Montreal Canadiens Roster – Who Stays, Who Goes? Part 4
The 2015-16 is winding down to a close and the Montreal Canadiens face some roster decisions among their Left Defense as they look to change their fortunes for next year.
Montreal’s defensive corps has taken a beating this season. A remarkable 12 players have seen time within the Top 6 with 2 key members losing their seasons due to injury. In fact, of the 6 opening night defencemen, only Andrei Markov has avoided the injury bug thus far.
As things stand at this moment, Montreal has nearly 40% of their cap space allotted to their defensive unit. With Montreal’s struggles to develop or lure goal scorers to the team through the draft or free agency, it makes sense that they have put a major focus on building good defensive depth.
Still though, for a team that has identified goal scoring as it’s primary weakness, they may look to sacrifice some of that defensive depth in order to target goal scoring forwards.
Player – Contract Term @ Yearly Cap Hit **All Cap Figures courtesy of General Fanager
Andrei Markov – 1 Year @ $5.75 million
Alexei Emelin – 2 Years @ $4.1 million
Nathan Beaulieu – 1 year @ $1 million
Mark Barberio – RFA
Victor Bartley – UFA
The Veterans
Andrei Markov is Montreal’s longest-tenured player, having played 915 games over 15 seasons. Markov has remained an elite offensive producer up until this season, where age has finally begun to catch up to him. Outside of his amazing 5 point game against Buffalo on October 23rd, Markov’s numbers have seen regression and decline all season. This was highly evident during Montreal’s deep dry spell in which Markov produced just 6 assists and a minus -8 rating from December 1st to January 26th, a span of 25 games.
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To be fair to the veteran PP quarterback, the entire team struggled in that stretch and he has turned it on since February 2nd to a tune of 2 goals, 15 points and a minus-4 rating over his past 19 games. With only a year left on his deal and being in the twilight of his career, Markov hasn’t really given any indication of his future plans after 2016-17, at which point he will be an Unrestricted Free Agent.
Markov’s future is going to hinge on what GM Marc Bergevin‘s direction goes this summer. This team needs some retooling and Markov could be a very desirable piece to a contender and with his limited No-Trade Clause allowing a trade to 12 teams, theirs a very good chance that all of the NHL contenders are on that list. If Montreal has serious plans on contending next season, Markov will have to fight off father time for at least one more year. 50/50 on whether he stays or is traded.
Alexei Emelin is known mostly for his punishing hits. Other than that, he has been a relatively average player who has actually been dragging down Montreal’s possession numbers for several seasons now. He’s rebounded somewhat decently this year and his sub-par possession numbers could be due to his 57% Defensive Zone starts over the past 3 seasons. But the fact is, since he tore his knee up in a collision vs Milan Lucic, Emelin just has not been the same player.
Emelin’s style of play has also led to a lot of little injuries outside of his one major one and as a result, Emelin has never topped 70 games in a season. He is going to be 30 by the end of this season and coupled with his low offensive production and Montreal’s need to clear some cap, Emelin is a prime trade candidate. The only real issue is his No-Trade Clause but if Montreal were to move on from Markov, Emelin may potentially be interested in a trade with one of his closest friends having been moved. 65% chance he is moved, odds go up if Markov is also dealt.
Related Story: Montreal Canadiens Roster - Who Stays, Who Goes? Pt 2
The Young Guns
Nathan Beaulieu has been the heir apparent to Andrei Markov’s top defensive spot for nearly 5 seasons now. At just 23, the jury is still out on whether or not Beaulieu can be a top pairing player but as of right now, he has proven capable as a 2nd pairing defender. He still has room to grow at both ends but when he has the confidence, Beaulieu can make some really nice plays. Beaulieu should be back next season but their is the possibility that he is used as trade bait for a Top 6 scorer. 75% chance he stays
Mark Barberio came to Montreal as a UFA last off-season after being non-tendered by Tampa Bay. After losing a roster spot battle with Nathan Beaulieu, Barberio went to St. John’s where he tore it up with 20 points in 26 games. Since returning to Montreal, Barberio has earned the trust of Michel Therrien and that has earned Barberio a steady spot on the 2nd defensive pair on an admittedly injury-depleted defensive unit.
If the 25-year old Barberio could translate his offensive prowess from the AHL to the NHL, he could make for a solid 2nd pair defender capable of taking on a big role on the power-play. Still RFA-eligible, Barberio should see a contract extension and should be no lower than the 7th defenceman next season. Should be Back.
The Depth
Victor Bartley was brought over in the confusing Jarred Tinordi–John Scott–Stefan Elliott three team trade. Bartley is the very definition of a depth defenceman and as a UFA on July 1st, I would be very surprised if Montreal brings him back. 85% chance he leaves.