Montreal Canadiens: A new perspective on Tomas Plekanec

Tomas Plekanec is one of the free agents on the team almost certain to be moved, but the debate is on whether the Montreal Canadiens bring him back or not.

At the end of November, I wrote a post on the future of Tomas Plekanec and whether or not the Montreal Canadiens will trade him. Things were bad for the team back then, but the possibility of a turn around was still present considering how poor the rest of the Atlantic Division was.

In it, I detailed the positive things the veteran does for the Habs on the defensive side of the puck as well his success in the faceoff circle and how Brendan Gallagher and Charles Hudon looked better with than without him (analytics wise).

Fast forward two months, and with the Trade Deadline a couple of weeks away, Plekanec will and should be a player the Habs try to move. What they get back in return is tough to say considering the 35-year-old has one goal in his last 36 games. Whatever team acquires Plekanec, it will be for the other things he does.

His future home, if he is moved, will be in a depth role. He doesn’t have the speed or offence anymore to be a top six player, but Plekanec could be someone a coach throws over the bench in a key situation. Where he plays after February 26th is going to be dealt with soon, but where he signs after is what fans are starting to talk about.

Pierre Lebrun mentioned that Plekanec re-signing with the team in the summer is still a possibility. Again, I wrote in that same post that bringing him back could be something Marc Bergevin and the rest of management do mostly because he’s a centre and the organization doesn’t have the depth.

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I’m struggling with this idea now. It’ll ultimately come down to what kind of capital Plekanec is looking. Although the Habs will have the cap space, giving him a similar cap-hit would be a mistake. There could be other centres that appear in free agency who the Habs could kick tires on as well.

When the moment comes, it’s going to come down to what the idea for the new regime is. If the Habs want to move on and start something new -possibly with a new general manager- then leaving Plekanec behind may be an option. That may allow younger players in the organization to compete for more spots.

On the other hand, if the return for trading Plekanec at this year’s deadline is worth it, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Habs re-sign him just to trade him the following season. His play will be a huge determining factor though.

We’ll see what the future holds for the 13-year veteran.

Next: The Most Generous Blueline

Should the Habs re-sign Plekanec in the summer or let him go? Let us know what you think down below.