Montreal Canadiens: The pros and cons of a Derick Brassard trade
The Montreal Canadiens may not be done in the trade market, and if Derick Brassard is the next target, there will be a lot to unpack from it.
Despite acquiring Max Domi from the Arizona Coyotes, the Montreal Canadiens are still in the running to add further to their roster. Ryan O’Reilly looks to be the next target, but that seems to be a deal that happens on the draft floor. There’s also a chance Marc Bergevin tries to acquire another first-round pick which would be beneficial in a deep draft. But a name that is starting to catch some steam is Derick Brassard.
Jim Rutherford is an NHL GM who is always willing to make a deal. However, that’s tough to do when you’re so close to the cap ceiling. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently are a little shy of $4.8 million in cap space. That may not be too much of a problem now with the salary cap expected to increase to anywhere between $78 and $82 million.
Additionally, the Penguins don’t have a key free agent to resign. Bryan Rust and Riley Sheahan may be their most important and neither will hurt Pittsburgh’s pocketbook too much. But it will handcuff Rutherford’s ability to make any other moves.
This year’s Free Agent Frenzy has some candidates that he could be interested in. That fact alone could see Rutherford move players out to clear space. Phil Kessel‘s name is being thrown around and the financial implications of it give weight to the rumours. As good as a player he is, Rutherford may believe the team can be as effective without him.
Brassard may be an option as well. He only makes $3 million for one more season and another team could easily take that on. One of those teams could be the Montreal Canadiens.
Why the Interest?
Well, there hasn’t been a formal report of any interest from the Montreal Canadiens. NHL writer Jimmy Murphy tweeted out that the Penguins are active now that Max Domi is with the Habs. An article by Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now included the trade proposition where Rutherford was willing to give up one of Connor Sheary or Rust for the 23-year-old.
The same article also included Brassard as an option to be moved. He had a tough start in Pittsburgh and wasn’t able to reach the level of scoring he did in Ottawa. Before getting traded, Brassard had 18 goals and 20 assists in 58 games. That went down to 3 goals and 5 assists in 14 games with the Pens.
That isn’t terrible, but 4 points in 12 playoff games is less than ideal. Perhaps it was the lower-body injury going into the post-season that hampered Brassard. Either way, he’s now a possible option.
The Montreal angle appears with Murphy who tweeted that the Habs are possibly interested in Brassard.
Regarding #Pens F #DerickBrassard, count #GoHabsGo as a team interested in acquiring him.
— MurphysLaw74 (@MurphysLaw74) June 18, 2018
The Montreal Canadiens have the space to take on Brassard and any other pieces Pittsburgh wants to send Bergevin’s way.
The Penguins used the 30-year-old as their third line centre one he was acquired. However, he would be a decent number two on most teams. Brassard has the offensive extinct to play and excel with skilled players. Additionally, he’s an effective option to have in the defensive zone.
What’s interesting is the contrast in performance between Ottawa and Pittsburgh, two different teams in clearly different directions. Brassard’s relative Corsi-for – the amount of shots directed towards his net when on the ice vs. when he was off – dropped from 5.6 with the Sens to -6.9 in Pittsburgh.
The same can be seen in his heat maps. There were a lot of shots allowed in the home plate region of the ice when with the Pens vs. Sens.
Ability as a Centre
Faceoffs are another wart in Brassard’s playbook. After performing around 50% in the last two seasons, he saw his winning rate fall to 49.1% (46.9% in Pittsburgh, 49.6% in Ottawa).
He also doesn’t contribute much to shot totals. Brassard has yet to eclipse 200 shots in his career but has seen the number of shots sent on net increase over the years. Because of that, his shot contributions per 60 are within the lower tier of the league.
Sticking with A3Z Player Comparison Tool, Brassard isn’t much of a puck carrier, at least when it comes to entering the offensive zone. That aspect of his game stands out more in terms of defensive zone exits. It’s in complete contrast to say Jonathan Drouin who jumps at the chance to have the puck on his stick in any zone.
Phillip Danault has better numbers in those categories as well. Again, it may just not have been Brassard’s year. His stats in the 2016-17 season are much better, especially in shot contributions.
Related Story: Trading for Ryan O'Reilly
If he were to play on the team, a good way to combat this would be to play Brassard with someone who likes to skate with the puck. Charles Hudon is a name that strikes as a possibility as well as Domi. Brassard is a good option to have when it comes to causing chaos in the offensive zone.
He has good size and is not easily pushed off the puck which Claude Julien will appreciate when it comes to implementing his system.
Assuming something like this is in the realm of possibility, the deciding factor would be the clause on Brassard’s deal. The 30-year-old has an eight-team no-trade list. If the Habs are on it, then he would have to waive his clause for the trade to take place.
The cost would be interesting as Max Pacioretty is on a good deal and would fit nicely on the roster. But Bergevin can’t make this a one-for-one trade. Another thing to make note of is that Pittsburgh doesn’t have their first-round pick this year. There could be other players in their pipeline who they could identify as targets.
Next: Price Can Be the Habs' Luongo
For now, it’s just speculation. Brassard would be a good fit with the Montreal Canadiens. Additionally, his presence pushes Danault to the third line and strengthens the team’s centre depth. But the clause put the keys in Brassard’s hands, if there is even a car to begin with.