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Montreal Canadiens: Marc Bergevin’s 5 Best Trade Deadline Moves

By Ken MacMillan

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 07: General manager of the Montreal Canadiens Marc Bergevin speaks with the media prior to the NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre on January 7, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Minnesota Wild defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 07: General manager of the Montreal Canadiens Marc Bergevin speaks with the media prior to the NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre on January 7, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Minnesota Wild defeated the Montreal Canadiens 1-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 8: Mike Weaver #43 (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 8: Mike Weaver #43 (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images) /

5. Mike Weaver

Well, this one wasn’t exactly a blockbuster deal. At his first trade deadline with the Canadiens clearly in the playoff picture, Bergevin added depth defenseman David Drewiske. At his second deadline, he was a little more aggressive (though we will get to that later).

One trade he made at the 2014 trade deadline was sending a fifth round pick to the Florida Panthers for Mike Weaver. Weaver was a 35 year old right shooting defensive defenseman who didn’t bring much flashy play or offence to the table.

What he did bring was nearly 600 games of NHL experience, trustworthy defence and terrific work ethic especially on the penalty kill. He Brough exactly what the team needed that season. The Habs at the time were running out a top four of Andrei Markov, P.K. Subban, Alexei Emelin and Josh Gorges.

That season they ran through a number of options on the third pairing. They had Doug Murray playing most nights and Francis Bouillon was also getting plenty of game action. They were both veterans whose best days were behind them. They were often partnered with a youngster like 20 year old Nathan Beaulieu who had a 17 game audition or Jarred Tinordi who played 22 games as a 21 year old.

The older options were proving too old and their younger options were too young. So they needed a steady veteran who could play reliable minutes on the third pairing and got just that with Weaver.

He played 17 regular season games and scored a goal and seven points. He then played all 17 playoff games as the Habs marched to the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the New York Rangers in six games. He played key shutdown minutes at times and was good enough to earn a contract extension which isn’t bad for a fifth round pick at the deadline.

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