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What Your Team Is Thankful For: Montreal Canadiens

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Montreal Canadiens.

What are the Canadiens most thankful for?

Plenty of depth scoring.

While the team may not be an elite scoring team, they do get quite a bit of offense from their team with multiple players producing for the Canadiens. The team has six players with 20 points or more and four players with 10 or more goal and another four that have seven or more goals. Tomas Tatar leads the squad with 13 goals and 30 points, while Brendan Gallagher is right behind him 15 goals and 28 points. Phillip Danault has eight goals and 27 points, while Max Domi isn’t far behind with eight goals and 24 points. Joel Armia has 12 goals and even rookie Nick Suzuki has potted seven goals this season.

Who are the Canadiens most thankful for?

Anyone who thinks that at age 34, Shea Weber’s career might begin to decline haven’t seen how well he’s played this year. In 58 games last season, he put up a respectable 14 goals and 39 points even though he was returning from a major injury. However, now fully healthy, he’s shown that little can stop him as he has produced almost a point-per-game pace with 11 goals and 29 points in 33 games this season and is on pace for a potential career-high in goals and points.

Of course, Weber still has six more years remaining on his mega-deal that is worth an AAV of $7.86MM per season, but with the way he’s playing at his age, that contract has been a better value than many thought it might be.

What would the Canadiens be even more thankful for?

The team still has a number of players underproducing and could use a solid second-half of the season.

While Carey Price hasn’t been a disappointment by any measure, his numbers also lack that dominance that has made him one of the best goalies in the league. Through 29 appearances, the 32-year-old has a very pedestrian 2.89 GAA and a .905 save percentage. With the Canadiens battling in quite a tight Atlantic Division, a dominant Price could vault the team even higher in the standings.

On the other hand, a pair of forwards continue to struggle. Jonathan Drouin still hasn’t figured it out. Brought in to be the new dominant face of the franchise back in 2017, Drouin hasn’t been that player and now has been derailed with a wrist injury, but if the team can get Drouin to become the star they had envisioned when he returns at some point in January, the team might be able to take that next step as well.

What should be on the Canadiens’ Holiday Wish List?

A star.

The Montreal Canadiens were rumored to be deep in trade negotiations in hopes of prying star forward Taylor Hall to the team, but failed in the end to land the former Hart Trophy winner. Regardless, the team that should have some cap money to spend this coming summer has made it clear it would like to bring in a big name to headline the team. Unfortunately, with Hall of the table, the options for landing a big name have dwindled as the next biggest star available to the team might be Chris Kreider, who likely doesn’t qualify as a franchise player.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Injury Notes: Staal, Weegar, Drouin, Coburn

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It looks like Marc Staal is nearing a return to the Rangers lineup.  The defenseman told reporters, including Mollie Walker of the New York Post, that he’s hoping to return next week.  Staal last played on November 7th before undergoing ankle surgery due to an infection in his ankle.  Head coach David Quinn has suggested that he’d like to give the veteran a full week of on-ice workouts before re-inserting him into the lineup though so Staal may have to wait a little longer than he’d like before he suits up again.  Through 11 games so far this season, he has a goal and an assist while logging a career-low 18:25 per game.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • Florida is set to welcome MacKenzie Weegar back into their lineup on Saturday. Head coach Joel Quenneville told Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ website (Twitter link) that the defenseman has been cleared to return from his upper-body injury, one that caused him to miss the last eight games.  The 25-year-old was off to a hot start offensively before getting injured; his 10 points through 17 games was two-thirds of the way to his career-high that was set last season.
  • Canadiens winger Jonathan Drouin met with reporters today, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, to discuss the injury he sustained back on November 15th. The incident occurred when he fell and landed awkwardly on his wrist, tearing a tendon and didn’t have anything to do with a hard hit he had received earlier in the game.  The original timeline for his recovery was eight weeks and so far, he appears to be on track with his recovery.
  • Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn suffered a lower-body injury early in today’s game, the team announced (Twitter link). Tampa Bay was playing seven blueliners in the game anyway and will have Erik Cernak available to return from suspension so if Coburn misses any time beyond this, they likely won’t need to bring someone up to replace him.

Surgery Planned For Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron

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Tuesday: The Canadiens have issued an update on both players. Drouin will be out a minimum of eight weeks, while Byron is expected to miss just four.

Monday: The Montreal Canadiens are about to lose two big parts of their forward group, as head coach Claude Julien told reporters including Eric Engels of Sportsnet that both Jonathan Drouin and Paul Byron need surgery. Drouin’s will be on his wrist and is set for later today, while Byron suffered a knee injury and will go under the knife tomorrow. Both players are expected to be out “weeks.”

Losing two of your best offensive weapons is never a good thing, but especially not in a season where the Canadiens look like legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. The team is sitting at 11-5-4 through the first quarter of the season, just three points behind the Boston Bruins for Atlantic Division lead.

Drouin was also in the midst of his best season so far in Montreal, with 15 points through his first 19 games. Blessed with incredible puck skills and playmaking ability, there have always been questions about his consistency and commitment to taking the puck to the tougher areas. A lot of those questions had been answered this year and his even-strength production had improved as a result.

Byron meanwhile hasn’t had the kind of offensive success he is used to, but is still one of the team’s most important two-way forwards. After scoring 51 even-strength goals over the last three seasons he has just one on the season.

Minor Transactions: 11/17/19

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Most of the NHL is at rest today after the huge number of Saturday games, meaning just four teams are in action. The Buffalo Sabres travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks, while the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights get reacquainted in Sin City. As teams prepare for the next week of action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • Noah Gregor has been returned to the AHL after playing in ten games for the San Jose Sharks. The 21-year old center failed to register his first NHL point but at least got his feet wet and saw what would be required of him at the next level.
  • Former NHL goaltender Justin Pogge has found a new home for this season, signing a one-year deal with Sodertalje SK in Sweden’s second league. The 33-year old netminder has spent the last several seasons overseas after a North American career that saw him quickly turn from top prospect to AHL afterthought. In seven career NHL games, Pogge posted an .844 save percentage and 4.36 goals against average.
  • Miikka Salomaki has been assigned to the minor leagues by the Nashville Predators after five games with the team. The 26-year old was recalled on October 19th, meaning he’s close to needing waivers again. Sending him to the AHL now leaves the Predators with some extra roster flexibility.
  • The Boston Bruins have returned three players to their AHL affiliate, according to the AHL transactions page. The website reports that the Bruins have sent forwards Paul Carey and Trent Frederic and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to Providence. Carey played Saturday in their shootout loss to Washington, receiving 6:22 of playing time. Frederic played back-to-back games Friday and Saturday, but was held scoreless, while Vaakanainen played in three games, playing 19:19 on Saturday.
  • The Athletic’s Darren Haynes reports that the Calgary Flames have recalled forward Dillon Dube from the Stockton Heat of the AHL. Dube, who has dominated in the AHL, but struggled last year in his first taste of NHL action, was brought in to spark the team, which has been struggling with offense recently. Dube has four goals and 13 points in 13 games with the Heat. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis adds that forward Alan Quine was sent to Stockton in a corresponding move.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights announced they have assigned forwards Brandon Pirri and Nicolas Roy to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Pirri cleared waivers and has already been reported to have been sent to Chicago, while Roy has been up and down multiple times this year as a fourth-line option for Vegas. The 22-year-old has fared well in six games, posting a goal and three points.
  • The Dallas Stars announced they have re-assigned center Rhett Gardner to the Texas Stars of the AHL. The 23-year-old had appeared in eight games for Dallas but failed to register a point. He had eight shots on goal over that span. With no game until Tuesday, it could just be a paper transaction to save some cap space.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have assigned defenseman Joe Hicketts to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. Hicketts has appeared in five games for the Red Wings, which included picking up his first point of the season Saturday in their shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned defenseman Colton White to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. White was recalled Friday by the team but served as an emergency defenseman for Saturday’s game against Montreal.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled forward Eetu Luostarinen from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, according to a Checkers’ release. The 21-year-old Luostarinen was recalled 10 days ago, and appeared in three games for the Hurricanes, registering one assist, before being returned to Charlotte. The 2017 second-round pick has looked good in the AHL with five goals and eight points in 12 games.
  • After being sent back to the minors following Saturday’s game, the Canadiens announced that they’ve recalled winger Charles Hudon from AHL Laval.  He played less than eight minutes yesterday in his season debut but with Paul Byron and Jonathan Drouin both injured, Montreal was down to just 11 healthy forwards.
  • The Rangers have decided to give Lias Andersson some more playing time as they’ve assigned him to Hartford of the AHL per a team release.  The seventh pick in 2017 has just one assist in 17 games this season while playing less than ten minutes per night.  Winger Tim Gettinger has been recalled to take his place on the roster.

Montreal Canadiens Place Jonathan Drouin On Injured Reserve

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The Montreal Canadiens announced that the team has placed forward Jonathan Drouin on injured reserve after suffering an injury during the third period of Friday’s game against the Washington Capitals. The team recalled forward Charles Hudon from the Laval Rocket of the AHL.

While the general assumption is that Drouin suffered the injury during the second period when he took a massive hit from Washington’s Alex Ovechkin, TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that Drouin’s injury doesn’t have anything to do with Ovechkin’s hit. The winger was forced out of the game after that hit and went under concussion protocol and was cleared. He returned to action in the third period where he suffered a separate injury. No word on when/what the injury is. Drouin has been faring well this season with seven goals and 15 points in 19 games.

Hudon spent the previous two season with the Canadiens, but failed to make an impact with the team and never could carve out a role for himself, especially last season when he was often a healthy scratch. However, after clearing waivers at the start of the season, Hudon has thrived with the Rocket, scoring nine goals in 17 games, including a hat trick with Laval Wednesday.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Tampa Bay Lightning

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Current Cap Hit: $79,773,331 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Mikhail Sergachev (one year, $894K)
F Alexander Volkov (one year, $864K)
F Mitchell Stephens (one year, $833K)
F Anthony Cirelli (one year, $728K)
F Mathieu Joseph (one year, $728K)
D Erik Cernak (one year, $698K)

Potential Bonuses

Sergachev: $850K
Cirelli: $183K
Joseph: $183K
Cernak: $148K

The Tampa Bay Lightning have done exceedingly well with their young players as they always seem to have key contributors filling out their roster who are on low-cost salaries. Unfortunately for the team all of those entry-level contracts will be expiring after this season. However, for a team that is fighting for a Stanley Cup title, the Lightning should be happy to have several of these players around for this year.

At the top of the list is Sergachev, who came over in the Jonathan Drouin trade a couple of seasons ago. Sergachev has improved greatly, but is still battling for a top-four role, one which he may win this season as he continues to develop his skills. The 21-year-old already has 15 goals and 72 points over two seasons, but spent most of his time last year as a third-line option for Tampa Bay. The team hopes he can win a spot on the first line and earn some power play time to allow his offensive skills to kick in for the Lightning. Another strong season could force Tampa Bay to pay up significantly for him. The team also got some impressive play from Cernak last season who came up and found a permanent home with his physical play.

Cirelli and Joseph have made an impact for Tampa Bay as well. After an solid stint back in 2017-18, Cirelli had a breakout season, scoring 19 goals and 39 points last season and could take another step up this season with J.T. Miller gone. Joseph surprised quite a few when he made the team last year out of training camp, posting 13 goals and 26 points in a third-line role most of the time. The opportunities may continue to increase for the 22-year-old who has showed a hard-working mentality as well as solid skill.

Both Stephens and Volkov are in their last year of their entry-level contract, but both could see time up with the Lightning at some point this season.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Mike Condon ($2.4MM, UFA — buried at $1.33MM)
D Kevin Shattenkirk ($1.75MM, UFA)
D Jan Rutta ($1.3MM, UFA)
G Louis Domingue ($1.15MM, UFA) — buried at $75K)
F Pat Maroon ($900K, UFA)
F Danick Martel ($700K, RFA)
D Luke Schenn ($700K, UFA)

In their pursuit of a Stanley Cup, the team went out and acquired some veteran players to help the team for this year. They signed Shattenkirk immediately after being bought out from the New York Rangers to give the team a key veteran after they lost Anton Stralman and Dan Girardi in the offseason. The team hopes Shattenkirk can find his game and stay healthy this year and be able to provide quality minutes. They also hope Schenn can provide solid depth and physicality at the bottom of their lineup. On offense, the team also went out and signed Maroon to add some grit to their fourth line after the team lost Ryan Callahan to injury. Callahan was very productive in his time with the Lightning, but injuries derailed his last couple of years.

To unload the final year of Callahan’s contract, the Lightning traded him to Ottawa and were forced to accept Condon, who the team has already buried in the minors to give the team more cap flexibility. Domingue has been buried in the AHL as well.

Two Years Remaining

D Braydon Coburn ($1.7MM, UFA)
F Cedric Paquette ($1.65MM, UFA)
G Curtis McElhinney ($1.3MM, UFA)
D Luke Witkowski ($700K, UFA)

Despite a solid backup in Domingue, the Lightning surprised quite a few people when they inked McElhinney to a two-year deal, plucking him away from a number of interested teams. The 36-year-old veteran had an impressive season after being claimed by Carolina at the beginning of last season. McElhinney appeared in 33 games, picking up 20 wins with a 2.58 GAA and a .912 save percentage. The hope is the veteran will provide some extra insurance and maybe take some of the workload off the starter this season.

The team also has high hopes that bringing back Coburn as well as a gritty multi-versatile player like Witkowski will give Tampa Bay some much needed depth on their blueline.

Three Years Remaining

F Brayden Point ($6.75MM, RFA)
F Ondrej Palat ($5.3MM, UFA)

The Lightning has done exactly what it wants to do with Point, which was get him signed to a three-year bridge deal, something the team does with all its players before locking them up to long-term deals. Now the team has three more years to evaluate him before they have to lock him up to a long-term deal. The deal is actually quite reasonable, considering how much the center has excelled in each of his three seasons. Point’s rookie season was solid with 18 goals, but that number increased to a 32-goal campaign in 2017-18 and he followed that up with a 41-goal, 92-point season last year, making him one of the top young forwards in the game. Regardless, the team was able to sign him for a reasonable cost, giving the Lightning another strong presence at a discounted rate.

On the other hand, Palat may be the opposite of Point. Having struggled with injuries the past couple of seasons, the 28-year-old has appeared in just 120 out of 164 games over the past two seasons and scored a disappointing eight goals in 64 games last year as he’s slipped to a third-line role after a promising 23-goal rookie season back in 2013-14. Since then he’s scored in the teens, but has seen those numbers dip even further with his injury history. Unfortunately, at $5.3MM, the team hopes he can get healthy and rebound as he would be a hard player to find a trade partner for.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Nikita Kucherov ($9.5MM through 2026-27)
F Steven Stamkos ($8.5MM through 2023-24)
D Victor Hedman ($7.88MM through 2024-25)
D Ryan McDonagh ($6.75MM through 2025-26)
F Yanni Gourde ($5.17MM through 2024-25)
F Tyler Johnson ($5MM through 2023-24)
F Alex Killorn ($4.45MM through 2022-23)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy ($3.5MM in 2019-20; $9.5MM through 2027-28)

The team has done a phenomenal job of signing their top talent. Kucherov is arguably one of the top three players in the league and is now just starting his eight-year contract at a reasonable $9.5MM. The 26-year-old scored 41 goals and 128 points to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award and should be one of the greats for the Lightning for a long time. Stamkos also continues to put up big numbers for someone whose $8.5MM deal looks pretty good. He potted 45 goals last season and a career-high 98 points, which gives Tampa Bay an impressive one-two punch, which doesn’t even include Point.

The Lightning also has quite a bit tied up into their top two defensemen in Hedman and McDonagh. Hedman is one of the top defensemen in the league, only a year removed from winning the Norris Trophy in 2017-18. He posted an impressive 12 goals and 54 points last season and remains in his prime. It’s too early to see how he will fare as he gets older as his contract will run through his age-34 season. But by the time Hedman truly slows down, there shouldn’t be that much time remaining on his deal. As for McDonagh, the team’s second-best defenseman still posted solid numbers, nine goals and 46 points. However, he is two years older than Hedman and has a seventh year remaining on his contract, meaning he’ll be 37 in his final season, which suggests that his contract could become an issue even in just a few years.

As for Gourde, Johnson and Killorn, the team hopes that with the salary cap likely rising over the next few years, those role players’ deals will still look good, if not very good as they age. All have become solid contributors as middle-six players and hopefully will give the team good value over the next four or five years.

Buyouts

D Matt Carle (1.83MM in 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Point
Worst Value: Palat

Looking Ahead

The job that Steve Yzerman has done to get the franchise to this point, which might be one of the most impressive organizations that have been built, is impressive and the hope that Julien BriseBois will continue that success in Tampa Bay. The team had an amazing regular season a year ago, but a quick exit in the playoffs left many to wonder whether the team is as good as many think. However, BriseBois has done a good job bringing in some more veterans as well as some grit in hopes that this offensive team doesn’t get pushed around too much this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Markov, Drouin, Scherbak

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Former NHL star Andrei Markov expects to play in the NHL next season and right now the question for the 40-year-old Russian is where he might play. However, one thing is quite clear. He has no intention of signing a player tryout (PTO).

Talking to Markov’s North American agent, Allen Walsh, TSN’s Melnick in the Afternoon, the agent made it clear that there are five teams that have expressed interest in the veteran blueliner’s services and he expects to sign a contract somewhere before training camp.

“Andrei and I have never even discussed a PTO and I’m expecting and I’m assuming that he’ll be signed to a contract before the start of training camp,” said Walsh. “We don’t feel any time pressure. I would expect that there will be something done before the start of training camp based on my discussions so far.”

The agent also made it clear that Markov wants to play on a winning team that has a chance to win a Stanley Cup title.

“He’s certainly looking to play on a team where there is a role for him,” said Walsh. “We believe that he can really help any team’s power play and that he can contribute meaningful 5-on-5 minutes. He can serve on as a veteran presence in the room and he’s always been known as a bit of a quiet guy, but he’s also been known as a quiet leader. He’s always been in amazing physical shape his entire career and he’s in great shape right now. He’s been training all summer. He’s looking to play for a team that has the potential to contend. He would love to win and be part of a winning season … He has a lot to offer to a team and he’s made it clear to me from the first minute that he called me that he desperately wants to play in the NHL next year.”

  • While many players look at different avenues to improve their game, The Athletic’s Marc Antoine Godin (subscription required) writes that Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin has spent much of his summer in the video room analyzing his game in hopes of breaking his inconsistent play. Drouin reached out to assistant coach Dominique Ducharme and the two have been breaking down his game in hopes of unlocking the next level of his game. While possessed with incredible skills, Drouin has struggled to take his game to the next level like everyone expected him to do back when the Tampa Bay Lightning took him with the third-overall pick in 2013. While he did score 18 goals and tie a career-high of 53 points, many feel that he can do much better, especially if he can show more consistency. Perhaps the most interesting discovery was that Drouin wasn’t attacking through the inside of the slot often enough.
  • Former Los Angeles Kings forward Nikita Scherbak might be looking for work once again. The 23-year-old forward signed a three-year deal with Avangard Omsk back in June, but according to a Russian website, omskinform.ru (translation required), Scherbak has been unimpressive in pre-season tournaments and the team may look to trade or even terminate his contract. Scherbak appeared in 37 NHL games, including eight with Los Angeles last season, but has not been able to retain a full-time role and didn’t even dominate in the AHL last season, scoring just 11 points in 23 games. If released, the 23-year-old could be looking for a new team.

 

Atlantic Notes: Drouin, Red Wings Front Office, Miller

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The Montreal Canadiens seem to be a team on the rise last season as the team finished just two points out of a playoff spot behind the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the end, if the team just could have pulled off a late win, the season could have been looked at differently. The Montreal Gazzette’s Brendan Kelly also wonders whether forward Jonathan Drouin could have made that difference as well.

The winger, who was converted to center to start last season and then quickly moved back to wing after seeing that experiment failed, Drouin struggled throughout the year, especially in the final third of the season. The 24-year-old prized forward the team acquired two summers ago, hasn’t developed into the elite forward the Canadiens had hoped for. But his final 26 games resulted in just one goal and six assists. Had he played better, who knows what might have happened to Montreal?

Kelly writes that much of the Canadiens’ hopes for this season will fall on Drouin, who can be the difference-maker the team needs. Kelly believes Drouin has what it takes to be a star, but needs better coaching to take his game to the next level after looking lost in the final third of last season. The stress of being the savior to the franchise could also be having an effect, but his success could be the most critical element to the team’s season.

  • The Detroit News reports that Detroit Red Wings executive Kris Draper has been promoted to director of amateur scouting. Draper, a former assistant to former general manager Ken Holland, replaces Tyler Wright whose contract wasn’t renewed three weeks into current general manager Steve Yzerman’s tenure. Detroit also announced a few other front office additions as the team hired two amateur chief scouts in Ryan Rezmierski (formerly with Nashville) and Jesse Wallin (formerly with St. Louis). The team also added two more scouts in Bryce Thoma and Rob Rassey as well as bringing over former Tampa Bay Lightning goaltending scout Phil Osaer, who has been named head of goaltending scouting and development.
  • Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe writes that Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller still hasn’t started skating yet in his recovery from his twice-fractured right kneecap. The 31-year-old played just 39 games last season and didn’t make an appearance after Apr. 4 due to the injury. Millar was actually close to being ready to return for the Stanley Cup Finals when he fractured that kneecap a second time, ending any hope of returning. The blueliner said, however, that the kneecap has healed through twice-a-day workouts over six days so far this offseason and he hopes to begin skating in the next few weeks. He doesn’t expect to be ready for drills in training camp and can’t confirm if he’ll be ready for the start of the season either.

Snapshots: WHL, Drouin, KHL

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The WHL handed out their awards today, and several NHL prospects took home some hardware. Ian Scott of the Toronto Maple Leafs took home the Goaltender of the Year award, Ty Smith of the New Jersey Devils was named Defenseman of the Year, and Joachim Blichfeld of the San Jose Sharks was awarded the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as Player of the Year.

All three players exceeded expectations this season, but the most interesting may just be Blichfeld who was a seventh-round pick of the Sharks back in 2016. While he will turn 21 this summer and was older than much of his competition, the simple fact that he’s developed so well from his draft day is a huge win for San Jose. The team already signed him to an NHL contract back in late 2017. The Sharks have done extremely well pulling value from the late rounds, as Kevin Labanc (171st overall in 2014) and Joakim Ryan (198th in 2012) are already paying off for them in this year’s playoffs.

  • The Montreal Canadiens announced today that Jonathan Drouin underwent minor surgery yesterday to correct a fractured nose. The 24-year old forward had mentioned an injury that would keep him from playing in the IIHF World Championship, but it wasn’t clear exactly what that was. The release notes that Drouin is expected to resume his training in two to three weeks, meaning he’ll be ready in plenty of time for training camp in a few months.
  • KHL free agency opened today and some familiar names have already re-signed, meaning there won’t be any NHL returns for them this season. Brandon Kozun, Paul Postma, Eric O’Dell, Anton Lander and Stephane Da Costa, have all signed new deals. The previously reported trade of Jiri Sekac to CSKA Moscow in exchange for the rights to Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Igor Ozhiganov was also officially filed today.

Canadiens Notes: Drouin, Okulov, Free Agency

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One of the underlying reasons why the Montreal Canadiens were unable to hold on to a wild card spot down the stretch was the poor play of one of their best players, Jonathan Drouin. Speaking with Alexis Belanger-Champagne of La Presse, Drouin acknowledged that his play suffered when it matter most in the final games of the season. He even owned his decreased ice time, understanding that head coach Claude Julien needed productive, confident players on the ice and he was playing frustrated and failing to find results. Drouin finished the season with 53 points in 81 games, but only contributed one goal and two assists in Montreal’s final 18 games. Yet, for all of his late-season struggles, Drouin does not expect to be shopped this off-season. The 24-year-old forward did match a career-high in points this year and early in the season was on pace to shatter all previous personal marks. Drouin knows that he dropped the ball, but tells Belanger-Champagne that he is happy with the Canadiens and knows he can be a difference-maker once again next season and beyond. GM Marc Bergevin seems to agree. Bergevin told La Presse that Drouin showed maturity with how he handled his poor play and that he understands his role on the team. Bergevin expects the young scorer to “take another step forward next year.” At $5.5MM for four more years, Drouin can still be a bargain for the Habs and certainly a dependable top-six forward. Bergevin is not one to overreact, so expect Drouin to be back in the bleu, blanc, et rougue next year.

  • Drouin’s return doesn’t mean that the Canadiens won’t try to address their offense this summer. In fact, the team already has their sights set on an import out of Russia. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Montreal is “high” on KHL forward Konstantin Okulov. Okulov, 24, is currently playing in the Gagarin Cup Final with CSKA Moscow and his breakout regular season has extended into the postseason. The skilled forward has 12 points in 15 playoff games following a career-high 20 goals and 31 points in 48 regular season games. The Habs would like to see if his high-powered game can translate to the NHL. Unfortunately, Friedman also notes that Okulov is under contract for one more year with CSKA and may not be available to Montreal this off-season. Unless he both wants and is granted a release from his contract, the Canadiens may need to keep scouting for another year.
  • As for attracting free agents already in the NHL, The Montreal Gazette’s Pat Hickey opines that the Canadiens may have a tough time luring top names to Montreal this summer despite ample cap space. It doesn’t have anything to do with team personnel, either. Hickey notes that taxes and cost of living are among the negatives of making the move to Montreal and claims that has deterred free agents in recent years. However, Hickey adds that this might not be a bad things, as Bergevin’s track record of late has been better with trades than it has been with signings. The Habs will undoubtedly still add a few free agents, but in need of a veteran backup goalie, a top-four defenseman, and a top-six forward, the team will likely have to tackle the trade market to address at least one of those holes.

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