Ethan Bear – Cheering The Logo

By JD Lagrange – The Canadiens have one glaring need for a right-handed defenseman, a need that has been amplified by the trade of Jeff Petry. You can now add a second need in goal, since Carey Price’s season – perhaps career – appears in jeopardy due to a hailing knee, prompting the team to have contract extension talks with Jake Allen.

But what I want to focus on is the gaping hole on right defense. After trading Petry, Canadiens’ General Manager Kent Hughes was clear when stating that he would like to add a veteran right-shot defenseman. For whatever reason, he has yet to be able to do so. As training camps are about to get underway, the Canadiens’ options are more limited, but there are still a few valuable potential solutions out there.

UFAs

There are two names that come to mind when it comes to right-handed defensemen who have yet to sign with a NHL club.

P.K Subban: He doesn’t need introduction, does he? He’s dynamic, he has a good shot and he knows the team, the place, the fans, the media. That familiarity goes both ways though. He’s often distracted with his off-ice business, he has slowed down a lot, he’s well known by referees (not in a good way). Personally, I would stay away from him.

Anton Stralman: Known as an ultimate professional, he’s been flying under the radar his entire career. He too has slowed down but he was still playing over 21 minutes a game last season. He’s good at everything he does, although not outstanding in any category. He could buy a year of development for young Justin Barron.

SUBBAN		STRALMAN
33	AGE	36
77	GP	74
5	G	8
17	A	15
22	PTS	23
0.29	PTS/GP	0.31
-8	+/-	-18
18:18	TOI/GP	21:21
0:35	PP TOI/GP	0:08
0:52	PK TOI/GP	2:56
69	HITS	99
90	BkS	100
51	GvA	28
23	TkA	32

Trade

Another option is addressing the need through trade. While there are likely more opportunities out there, two names are at the top of my personal list.

1- The New York Rangers are shopping Nils Lundkvist and speculations are rampant around the Canadiens. Now, news came out confirming that he will not attend the Rangers’ training camp. But don’t expect GM Chris Drury to fold like a cheap tent. He has a price in mind and he won’t flinch, as proven when Vitali Kravstov held out a year ago.

Exactly what the #Canadiens need, but Chris Drury knows it. And as he's done with Kravstov a year ago, he'll keep him instead of giving him away… and rightfully so. You want him? Pay the price. #GoHabsGo #Habs #CH #GHG https://t.co/HGuOPdr3SP
— Cheering The Logo 📝 🎙 💻 (@CheeringTheLogo) September 16, 2022

2- Some less reliable rumouroids are tying the Habs to Oilers’ veteran Tyson Barrie. I could definitely see either one of them as a good option. Barrie has two years remaining to his contract with a respectable cap hit of $4.5 million per season. Last year was the first time he played under 21 minutes a game since the 2013-14 season, and it was due to the Oilers now having Cody Ceci and young Evan Bouchard taking more minutes. He would greatly help the Canadiens’ anemic power play.

Waivers

Another option, particularly getting this late in the off-season, is to way to see which team(s) are going to try sneaking players through waivers. As the Canadiens finished dead last in the standings last season, they will have first dib at any player sent through waivers.

Carolina added Brent Burns on RD. They signed Calvin De Haan to a PTO, he who can play both left or right defense. They also have Ethan Bear, Dylan Coghlan and Jalen Chatfield on the right side. All must clear waivers.

Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Seattle (Cale Fleury, Brogan Rafferty?), Colorado, Detroit, Anaheim and Arizona are teams to keep an eye on as well, as they have lots of depth on defensemen who must clear waivers.

Conclusion

So unless the right deal comes about through trade, you get the feeling that the Canadiens will wait to see what will come through on the waiver wire prior to the season to start. And if that fails, they may turn to a UFA.

What I do know is that it’s less than ideal to play a defenseman on his wrong side. It’s even worse when it’s a young player trying to adapt to the speed of the NHL. As Hughes recognized, he must find a solution as relying on 20 year-old Barron to be ready is a huge gamble. The Canadiens cannot afford to burn the kid.

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Fuelling the Linguistic Debate: Who Are They? by JD Lagrange

By Bob Trask – As talk surrounding the potential trade of Jeff Petry heats up, General Manager Kent Hughes will continue to scour the league for potential replacements. None will be perfect as they will have flaws in their game, but will likely be counted on for only a couple of years until the pipeline begins to bear fruit.

Free Agents

We can immediately forget about Kris Letang and John Klingberg. Not only will they be too expensive but both seem less than interested in Montreal. Look for Letang to remain with Pittsburgh and Klingberg to head to Seattle. Similarly, Josh Manson could be headed back to Anaheim.

At the other end of the spectrum, Josh Brown (Boston), Matthew Benning (Nashville) and Ilya Lyubushkin probably hold little interest for the Canadiens. Erik Gudbranson (Calgary) and Jan Ruuta (Tampa) might have some interest for the Habs but it is probably lukewarm.

That leaves Justin Braun (New York Rangers), PK Subban (New Jersey), Justin Schultz (Washington) and Anton Stralman (Arizona) as potential free agent targets. All four had similar points production. Stralman and Braun are both 35 years old, Subban is 33 and Schultz is 31. Schultz could be the most expensive to sign while Subban’s history in Montreal might work for him… or against him. Each brings different elements to the game but the Canadiens did have some success with another former Oiler defenseman so maybe Schultz could be in the running. However, Stralman might be the best fit on an affordable two-year contract.

Trade Possibilities

Two prominent names are Ethan Bear and Tyson Barrie. Contract talks for Bear seem to have stalled in Carolina while the Oilers, who also have Evan Bouchard and Cody Ceci on the right, seem to be looking to shed salary so they can sign Evander Kane.

The Hurricanes had so little confidence in Bear that he didn’t see the ice during Carolina’s 14 playoff games. There were questions about his commitment and conditioning so anyone trading for him will have to do their due diligence.

CAR has given RFA Ethan Bear permission to talk to other teams. From what I hear, Hurricanes still wish to sign Bear, but two sides are not close on an agreement. Remember, nothing can happen before July 13 without Carolina approval.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 21, 2022

Barrie is a PP specialist more than a top 4 defenseman. Having said that, he has averaged over 50 points per 82 games played during his career. Those are impressive numbers but the fact that his 3rd NHL team is exploring trade options says something about his (lack of) commitment to defense. On the plus side his contract is both shorter and less expensive than Petry’s – and depending on how his year unfolds, he could be a trade deadline target for a playoff team.

A more expensive target could be 27 year old Matt Dumba. Minnesota is experiencing severe cap problems and that could make Dumba available. The cost of acquisition and the cap hit are both high so this seems like it would be a longshot.

Other Names

Timothy Liljegren (RFA Toronto) and Matt Roy (Los Angeles) are both interesting situations but Hughes does not seem like the kind of GM to offer sheet RFAs like Bear or Liljegren. Nor does the LA situation seem feasible.

Habs fans can also forget about veteran high-priced defensemen like Erik Karlsson or Brett Burns from San Jose. High priced salaries for veteran player is exactly what the Canadiens are trying to avoid.

Boiling it Down

When you scan the list of potential replacements for Jeff Petry (assuming he is traded) the list becomes very short very quickly. It makes it easy to see why Chris Wideman was re-signed. It also makes you realize what a rare commodity Petry is and why Kent Hughes could realize good value in a trade.

I have excluded PK Subban because his personality doesn’t seem to fit what Kent Hughes seems to trying to achieve – however PK is several years removed from Montreal and a lot may have changed. Hughes will have better insights on that and I may be hasty in excluding him.

There are too many red flags surrounding Bear for my liking, Dumba is too expensive for Montreal’s current cap structure and as mentioned, I don’t believe Hughes will want to create any controversy or animosity by sending an offer sheet to Liljegren.

The more realistic list includes:

Anton Stralman
Justin Schultz
Justin Braun
Tyson Barrie

The final option is that the Canadiens could choose to play one of their left-handed defensemen on the right side. The name of Jordan Harris, with his elite skating ability, immediately comes to mind.

The caveat is that Kent Hughes seems to keep pulling rabbits out of the hat and Habs fans could be in for a surprise as the Montreal GM looks to re-structure his defense. The dominoes on right defense will start to fall if and when Petry is traded. These are some of the names to keep an eye on.

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