The Montreal Canadiens can turn Victor Mete’s year into a valuable deal
By Omar L
As I mentioned earlier, his overall average ice time took a hit with his play at 5v5 dropped from 16:00 to 14:51. Additionally, the defenceman rarely saw time on the man-advantage; only 3:19 in total. It’s not as if he was used a lot last year with that number being a little over 22 minutes, but with Weber and Petry on the team, it’s to be expected.
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Mete doesn’t have too much of a case to cash in here. He’s yet to grab hold of the opportunities given to him, and there are other defencemen coming who the Montreal Canadiens need to be on the lookout for.
This can work in Montreal’s favour, though. There are deals signed around the league that look like a complete steal that makes you wonder what on earth the player was thinking. Max Pacioretty is a recent example. The former captain was on a $4.5 million cap hit after signing a seven-year extension at the end of the 2012-13 shortened season.
Pacioretty had only one 30-goal season in the books, and the Habs were able to get three more on that same cap-hit.
Mete won’t get a deal as long, but he could get a lower and favourable cap hit with the deal. Brett Kulak signed a three-year extension as a 25-year-old after scoring 6 goals and 11 assists in 57 games in the 2018-19 season while averaging 17:51 a night. That season was only his second of playing at least 50 games as he saw 71 with the Calgary Flames before being traded to Montreal.