The Montreal Canadiens signed Karl Alzner to solidify their top four just two years ago. Now, the Habs would like a do-over and the defenceman would welcome a move to another team as well.
The Montreal Canadiens completely revamped their left defence in the summer of 2017. They traded Mikhail Sergachev to the Tampa Bay Lightning, dealt Nathan Beaulieu to the Buffalo Sabres, lost Alexei Emelin to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft and allowed Andrei Markov to walk away via free agency.
That is three proven NHL caliber left defenders leaving town in the same offseason. Also heading out of Montreal was one of the top defensive prospects in the game. That is a lot of turnover for one summer.
When you move on from every one of the defensemen that played on the left side in one offseason, you have some major holes to fill. The key component in filling that void in the summer of 2017 was Karl Alzner. The left shooting defender had carved out a lengthy career with the Washington Capitals as a shutdown defender. However, his game appeared to be slipping in his final season with the Capitals.
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Still, the Canadiens felt confident signing the Burnaby, British Columbia native to a five-year contract with a cap hit of $4.625 million per season. General Manager Marc Bergevin clearly believed he could either play with Shea Weber on the top pairing or at the very least form a formidable second pairing with Jeff Petry.
Alzner played all 82 games for the Canadiens in the 2017-18 season, but the team struggled. It also quickly became apparent that Alzner was struggling as well. His possession stats were okay, but his skating was not. Opposing players were regularly attacking Alzner’s side of the ice as they entered the zone with speed, and there was not much the Canadiens big signing could do to slow them down.
Last season, Alzner was made a healthy scratch in the opening game of the season, ending an ironman streak that lasted more than eight full seasons. Alzner only played nine games with the Habs all year, spending the rest of the season with the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League.
Yesterday, Alzner was quoted as saying he does not want to return to Laval and would rather be traded to another NHL team that would give him a chance to play in the big leagues.
Of course, with three years left on his hefty contract, that is easier said than done. Trading Alzner at this point is nearly impossible. Though his cap hit will remain $4.625 million each year, his actual salary will be $4.625 million this season, $3 million next season and $3.5 million in the final year of his deal.
That is $11.125 million over the next three years in actual money being earned. Alzner will turn 31 before next season starts and already has trouble keeping up with the pace of NHL play. It would be difficult for the Canadiens to find a taker for his contract without taking on an equally porous one in return.
The craziest part about Alzner not wanting to play for the Laval Rocket is that I don’t know if he is even good enough to play for the Rocket. The Canadiens affiliate have plenty of options on defence already and may not have room for an aging veteran that has little to offer on the ice.
On the left side of the defence in Laval, Xavier Ouellet is going to play a big role as the team’s captain and one of their ice time leaders last season. They also just signed Otto Leskinen out of Finland. The 22 year old defender scored 31 points in 57 games in Liiga last season and could be a top four option for the Rocket.
Laval also have David Sklenicka, a 22 year old left defenceman who played 68 games with the team last season. He only had nine points but played a sound defensive game. If you are going to give third pairing minutes to a defensive defenceman in the AHL, it makes a lot more sense to give that role to a 22 year old than a 31 year old.
The Rocket also have Gustav Olofsson, who was injured for all but two games last season. However, he should be healthy for camp and had two good seasons with the Iowa Wild in the AHL before being dealt to the Canadiens organization. At 24 years of age, Olofsson has a better chance at helping the Canadiens in the future than Alzner. It would make sense to play Olofsson more.
That is four left defenders that are better options than the veteran of close to 700 NHL games. Normally you might suggest just moving one or two of them to the right side, but the Rocket’s right defence is better than the left side.
Cale Fleury and Josh Brook are two of the Canadiens best prospects and will be playing right defence. They could also have Noah Juulsen back after he missed more than half of last season with facial injuries.
Alzner said he would prefer to be traded if he doesn’t make the Montreal Canadiens roster out of training camp. Not only will he not make the Canadiens roster, he might find himself a healthy scratch in the American Hockey League after he is sent down. Obviously a trade would be the best option at this point for both the player and the team.
He may want to be traded, but what NHL team is going to trade for a player making $4.625 million that isn’t even guaranteed to play every night in the AHL? If Alzner wants out of Montreal, he is going to have to agree to tear up his contract. That would cost him more than $11 million so I don’t think we will be seeing that happen.
Unless he somehow became a much better skater this summer, Alzner is in for a long season of cashing big cheques while playing a depth role for the Laval Rocket. There is simply no reason for another team to take on his contract at this point in his career.