The way the Montreal Canadiens approached this past Free Agent Frenzy was different from last year’s but similar at the same time.
Free Agent Frenzy is the day for high hopes and potentially future disappointments. The Montreal Canadiens were going into it with a decent amount of cap space despite still having a set of restricted free agents to re-sign. However, there was a clear difference in design between this year’s event and last year’s.
For starters, the Habs didn’t go for or acquire one of the top names on the market. Last year they did when it was confirmed that Karl Alzner wasn’t going to re-sign with the Washington Capitals. Alzner had played for no other organization in his then nine-year NHL career and decided to have the Montreal Canadiens as his new team.
Marc Bergevin was making all the stops to get the 2007 fifth overall pick to join the team. And the interest appeared mutual as Montreal was the only city Alzner visited during the free agent discussion window.
Alzner says on SN that MTL was the only city he and his wife visited - spoke to others on the phone - and it left quite an impression. #Habs
— Heather Engel (@engelheather) July 1, 2017
The Habs signed the then 28-year-old to a five-year $23.125 million contract that included a seven-team no-trade list. The veteran also saw his cap hit jump from $2.8 million to $4.625 million. Although Alzner was a coveted player heading into July 1st, many questioned whether it was a signing Montreal even needed to do. Additionally, the deal for the defenceman was a precursor for the eventual departure of Andrei Markov from the organization.
Of all the players brought on, Alzner was the only one guaranteed to make the team out of camp.