Montreal Canadiens: Off-Season Moves Improve The Team

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May 9, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens players celebrate their win against Tampa Bay Lightning in game five of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

The Montreal Canadiens have made some off-season moves that have improved the team. Let’s look at how.

The off-season, though it happened way too early, started off on a good note when defenseman Jeff Petry was signed. At the beginning of June, Petry was signed to a six-year contract.

Petry came into Montreal at the trade deadline, leaving behind a beleaguered Edmonton Oilers, and making his mark almost immediately. His enthusiasm about being in Montreal – not just excited about being on a winning team, assured of playoffs, but truly loving the city and the Habs – translated to beautiful performances on the ice, night after night.

In his first full season with the Canadiens, there is no doubt he will pick up from where he left off, shining every night, and making a difference on the blue line. Locking him in for 6 years was another coup for general manager Marc Bergevin.

The next move, mid-June, was to sign Nathan Beaulieu to a two-year extension. Beaulieu showed his warrior colors in 64 regular-season games with the Habs, but moreso when he suffered a fractured sternum in Round 1 of the playoffs, missing 7 games and still coming back for the last 2 games of Round 2.

Beaulieu is tough, has talented hands, and skates like a fiend. With only one goal in his NHL career so far, he will start the regular season playing his 100th game, and no doubt ready to make the case to be on the top four defensive pairings.

Ready to hit the ice, he had this to say when asked what he’s thinking regarding the next season’s performance:

With the new contract, the team has more obligation with me and they expect bigger things from me. I know I’m going to have a bigger role and I know that with the success I had last year, I can’t take my foot off the gas now.

He’s an exciting player to watch.

Days after Beaulieu’s contract was announced, the team signed forward Torrey Mitchell to a 3-year contract. The fourth-liner came from the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline, and showed a passionate style that helped the goal-starved Habs in both rounds of playoffs. No doubt he’s also ready to make the case for proving his worth.

Next, as June came to a close, the Habs signed Mitchell’s former teammate, Brian Flynn, to a two-year contract. Flynn brought depth to the lineup, and when he scored the game-winning goal against the Ottawa Senators in Round 1 of playoffs, he won the heart of every Habs fan. I believe he will jump right back into things come September, and when the regular season begins, will be ready to make his mark on the roster.

As free-agent frenzy began on the 1st of July, the Habs went to their own camp and signed tough-guy defenseman Greg Pateryn. Pateryn was one of my favorite prospects all season, as he continued to prove his case for being a full-fledged member of the team.

I listed my reasons for wanting Pateryn in the line-up, and a few weeks later, the Habs signed him. He was already coming into a one-year, one-way left on his contract, but now he will be with Montreal for 3 full years.

Pateryn is a tough, physical player who exhibits solid defense every time he’s on the ice. Fighting for top spots in defensive pairings, he is going to have to show his strengths in order to break through the populated blue line, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem for Greg Pateryn, who’s made himself noticed every game.

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May 9, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) and right wing Brandon Prust (8) celebrate their win against Tampa Bay Lightning in game five of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

A Big Trade

The day wasn’t half over when the Habs made a major roster move: trading Brandon Prust to the Vancouver Canucks for Zack Kassian. This was a tough move for many fans, who had come to love Prust’s style and the heart he shows every night.

But the Habs were able to get a guy who is bigger, younger, showed more production on the ice even sitting out half the 2014-15 season in Vancouver. All this for a lower salary.

Of course, time will be the telling factor; with this being his third team, Kassian has a lot to prove. Given his attitude in post-trade interviews, he seems to be raring to go. I think it was a prudent move for a team that knows hockey is, in the end, a business.

And yes, missing Brandon Prust will take some getting used to – but as a purely business-savvy move, the Habs did well.

Two-Way Contracts

On the second day of free-agency, the Habs, once again, tapped into their own prospects and signed Christian Thomas to one year. Thomas’s contract is two-way, meaning he’ll have to clear waivers if the team wants to send him down to the AHL. But it’s a great move for the Habs, at a shrewd price.

Jarred Tinordi was also signed to a two-way contract – something that has to be a disappointment for the big defenseman. Many fans felt Tinordi would already be with the team by now, but he was sidelined by injuries in 2014-15, and with a wrist injury, coupled with months-long rehab, he missed qualifying for playoffs.

The Habs could use this 6’6″ defenseman, though, and if he’s going to show what he can do, it’s going to have to happen during training camp and pre-season. Tinordi is in good company but it’s a dense field. The Habs already have P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov, Alexei Emelin, Petry, Tom Gilbert, Pateryn, and Beaulieu on the blue line.

Tinordi has a lot to prove, but as a first-round pick, he is being given the chance to live up to the expectations.

Other two-way contracts include defenseman Ryan Johnston (who made a splash at the recent Development Camp), and Michael Bournival.

Then there’s the big signing: Alexander Semin, signed to a one-year, $1.1M contract just a week ago. Semin comes to Montreal having been bought out by the Carolina Hurricanes and sporting a bit of an attitude reputation.

But with some strong seasons behind him, and a new team to impress, he could well prove to be the goal-scoring help the Habs need so desperately.

Conclusion

Barring a new special-teams coach to help with the power play problem the Habs cannot shake, the signings the team has made are definitely moves that make the team stronger.

Defense is crowded but it’s an embarrassment of riches. And with the team relying so heavily on Carey Price to stop goals, they need defense to pitch in and help out before pucks get to Price’s crease.

In the forwards, with Semin and Kassian, plus the prospects who still might make the team (Sven Andrighetto comes to mind as a strong contender, as does Charles Hudon and perhaps Daniel Carr), goal production may just start to pick up.

In a brand new season, with hopes and spirits up, anticipation and excitement to once again show the hockey world the team that can live up to its historic reputation, the team should come together nicely to give fans that much more to cheer.

And the off-season moves have only improved the team.

Now, all they have to do is re-sign Alex Galchenyuk…

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