The Montreal Canadiens are heading to the third round of the NHL Playoffs for the first time since 2014. They have a chance to erase a 28 year Stanley Cup drought and could return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in nearly three decades.
After sweeping the Winnipeg Jets in round two of the postseason, the Canadiens have a little free time to sit back and watch the rest of the second round.
The Tampa Bay Lightning joined the Canadiens in the third round by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
We will wait to see who is victorious between the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, as the winner of that series will take on the Canadiens in the third round. The Boston Bruins and New York Islanders play Game 6 of their series tonight with the Isles having a chance to move on to the final four if they can win this evening.
So, what should Habs fans do while we wait to see the Habs head to either Colorado or Vegas for round three?
Well, we can watch the remaining two second round series and keep a close eye on some potential offseason targets for the Canadiens. General manager Marc Bergevin was aggressive last season acquiring several key assets for this year’s run and he won’t be quiet this summer.
Who will he target? Well, let’s take a look at one pending unrestricted free agent from the four teams that are still playing in the second round.
Jarred Tinordi
This wouldn’t exactly be a huge splash, but just take a look at most of Marc Bergevin’s acquisitions since last offseason: Joel Edmundson, Josh Anderson, Corey Perry, Eric Staal. What do they all have in common?
Well, the top of their heads are all at least six feet and three inches above ground.
Jarred Tinordi would be looking down at every one of them as he stands at 6’6″. It takes more than being tall to be a reliable defenceman in the NHL, and Tinordi has been working on becoming a dependable defender since the Canadiens drafted him in the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft.
If the Habs were to sign him in the offseason, it would be a depth addition and he would basically be replacing what Jon Merrill has brought to the team as a sixth or seventh defender who plays a defensive role only. You might think the Habs have enough of that type, but clearly Bergevin loves a defenceman who can win a battle in the corner and fight for space in front of Carey Price.
Tinordi has been in and out of the Bruins lineup during the playoffs, playing 15:36 in their most recent game but he led the team in shorthanded ice time that night, blocked a couple of shots, threw a couple of hits and battled.
Bergevin loves that type of player and his assistant, Trevor Timmins was the one who drafted him in the first round a decade ago. Keep an eye on Tinordi over the next few games because he could be back in Montreal soon.
Other UFAs to watch on the Bruins: David Krejci, Taylor Hall, Sean Kuraly.
Casey Cizikas
The Canadiens have some tough decisions to make this offseason and one of the most difficult will be what to do with Phillip Danault? They already targeted centre as a position to upgrade when they acquired Eric Staal at this year’s trade deadline, so if Staal and Danault walk, the team will need a reliable depth centre.
Even if Danault comes back, adding a player like Cizikas isn’t a bad idea.
The Islanders 30 year old centre has been the pivot on one of the best fourth lines in the league for the past several years. He has a nice mix of speed, smarts, and a dash of offence. With young centres Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi at the top of the depth chart, it makes sense to have reliable veterans behind them.
Cizikas has been a top penalty killer for one of the best defensive teams in the league for the past few seasons and wins well over 50% of his face-offs which is a nice bonus considering that hasn’t been an area of strength for the Canadiens.
Cizikas would fit in very well on a fourth line with Paul Byron and Arthur Lehkonen.
Other UFAs to watch for the Islanders: Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Andy Greene.
Alec Martinez
The Vegas Golden Knights are having another fine season which makes that every single season in their existence being a good one. Alec Martinez was picked up at the trade deadline last season and was a huge part of the team’s success this year.
Martinez has quite the pedigree as a two time Stanley Cup winner with the Los Angeles Kings, something that Bergevin did target last season when he picked up Cup winners Joel Edmundson, Jake Allen, Corey Perry, Tyler Toffoli and Eric Staal. Martinez even scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in overtime in 2014.
This year, he formed a big three on the blue line in Vegas with Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore. Martinez was second on the team in average ice time, playing in all situations. The 33 year old nearly set a career high in points with 33, though he played just 53 games.
He was second on the Golden Knights in shorthanded ice time per game and also ran the second wave of the power play. He has no problem defending his own zone, but unlike many Habs blue liners, Martinez is adept at moving the puck up ice and making plays in the offensive zone as well.
The Canadiens blue line is pretty crowded with Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, Joel Edmundson, Ben Chiarot, Brett Kulak and Alexander Romanov all signed. However, if the Seattle Kraken elect to take Edmundson or Chiarot, the Canadiens would be wise to target Martinez to fill the void on the left side of the top pairing.
Other UFAs to watch on the Golden Knights: Mattias Janmark
Brandon Saad
Of all the pending unrestricted free agents, I think that Brandon Saad makes the most sense for the Montreal Canadiens to target in the offseason. There are better players, like Gabriel Landeskog, but he is more likely to be re-signed than Saad.
There are bigger names like Alex Ovechkin, but he will never leave his current team. There is Dougie Hamilton but he couldn’t handle the criticism in Calgary so I don’t think he will be choosing Montreal to play for the next few years.
Saad is even the perfect age. At 28, he is within a year of most of the Habs roster. Brendan Gallagher, Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson, Phillip Danault, Joel Armia, Joel Edmundson, Brett Kulak, Jon Merrill and Erik Gustafsson are all between 27 and 29 years old.
Saad is also a proven Stanley Cup winner, getting his name etched on hockey’s holy grail twice as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. He wouldn’t have spent much time with Bergevin in Chicago, as Saad was drafted in 2011 and Bergevin was hired by the Canadiens a year later, but Bergevin was definitely part of the management team that selected Saad in the second round.
The Pittsburgh native is also not likely to cost an enormous amount of money to sign this summer. He would essentially be coming in to replace Tomas Tatar and would be a perfect fit on the left side of a line with either Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher or the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Also, aside from age, likelihood of actually hitting the UFA market, knowing Bergevin, and fit, the biggest reason to sign Saad is he is an excellent two-way winger. He scored 15 goals in 44 games this season after notching 21 goals in 58 games last season. He plays with pace, forechecks hard, knows what it takes to win and puts pucks in the net.
With Tatar heading out as a UFA and Jonathon Drouin likely having played his last game in Montreal, the Canadiens biggest need will be at left wing. Brandon Saad checks off every single box and is the perfect fit.
We may see a little too much of him in round three, so make sure to enjoy what he does against the Vegas Golden Knights and imagine him playing with Caufield next season.
Other UFAs to watch on the Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Patrick Nemeth