A Winning Habit
Fansided

Seattle Expansion Draft: Who Should The Montreal Canadiens Expose?

By Teddy Elliot

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 21: The Team Store for the Seattle Kraken, the NHL's newest franchise, opens for business on August 21, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jim Bennett/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 21: The Team Store for the Seattle Kraken, the NHL's newest franchise, opens for business on August 21, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jim Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 17: Victor Mete #53 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates after scoring a goal against the Minnesota Wild in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 17, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 17: Victor Mete #53 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates after scoring a goal against the Minnesota Wild in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 17, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Victor Mete

While Victor Mete’s contract situation won’t help the Kraken reach the cap floor, the young and speedy rearguard might just be the perfect fit for an expansion team looking to build its defence.

Consider this – the Vegas Golden Knights selected Nate Schmidt from the Washington Capitals in the 2017 expansion draft. Schmidt had just signed a two-year bridge deal worth $1.625-million and coming off a so-so season where he netted 17 points in 60 games. Seen as spare parts in Washington, the Caps exposed the defenseman and he went on to prove himself a valuable asset, tearing it up for 36 points in 76 games and helping the Golden Knights reach the Cup Final in their first season.

Now, Mete and Schmidt are completely different players, but Mete finds himself in a similar situation. With the arrival of Alexander Romanov, Mete has been pushed down the depth chart and his future in Montreal seems unclear.

He’s a beloved locker-room fixture to be sure, but maybe Mete needs a change of scenery to renew his career and finally prove that he can be a starting defenseman in the NHL.

Seattle might just be the place for him to do that.

Cale Fleury

Cale Fleury’s spot is a little more assured than Mete’s but the young defenseman has a long way to go to prove that he deserves a permanent spot in the Habs starting lineup. Fleury’s combination of size and skill is definitely enticing but he still has a lot of room to improve.

Assuming that he can stay up with the Montreal Canadiens and find his niche, Fleury’s exposure to the draft doesn’t mean he’ll get picked up over some of the team’s other options.

Really, it’s up to how Seattle plans to structure its defence. Like Mete, Fleury’s contract doesn’t help Seattle move to the cap floor and considering that he’s an unproven player, the Kraken might not be willing to gamble on the young Fleury.

The Kraken might instead look to a player like…

Ben Chiarot

Entering the final year of his contract at the end of the 2020-2021 season, Ben Chiarot would be a surprising yet totally logical player that the Montreal Canadiens could expose.

Chiarot is an excellent player and has proven that he can be a top-4 defenseman in the NHL. However, the Canadiens will likely be in cap trouble and offloading Chiarot’s contract might prove necessary. Chiarot being exposed in the draft is not ideal for the Canadiens but would be a smart financial move.

In Chiarot, the Kraken would have a player that they could instantly pencil into their top-4 or an asset they could get a decent trade package for. His contract situation is also ideal for an expansion team as his $3.5-million per year deal is ideal for a defenseman of his skill and age.

I’m sure that Seattle would also look at Brett Kulak or Noah Juulsen as potential draftees but the Montreal Canadiens also have four forwards that the Kraken would be blessed to have…

Home/Editorials