Could Montreal Canadiens Trade for Anze Kopitar?

The Montreal Canadiens are 3-0 to kick off the 2015-16 season, while the Los Angeles Kings are now an opposite 0-3. Meanwhile, the Kings have a decision to make reference their star C, Anze Kopitar, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Is the time ripe for Habs GM Marc Bergevin to make a move on their best forward in trade? It’s tough to ask that question when the Habs are doing so well, but I think it’s worth a look.

First, let’s take a close look at the possible acquisition piece.

C Anze Kopitar, 6’3″ 225 lbs

CAP Hit: $6,800,000, UFA after season ends

REGULAR SEASON STATS:

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/14/2015.

PLAYOFF STATS:

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/14/2015.

When we talk about acquiring someone like Anze Kopitar, we’re talking about bringing in a difference maker. A player that brings your team over-the-top and can bring your overall game to a new level. That’s an exciting proposition, and one that needs to thoroughly examined if it is indeed a possibility.

The Los Angeles Kings forward corps are now built around Marian Gaborik, Jeff Carter, and Dustin Brown. Anze Kopitar’s role is still to lead on the top line, but the play of Tyler Toffoli and addition of Milan Lucic have made him ore expendable than ever. When you add in the fact that he’ll be an UFA at the end of the year and their 2015-16 start, you can see why the Kings may be interested in talking deal sometime before Christmas comes around.

That all being said, the season is still extremely young and there’s no doubt the Kings are built to win now, just as the Habs are. So for a deal to get done, the Habs would likely have to wait a while longer, or the Kings would need to have identified some flaws to their team that the Habs can help them fix.

The reasons I like the possible addition of Kopitar to the Habs are many. First, he’s a big C, something the Habs have lacked since Bobby Smith left town and eventually became owner of the Halifax Mooseheads. Second, he’s won 2 Stanley Cups with the Kings (2011-12, 2013-14). Finally, he wins face offs at over 52%, and he’s a great 2-way player overall. Think of him as a huge younger Tomas Plekanec.

But it’s not all glowing remarks for Anze Kopitar. After all, Marcel Dionne was once quoted as saying this about the guy he compared to Mats Sundin:

"“I told (Anze) Kopitar ‘You aren’t touching the puck enough. I don’t like your breakout.’ I think Kopitar can make magic with the puck”"

That was in March of 2012. Since then, he finished three seasons as the leading scorer of his team (by 20 points in 2013-14), managed a 10.0 PS in 2013-14, and won a Stanley Cup. Either he got the message or just put his skills to work. Either way, he’s a tremendous product overall.

Here is his career by the numbers put together by Jewels From The Crown.

RECENT KINGS TRADE HISTORY

When the Kings traded for Jeff Carter, they dealt Jack Johnson and a 1st rd pick.

When the Kings traded for Marian Gaborik, they deal Matt Frattin, a 2nd round pick, and a 3rd round pick.

When the Kings traded for Milan Lucic, they dealt G Martin Jones, D Colin Miller, and the 13th overall pick in 2015.

The reason the Kings dealt for Lucic? From GM Dean Lombardi:

"The Kings wanted to acquire a forward given it’s a strong possibility they could lose right wing Justin Williams and center Jarret Stoll, who can become unrestricted free agents July 1."

They’re very aware of the situation they find themselves in with Kopitar, and unlike some teams that may be willing to wait it out, I have a feeling Lombardi isn’t going to do that, opting instead to get the best return for Anze Kopitar.

The point of showing you these trades is twofold. First, Lombardi isn’t gun shy. Second, it indicates the kind of return he’ll expect for one of his top forwards.

TRADE RETURNS

Obviously, if the Kings somehow fall well out of contention, they’re going to look to get some value for their UFA (unless they extend him instead). The big question is this: what will they be looking for in return?

As indicated above, the Kings may be looking for one of two things: a package centred around two positions and picks, or, they may opt to get one top prospect (or different position player) and one pick.

Sep 24, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens center

(51) celebrates his goal against Washington Capitals with teammates during the second period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

The Habs have approximately $3.6 million in cap space to work with. Dealing the following players would allow for a deal to make sense financially speaking:

• David Desharnais: $3,500,000
• Tom Gilbert: $2,800,000
• Jarred Tinordi: $850,000 (value down overall)
• Nathan Beaulieu: $1,00,000
• Greg Pateryn: $562,500

The Kings also have $3.8 Million in cap space to work win, so they could feasibly take on some salary as well if needed.

I expect the Kings to want value if a deal was struck with the Habs. And vice-versa, I expect the Habs to want to keep the players they have onboard as much as possible to make a playoff push happen which to me indicates they would be reluctant to deal Beaulieu.  Therefore, a wild shot at what a deal may look like would be this:

• Habs send David Desharnais, Greg Pateryn, a 2nd rd and 4th rd pick to the Kings
• Kings send Anze Kopitar to the Habs

This would allow the Habs to do a lot of shifting around with the lines and could very well fix their PP woes once and for all. After all, Kopitar managed 24 points on the PP last season, while Tomas Plekanec managed only 16. Assuming the Habs could nab Kopitar from the Kings, I envision the following lines:

• Brendan Gallagher – Anze Kopitar – Max Pacioretty
• Lars Eller – Alex Galchenyuk – Alexander Semin
• Tomas Fleischmann – Tomas Plekanec – Dale Weise
• Brian Flynn – Torrey Mitchell – Devante Smith-Pelly

The bonus with this lineup is that it strengthens the team up-the-middle, provides size, and gives the team its best 3rd centre in a very long time. The Plekanec and Weise duo can also be used to kill penalties, and the PP units can be as is with the added possibility of using Plekanec with Galchenyuk and Semin. To me, this move would complete the lineup and make it a lot tougher to play against, most importantly in the playoffs.

The big change here would be adding Anze Kopitar and subtracting David Desharnais with a focus on the playoffs, so let’s compare the two over their careers:

• Desharnais: 38 GP, 3G, 10A, 13PTS, FO% 50.2, S% 5.6%, CF% 51%, oZS 63.7%, dZS 36.3%
• Kopitar: 70 GP, 18G, 42A, 60PTS, FO% 51.2%, S% 11.8%, CF% 53.4%, oZS 50.9%, dZS 49.1%

Which one would you rather take to battle with you heading into a long playoff run? Add in the 2 rings Anze Kopitar has and the value that experience has and it completely tilts the table his way.

SUMMARY

I know these sort of deals are polarizing, and most of them are unlikely to ever occur. However, it’s something that needs to be considered as the season wears on. Do we want to take David Desharnais into the playoffs knowing very well that for the most part, he completely disappears when the regular season ends? I know what my answer is, and I certainly hope it’s something that Marc Bergevin agrees with me on. There’s no doubt in my mind that at some point, changes will be made to the Habs 3rd line. Right now, after a 3-0 start, things look rosy and happy. But when the long season is ending and we’re looking at hard battles which take place in the playoffs, we want the very best team on the ice for the Habs. That team may or may not include Anze Kopitar, but I do think he could be available at an affordable price at some point in the season.

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