Montreal Canadiens Should Protect Ben Chiarot From Seattle Expansion Draft

With the expansion draft fast approaching, the Montreal Canadiens, just like every other team in the NHL (except the Vegas Golden Knights), will need to decide who they will be protecting.

Each team has the choice to either protect seven forwards, three defencemen and a goalie, or eight skaters and a goalie.

Here, I want to talk about half of the top defensive pair, Ben Chiarot, and why he should be on the Canadiens’ protected list on July 17.

The only way the Canadiens don’t risk losing one of their top-four defencemen to the Seattle Kraken is if they decide to protect these four defencemen. However, that leaves them with only the possibility to protect four forwards.

I would assume three forwards they will protect are Brendan Gallagher, Tyler Toffoli, and Josh Anderson. That leaves one spot, which I would think belongs to Jesperi Kotkaniemi. But that would leave so many players exposed, and ultimately, protecting their top four defencemen would not be worth losing one of their top forwards.

It’s important to note that players still in their entry-level contracts are exempt from the draft, so lineup regulars Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Alexander Romanov cannot be taken, meaning the Canadiens is guaranteed to keep Romanov on their blue line next season.

So let’s follow the option of protecting seven forwards and three defencemen instead of eight skaters.

I would assume that general manager Marc Bergevin would want to protect their Captain Shea Weber and their only offence-producing defenceman Jeff Petry, which leaves the option of either protecting Chiarot or Joel Edmundson.

Of course, the last option would be to risk exposing Shea Weber to the expansion draft, assuming the Kraken wouldn’t want to get stuck with Weber’s remaining five years on his contract and his $7.9 million AAV. While it might seem like an interesting option, I highly doubt Bergevin exposes Weber to the draft.

The Canadiens’ top four defencemen for almost the entire season consisted of Weber, Chiarot, Petry, and Edmundson, and were basically the Habs’ entire defence during the playoffs. Imagining a Canadiens team without one of them is very difficult, but it is a reality they might have to face in a few weeks.

While both Chiarot and Edmundson have been great, I think it is better for the Canadiens to protect Chiarot over Edmundson. If you would have asked me this question in February or March, I probably would have said to protect Edmundson, but after Chiarot’s incredible performance in the playoffs, I have to admit I’ve changed my mind.

He does a great job of blocking shots and clearing the front of the net after rebounds or bad bounces, and if it weren’t for his ability to act quickly and do that, I believe many more goals would have ended up in their net. Of course, the huge hits he delivers are also a big part of his defensive skill set.

The 30-year-old also plays a crucial part on the penalty kill, which was incredible in the playoffs, and for this reason, I just don’t see someone who could replace him and have as big of an impact, especially considering how long he has been paired up with Weber, and how well they play together.

So, although the Canadiens will have many unprotected forwards, I believe Chiarot could be the one Seattle takes if left exposed in the draft, and that’s the reason I think he should absolutely be protected over Edmundson.

Adding the fact that Chiarot earns an AAV of $3.5 million in his current contract makes him an even more appealing option for Seattle. Edmundson earns the same with three years remaining on his contract, as opposed to Chiarot’s one year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get an extension.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Edmundson is also extremely skilled and important to the team, but I just think Chiarot fits more into Montreal’s defensive style, and I would hate to see them lose him.

No matter who Seattle ends up acquiring, it will be a loss for the Canadiens, but in the end, it’s just a matter of minimizing the risk of losing a crucial part of the team.