Montreal Canadiens: Which Unrestricted Free Agents Would Habs Be Pursuing Today?

The Montreal Canadiens will have cap space when the offseason hits. Which free agents would they be targeting today if it was free agent frenzy?

The Montreal Canadiens have not been a major player in free agency for many years. July 1 is normally free agent frenzy day in the NHL, and we see players signing new contracts (usually worth too much money and for too long) for new teams. But the Habs haven’t beed the busiest team on this day in the past.

This summer, July 1 is not free agent frenzy day, since the NHL is still putting the finishing touches on their plan to return to action after being paused for nearly four months. This year, free agency will take place sometime in October.

However, we thought it would be fun to take a look at who could be in the free agent waters this year and which players might be a good fit for the Canadiens.

Again, the Habs haven’t been the busiest team on this day in the past, especially since Marc Bergevin took over as general manager in 2012. Last year, we saw the Habs sign Keith Kinkaid and Riley Barber on July 1. The year before it was a plethora of depth options like Matthew Peca, Kenny Agostino, Michael Chaput and Xavier Ouellet. Tomas Plekanec also returned after playing a handful of games with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

July 1, 2017 was one of the rare times Bergevin spent big money on Canada Day and it backfired big time. He landed Karl Alzner on a five year contract that will see him earn $4.625 million per year to play four of the five seasons in the minor leagues. He also signed Peter Holland, Byron Froese, Matt Taormina and Joe Morrow that afternoon.

The year before that he did well landing Alexander Radulov from the KHL on a one-year contract that proved to be a bargain. In 2015 it was Mark Barberio and Bud Holloway coming to Montreal. His biggest signings before that were Daniel Briere in 2013 and Tom Gilbert in 2014.

So, Bergevin has been pretty cautious with his money on the biggest spending day of the year for general managers. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially when you consider how many of these contracts look terrible just a few years into the future.

Still, with plenty of cap space to use this summer, you know there would be plenty of rumours swirling about the Canadiens and free agents. Some would be pie in the sky type stuff and some would be more realistic.

Let’s take a look at the three players that would most likely have signed in Montreal if free agency began today like it usually does:

3. Andy Greene

If there is one type of player that Marc Bergevin likes to acquire it is players who played the game like Marc Bergevin. The Canadiens general manager had a long career as a defensive defenceman in the NHL. He played close to 1200 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, Hartford Whalers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks.

In his best season, he scored 24 points and finished his lengthy career with 181. Pretty safe to say he was a defensive guy. Average size, limited offence and good in the room would be the best description of Bergevin’s resume and he likes to bring that type of player into his team.

This isn’t a bad thing, but it is definitely a thing. He was obsessed with signing Francis Bouillon to contract extensions when he first arrived in Montreal. He brought in Doug Murray, Davis Drewiske, quickly re-signed Alexei Emelin a few times, and much more recently he targeted Ben Chiarot in free agency.

Let’s just say, he likes that type of player and if anyone on the free agent market fits that prototype its Andy Greene. The 5’11 and 190 pound left defenceman signed with the New Jersey Devils as an undrafted free agent way back in 2006 and played his entire career with the Devils until he was traded to the New York Islanders at the trade deadline.

He is not a huge scorer, and never was, but he has played 933 games in the NHL as a defensive specialist. Learning the ropes in the Devils system when giving up scoring chances on Martin Brodeur was punishable by death probably helped him hone his defensive skills quickly.

When he was picked up by the Islanders, Greene was used as a third pairing defender, but he immediately took on a role on the team’s penalty kill and averaged over two minutes per game while shorthanded with his new club. In 53 games with the Devils, he played 3:25 per game on the penalty kill and finished the regular season in the top ten of shorthanded ice time.

Greene wouldn’t be the perfect fit on the Habs, but you can’t have too many experienced, defensively responsible players on the team. With Ben Chiarot, Victor Mete, Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak already on the roster on the left side, it would create quite the battle for ice time.

However, the Habs used 13 different defensemen this season, so I don’t think going into next year with six guys is the right idea. Adding some depth with the 37 year old Greene for a decent price on a one year contract seems like something Marc Bergevin would do.

1. Ilya Kovalchuk

In an otherwise apathetic season in Montreal, Russian winger Ilya Kovalchuk came to town and brought incredible energy for two months. He showed up in early January and quickly gave the team a shot in the arm and brought the team back to life as it was beginning to drudge its way through the second half of the season.

Kovalchuk had his contract with the Los Angeles Kings torn to pieces in December, and though they deemed him unworthy of his $6.25 million salary, his enthusiasm was priceless in Montreal.

He clicked with young centre Nick Suzuki and would score six goals and 13 points in 22 games in a Habs sweater, as well as a couple of shootout game winners. His offence, energy and confidence helped bring the Habs within a couple of points of a playoff spot before they fell behind once again.

Then, he was dealt to the Washington Capitals – a team he wanted to play for – for a third round draft pick. There were plenty of rumours shortly after Kovalchuk left town that he wanted to return to Montreal as a free agent in the offseason. Reports out of Montreal lead readers and fans to believe the feeling was mutual between team and player.

A couple years ago the Habs traded Tomas Plekanec to the Toronto Maple Leafs only to have return on July 1 when he became a free agent. It sounds like the same thing is going to happen with Kovalchuk.

Now, Plekanec had his contract torn up just three games after the returned to Montreal but the hope is the same won’t be necessary for the Russian winger. He loved his time in Montreal, acted as a great mentor for younger players like Nick Suzuki and could be a great role model for Alexander Romanov who will be a rookie playing his first season outside of Russia.

It sounds like the deal between Kovalchuk and Montreal was all but complete when he left on trade deadline day. Indications are strong that if today were free agent frenzy day, Kovalchuk would be the first player signing to play in Montreal next year.