Montreal Canadiens New Left Defenseman Could Come From Chicago Blackhawks

The Montreal Canadiens biggest need this summer is to find a capable left defenseman. The Chicago Blackhawks have a plethora of LD and could be looking to move one of them.

The Montreal Canadiens biggest need this summer if to find a left defenseman that can play in the top four. Ideally, they will add someone that can play on the top pairing. If that can’t be found, they need to find someone to fill in on the second pairing with Jeff Petry.

If no one is brought in, they would have Victor Mete playing on the top pair, and Brett Kulak slotting in beside Jeff Petry on the second pair. That would be a bit of a risk as it may be asking too much of Mete to be a top pairing guy next season. It could very well be too much to expect of Kulak to be a top four defenseman for a full season.

So, if the Habs can’t find a defender to play on the top pair with Shea Weber, they should be looking at someone that can play alongside Petry. The Canadiens re-signed Mike Reilly to a two year contract, but he was not trusted to play at all in the second half of last season. He can be a depth guy, but shouldn’t be someone we pencil into the opening night lineup right away.

The Canadiens are going to have to go outside the organization to find a top four left defenseman. Going the free agent route is always risky as there is a bidding war for every player and they all end up being overpaid.

Jake Gardiner is about the only left shooting defender who is a free agent and would immediately step into the top four and make the team better. Signing him would probably cost $7 million per season for the next seven years. That’s what it would take to have the winning bid, but Gardiner is just not worth that kind of money.

If free agency is not the correct route to find an upgrade, the Canadiens are going to have to look at possible trades that fit. They need to identify a team that is willing to move a left defenseman which is difficult. Teams, no matter how great they are, will usually be looking to add defenders at the trade deadline, so trying to pry one away isn’t easy.

So, which teams would be looking to move a left defenseman this summer? The one team that jumps out just added two of them via trade and that is the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks traded goaltender Anton Forsberg and defenseman Gustav Forsling for prospect forward Aleksi Saarela and left defenseman Calvin de Haan. I, for one, thought the Canadiens should have signed de Haan last summer when he remained a free agent for a few days. I also thought they should push to trade for him this year.

That didn’t happen for whatever reason and now he is off to Chicago. He’s not a top pairing defenseman but he is a very capable and steady defensive presence that would be excellent on the second pairing of any team in the league.

This trade came just a few days after the Blackhawks traded for another left defenseman. They dealt a solid young forward in Dominik Kahun and a fifth round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for left defenseman Olli Maatta.

The Hawks have already had Duncan Keith playing huge minutes for them for about a decade on the left side. Also, Erik Gustafsson is a left shot who played a ton for the Blackhawks last season. He scored 60 points in a breakout campaign.

The Blackhawks also have Carl Dahlstrom and Slater Koekkoek under contract for next season. They are both left shots but won’t be counted on the play top six roles, but they could both fill a depth role. This gives them six left shot defenders with NHL experience.

The easy answer is to just move one of them to the right side. It’s not impossible to have a left shooting defenseman playing on the right side of the ice. However, the Hawks already have a lot of defenders on the right side as well.

Brent Seabrook has been a staple on the right side almost as long as Keith has been on the left side. Connor Murphy is another veteran right shot defender who played top four minutes last season. Henri Jokiharju is only 20 years old but played well enough to show he can be a top four player on the right side.

The Blackhawks also have Adam Boqvist in the system who might be ready for a big role. He’s a right shot who was taken eighth overall in 2018. He just had an excellent season with the London Knights scoring over a point per game and might jump right into a prominent role with the Blackhawks next season.

If you are keeping track, that gives the Blackhawks eight very capable defensemen and solid depth behind them. Keith, Gustafsson, de Haan and Maatta on the left and Jokiharju, Seabrook, Murphy and Boqvist on the right and Koekkoek and Dahlstrom providing depth.

They simply can’t keep them all. There isn’t room on an NHL roster for ten defensemen. Someone will have to be traded. The Montreal Canadiens should be on the phone doing everything they can to acquire Erik Gustafsson.

Obviously the Blackhawks didn’t acquire de Haan or Maatta just to trade them. They also won’t be moving Duncan Keith and the final four years of his contract. They will try to move Seabrook’s contract but no one is going to take on the final five years of that huge pact.

Gustafsson is heading into the final year of his contract before becoming an unrestricted free agent. His cap hit for next season is just $1.2 million, but he will be looking for an enormous raise on his next deal.

This could entice the Blackhawks into moving him now when his value is at an all time high. The 27 year old scored 60 points last season and proved to be very dangerous with the man advantage. He averaged over 22 minutes per game last season, mostly at even strength and on the power play.

This would make him a perfect fit with the Habs. They need a minute munching left defenseman who can take over the top power play. Gustafsson, coming off a breakout season and being one year away from free agency will be looking to prove he isn’t a one hit wonder and is worthy of a huge contract.

Bringing in a highly motivated 27 year old left defenseman who can run a power play, move the puck, score points and skate well is exactly what the Montreal Canadiens could use next season. It’s time to make a call to the Chicago Blackhawks and try to pry away a defenseman since they have a plethora of them on the roster.