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Expansion Primer: Montreal Canadiens

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Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

Back in 2017, the Canadiens lost Alexei Emelin to Vegas.  Unless they want to risk losing a notable forward this time around, history could repeat itself with Seattle likely to be interested in one of Montreal’s blueliners.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:
Josh Anderson, Joseph Blandisi, Paul Byron, Laurent Dauphin, Jonathan Drouin, Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher (NMC), Charles Hudon, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Artturi Lehkonen, Michael Pezzetta, Tyler Toffoli, Lukas Vejdemo

Defense:
Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson, Cale Fleury, Brett Kulak, Xavier Ouellet, Jeff Petry (NMC), Shea Weber

Goalies:
Jake Allen, Michael McNiven, Carey Price (NMC)

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

F Joel Armia, F Phillip Danault, F Michael Frolik, D Erik Gustafsson, D Jonathon Merrill, F Corey Perry, F Eric Staal, F Tomas Tatar

Notable Exemptions

F Cole Caufield, F Ryan Poehling, G Cayden Primeau, D Alexander Romanov, F Nick Suzuki, F Jesse Ylonen

Key Decisions

The goaltending one is pretty easy.  Price will be protected and Allen, beginning a cheaper two-year deal next season, will be exposed.  He will certainly be under consideration by the Kraken.

On the back end, Petry’s no-move clause means he’ll be protected and while Weber’s contract could be viewed as enough of a deterrent to leave him exposed, his performance in the playoffs so far makes that unlikely.  It would be difficult for Montreal to leave their captain available.

If they go with the standard 7/3/1 scheme, that only leaves one spot left and a trio of interesting options to choose from.  A few years ago, Chiarot was a role player with Winnipeg and at the time he signed his three-year, $10.5MM deal with the Canadiens, it seemed like quite the overpayment.  Then he played his way onto the top pairing, a spot he maintained for a lot of this year.  He’s the only full-time skater to not record a point so far in the playoffs but he’s also averaging 25:37 per game, just one second behind Weber for the team lead.  Even though that’s not necessarily the ideal role for him, Chiarot would probably be one of Seattle’s better rearguards and with him being on an affordable expiring contract, he’s someone that could yield a notable return if they looked to flip him.

Then there’s Edmundson.  While his four-year, $14MM contract also looked like a small overpayment (especially considering the way the UFA market went), he played quite well with Petry this season and certainly solidified their top-four.  That has continued in the playoffs where he’s up over 23 minutes per game.  All of a sudden, his $3.5MM price tag for three more years could be viewed as appealing.

Kulak also warrants a mention.  His possession stats have generally been well above average but that hasn’t resulted in a lot of playing time, including in their playoff run.  But Seattle appears to be a team that is highly invested in analytics and viewed through those stats, he could be more attractive than Chiarot or Edmundson while basically being half the price.

Up front, there are four safe bets to be protected in Gallagher, Anderson, Toffoli, and Kotkaniemi.  Things get a little trickier from there, however.

The key to Montreal’s expansion strategy is Drouin.  Heading into the season, the thought of leaving him unprotected would have seemed unrealistic.  However, he struggled to score this season, scoring just twice in 44 games, hardly an ideal output from a $5.5MM contract.  He missed the end of the regular season plus all of the playoffs on a personal leave of absence, one that has yielded more questions than answers.  When will he come back?  Will he come back at all?  If he does, will it be with Montreal or will there be a trade request?  With the uncertainty surrounding his situation, his contract (which has two years left), and his struggles this season, Drouin’s trade value is arguably at an all-time low.  Would Seattle take a swing on the potential upside or would the questions scare them off, making it more beneficial to leave him unprotected?  GM Marc Bergevin will have a few more weeks to try to figure out the answers to those questions.

Evans is another potential wild card.  His NHL experience is relatively limited (just 60 career regular season games) but the 25-year-old did well in limited playoff action and is nearing a return.  He’s also signed for another year at the league minimum.  Center depth among unprotected players around the league may not be the greatest so a cheap youngster could interest Seattle GM Ron Francis.  Montreal might want to protect him but they’re a team that has a lot of unsigned players right now; to meet the requirement of two signed skaters with enough games played, he might have to be made available, especially if they don’t want to take the chance of losing Drouin.

Lehkonen is someone whose regular season potentially had him in that iffy zone of being qualified at $2.2MM with arbitration rights.  He’s undoubtedly a strong defensive forward but aside from his rookie season, he hasn’t been much of a goal scorer (although he did get the series-winner against Vegas) and the open market wasn’t kind to those players in the fall.  He has helped his value to the point where he’s probably protected in a 7/3/1 scheme but he could also be a capable checker for the Kraken if they protect the four defensemen.

Projected Protection List

F Josh Anderson
F Brendan Gallagher (NMC)
F Jesperi Kotkaniemi
F Tyler Toffoli

D Ben Chiarot
D Joel Edmundson
D Jeff Petry (NMC)
D Shea Weber

G Carey Price (NMC)

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (3): Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Jake Evans
Defensemen (1): Brett Kulak

There are a few different ways that Francis could go here.  Adding Allen is certainly a safe decision; he isn’t a true number one but can still play 40-45 games and at $2.875MM, he’s on an affordable contract and would be part of the plans beyond 2021-22.  Drouin has the most upside but the highest risk of any of the skaters unprotected.  Lehkonen (who isn’t listed above since he’s a restricted free agent and the above group is only for signed players) would be a viable middle-six forward while Evans and Kulak are more under the radar options but could be picked as well.

For Montreal to switch to a 7/3/1 scheme, they need to get another forward signed.  Giving Perry a new deal and then exposing him with Byron (while protecting Drouin, Lehkonen, and Evans) would meet the exposure requirements but would also run the risk of losing Chiarot or Edmundson.  With the way they’ve played in the playoffs, whichever is left available could very well become the favorite to be selected.  While their mindset is justifiably on the Stanley Cup Final against Tampa Bay, there will need to be some decisions made soon on the expansion front.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Poll: Who Will Take Home The Conn Smythe Trophy?

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While four teams are still left in the running, the end of the season is near enough that Conn Smythe Trophy speculation can begin in earnest. In recent years, future Hall of Famers have put up giant playoff performances en route to championships, as Alex Ovechkin, Victor Hedman, and Sidney Crosby have all added a playoff MVP to their résumé.

But now, we turn our attention to the players grabbing headlines during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Tampa Bay Lightning look poised to repeat as champions on the back of a fully healthy core. The Vegas Golden Knights are struggling and facing elimination, but always seem to turn it on when it matters most. The New York Islanders continue to play disciplined defensive hockey, and the Montreal Canadiens continue to ride an underdog wave.

The Lightning have many candidates, as the teams to fall to them know all too well. Nikita Kucherov has absolutely tormented opponents on the power play since returning from injury, leading the playoffs with 27 points in just 16 games. Brayden Point has also terrorized opponents on the scoresheet, tallying an incredible 13 goals in 16 games. Tampa Bay’s trifecta wouldn’t be complete without an incredible performance from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who’s posted a .936 save percentage to pair with an 11-5 record.

Should the Islanders move on, there’s no real clear-cut candidate from their squad. It speaks as a testament to the strength of a team the Isles have assembled. Everyone’s eyes should turn immediately to Mathew Barzal, however. After a slow start, Barzal is approaching the team lead for both goals and points. Nods should also be given to Josh Bailey and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who sit tied for the team lead with 13 points in 17 games. Brock Nelson and newcomer Kyle Palmieri share the team lead in goals with seven, and could also receive votes.

For the Golden Knights, Max Pacioretty and Alex Pietrangelo should be classified as the leading candidates. Pietrangelo has been playing his best hockey as a Knight, tallying 11 points in 18 games while playing almost 25 minutes a night. Max Pacioretty leads the team in points per game, having scored 11 in 12 since returning from injury. While Marc-Andre Fleury received earlier consideration, a string of recent mediocre performances likely put him behind Pacioretty and Pietrangelo for contender status.

And for the upstart Habs, it’s veteran Carey Price who’ll undoubtedly take home the hardware should they win it all. The 33-year-old netminder has posted a .933 save percentage in 16 games, playing every game for Montreal during the playoff run. Free-agent acquisition Tyler Toffoli could receive some love too with 14 points in 16 games.

So now we ask you – who’ll be taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy at the conclusion of these playoffs? Vote below!

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Montreal Extends John Sedgwick

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  • The Montreal Canadiens have reached a three-year contract extension with their resident capologist John Sedgwick, who serves as Vice President of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs. Sedgwick has been with the team since 2013 and has been a big part of bringing the Canadiens minor league teams—the Laval Rocket and the Trois-Rivieres Lions—closer to home. The extension quickly came with a wave of media members lauding the move, with Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com calling Sedgwick “one of the brightest minds in the game.”

Perry's Agent Asked Teams Not To Claim Him

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Corey Perry was pretty close to not even being around for this Montreal Canadiens postseason run. The veteran forward’s agent Pat Morris told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that he personally called three teams when Perry was placed on waivers at the beginning of the season, asking them not to put in a claim and let him stay with Montreal. Two of those teams apparently told Morris they would have if he hadn’t called, but decided to “respect his career” and leave him with the Canadiens.

Perry ended up clearing, giving the Canadiens flexibility to bounce him back and forth from taxi squad to active roster, saving cap space in the process. He ended up playing in 49 regular season games and became one of the team’s most important forwards, playing a huge role in the postseason. The 36-year-old has three goals and eight points in 15 playoff games, including the game-winner in game seven against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

  • Chandler Stephenson is a game-time decision for the Vegas Golden Knights tonight against Perry and the Canadiens. The 27-year-old has developed into a top-line center with the Golden Knights this season, scoring 35 points in 51 regular season games, usually skating between Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty. Though he has failed to score a goal in 14 playoff games so far, he does have six points and has been excellent in the faceoff circle. Stephenson of course won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018 (defeating the Golden Knights) and would be a welcome addition to the lineup for this evening’s match.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Laurent Dauphin

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Another minor league forward will avoid Group VI unrestricted free agency, as Laurent Dauphin has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens. The deal carries a $750K salary at the NHL level and includes a minor league guarantee of $215K. He was set to become a UFA after his one-year 2020-21 contract expired.

It’s now been multiple seasons since the last time Dauphin hit the ice for an NHL game, playing a single contest for the Arizona Coyotes in 2018-19. Overall, he has just 35 games at that level and has been mostly limited to the minor leagues. Selected 39th overall in 2013, he has settled into an important role for the Laval Rocket, scoring 16 points in 21 games this season. That’s likely where he’ll be back again next year, though with a nice AHL guarantee in his pocket.

Dauphin was one of a number of pending unrestricted free agents in the Canadiens organization, including fellow minor league Group VI players Brandon Baddock and Gustav Olofsson. Despite still being very much alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Montreal’s front office has a long list of things to get done this summer. Taking care of contracts like this one for Dauphin is easy enough to do while the NHL team is still playing, and will shorten the workload over the next few weeks.

Like any move being made lately, the expansion implications are important to mention. Dauphin will be eligible for selection by the Kraken, but does not fulfill any of the exposure requirements for the Canadiens. The likelihood of him being picked is just about zero, given the other options that will be available to Seattle.

Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon Tests Positive For COVID-19

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The good news: the NHL released another empty COVID Protocol Related Absences list today, indicating that no one from the Montreal Canadiens nor the opposing Vegas Golden Knights was infected in relation to Montreal head coach Dominique Ducharme testing positive. The bad news: another prominent non-player in the series has now tested positive.

TVA’s Renaud Lavoie was the first to report that Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon has tested positive for COVID-19. The team has stated that McCrimmon is self-isolating and will follow the NHL’s COVID Protocol and all other local health policies. McCrimmon traveled to Montreal for Game Three of the semifinal series and, if his positive test is confirmed, will be there for some time. Ducharme was placed in a mandated 14-day isolation following his positive test on Friday.

The timing of this positive test for McCrimmon looks especially bad given that he and President George McPhee were shown on Friday night’s television broadcast in a suite without masks, in violation of the league’s COVID Protocol. The NHL has reportedly already spoken to the team about this issue, but now that it has coincided with a positive test there has to at least be discussion about a fine, much like how the Washington Capitals were fined when their COVID Protocol violation led to two players being infected. Granted, this is fortunately not a case of a player catching the virus, but the optics are still poor, especially with the league and the Canadian government making exceptions to try to preserve the structure and integrity of the postseason.

The anxious waiting will now continue for another day or two to ensure that there still has been no spread to the locker rooms. In the meantime, Game Four will proceed as scheduled on Sunday night, as will travel back to Las Vegas.

Vegas’ Robin Lehner Expected To Start In Game Four

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The Vegas Golden Knights appear to be making a change in net for Game Four of their semifinal series against the Montreal Canadiens. After dropping Games Two and Three, with starter Marc-Andre Fleury not looking sharp, all signs point toward Robin Lehner taking over tonight. Lehner was in the starter’s net at morning skate and was also the first to leave the ice, typical indications that he will be getting the nod. While head coach Peter DeBoer would not confirm his starter, several sources including The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, have done so for him.

There is some reason to believe that this is perhaps gamesmanship by the Knights and that Lehner may not start tonight. He has only played once in the playoffs – a disastrous Game One start to the West Division Final against the Colorado Avalanche – and has only played four times total in the past 50 days. In those four appearances, Lehner has allowed 18 goals and posted an .843 save percentage. Lehner only played in 19 games total in the regular season and while his numbers are strong, they tailed off toward the end of the year.

With that said, Lehner is just one year removed from a stellar season postseason that earned him a long-term extension with Vegas. After being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks, he won all three of his regular season starts with a .940 save percentage and 1.67 GAA. He followed that up with 16 playoff starts in which he posted a .917 save percentage and 1.99 GAA. The Golden Knight’s exit from the playoffs was wholly unrelated to the play they received from Lehner. If there is any chance that he can provide that caliber of play again, especially with Fleury looking flustered at times of late and facing a pivotal Game Four, this move makes plenty of sense for Vegas. They have two No. 1 goalies, may as well use both.

Coaching Notes: Ducharme, Tocchet, Seattle, Toronto

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Following up on the positive COVID-19 test of Montreal Canadiens interim head coach Dominique Ducharme, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston was the first to report that Ducharme will indeed miss the next two weeks as a result. Although the NHL has relaxed many rules pertaining to its COVID Protocol, a positive test still warrants a 14-day isolation period. Especially when the Canadiens were fortunate enough to not have any other positive tests among its players and staff, the league wants to maintain the health and safety of the team as well as the integrity of its semifinals. With that said, losing Ducharme is a blow for Montreal. The interim coach has led the team on an unexpectedly triumphant playoff run as the mid-season interim replacement for Claude Julien. The Habs will now lean on an interim interim head coach in assistant Luke Richardson, who coached the team to a Game Three win. Assuming Ducharme’s 14-day isolation began on Friday when the positive test was discovered, the earliest he can return to the bench would be Friday, July 2nd. Montreal’s semifinal series with the Vegas Golden Knights, if it even goes seven games, will end on Saturday, June 26th, nearly a week before Ducharme ends his isolation. Richardson and the Canadiens will need to string together a couple more semifinal wins and potentially even a Stanley Cup Final win or two if Ducharme is to coach again this season. It’s terrible luck for Ducharme, who had received both doses of his vaccination and told the media this morning that contact tracing has been unable to determine how he might have contracted the virus as he did not break any protocol.

  • Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis keeps things notoriously close to the vest and his ongoing coaching search is no different. Other than Rick Tocchet, who has interviewed for a number of vacancies so far making his bid for Seattle’s inaugural head coach role more public, there is not much known about who else may be a finalist for the job. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Francis brought a few candidates to Seattle this week for in-person interviews, but could only confirm Tocchet as one – his third interview for the position. Friedman speculates that recently fired New York Rangers head coach David Quinn, Boston Bruins assistant Joe Sacco, and University of Wisconsin Tony Granato could be the other names in the mix. Tocchet certainly seems like the favorite at this point, but don’t be shocked if Francis ends up making a surprise hire.
  • Friedman also notes that other NHL teams are interested in Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coaches and have requested permission to speak with them. Friedman does not name any coaches in particular, but of their group of assistants former head coaches Dave Hakstol and Paul MacLean could certainly be drawing interest, as could up-and-comer Manny Malhotra. At this time, the Maple Leafs have not made any decisions on if they will allow their assistants to explore these opportunities, especially since they are likely to be lateral moves.

Canadiens Re-Sign Lukas Vejdemo

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On their off-day between Games 3 and 4 in their Stanley Cup semifinal, the Canadiens have taken care of one of their pending free agents, announcing the re-signing of center Lukas Vejdemo to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal is worth the NHL league minimum salary of $750K with a $175K AHL salary and a total guarantee of $215K.

The 25-year-old was a third-round pick of Montreal back in 2015 (85th overall) and has been a depth option for them in recent years.  While he played in seven NHL games in 2019-20 (scoring once), he didn’t see any action with the Canadiens this season.  He started off the year on loan to Sodertalje in Sweden’s Allsvenskan before returning for training camp.  Vejdemo played in 27 games with AHL Laval this season, notching seven goals and six assists and was among Montreal’s list of Black Ace recalls heading into training camp.

Vejdemo was eligible to test the open market this summer as a Group Six unrestricted free agent but instead will likely play a similar role for the Canadiens next season as a depth option to recall if injuries strike.  He will be eligible for waivers for the first time next season but with his limited NHL experience, it seems likely that he will pass through unclaimed in training camp.

Dominique Ducharme Tests Positive For COVID-19

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The league has made the official announcement concerning Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme, who has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now in isolation. The press release indicates that all tests done on players have returned negative, meaning there will not be any other unforeseen absences in tonight’s game.

The full statement:

This morning, we became aware that a test administered yesterday in Las Vegas on Montreal Canadiens Head Coach Dominique Ducharme indicated a presumptive positive result for the COVID-19 virus that was confirmed on further testing today. Coach Ducharme has been partially vaccinated with his second shot administered less than two weeks ago, on June 9. Per NHL COVID Protocols, Coach Ducharme was immediately isolated from the team. All tests administered to the Players, other coaches and hockey staff from both yesterday and today have returned uniformly negative results. The Canadiens organization has, and will continue to follow, all guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of its Players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, the Canadian Federal Government, the Quebec Provincial Government, and national and provincial health agencies.

While it is obviously a good thing that the Canadiens will have their full complement of players, losing their coach at this important juncture is not ideal. Ducharme will now miss the rest of the series, which is scheduled to go through June 26 if taken to seven games.

This is Ducharme’s first time as an NHL head coach in the playoffs, after taking over from Claude Julien earlier in the year. The team will turn to Luke Richardson to run the bench tonight, assisted by Alexandre Burrows and Sean Burke, according to GM Marc Bergevin. He also indicated that Ducharme is feeling well and will still be involved in preparing the game plan.

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