#1: Karl Alzner signs five-year, $23.125 million contract
While signing Mark Streit to replace Markov’s power play minutes in 2017 was a bad decision, it was not even close to the worst decision made on left defence that summer. The Habs rarely dip in to the free agent pool in July, as prices become extraordinary and most teams end up regretting their decisions in no time.
That is exactly what happened when the Habs finally signed a big ticket free agent in July of 2017. Karl Alzner was coming off a lengthy run as a solid defensive defenceman for the Washington Capitals. He was never a great skater at the NHL level, but he played a smart, gritty, defensive style for nine seasons.
Part of the allure to Alzner was he did all the difficult things every night. He blocked shots, killed penalties, battled hard in the corners and in front of the net and he still never missed a game. In fact, he had played eight full seasons to that point in his career, and by “full” seasons I mean he literally played every single game for eight consecutive years in Washington.
It was thought Alzner would be a great addition to the penalty killing unit in front of Carey Price. He was expected to play heavy minutes at even strength, perhaps with Jeff Petry on a second pairing but definitely on the top pairing with Shea Weber when defending a lead.
Alzner did play all 82 games in his first season in Montreal. He definitely did not live up to the expectations placed on a free agent earning $4.625 million per year. In the Habs season opening game of Alzner’s second season in Montreal, he was a healthy scratch. The ironman streak was over and for all intents and purposes, hit time in Montreal was coming to a premature close.
He played just nine games that season in Montreal and the rest were with the Laval Rocket of the AHL. This season was no different as he played 53 AHL games before being called up for four NHL games late in the season.
That was not what the team envisioned when they finally threw out big money for a free agent. Every year fans want Marc Bergevin to sign a big ticket free agent to improve the team. In 2017 he signed a big ticket free agent, but unfortunately, he didn’t improve the team.