Montreal Canadiens: Not Signing Thomas Vanek Was the Right Move

Although Thomas Vanek would’ve been a valuable returnee for the Montreal Canadiens, they made the right move in not signing him this off-season.

Having so much cap space is sometimes a bad thing for a fanbase. Especially for a fanbase that has high expectations for the upcoming season. A prime example are Montreal Canadiens fans. Even though the majority of them are content with the way the roster is going into training camp, there are those who are still hoping/expecting for something more to be done.

Again, it comes down to the constantly talked about cap space (not going to bother mentioning how much, every Habs fan should know the number by now). Trades are easy to suggest, but hard to complete. The easiest thing for people to try to predict are signings.

Capfriendly.com has a great feature that lists the remaining free agents. For the longest time, Thomas Vanek was the best player available. The 33-year-old came off a 17 goal and 31 assist season with the Detroit Red Wings and the Florida Panthers. Despite that, he was one of the many to not have a contract for next season. That was until the Vancouver Canucks signed him.

There was some frustration around the Habs community. Many were hoping that Bergevin would bring Vanek back for another go with the team. It didn’t appear there was any interest on the Canadiens side, in combination with the fact that Ales Hemsky received a contract, seemed to rub fans the wrong way.

I get it. Vanek is still able to play the game well enough even though he’s north of 30. Additionally, his last stint with the Montreal Canadiens back in the 2013-2014 season went fairly well. That being said, Bergevin made the Habs made the right move in not signing Vanek.

Give the Kids a Chance

So let’s pretend for a moment that Vanek signed that one-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens. “Wow, that’s a great addition to the team”, Habs fans would say.

It wouldn’t hurt the Habs to add more offence to the line-up. Vanek has scored at least 15 goals and 40 points in every season since his NHL debut in 2005. Additionally, he’s a solid playmaker and net-front presence. Vanek on the Canadiens power play would be a thing of beauty.

After the initial five minutes of excitement, the next important factor should kick in: where does he play? To make things easier, let’s just say he plays on the fourth line with Torrey Mitchell and Hemsky. That definitely makes that line a lot better and Vanek will probably be given power play time.