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Will Marc Bergevin Make One Last Move This Summer?

By Sebastian High

MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 30: Julius Honka #6 of the Dallas Stars looks to pass the puck while being challenged by Xavier Ouellet #61 of the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 30, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 30: Julius Honka #6 of the Dallas Stars looks to pass the puck while being challenged by Xavier Ouellet #61 of the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 30, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 10: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Because Marc Bergevin rarely shows his hand, his trades and signings often come out of the blue. This discredits Habs rumours. However, these three players would all fill a specific hole and slot into a specific narrative.

Let us begin with Julius Honka. This one is strange, really strange. You would be forgiven to require a bit of time to recall the depth the Habs possess on the right side of defence after an entire summer of talk about the left. The right side is in fact in very good shape. Shea Weber and Jeff Petry slot into the first and second pairings without the need of much consideration.

The bottom pairing is up for grabs, but four solid candidates will contend for the right side spot. Noah Juulsen is the favourite, he played some very effective, no-nonsense hockey last season before his eye injury. Christian Folin was effective in a similar fashion following the trade deadline and will want to show that he has earned the one-year contract he received in April.

Cale Fleury was very good in his first professional season with Laval, playing a big role. He has a decent shot at beating out the two more veteran players with an impressive training camp and preseason. The least quantifiable contender, Josh Brook, will likely spend the year under Joel Bouchard in the AHL but will be given a chance to prove his worth with the Habs.

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With all of this depth, why would the Canadiens need or even want Julius Honka? Well, the only scenario that would make even a sliver of sense would be if the Habs traded Jeff Petry for draft picks, a left-handed defenseman or a top-six forward. Right defensemen have a lot of value, and after his monster season, Petry’s value is at an all-time high.

If Bergevin believes he can fashion together a deal that will improve the team that includes Jeff Petry, he will not hesitate to do it. Unlikely as it may be, Petry is not an untradeable asset. He is 31 and has two years remaining on his current contract, which sees him making $5.5 million annually. While I would hate to see him go if it fetched a top-pairing left defenseman or a first-round pick along with a second or two, I would be content with the deal.

His departure would, of course, leave a gaping hole on the right side of the defence. Enter, Julius Honka, a previous first-round draft selection who has excelled in sheltered minutes in Dallas over the past few years. The 23-year-old has posted 2 goals and 11 assists throughout his 87 games in the NHL. Honka has a career Corsi For % of 52.3%, meaning that his team controls the puck for the majority of his time on the ice.

Honka’s underlying metrics look very good as a whole. Then again, it is a small sample size. He is currently an RFA, and the Stars only have $970 000 in cap space, which would make Honka a rather tight fit. Thus, he is on the trading block. As I stated previously, however, this is more about the mould of player than any individual player, given how little information we get out of Bergevin. If the Habs were, in fact, to offload Jeff Petry, acquiring a young, unproven defenceman on a cheap contract may not be the worst solution if internal graduation is not yet an option.

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