The Montreal Canadiens decided to make another move as they have dealt veteran David Desharnais to Edmonton for Brandon Davidson.
Less than 24 hours before the NHL trade deadline, the Montreal Canadiens continued to add depth. The team announced that they have dealt veteran center David Desharnais to the Edmonton Oilers. In exchange, Montreal receives 25 year old defender Brandon Davidson.
Desharnais has long been a polarizing figure among Canadiens fans. Some loved him as he was a local kid who persevered despite being a small player. On the flip side, a large portion used him as a representation of what was wrong with the team. They argued the team was too small and used Desharnais as a prime example.
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Whether you liked him or hated him, Desharnais has always been a consummate professional. He never complained about ice time or used excuses when he struggled. Despite the negative perception on him, Desharnais did find success during his time in Montreal.Most notably, he helped Max Pacioretty emerge as a premier NHL scoring threat.
However, the writing appeared to be on the wall this season. He’d been averaging the lowest ice time of his career since his rookie year. He also missed a chunk of the season due to a knee injury. To compound matters, Desharnais had played in just 2 of 6 games since Claude Julien took over as coach. He will now get the rest of this season to audition himself to other teams as he looks to secure a new contract this summer.
The Addition of Davidson
For the Canadiens, this move does two things. First, they add another depth defender in Davidson. Second, they open up more cap space, which is necessary if they wish to add a depth scorer before the trade deadline.
Despite retaining 20% on Desharnais' contract, #Habs gained cap space & now find themselves with $1.16M, the equivalent of a $5.22M cap hit.
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) March 1, 2017
In Davidson, the Canadiens receive a defensive defenceman who is capable of playing both sides. In a way, he’s similar to Jordie Benn, whom the Habs acquired yesterday. Davidson enjoyed a productive 2015-16 season, averaging over 19 minutes per game while posting 11 points(4 G, 7 A), 72 hits and 94 blocks. He also showed an ability to drive possession which will be the key to his success under Julien.
Unfortunately, Davidson has taken a step back this season. This regression can be attributed to suffering a shoulder injury which cost him 30 games. On the year, Davidson has registered just one assist, 31 hits and 46 blocks while averaging just 15 minutes of ice time across 28 games.
Where Davidson Fits
This one is not as clear as the Benn trade. Where Benn has shown success across 5 NHL seasons, Davidson has played just 91 career games. Because of this, it is quite likely that Davidson is going to battle Nikita Nesterov and maybe Zach Redmond for minutes on the bottom pairing.
Looking at the Salary Cap, Davidson has 1 more year left on his deal with a $1.425 million cap hit. With a manageable salary, Davidson, like Benn, could be an intriguing exposure for Las Vegas come expansion draft time.
Elsewhere, Davidson’s addition further deepens the left side of the Canadiens defense. All told, the team currently has 8 defenders on the NHL roster with 6 of them being left handed. If Marc Bergevin is to complete another trade, it appears likely he’ll draw from this defensive depth to make it happen.