Brett Kulak – Page 2 – Cheering The Logo

According to The Fourth Period (TFP), several NHL teams continue to express interest in multiple Canadiens players. Habs’ GM Kent Hughes has already traded Tyler Toffoli and, more recently, Ben Chiarot but teams continue picking at other players.

Artturi Lehkonen is on very high demand and while Hughes has clearly stated that he is not trying to trade him, it doesn’t keep teams from calling about him. The pending restricted free agent (with arbitration rights) is in the final year paying him $2.3 million. He will be looking for a substantial pay raise as he’s having a career season offensively.

	GP	G	A	PTS	PTS/GP	TOI/GP	GvA	TkA	CORSI	FENW	CAP
LEHKONEN	58	13	16	29	0.50	14:43	13	15	52.3	51.8	$2.3
ARMIA	46	3	7	10	0.22	13:26	22	24	50.2	48.7	$3.4
COLEMAN	61	13	15	28	0.46	15:16	41	27	56.6	56.9	$4.9
GOODROW	59	13	11	24	0.41	16:58	26	27	42.9	44.3	$3.64

The Canadiens are reportedly asking for a first round pick and a prospect for Lehkonen. You will recall that the San Jose Sharks traded Barclay Goodrow to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a prospect (Anthony Greco) and a first round pick. The New Jersey Devils received former 1st round pick prospect Nolan Foote and a first round pick for Blake Coleman.

Other players of interest

Still according to TFP, Lehkonen is not the only player drawing attention from other teams.

Pending UFAs Brett Kulak and Chris Wideman have teams interested in them, as do Mike Hoffman, Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, Laurent Dauphin and Jake Allen. Of course, the level of interest varies for those players.

It will be interesting to see if or when Kent Hughes makes his next move. Stay tuned…

More reading…

Habs Must Right The Ship On Defense

TFP: Rangers Dangling Alexis Lafrenière?

The R-Word Not In Hughes’ Vocabulary

The countdown is on for the March 21st NHL trade deadline and so far, there hasn’t been much action for fans to sink their teeth in. When you’re cheering for a team that has long been eliminated from post-season action, it makes for an eager crowd, impatiently awaiting what will happen.

In his most recent Top-40 players most likely to get traded, Frank Seravalli has listed 10 defensemen. I took the liberty to add one, P.K. Subban, who was told yesterday that the New Jersey Devils wouldn’t tender an extension offer. I have decided to sort them by Time on the Ice per Game, as I feel it reflects who much those players are relied upon by their respective coaches.

PLAYER	TEAM	AGE	GP	G	A	PTS	PTS/GP	+/-	TOI/GP	CAP HIT
D. Severson	NJD	27	55	8	24	32	0.58	-12	23:32	$4.17M (2022-23)
B. Chiarot	MTL	30	51	7	9	16	0.31	-19	23:25	$3.5M (UFA)
J. Chychrun	ARI	23	45	5	14	19	0.42	-23	23:24	$4.6M (2024-25)
H. Lindholm	ANA	28	57	5	16	21	0.37	0	22:38	$5.2M (UFA)
J. Petry	MTL	34	49	4	9	13	0.27	-9	22:29	$6.25M (2024-25)
J. Klingberg	DAL	29	49	2	27	29	0.59	-15	22:02	$4.25M (UFA)
M. Giordano	SEA	38	53	6	17	23	0.43	-22	21:24	$6.75M (UFA)
N. Leddy	DET	30	52	1	11	12	0.23	-32	21:24	$5.5M (UFA)
J. Braun	PHI	35	56	5	10	15	0.27	+2	20:03	$1.8M (UFA)
C. de Haan	CHI	30	52	1	4	5	0.10	-16	19:15	$4.55M (UFA)
PK Subban	NJD	32	54	3	15	18	0.33	-7	19:07	$9M (UFA)

As you can see, Ben Chiarot is the second cheapest player on the list with a cap hit of $3.5 million cap hit, while being one of the defensemen logging the most minutes per game. His points production is decent and he brings that physicality. Further, he has proven being a beast in the playoffs in a shutdown situation against the opponents’ top lines. So while there are other options available out there, he is one of the most interesting options for a team looking at making noise in the playoffs.

As we know, Jeff Petry is a long shot as most times, players with term on their contract are easier to trade in the off-season, when more team reorganize their priorities and when it’s easier to make cap room. It is important to note that since the coaching change in Montreal, Petry has returned to his old form. Under Martin St-Louis, the American defenseman has three goals, seven points and has a differential of plus -2 in 11 games.

And this, folks, is why playoffs' teams will be seeking more quality depth players this year more than ever. The Wideman, Kulak, Perreault and company will draw interest. Good time to be a seller.#GoHabsGo #Habs #Canadiens #CH #GHG https://t.co/GxOIURlMV0
— Cheering The Logo 📝 🎙 💻 (@CheeringTheLogo) March 9, 2022

The Canadiens have two other pending UFAs who could draw interest in Brett Kulak and Chris Wideman. Kulak has been playing some of the best hockey of his career since the arrival of St-Louis, while Wideman would be a good depth player who can help on the power play.

More reading…

Worst Trades In Habs’ Modern History

Habs Must Stay True To The Plan

Friedman: Habs Shopping Weber’s Contract