A Winning Habit
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Grading Montreal’s Moves From The Past Week

By Sebastian High

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 19: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Reilly (28) skates during the first period of the NHL game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Montreal Canadiens on february 19, 2019, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC(Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 19: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Reilly (28) skates during the first period of the NHL game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Montreal Canadiens on february 19, 2019, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC(Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 23: Mike Reilly (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 23: Mike Reilly (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Mike Reilly

The Habs re-signed Mike Reilly to a two-year contract worth $1.5 million per year. This is the only move made by GM Marc Bergevin this week that I really dislike. Reilly has decent offensive upside, but is far from reliable defensively.

Third pairing defensemen need to be reliable in their own zone above all else. Reilly had his fair share of chances to solidify a spot in the lineup last season and failed to do so. I don’t believe it was necessary to bring him back.

Especially when you consider that Xavier Ouellet and Gustav Olofsson are players of equivalent calibre offensively whilst being more responsible defensively and both are likely to be with the Laval Rocket.

Reilly was a frequent healthy scratch in the second half of last season. He was gifted an opportunity to play top pairing minutes with Shea Weber, then second pairing minutes with Jeff Petry and finally third pairing minutes with Jordie Benn or Noah Juulsen. He dropped the ball with every opportunity and watched the playoff push from the press box.

The painful part is the salary. $1.5 million is about $700 000 more than I would have been willing to shell out for Reilly. The two years of term put salt on the wound. This move is in no way going to handicap the team going forward, but it is unnecessary and wastes a chunk of cap space in my eyes.

Grade: F

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