Montreal Canadiens: Charlie Lindgren’s contract could be a steal
By Omar L
If Charlie Lindgren can meet and even exceed the expectations the Montreal Canadiens have for him; his contract could end up being one of their better ones.
Of all the players the Montreal Canadiens had to sign, Charlie Lindgren was one who I personally thought they’d have trouble with. Considering how well he played in those eight games when Carey Price went down, he had a serious case on his hands. What the Habs and the fans themselves were watching themselves on the ice was a potential NHL starter.
Obviously, the sample size is an issue there, but seeing Lindgren’s positioning, timing, and ability to make a stop at key moments is everything indicative of that level of goaltending. The 24-year-old could’ve asked for more to be honest however Marc Bergevin managed to get him to a $750,000 cap hit for the next three years. To keep things in perspective, that’s only a $50,000 increase on the one-year extension he was given last season.
Regardless of your feelings for the Habs general manager at the moment, you have to give him a golf clap for that one. On the other hand, the contract negotiations could’ve come with a promise to be up in the NHL with Carey Price which has its own benefits development wise.
There’s also the angle that Lindgren hasn’t necessarily done enough to ask for anything more. However, agents can be pretty persuasive when if need be.
Until there’s any evidence to say otherwise, your goalie tandem for next year will be Price and Lindgren. Not bad wouldn’t you say?
However, that may not be something that the Habs wait for. With Lindgren signed, Antti Niemi could be made available, perhaps in a similar trade as what they got (or will get) for Al Montoya.
For example, the Philadelphia Flyers are hoping to hold on to their spot in the Metropolitan Division. But with Brian Elliott set to miss the next five to six weeks recovering from core muscle surgery Michael Neuvirth will to take charge of the net. The Flyers called up Alex Nylon from the AHL to back him up, but if they’re not confident in him, Niemi wouldn’t be too far from being a temporary replacement.
Just a thought. That’s not the main point of this piece though. The climax of it is this, how good of a contract will that be for the Habs, if Lindgren reaches or surpasses the expectations we have for him?
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This isn’t to say that Lindgren will take over the net and push Price back into obscurity, but if being a backup is his short-term fate, he has the potential to be one of the league’s best. All a team asks for of a backup goaltender is .500 hockey. Keep the team in it in the second half of back-to-backs or if you have to, go in cold when the coach wants to send a message, lock things down for a bit.
I’m not saying that Lindgren will lead the NHL in save percentage next season, but if you can put up numbers similar to the ones he did this season, the Habs are flying high. Things will have to change personnel wise to ensure that both he and Price have the best chances to make those save though. That’s a conversation for the deadline and perhaps the offseason, but for now, Montreal has a good thing in the young goaltender.
Take a look at other teams in the league. Backup goaltenders are starting to get paid more, be it for necessity or desperation on free agent frenzy. You have some hovering around the $1 million mark, but others making as high as $2.5 million (Mike Condon in Ottawa makes $2.4 while Chad Johnson in Buffalo makes $2.5). There are also the suspects getting paid pretty nicely in the $4 and 5 million range (Kari Lehtonen), but those are different circumstances.
Imagine how nice it will work if Lindgren plays well for the Habs and you check his CapFriendly page and notice he makes less than $1 million. He still needs to grow and prove that he can reach that level, but based on what we’ve seen from him, it’s pretty easy to be optimistic about it.
What are your expectations for Lindgren? Can he make his new contract look like a steal for the Habs? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Acknowledgements: cap information from capfriendly.com