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Canadiens: Value of Adding Jordie Benn

By William Mccomb

Jan 31, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Jordie Benn (24) skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Maple Leafs 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars defenseman Jordie Benn (24) skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Maple Leafs 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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In a busy afternoon right before Deadline day, the Montreal Canadiens decided to add more defensive depth in the form of Jordie Benn.

Two days before the NHL trade deadline, the Montreal Canadiens decided to get some shopping done. The team has announced that they have sent Greg Pateryn and a 2017 4th round pick to the Dallas Stars in exchange for defender Jordie Benn.

This comes just days after Pateryn’s wife made controversial comments regarding the Canadiens coaching staff. After the comments had gone public, Marc Bergevin let it be known that Pateryn was being shopped.

I reached out to Blackout Dallas to get a small scouting report on the Canadiens newest addition:

Benn is a 29-year-old defender who is listed at 6-2 and 200 pounds. He is a veteran of 302 NHL games and is praised for his work ethic. On the year, Benn has recorded 15 points(3 G, 12 A) in 58 games for Dallas.

Before last off-season, Benn signed a three-year extension that carries a $1.1 million cap hit. He’s spent the majority of his professional career with the Dallas Stars organization after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2011.

Where Benn Fits With the Canadiens.

This one is a bit tricky. As of this writing, the Canadiens have five left-handed defencemen and just two right-handed defencemen. Due to this, the team could continue playing a defender out of position. Though that may not be much of an issue for Benn as CTV’s Brian Wilde elaborated.

Benn should slot into Claude Julien‘s 3rd defensive unit, likely partnering with Nikita Nesterov or Nathan Beaulieu. He should also take most of Andrei Markov‘s penalty kill minutes which should help keep Markov fresh down the stretch. The Habs penalty kill has been a mess for most of this season though it’s been much better since Julien took over. Still, adding a player like Benn should further help solidify the unit as a whole down the stretch.

This trade does raise some questions as the Canadiens head into the deadline. Namely, the Benn addition has fueled speculation that Beaulieu could be shopped to help find a scoring forward. The hope here would be that by making Beaulieu available, the Habs could avoid dealing top prospect Mikhail Sergachev.

An interesting aspect of this trade pertains to the looming Expansion draft. If the Canadiens were to expose Alexei Emelin, Jordie Benn represents a cheaper option to replace him with. Benn could also be a guy the Canadiens dangle in the hopes of luring Las Vegas into not taking another player.

It’s going to be an interesting lead up to Wednesday’s trade deadline as the Canadiens look to further add to the team and enter the playoffs in a more favorable position.

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