Montreal Canadiens: Ranking The Canadian Division Team’s Defensemen

Winnipeg Jets

Josh Morrissey – Tucker Poolman

Derek Forbort – Neal Pionk

Nathan Beaulieu – Dylan DeMelo

Morrissey is a solid two-way defenceman who can play against tough competition and shut things down while also adding a decent amount of offence. He starts out a huge eight-year contract extension this season with a $6.25 million cap hit. His partner looks to be Tucker Poolman who finally became a regular NHL player last season at the age of 26. He is not the ideal guy for the top pairing but will not be completely over his head defensively.

Derek Forbort has been in and out of lineups for most of his career with the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames, but he looks to have a big role for the Jets. He will have the chance to be a regular in their top four, but again, that’s more out of necessity than performance. Neal Pion arrived in the Jacob Trouba trade and was far better than anticipated. He scored 45 points in 71 games last season and is a great option on a second pairing.

Nathan Beaulieu is familiar to Habs fans as that former first round pick who never lived up to his potential. He had all the tools to be a top four blue liner it appeared, but he never quite put it all together and made too many costly mistakes in the defensive zone. He still does that often enough which is why he’s on the third pair. He will play with defensive, shutdown specialist Dylan DeMelo. The Jets picked him up in a trade last season and he was great in a short stint. He should provide safe, reliable minutes on the third pairing.

Overall, the group has Morrissey, Pionk, DeMelo and even Beaulieu slotted in their correct spots. However, they are just expecting far too much from Poolman and Forbort to be considered a good group of blue liners.