Montreal Canadiens: What Does Erik Gustafsson Bring To Habs?

Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin didn’t swing for the fences at the trade deadline.

He tinkered for sure, but he didn’t make any huge trades. None of the Habs prospects were dealt and they didn’t move a first or second round pick at all this season.

He added Eric Staal for third and fifth round picks. Picked up Jon Merrill for a fifth round pick and Hayden Verbeek and then on deadline day he picked up Erik Gustafsson for a seventh round pick.

Gustafsson was the lone addition on trade deadline day, coming over from the Philadelphia Flyers for very little in return. All the Habs gave up was the St. Louis Blues 7th round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. That pick was originally acquired as part of the Jake Allen acquisition last offseason.

A quick look at Gustafsson’s stats page tells you pretty much everything you need to know about him. That is, he can bring plenty of offence.

Just two seasons ago, Gustafsson had his best season when he scored 17 goals and 60 points in 79 games. He had 42 points at even strength that season which only trailed Morgan Rielly, Brent Burns, Mark Giordano and Roman Jost among blue liners that season.

The 29 year old newest Canadiens skater hasn’t quite reached those heights in the two seasons since. He had 26 points in 59 games with the Blackhawks last season before being dealt for a third round pick to the Calgary Flames. He played a third pairing role and helped quarterback the power play for the Flames, scoring a total of seven assists in 17 games.

This season, Gustafsson signed a one year contract worth $3 million with the Flyers. He once again played a depth role at even strength combined with some power play time. He has one goal and ten points in 24 games.

The offensive numbers are the good news with Gustafsson. The bad news is his defensive game needs a lot of work.

Over the years, even though he usually played a pretty sheltered role, or had an elite partner like Duncan Keith, his teams have been given up far more scoring chances when Gustafsson is on the ice than they produce.

Gustafsson played most of his minutes in Philly on the third pairing with Robert Hagg, but when together they allowed 59% of the scoring chances. They were outscored 6-3 as a partnership.

Things were a little better when he played with Keith two years ago. They were on the ice a lot, and allowed just over 53% of the scoring chances. They did outscore their opponent, because everything Gustafsson touched that year turned into an assist, but it didn’t continue into last season.

Gustafsson did help the Flames power play look a little more dangerous after being acquired last season. He could do the same for the Canadiens who just went on a 1 for 21 skid on the man advantage after initially looking pretty strong following the Habs coaching change.

However, with Jon Merrill in town, and Ben Chiarot due back from injury in the next few weeks, the blue line is getting pretty crowded. A big, physical, defensive minded group could use a puck mover like Gustafsson, but can he edge out Alexander Romanov and Brett Kulak for ice time?

It will be interesting to see. Not many defenders have a 60 point season on their resume since the 2018-19 season, but Gustafsson’s defensive gaffes are too plentiful to play in the top four.

Considering he was added for a draft pick that was an afterthought in the Jake Allen trade, it’s worth the risk. Expect a strong skater and puck carrier, but don’t be surprised when a mental error by Gustafsson leads to a goal against the Canadiens.