Canadiens Rumors: Team Interested in Cam Fowler

According to experts, the Canadiens are reportedly among the most interested in Anaheim Ducks defenceman Cam Fowler.

What a day Thursday turned out to be. First, Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning nearly broke Twitter when he revealed he had been in trade talks with the Canadiens for P.K. Subban.

That quickly snowballed out of control until Marc Bergevin addressed the media later in the evening and denied shopping Subban. He did acknowledge the trade interest but that was all he really said.

With all that happened on Thursday, it would be understandable if you missed these two tweets from Darren Dreger.

So that’s interesting. It’s also not going to do much to calm the Subban rumor storm that may escalate to F-5 status tomorrow.

The fact the Canadiens are interested in a young, left handed defenceman should not be surprising. Andrei Markov is entering the final season on his current contract and he’ll be 38 in December. He’s nearing the end of his great career and the Canadiens need to think of a replacement for him.

Nathan Beaulieu has been regarded as Markov’s heir apparent since being drafted in 2011. Beaulieu has shown a capability to be a quality top 4 defenceman but he is not ready for a top pairing role. That’s not to say he can’t eventually grow into that spot as he has shown steady progression for 3 straight seasons.

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Beyond Beaulieu, the Canadiens prospect depth is rather weak. The only notable left handed defensive prospects in the system are Noah Juulsen, Brett Lernout and Tom Parisi. Beyond Juulsen, who struggled mightily this season, Lernout and Parisi profile more as 2nd or 3rd pair defenders in the NHL.

Enter Cam Fowler.

Fowler was the 12th overall pick in the 2011 draft and has over 400 games of NHL experience across 6 seasons. The Ducks have an immense amount of defensive depth thanks to Hampus Lindholm‘s emergence which is making Fowler expendable. Fowler has 2 years remaining on his current contract at $4 million dollars per year and is slated for UFA status in 2018.

Fowler was considered an offensive defenceman when drafted. He struggled badly in his own end through his first two seasons but has since become far more reliable in recent seasons. In fact, his growth as a player is a prime reason why he led the Ducks in ice time last season. He was also a key member of the Ducks penalty kill which was 1st in the regular season and 1st in the playoffs.

Despite the positives in his game, Fowler also has some red flags. Fowler’s advanced possession metrics were mediocre on what was a fairly strong possession team. Those possession numbers took an even further nosedive in the playoffs. He also struggled to generate offense in even strength situations(11 even strength points vs 17 power play points).

In essence, Fowler is a solid top 4 defenceman. He may not be the perfect heir to Markov but he is certainly better than anything else the Canadiens have on the left side beyond Markov.

Next: Canadiens PK Subban Trade Options/Scenarios

Ignoring the notion that a Fowler acquisition could help offset the loss of Subban, the cost to acquire Fowler doesn’t seem right. He’s a solid player but has some notable red flags. He’s also just two years away from free agency. He is still just 24 and has room to grow, particularly on offense but that is far from a sure thing.

Trading the 9th overall pick(among other assets) just doesn’t seem to make sense for the Canadiens. Especially with the Canadiens in a spot to select Mikhail Sergachev, Jakob Chychrun or Olli Juolevi if they decide to go defense.

With the Ducks seemingly in need of help up front, it seems to me that a more realistic scenario would be a trade involving a Canadiens forward or two for Fowler. We’ll see if anything comes of this as I am sure we are in for a very interesting day 1 to the NHL draft.