Montreal Canadiens: Three Free Agents Habs Were Smart To Avoid

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.