A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Five “Swinging For The Fences” Moves We Could See This Summer

By Ken MacMillan

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 27: Max Domi #13 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the first period against the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre on February 27, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 27: Max Domi #13 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the first period against the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre on February 27, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 19: Duncan Keith #2 of the Chicago Blackhawks shoots against the New York Rangers at the United Center on February 19, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. The Rangers defeated the Blackhawks 6-3. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 19: Duncan Keith #2 of the Chicago Blackhawks shoots against the New York Rangers at the United Center on February 19, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. The Rangers defeated the Blackhawks 6-3. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

4. Trade for Duncan Keith

The Sochi Olympics were a long time ago. However, Duncan Keith and Shea Weber were so dominant that Carey Price could have played most of the semi-finals and gold medal game with shin pads and a first baseman’s glove instead of actual goalie gear and Keith and Weber would have ensured they still didn’t allow a goal against.

Yes, that was six years ago and neither player is a Norris Trophy candidate anymore. However, they can both still play a ton of minutes and make sure things are taken care of in the defensive zone.

When Price is at his best, the Canadiens win games against any team in the league. Price is at his best when the defense in front of him is not allowing a handful of 2-on-1’s each period. The Habs current group of defenders can string together several great games but have a penchant for falling back into many bad habits time and time again.

Enter Duncan Keith. He is not going to score 60 points like he did during his best years, but the 36 year old is still averaging over 24 minutes per game. This would allow Chiarot to play less than the 23:15 per game he has played this season. The Habs rely far too much on their top three of Weber, Petry and Chiarot who are all in the top 30 players in average ice time this season.

Acquiring Keith comes with some risk due to his age, but that would also keep the cost down. He would slot into the top four and bring Chiarot’s minutes down while also bringing his own down slightly from this season’s numbers in Chicago.

Keith’s cap hit is just over $5.5 million for the next three years but he will only make $6.25 million total over those three years so you know Molson would think it’s a great idea. Considering Keith’s age and the Blackhawks desire to look to the future, the Habs could offer the Hawks their second round pick back and a depth prospect like Allan McShane who may not even get signed by the Canadiens because they are approaching their contract limit and have a plethora of prospects that need to be signed.

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