Habs Decide to Pay Small Price in Steve Ott Addition
Marc Bergevin continued tweaking the Habs lineup as he acquired veteran Steve Ott from the Detroit Red Wings late Tuesday night.
Habs GM Marc Bergevin has made another depth move to improve his team. Shortly after beating the Columbus Blue Jackets, it was revealed the Habs had acquired long-time agitator Steve Ott. The cost to acquire him? A 2018 6th round draft pick. Ott joins recent acquisitions Jordie Benn and Brandon Davidson as depth moves made in recent days by Bergevin.
The 14-year NHL veteran has spent the 2016-17 season with the Detroit Red Wings. Ott signed a 1 year/800K contract last summer after spending a little over 2 years in St. Louis. Though he’s played less than in years past, Ott has still managed to remain productive with 6 points(3 G, 3A), 63 PIM and 101 hits.
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Some may wonder why Bergevin has added another 4th line player but this move actually makes a lot of sense. In addition to his well known grit factor, Ott has long been one of the better faceoff
men in the NHL. He has continued that this season, winning 58% of his draws.
The price of their 2018 6th round pick to get Ott is pretty small for the Habs. They will now go back-to-back years without a 6th round pick. Bergevin already dealt 2017 6th rounder was dealt in the Nikita Nesterov trade. It’s not much of a surprise to see Bergevin deal another late round pick fro a depth player. The team has not drafted an NHL player from 6th round since Matt D’Agostini back in 2005.
Where Ott Fits
This one is easier to figure out than with the Canadiens previous two trades this week. Ott will easily slide into a 4th line role, either at center or on the wing. Though he joins a slightly crowded 4th line, Ott probably holds a bit of an edge over Torrey Mitchell and Michael McCarron. He combines both of their skill sets into one player therefore the team could opt to use him most often.
Most noteworthy, the Canadiens have recently struggled to win faceoffs in all three zones. Because of this, Ott could quickly establish himself as the permanent 4th line center and key faceoff taker for the team. Also working in Ott’s favor is the fact Claude Julien has always loved having players like Ott in his lineup. Guys like Steve Begin, Radek Bonk, Stephane Yelle, Gregory Campbell and Chris Kelly have all played pivotal roles on past Julien teams.
In addition to his grit and faceoffs, Ott can also plug into the Canadiens suddenly surging PK unit. Playing a key role on the 15th ranked Red Wings penalty kill, Ott was seeing the second most ice time among Wings forwards on the penalty kill.
With the NHL trade deadline ticking down, it seems like Bergevin has finished adding depth to the bottom lines. He will now look to address the teams lack of secondary scoring, most notably on the 2nd line and perhaps at center as well.