Montreal Canadiens Should Give Radulov a Contract Extension

Montreal Canadiens Forward, Alexander Radulov, has been outstanding this season, and has also become a leader for the Habs. The Canadiens should reward Radulovs effort with a contract extension.

Montreal Canadiens General Manager, Marc Bergevin, had many issues to try and correct during this past off-season. The Habs had went through one of the biggest regular season collapses in franchise history, and needed a culture change. As a result, Bergevin started wheeling and dealing at the NHL draft.

Bergevin shipped out Forward Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals, and then Bergevin acquired Forward Andrew Shaw from the Chicago Blackhawks. Later on, Bergevin made the earth shattering trade, that sent Defensemen P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators, in exchange for Defensemen Shea Weber.

The moves that Bergevin made were a clear sign that he wanted to add leadership, and toughness to the roster. However, Bergevin’s next move raised many eyebrows around the NHL, when he signed Alexander Radulov to a one year contract.

Many considered the Radulov contract to be the riskiest signing of the off-season, because of Radulov’s prior history with Nashville. Radulov had broke a team rule, by skipping curfew during a playoff game. After the playoffs ended, he bolted to Russia to play in the KHL.

Radulov’s Terrific Season

With the spotlight on the Canadiens, after the off-season make over, the Habs got out to a blazing start. Radulov started the season off slow in terms of production, but his impact on the ice was clearly evident. Alex brought an element that the Canadiens have lacked for years, a strong puck controlling Forward.

Radulov loves to have the puck on his stick, and for opposing defenders, it’s nearly impossible to get the puck away from him. Radulov uses his body like shield, and uses his tremendous strength to keep possession of the puck. To complement Radulov’s ability to control the play, Radulov also has amazing vision and passing ability.

In the video above its clear to see Radulov’s exceptional vision and passing ability. Radulov makes a beautiful no look pass to Weber, but the pass is also made with pinpoint accuracy.

In 37 games so far this season, Radulov has scored nine goals and 20 assists, totaling 29 points. Radulov has also made a huge impact on the Canadiens Power Play, and has nine points with the man advantage.

Another area where Radulov has helped the Canadiens, has been with his leadership. Radulov has been very vocal on the ice, and on the bench, making sure that everyone is on the same page. Alexander Radulov also sets the tone by his example, as he always gives one hundred percent in effort.

Possible Contract Extension

It’s obvious that the Habs should give Radulov a contract extension, because he means so much to the Habs roster. Radulov has developed a lot of chemistry with Center, Alex Galchenyuk, and resigning Radulov would keep the duo together long term. However, Galchenyuk is a restricted free agent at the end of the season, but it seems like a lock that Galchenyuk will resign.

It’s tough to determine what a possible contract extension would look like, but it’s clear that Radulov could get a bit of a raise. Currently, Radulov has a cap hit of 5.75 million dollars.

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An extension that could work for both sides, would be four years, at 6.75 million dollars per season. In total, the contract would be worth 27 million dollars. However, this is just a guess, and speculation only, but the bottom line is, the Habs need to resign Radulov.

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