Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin added a few pieces to the roster before last week’s trade deadline.
The deadline for adding a player was April 12th, and Bergevin was fairly busy leading up to that day.
He traded for Eric Staal from the Buffalo Sabres about a week ahead of the deadline for third and fifth round picks. He also signed Cole Caufield to an entry-level contract which should help bolster the forward group at some point this season.
Bergevin then picked up a couple of defencemen in the hours leading up to the deadline. Jon Merrill was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings for a fifth round pick and Hayden Verbeek. Erik Gustafsson was then acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a seventh round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
So, Bergevin added some veteran depth at centre, got his star prospect signed and then picked up two defencemen who aren’t stars but have plenty of experience at the NHL level.
The couple of defenders have been quarantine in preparation of joining the Canadiens on their current road trip. The Habs play five games in the next eight days against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. The three games against the Flames are looming large as Montreal holds a slim lead over Calgary for the final playoff spot.
We will eventually see some lineup changes, though head coach Dominique Ducharme has been reluctant to change things up. However, he will want to fit in the new guys at some point and should be using his depth to his advantage.
It will be interesting to see who gets shuffled out of the lineup in the near future to make room for Caufield, Merrill and Gustafsson.
These three players should be sitting out due to either a lack of production or a desperate need for rest, but we probably won’t see them in the press box anytime soon.