Canadiens Qualify Three Players; Cut Bournival

The deadline to extend qualifying offers was at 5:00 pm today and the Canadiens extended offers to just three players.

The Canadiens officially extended qualifying offers to three players today. Daniel Carr, Andrew Shaw and Phillip Danault will all remain within the Canadiens organization.

Earlier, the Canadiens announced both Lucas Lessio and Darren Dietz would not receive qualifying offers. They’ve also decided to let both Michael Bournival and Morgan Ellis go as well. Depth defensive prospect Mac Bennett was also let go.

Carr, Shaw and Danault were near locks to receive their qualifying offers and should have new contracts in place fairly quickly.

The Canadiens signed Carr in April 2014 after a 4 year career at Union College. After a solid rookie season with Hamilton, Carr opened 2015-16 in St. John’s and posted 21 points in 24 games before getting called up.

He scored in his first NHL game and finished with 9 points in 23 games with the Canadiens. A knee injury sidelined him for most of the year but he showed a willingness to crash the net and fight for rebounds. He’ll be in the mix for an opening night roster spot in October.

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The Canadiens acquired Phillip Danault at the trade deadline in the Dale Weise trade and he quickly established himself as a solid defensive forward. The former 1st round pick saw just 12:38 of ice time per game but posted very good possession numbers while having over 60% of his starts come in the defensive zone. He’s in line to take over Lars Eller‘s role as 3rd/4th line shutdown defensive forward and key penalty killer.

Andrew Shaw was acquired at Friday’s NHL draft for two 2nd round picks. Shaw is widely known as a gritty agitator who is capable to chip in 15-20 goals a season. He’s also been a playoff warrior and key contributor to two Stanley Cup runs in Chicago. It is widely believed the Canadiens and Shaw are close to a potential 6 year extension.

On the flip side, allowing Bournival, Ellis and Bennett to leave as well as Dietz and Lessio, lessens the Canadiens depth beyond the NHL roster. I already covered the losses of Dietz and Lessio and how it could affect the Canadiens depth next season.

Michael Bournival was acquired in a trade with the Avalanche in 2010 and has spent the past 4 seasons in the Canadiens organization. After a solid rookie season in 2013-14, Bournival looked primed to be a top defensive forward for the Canadiens. But injuries, particularly a severe concussion and subsequent post-concussion syndrome, have robbed Bournival of most of the past two seasons.

Morgan Ellis was a Canadiens 4th round pick in 2010 and he had a solid career in the QMJHL. His first two and a half seasons as a pro were less than stellar and Ellis found himself in the ECHL. It was there that Ellis’ game took off and led to him posting a career best 42 points this past season in St. John’s. He saw a small 3 game sample in Montreal and appeared solid in his play.

Mac Bennett is the least established of the names here. He was a 3rd round pick in 2009 and spent 4 years at the University of Michigan before turning pro. Now 25, Bennett has not been able to find his game at the AHL level. In a year where the Canadiens used 15 defencemen, it’s telling that Bennett was not among those chosen to fill a role, even for one game.

Next: Canadiens Set to Let Dietz and Lessio Go

Final Thoughts

I’m very surprised the Canadiens are opting to part ways with Dietz and Ellis. Dietz was very solid in his NHL debut while Ellis had a great year in St. John’s. Neither player is likely to be much more than a bottom pairing defender but with the amount of injuries the Canadiens blueline sustained last year, you’d think the team would be stocking up on defencemen, not cutting them.

The writing’s been on the wall for Bournival for a while now. He’s been passed by other players and just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. I hope he can finally get healthy and can continue his NHL career because he was a solid bottom 6 winger.