The Significance of the Montreal Canadiens Signing Mark Streit

The Mark Streit signing opens up further questions and discussions about the Montreal Canadiens blue-line and closes some others.

It was a normal Tuesday afternoon before the Montreal Canadiens announced the signing of Mark Streit to a one-year contract. The Habs’ Twitter community went up in flames for a portion of time. Some fans were pleased with the signing, while others weren’t in favour of it.

When you take a look at the ripple effect created, this signing by the Canadiens may hint at a couple of things.

1. Possibly No Rookies on the Blue-Line

The Habs’ top four for next season will most likely be: Shea Weber, Karl Alzner, Jeff Petry, and Jordie Benn. There was hope that 2015 first round pick Noah Juulsen could contend for a spot on the third pairing with a great training camp.

With Streit being signed, the battle for the two bottom pairing spots will be between him, Brandon Davidson, and David Schlemko. Juulsen could make the decision to send him down to play for the Laval Rocket more difficult. In that case, the battle could very well be for a single spot. However, with Streit in the fold, it looks more likely that there will only be veterans on defence.

2. He May Not Even Play

From the back-end decisions the Montreal Canadiens have been making this offseason, signing Streit is a definite outlier. It’s been the defensive-minded defencemen that the Habs have been acquiring so far, and Streit doesn’t fit the bill.

The 39-year-old is known for his ability to man the power play and put up points for his team. Sure those numbers have dwindled recently, but Streit is very much a defenceman with an affinity for offence. The one thing that very much can and will keep him out of the line-up, is his tendency to give up the puck in the defensive zone.

Montreal saw a significant decrease in scoring chances allowed when Claude Julien was hired. The system he puts to play is centred around efficient play in the d-zone. If Streit makes those goal-costing mistakes, it’s possible he spends a lot of time in the press box.

3. Is This Goodbye to Andrei Markov?

There was a belief going around Habs’ Twitter that Streit signing means the team has given up on bringing Markov back. This belief was the main fuel for Habs’ fans disliking of the signing. I did a quick poll to get the thought process from fans:

It wasn’t too far off, but the majority of fans who voted believe that Markov wont be back. Although the Habs still have the money to sign him, they don’t have the space. Streit makes it eight defencemen on the team so far.

Now that could be fixed with a trade or waivers. By no means is Streit replacing Markov. However, if he is still set to his demand of $6 million he may have never been coming back regardless of this signing.

Next: Canadiens Sign Mark Streit

Do you think Streit makes the team? What do you think this signing means for Markov’s future with the Habs? Let us know what you think in the comments!