Canadiens: 3 Free Agents The Habs Were Smart To Avoid

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Montreal Canadiens general manager has been very busy, but he was smart to avoid signing these three free agents.

Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has been extremely busy this offseason. He jumped the gun before the NHL Draft and free agency and has been very active ever since.

Long before players even became free agents officially, Bergevin acquired Jake Allen to give the team a better backup goaltender. He then traded for and signed Joel Edmundson. He was wheeling and dealing during the draft to move out picks for more selections in next year’s draft.

The biggest move he made was to trade Max Domi and a third round pick for Josh Anderson and then sign the hulking winger to a seven year contract extension.

Once free agency actually opened, Bergevin waited patiently but hauled in a pretty big fish at a great price when he signed Tyler Toffoli to a four-year deal. He also re-signed the heart and soul of the forward group when he gave Brendan Gallagher a six-year extension and then he added two more years on to Allen’s contract as well.

It has been a hectic time to be a Habs fan, let alone the man actually pulling the strings.

There were plenty of rumours swirling that Bergevin was in on different players as well. He was clearly looking to make a big splash and he did that. Not only did he make smart moves, he avoided the questionable transactions that he was rumoured to be interested in.

Let’s take a look at the three players who were rumoured to be coming to Montreal at one time or another, but Bergevin was wise enough to pass up on this offseason.

Ilya Kovalchuk

Ilya Kovalchuk arrived in Montreal from the scrap heap. He had his three year contract with the Los Angeles Kings torn up about halfway through its duration and he became a free agent just before Christmas after scoring three goals and nine points in 17 games to begin the season with the Kings.

When he showed up in Montreal, he looked much better – at least initially. He had six goals and six assists for 12 points in his first 15 games with the Canadiens. He fit in extremely well on a line with Nick Suzuki and helped a lifeless power play do some damage.

When he was traded to the Washington Capitals for a third round pick, it was predicted by many that Kovalchuk would return to Montreal when he hit the open market once again. There seemed to be a mutual interest in signing the Russian winger for the 2020-21 season.

However, Kovalchuk finished his short stint in Montreal with just one assist in seven games and then was held scoreless in five of his seven games with the Capitals before the league pressed pause. He had just one assist in eight games in the postseason after the NHL returned to action and was held pointless in a five game series loss to the New York Islanders.

The 37 year old winger had some fantastic seasons earlier in his career and had a few terrific moments with the Montreal Canadiens. But he hasn’t been able to be a consistent offensive NHL player since he skipped town on the New Jersey Devils in 2013.

Bergevin got a lot out of Kovalchuk last season, but he was right not to go back to the same well after seeing it dry up late in the season.

Kevin Shattenkirk

There weren’t as many rumours around Kevin Shattenkirk and the Montreal Canadiens as there were with the other two players on this list, but Shattenkirk would have filled a big void on the Habs roster if he was signed by the team.

He is an offensive minded right defenceman who played well in a depth role with the Tampa Bay Lightning en route to winning the Stanley Cup. Had he come to Montreal to play a similar role – and at a similar price – he would have been able to help the team.

The Canadiens could use a power play quarterback and that is Shattenkirk’s specialty. The American defender bounced back nicely in Tampa after two underwhelming seasons with the New York Rangers. If he is playing on a third pairing and getting power play time, Shattenkirk can be an effective weapon.

However, the Anaheim Ducks decided to make the same mistake the Rangers did in 2017 and chose to pay Shattenkirk like a top-four two-way player. The Ducks gave him a three-year deal with a cap hit just below $4 million.

If Shattenkirk signed for half of that, which is about what he is worth, he would have been a great fit on the Habs behind Shea Weber and Jeff Petry on the depth chart, but on the top power play with Weber.

Seeing how much he was offered elsewhere, Bergevin was correct to not overpay to help the Habs awful power play.

Taylor Hall

The biggest fish on the free agent market, at least at forward, was Taylor Hall. The Canadiens were rumoured to be interested, and then it sounded like they were in the final three with the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets for a while.

As it turns out, the Buffalo Sabres landed him for $8 million on a one-year contract.

Whether he was going to sign a one-year deal or a seven-year deal, adding Taylor Hall would not have been the best move for the Montreal Canadiens.

Hall would have made the team better, but how much of an impact would he really have? Yes, he scored 93 points two years ago and won the Hart Trophy. But, he scored 16 goals and 52 points in 65 games this season with the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes. That didn’t put him in the running for another Hart Trophy. In fact, he had less than half the points of Leon Draisaitl who did win the league MVP Award.

Hall’s 52 points had him in a tie with Jakub Vrana. He was two points back of Kevin Fiala and a point shy of Tony Deangelo. That’s not exactly “$8 million annual salary” territory.

If the Habs were to sign Hall, they would have had to clear out money. Not only would they have needed to pass on Toffoli, but they likely would have been forced to trade Tomas Tatar as well.

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Both of those wingers scored more goals than Hall last season. Which is why it would have made no sense for Bergevin to pass on Toffoli and move out Tatar to make room for Taylor Hall.

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