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Ben Chiarot

Latest On The Trade Market

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As the calendar turns to 2023 and teams approach the halfway mark in their seasons, focus starts to shift towards the league’s trade deadline, set for March 3rd. That might feel far away, and in terms of a team’s season it is, but in reality it’s just two months away. Earlier, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Chris Johnston, and Darren Dreger convened for today’s Insider Trading segment, where the group discussed a number of topics related to not only the upcoming deadline, but team’s strategies approaching their builds, their assets, and how they’ll manage the next two months.

There’s always the odd trade or two in the months leading up to the deadline, but it seems most business gets done in the few days before and the day of. So, why would we expect any different this year? As LeBrun points out, the answer may lie at the forefront of Canada’s World Juniors performance: Connor Bedard. Every team would love to have the phenom, but presumably only the winner of the Draft Lottery will have the opportunity.

LeBrun explains that the Bedard sweepstakes could push teams to trade players earlier, perhaps even in January, in order to fortify their chances in the lottery. In other words, though teams are hesitant to use the word “tank,” if that’s their mission, getting the talent that might win a few games off the roster sooner than later could sink the team even lower in the standings than had they waited another two months. LeBrun says these conversations are certainly happening, but cautions that with the sellers, the buyers need to agree too, but the buyers must deal with a tricky cap situation. With salary cap space growing as time moves on, the teams in the market for those rental players might not be able to make the move they want until closer to the deadline.

Generally, the hot commodities at the deadline are the talented rental players, which explains why so many teams pay the high prices for them. This year, that will likely hold true, but another hot commodity will be first-round picks. Even beyond the chance to win the draft lottery for the 16 eligible slots, the 2023 draft is expected to be deep, inflating the value of all first-round choices to an extent. Thus, those picks will be in high demand, says Johnston.

In fact, Johnston says shutdown defensemen like Joel Edmundson of the Montreal Canadiens and Vladislav Gavrikov of the Columbus Blue Jackets, could both fetch their teams a first-round pick and then some. Surprising as that might sound, consider last trade deadline when Montreal was able to secure a first-round pick (and more) for veteran defenseman Ben Chiarot, then a pending UFA. Here, the 29-year-old Edmundson is under contract for another season at a very affordable $3.5MM AAV, while Gavrikov, a pending UFA, is considered one of the league’s best shutdown defenseman and is just 27-years-old himself.

Also of note on Gavrikov, Johnston adds that the struggling Blue Jackets still haven’t determined if they’ll trade him or not. Columbus of course isn’t necessarily hoping to get into the playoff race this season, but could hope to re-sign the blueliner for themselves.

One rather interesting team heading into the deadline is the St. Louis Blues, who came into tonight with a 17-17-3 record. The team recently placed star forwards and pending UFA’s Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko on IR, joining defenseman Torey Krug. Dreger notes that Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong doesn’t feel pressured to make a decision on what to do with either O’Reilly or Tarasenko, or his trade deadline approach for that matter. Instead, the organization will consider the trade value of their pending UFAs against the idea, and likelihood, of extending them.

There’s no doubt that either O’Reilly or Tarasenko would bring a large haul back for St. Louis, however trading either could foreclose any chance of bringing them back next year. That would be a tough loss, or losses, for a team still looking to compete and probably a bit surprised at their lack of success this season.

A final note, also from Dreger, is the status of the Chicago Blackhawks’ pair of franchise players: Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Both are pending UFAs and both rumored to be on the move this winter. Dreger expects Pat Brisson, agent to both players, to engage in serious talks in the near future with each to determine the following: Do they want to be traded? If so, what does the contending field look like? And, would it be best to accept a trade, then look at the open market come July, or is a trade-and-sign an option?

As tough as it will be to move on, the Blackhawks will hope both players can be moved for a large return. However, both control their destiny, having complete no-move clauses, so a trade will not only be up to Chicago and their trade partner, but the player themselves.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Ben Chiarot

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The Detroit Red Wings are going to add some size to their defense corps, as the team announced the signing of free agent defenseman Ben Chiarot. The deal will be for four years and will carry a whopping $4.75MM cap hit.

This deal will undoubtedly be controversial, as Chiarot the free agent signing is likely to split fan opinion just as Chiarot the trade asset did in the weeks leading up to the 2022 deadline did. But this signing is more than anything else an indication of how differently NHL front offices view Chiarot compared to public opinion. The Florida Panthers surrendered a coveted 2023 first-round pick and a prospect in Ty Smilanic to acquire Chiarot at the deadline, and now the Red Wings, led by GM Steve Yzerman, are giving Chiarot a $4.75MM AAV deal with a four-year term. Those two moves show that Chiarot’s public perception hasn’t quite caught up to his perception among NHL decision-makers.

Members of the public see Chiarot and see a player who is emblematic of the flaws in old-school hockey thinking. Chiarot is a big, mean, extremely physical defenseman who is perhaps best known for taking liberties with the rules against cross-checking in order to clear the blue paint. Chiarot’s reputation was massively enhanced by his play during the Montreal Canadiens’ 2021 run to the Stanley Cup Final, as he paired with Shea Weber and formed a partnership that embodied the “hard to play against” identity so many teams strive to create. But does that reputation keep in line with the on-ice results?

That’s where things get complicated and where the public’s down opinion on Chiarot really comes from. By most public analytics models, Chiarot is an ineffective defensive defenseman whose teams often perform worse when he’s on the ice than when he’s off of it. The work by The Athletic’s Dom Luczyszyn assign’s Chiarot a per-season value of $700K, a far cry from the $4.75MM cap hit he’s earned today.

But Yzerman is an extremely accomplished GM. He laid the groundwork for the back-to-back Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cups, and is among the most widely respected executives in hockey. Clearly, there’s something this public perception is missing, or else Chiarot’s services wouldn’t be so in demand. Firstly, one has to assume that the private analytics Yzerman’s front office is working with are more kind to Chiarot than the public models. Secondly, there is a minority opinion on Chiarot that sees his game quite positively. They view his physical, crease-clearing play as extremely valuable, his locker room contributions to be important, and his abilities in transition and on offense to be underrated.

Whichever side on Chiarot is closer to the truth isn’t really relevant at this point. His contract is signed and finalized. He’ll be a Red Wing for the foreseeable future, and Red Wings fans simply have to have faith that Yzerman’s moves will work out as well for them as they did for fans in Tampa Bay.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the deal.

Ben Chiarot Avoids Suspension, Earns Fine

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The Florida Panthers will still have Ben Chiarot available for their next game, after the Department of Player Safety has decided his headbutt on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ross Colton will earn a fine, instead of a suspension. Chiarot has been fined $5,000 for the incident.

When the playoffs began, it seemed unlikely that there would be two head-butting incidents in the first handful of games but that is exactly what has happened after Darnell Nurse was suspended in the Edmonton Oilers’ first-round series. While there are some comparisons between the two plays, it seemed clear that Chiarot’s was of a lesser degree. Partway through the second period, he and Colton came together after a whistle, and the Panthers’ defenseman pushed his helmet into his opponent’s visor.

The league has obviously deemed that unacceptable but ruled it did not rise to the level of a suspension. Still, Chiarot will now be under the microscope as the Panthers try to continue their postseason run, and could receive further discipline should he be involved in any other incidents like this.

East Notes: Backstrom, Panthers, Johansson, Nedeljkovic

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Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom missed the first two months of the season with a hip injury and while he played the rest of the way, he wasn’t fully healthy.  Speaking to reporters at today’s end-of-season press conference, the veteran told reporters, including Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, that his injured hip will never fully recover while GM Brian MacLellan indicated that Backstrom continuing to play through the injury in its current form will not be sustainable moving forward.  As a result, MacLellan indicated that the 34-year-old will be exploring his options.  The uncertainty surrounding Backstrom’s availability will make Washington’s offseason planning that much more difficult as a result.

Other news from the Eastern Conference:

  • Panthers winger Mason Marchment is unlikely to be available for the start of their series-opener against Tampa Bay, relays David Wilson of the Miami Herald. The 26-year-old had a career year as a secondary scorer, notching 18 goals and 29 assists in just 54 games while also averaging two hits per game which made him a key part of Florida’s bottom six.  He missed the last two games with an unspecified injury and there’s no word on how much longer he might be out.  Meanwhile, interim head coach Andrew Brunette indicated that defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Ben Chiarot will be ready to start the season after being banged up in the final game of the Washington series.
  • After playing on loan in the SHL this season, Red Wings prospect Albert Johansson confirmed to Expressen in Sweden that he will play in North America next season. The 21-year-old defenseman had 25 points in 52 games this season with Farjestad while chipping in with eight points in 19 playoff contests as he won the SHL title.  Johansson also indicated that he won’t ask to be loaned back home if he doesn’t crack Detroit’s roster after training camp in the fall.
  • Still with Detroit, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is out for the remainder of the World Championship due to an injury, reports ESPN’s Kevin Weekes (Twitter link). He was named to the team earlier this month but had yet to be registered by Team USA, a decision that certainly was the right one now.  As he wasn’t officially registered to the team, they will be able to find a replacement.  Devils goalie Jon Gillies and Sharks prospect Strauss Mann are the other netminders on the roster so far.

Panthers Acquire Ben Chiarot

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The Panthers have added to their back end, acquiring Ben Chiarot from the Canadiens in exchange for their 2023 first-round pick, a 2022 fourth-round selection (acquired in today’s Frank Vatrano trade), and prospect center Ty Smilanic.  Montreal will retain 50% of Chiarot’s $3.5MM AAV as part of the deal.  Florida GM Bill Zito released the following statement about his newest rearguard:

Ben is a solid veteran defenseman that will bring both experience and size to our blue line. Having reached the Stanley Cup Final with Montreal last season, he is a player that knows what it takes to make a deep playoff run, which is what our organization is striving for in these next few months.

The 30-year-old blueliner has worked his way up from being a role player in Winnipeg to a key part of Montreal’s back end, logging at least 21:47 a night in each of his three seasons with the Canadiens.  His offensive numbers aren’t overly exciting – just seven goals and 11 assists in 54 games – but he is better known for his physicality and defensive game, elements that the Panthers certainly covet as they load up for what they hope will be a lengthy playoff run.

It’s Chiarot’s performance in the playoffs last season that had him on the radar for several contenders and had Montreal setting a high asking price comparable to last season’s David Savard trade.  He logged more than 25 minutes a night for the Canadiens in their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final, playing a key shutdown role along the way.  That’s likely the role that Florida envisions for him as a complementary partner for Aaron Ekblad on their top pairing, allowing MacKenzie Weegar to drop to the second pair.  The net cap cost in this trade is still lower than Vatrano’s so Florida still has ample cap space to work with to try to make another addition before Monday’s trade deadline.

It should come as no surprise that Chiarot was traded with Montreal well out of playoff contention and the fact the team made him a healthy scratch against Arizona on Tuesday for what was termed a managerial decision.  They managed to add three future assets including the first-round pick they were coveting.  Worth noting is that while there is no condition on Florida’s 2023 first-rounder, the deal could technically change if Florida was to somehow fall out of the playoffs and land a top-ten pick this year.  In that case, this 2023 pick would be conveyed to Buffalo from the Sam Reinhart trade.  Of course, that’s extremely unlikely to happen.  The Canadiens will also assume the conditions on the fourth-rounder from the Vatrano deal and will receive the lowest-rated of the fourth-round selections the Rangers have – their own and Winnipeg’s.

As for Smilanic, the 20-year-old was a third-round selection (74th overall) back in 2020.  He has played in 38 games with Quinnipiac of the NCAA this season, picking up 13 goals and nine assists.  He was also selected to USA’s entry into the since-postponed World Juniors.  Montreal has until August 15, 2024 to sign him to an entry-level deal.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report that Chiarot was being traded to Montreal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Montreal Canadiens To Scratch Ben Chiarot As Deadline Approaches

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The Montreal Canadiens, perhaps influenced by the recent injury to Jakob Chychrun, have decided to protect their prized trade deadline asset and will scratch Ben Chiarot for tonight’s match according to several reports including Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

It should come as no surprise that Chiarot will be traded, as his name has been in the rumor mill basically from the moment the season began. The 30-year-old defenseman is in the final season of a three-year, $10.5MM contract signed in 2019 and carries a cap hit of just $3.5MM. That number, especially if the Canadiens retain a portion of it, is one that many of the league’s top contenders could fit into their salary structure at this point in the season.

While he usually doesn’t bring much offensive upside, Chiarot has actually showcased extremely well for the Canadiens of late, racking up six points in his last five games (and nine in his last nine) including a two-goal effort against the Calgary Flames earlier this month. He’s now averaging more than 23 minutes a night on the season a number that has only gone up in recent games when he’s been averaging close to 25. Beyond all he’s done in the regular season, there’s one thing that is still driving the market for the Canadiens’ big defenseman–his play in last year’s postseason.

There is a perception that Chiarot, alongside Shea Weber and often playing with Philip Danault, was a huge part of the team’s Cinderella-like run to the Stanley Cup Finals. The length, physicality, and toughness of Chiarot are considered a perfect mix for the playoffs, though there are also a few misconceptions about his play last year. In the 285 minutes he played beside Weber at five-on-five, Chiarot’s results were great, allowing just nine goals against despite some tough matchups. But his numbers away from the Canadiens’ captain absolutely plummeted, to the point where Montreal was actually outscored 23-16 with Chiarot on the ice overall at even strength.

That should at least raise a bit of concern for contenders looking to pay a hefty price to add the defenseman, especially since this season, again without Weber, the Canadiens have been outscored 59-40 at even strength with Chiarot on the ice. A big part of that is the overall strength of the team and the tough defensive deployment he faces nightly but he’s also not a lock to improve a team’s play, at least not at the first-round pick cost that has been discussed.

Yesterday, a player in a similar situation–Josh Manson of the Anaheim Ducks–was dealt for a second-round pick and a top prospect. If Chiarot’s bringing back something like that for the Canadiens, it would make sense why he’s being pulled from the lineup. The risk of injury is too great, especially given the recent scare they had when he suffered a minor issue.

Montreal has three games left before the trade deadline, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic notes that trade talks have picked up in recent days. If he is finished in a Canadiens sweater, Chiarot will leave with 17 goals and 46 points in 164 regular season games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

East Notes: Chiarot, Lyubushkin, Poulin

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There’s a gigantic Saturday night rumors dump, courtesy of Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada. It starts with maybe the most-discussed name on the trade bait list in recent days in Montreal Canadiens defender Ben Chiarot. Talks are reportedly heating up, with Friedman singling the St. Louis Blues on the program as a team interested in Chiarot’s services. It’s entirely likely that Chiarot is another name gone before the deadline, as the Habs certainly don’t seem to be afraid to get out ahead of the action. Chiarot would give the Blues three options with considerable NHL experience at left defense, as Niko Mikkola, Jake Walman, and the injured Scott Perunovich have competed for ice time there this season as well. But none of them have the games played and playoff experience at the NHL level that Chiarot has.

More notes from the Eastern Conference today:

  • The Arizona Coyotes are holding Ilya Lyubushkin out of the lineup as a healthy scratch, and Friedman names the Toronto Maple Leafs as one of the top teams interested in the Russian defender’s services. With Nick Ritchie falling out of favor in Toronto, and Arizona’s willingness to take on buried contracts, the fit seems logical as Friedman suggests. Lyubushkin would be a spectacular depth add for Toronto’s right side defensively, who, aside from T.J. Brodie, has faced inconsistency this season.
  • Jeff Marek reports that prior to the commencement of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the Montreal Canadiens reached out to the representatives of Canadian women’s forward Marie-Philip Poulin about what her career plans were after the games, suggesting Montreal had an interest in having Poulin within the organization. While no official job offer was ever made, all indications point to Poulin wanting to continue her on-ice career. The 30-year-old forward still has multiple opportunities to represent Canada on the international stage.

Trade Candidate: Ben Chiarot

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With the trade deadline just over a month away, it’s time to look at some of the players who have a good chance of being on the move between now and March 21st.

A few years ago, Ben Chiarot was playing a limited role on Winnipeg’s back end and the three-year, $10.5MM contract he signed with Montreal back in 2019 raised some eyebrows for being what appeared to be a pretty generous payment.  However, the 30-year-old has become a fixture in the top four for the Canadiens and after a strong showing in the playoffs last year, Montreal has set a high price tag for the pending UFA with several teams already expressing interest.

Contract

Chiarot is in the final season of his deal that carries a $3.5MM AAV.  The contract also contains a 10-team no-trade clause.

2021-22

As has been the case for pretty much everyone in Montreal this season, things have not gone well for Chiarot.  His primary partner from last season was Shea Weber who hasn’t played at all this year and likely won’t again.  Former GM Marc Bergevin tried to recreate a similar pairing by adding David Savard but that duo didn’t work well when they were together while Jeff Petry – who has been moved into the number one role – has also struggled.

The end result is that Chiarot has struggled considerably.  He has been asked to play a bigger role than he should be, including taking a regular turn on the power play for extended stretches.  His offensive numbers are close to his recent output but he hasn’t fared well being the focal part of their defensive plan and the advanced stats aren’t any better when it comes to scoring chances and shots allowed.

That makes his case a particularly interesting one.  How much stock will teams be willing to put into his performance over his first two seasons with Montreal and their playoff runs (spanning 32 games) compared to his level of play this season?  The player he was during the first two years is worth a lot more than the player he has been in 2021-22.

Season Stats

44 GP, 5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points, -27 rating, 36 PIMS, 82 shots, 23:17 TOI, 45.8 CF%

Potential Suitors

No playoff-bound team will be looking at Chiarot to play the role he has been with Montreal.  As a fourth option that can kill penalties though, he’d represent an upgrade for several teams while deepening their depth.

In the East, the Panthers, Hurricanes, Rangers, Maple Leafs, and Bruins have all been linked to Chiarot already.  Carolina’s top four on the back end is set and someone like Chiarot would really improve their depth and take off some pressure from that top group.  Even with 50% retention though, making the money work would be tight.  The left side of Florida’s back end is their weaker side and for now, they have close to enough cap room to bring him in through LTIR although it should be noted that Markus Nutivaara hasn’t been ruled out for the season yet.

The Rangers have more than enough cap space and Jeff Gorton and former European scouting director Nick Bobrov now with Montreal, they’re going to be speculatively linked to the Canadiens on multiple trade fronts.  Toronto has made it known they’d like to add to their back end although GM Kyle Dubas’ stated preference is to add someone signed beyond this season.  If they were to send one of Travis Dermott or Justin Holl back to Montreal in a deal that also featured 50% retention on Chiarot, the move could be close to cap-neutral as well.  Boston and Montreal don’t trade with each other very often and they’re more of a curious fit as Matt Grzelcyk, Derek Forbort, and Mike Reilly already comprise their left side.  While Chiarot can play on the right, only the third pairing needs to be shored up there so he may not be the best target for them.

Out West, the Blues, Kings, and Flames have been identified as known suitors.  St. Louis has a definite need to upgrade the left side of their back end and Chiarot fits the style that head coach Craig Berube would like but they’re basically in a spot where they have to match money which would make things more challenging as they ideally wouldn’t want to subtract from their roster.  Los Angeles continues to hang around the playoff mix and certainly have a hole to try to fill on the left side of their back end.  While it’s possible that Alexander Edler could return this year which would complicate things from a cap perspective, the Kings could ask to include Olli Maatta’s expiring contract which is almost the same price tag as Chiarot’s to offset that risk.

Calgary was involved in talks for Chiarot as part of the Tyler Toffoli trade earlier this week.  While such a move would be harder now from a cap perspective, they also have a salary offset in Nikita Zadorov’s expiring deal that could help on that front.  While Nashville hasn’t been directly linked to Chiarot, they’re a team that he would fit on but the question is how much they will be willing to spend on a rental player in a season that had been deemed as a bit of a reset coming into the year.

Likelihood Of A Trade

GM Kent Hughes met with the media earlier this week and all but guaranteed that Chiarot will be on the move as soon as someone is willing to meet the asking price.  Reports have suggested that the Canadiens are looking at what Columbus got for Savard last season (a first-round pick along with a third-rounder) as the benchmark for a move and they are willing to retain the maximum 50% for it to happen.  Barring another injury, it’d be very surprising to see the veteran in a Montreal uniform after the deadline.

Injury Updates: Islanders, Canadiens, Tarasenko

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The Islanders will be without winger Oliver Wahlstrom for tomorrow’s game against Montreal due to an upper-body injury, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link).  He was injured in Thursday’s victory over Boston and is listed as day-to-day.  The good news for New York is that they’re expected to welcome winger Josh Bailey back after he missed Thursday’s contest.  Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov has returned to New York after testing positive for COVID while in Western Canada.  He remains unavailable for the time being.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The Canadiens are expected to have defenseman Ben Chiarot back in the lineup tomorrow, notes TSN’s John Lu (Twitter link). The blueliner was injured last weekend against Columbus and while it was a minor injury, they needed to move him to IR to free up a roster spot to bring up a replacement for him.  Chiarot is widely expected to be traded by the deadline but it appears Montreal isn’t ready to hold him out of action as a precautionary measure just yet.
  • Still with Montreal, the Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that Joel Armia is listed as day-to-day and will not play tomorrow afternoon. He took a skate blade to the face late in Thursday’s victory over St. Louis.  It has been a tough season for the 28-year-old as he has scored just twice in 37 games in the first season of a new four-year, $13.6MM contract.
  • The Blues announced that winger Vladimir Tarasenko will not play tonight in Toronto due to an undisclosed injury suffered in Thursday’s game against Montreal. The nature of the injury was not disclosed but head coach Craig Berube listed the veteran as day-to-day.  Tarasenko has had a nice bounce-back season and leads St. Louis in scoring with 45 points in 44 games.  Tyler Bozak will take Tarasenko’s place in the lineup.

Ben Chiarot Out One Week With Lower-Body Injury

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After being moved to injured reserve earlier today, the Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Ben Chiarot will miss one week with a lower-body injury.

Chiarot is expected to be one of the top targets available at this year’s Trade Deadline. The 30-year-old left-shot defenseman has nine points through 44 games this season in a top-pairing role, averaging a healthy 23:17 per game. Multiple reports suggest that many teams are interested in the veteran of 459 NHL games, noting that it’s likely he’ll fetch a first-round pick.

He joins David Savard, Joel Edmundson, and captain Shea Weber on the list of injured Canadiens defensemen. Corey Schueneman was recalled from the AHL’s Laval Rocket this morning and played for the team in a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in Chiarot’s place.

Chiarot is in the final season of a three-year, $10.5MM contract he signed with Montreal during free agency in 2019 after spending a decade in the Winnipeg Jets organization. He was originally one of the last draft selections of the Atlanta Thrashers, selected 120th overall in 2009.

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