also all be recalled from their loans whenever camp gets underway.
Snapshots: Kitchen, Edmundson, Soucy
The Florida Panthers are expected to part ways with assistant coach Mike Kitchen, according to Frank Seravalli and Darren Dreger of TSN. The decision comes after an alleged physical altercation with a player on the bench that happened in Minnesota on January 20. Kitchen opted out of the return to play postseason with the full support of the organization, saying at the time “it was a difficult decision to say the least, but the right decision for me and my family.”
Kitchen has been an assistant of Joel Quenneville at several stops and joined him in Florida for the 2019-20 season. The 64-year-old coach has three decades of coaching experience in the NHL dating back to the 1989-90 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team has not yet made an official statement about his status with the organization.
- The Montreal Canadiens acquired the rights to Joel Edmundson over the weekend and now have just a few weeks to convince him to sign with the team before hitting unrestricted free agency. Nick Alberga of Sportsnet tweets that there is a “high chance” that Edmundson signs, with a two-year deal being discussed. The 27-year-old defenseman spent the 2019-20 season with the Carolina Hurricanes where he registered a career-high 20 points in 68 games. His one-year, $3.1MM contract set to expire in October was awarded through arbitration with the St. Louis Blues before a deal took him to Carolina just over a month later.
- The Minnesota Wild made big news by extending Jonas Brodin earlier today, but could end up signing another defenseman to a new deal before long. Wild GM Bill Guerin told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic that he would like to keep Carson Soucy, though admitted they have had only initial conversations with his representatives. Soucy, 26, actually qualifies for Group VI UFA status despite playing in 55 games for the Wild this season and could hit the open market next month at a relatively young age.
Contract Notes: Miller, Thompson, Gallagher
Ryan Miller may have turned 40 this summer but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s done with a playing career that has him climbing the all-time lists. The Anaheim Ducks backup goaltender is without a contract for next season and will wait to see what the 2020-21 season looks like before making a decision on his future, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Quite succinctly, Miller explained that if the NHL moves to full-season bubbles it wouldn’t be fair to his family for him to sign up and leave for nine months, a notion that is likely shared by many around the league.
Miller is currently 15th on the all-time wins list for NHL goaltenders, just two behind another former Buffalo Sabres legend, Dominik Hasek. That was a player Miller was hoping to catch as recently as May, though it’s still unclear if he’ll get that chance. Even at his age, the veteran of 17 NHL seasons recorded a .907 save percentage in 2019-20, better than many backups around the league.
- Nate Thompson isn’t put off by the Philadelphia Flyers disappointing playoff loss, in fact, he’s “very interested” in returning to the team next season if possible. Thompson told reporters today that he wants to be a part a “window of winning” that he sees in Philadelphia. The 35-year-old forward was outstanding in the faceoff dot for Philadelphia this postseason, winning more than 60% of his 168 draws. He’s coming off a one-year contract worth $1MM and recorded 15 points in the regular season.
- Though his contract doesn’t end until 2021, Brendan Gallagher was asked today about his future with the Montreal Canadiens. As he spoke to reporters including Arpon Basu of The Athletic, Gallagher (who is still recovering from a broken jaw), explained that his agent has had preliminary discussions with the team about his next deal. Gallagher, 28, has turned into one of the biggest bargains in the entire league at his current cap hit of $3.75MM, given he has scored 86 goals over his past 223 regular season games (an 82-game pace of nearly 32 goals). Add in all the intangibles he brings to the team, including leadership and his innate ability to get under the opponent’s skin and Gallagher is one of the Canadiens’ most important players.
Atlantic Notes: Krug, Point, Kulak, Ruggiero
After falling just short of winning the Stanley Cup in 2019, the Boston Bruins went home a little earlier than they hoped for this season, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. However, much of the criticism in Boston falls to the team’s lack of physicality against the Lightning’s bigger forwards, who really took advantage of the Bruins, especially against their smaller defenseman, Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk.
The Bruins saw this issue coming and traded for Nick Ritchie at the trade deadline to give the team a little added size, but Ritchie had some issues adjusting to the team immediately after the trade as the league was shutdown shortly thereafter and still didn’t fully adjust in the bubble during the playoffs.
With the need to get bigger and stronger this offseason, NBC Sports Joe Haggerty writes that the Bruins may be already thinking that it might make more sense to let the undersized Krug walk via free agency this year and take the money to invest in a blueliner who can provide more size and physicality rather than invest $7-8MM on bringing Krug back.
- Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point remains an unknown before Game 4 today. Head coach Jon Cooper refused to give an update on Point, saying “You’ll see in a couple hours,” Cooper said (via NHL.com’s Bryan Burns). Point sat out Game 3 with an undisclosed injury, although he has been practicing. Point has picked up 23 points in 15 playoff games so far and would be a big boost for the team if he returns.
- Assuming the Montreal Canadiens are able to sign defenseman Joel Edmundson after acquiring the blueliner in a trade with Carolina Saturday evening, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) writes that could be bad news for defensemen Brett Kulak and Victor Mete. With Ben Chiarot, rookie defenseman Alexander Romanov and potentially Edmundson playing on the left side, both Kulak and Mete will either have to fight for the seventh spot or the team could move one of the blueliners over to the right side. The scribe notes that Kulak, who was impressive in the playoffs, might be a potential trade candidate. He has averaged more than 17 minutes of ATOI over the past two years with the Canadiens. General manager Marc Bergevin wasn’t that posiitve on Kulak’s outlook, however, pointing out after the playoffs that while he could be a solid defender if he continues to play like he did, his inconsistency over the regular season has to be kept in mind as well.
- While the Florida Panthers eventually hired Bill Zito to be their new general manager, it did do an extensive search for candidates, looking at former Islanders GM Garth Snow to NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday, also added another former candidate in Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medalist Angela Ruggiero. “During their search, the Panthers contacted four-time U.S. Olympian and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame Angela Ruggiero and asked her if she wanted to interview,” Friedman reported during Saturday’s Headlines. Ruggiero, 40, is the current CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab and asked the Panthers for a few days to consider whether she wanted to interview. By the time she got back to Florida, they had already hired Zito. Ruggiero has some experience in the front office with the New York Islanders years ago before going to Harvard for her MBA, but she could be a future candidate for other GM positions.
Canadiens Acquire Negotiating Rights To UFA Joel Edmundson
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.
Canadiens Loan Hayden Verbeek To Banska Bystrica
After a pair of quiet seasons to start his professional career, Canadiens prospect Hayden Verbeek is getting a short-term change of scenery. The team announced that they’ve loaned the winger to Banska Bystrica of the Slovak league and that he’ll be recalled when training camps get underway.
Montreal signed the 22-year-old as an undrafted free agent in 2018 when he was in the midst of a career year with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL when he had 30 goals in 67 games, more than his the rest of his junior tenure (spanning 183 games) combined.
However, that hasn’t materialized in much success in the minors. Verbeek battled injuries this season and when he was healthy, he spent most of his time with Adirondack of the ECHL where he had five goals and 14 assists in 21 games. Over 54 career AHL contests though, he has just four goals and three assists.
Verbeek has one year remaining on his entry-level deal and through his first two seasons, he looks a potential non-tender candidate in the 2021 offseason. With that in mind, an early start to his season to get some extra game action could go a long way towards determining his future fate.