Canadiens: That Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Sing along Canadiens fans, cue Sinatra!
Its that most wonderful time of the year
All the teams overpayin’
for hard-nosed defensemen
Of medium tiers!
Its that most wonderful time of the year!
Look out boys and girls! Trade Deadline Day Approaches!
Or, as I like to think of it, the first long weekend of the spring. I won’t be workin’ on Monday. Will you?
Believing Big Ben Chiarot would get an first, a second, and a high end prospect as I projected earlier means I missed the mark by 2 rounds, which is quite close. There’s a big difference between a second and fourth round pick, but an unprotected first sweetens the deal in a way a late second round pick can’t. Maybe some folks out there are uncertain of the player in the return, but Ty Smilanic looks like a player. The brain trust certainly knows him well, their kids all have played him.
You can read more about Ty Smilanic HERE.
So it’s a win and a necessary one for the team that set the market floor by trading Toffoli early. I would guess they managed nearly 100% of the return they were looking for in a defenseman with poor analytics and terrific playoff credentials. Realistically, I’m not sure I’d rather have Chiarot in the lineup in the playoffs than Mark Giordano or not. Giordano is still a very good player, but Chiarot’s style of play is what matters, and the Panthers really needed a rugged defenseman that shrinks the ice. Ask anyone who played against him in the playoffs last year about the experience.
A clue : It was no fun.
Toughness is still a huge requirement in the postseason, where referee’s are scared to call anything at all—even if it’s right in their face. Or right in Corey Perry’s face. Or Brendan Gallaghers. Just any Canadiens face.
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Chiarot drove me nuts at the beginning of the year, more dud than stud, but it was clearly the system. So MANY wrist shots from Pluto because there was no option in the offensive zone. Since the coaching change he’s been better, and on a top team he can distinguish himself in the hard-nosed 2nd pairing. If a team wants a stronger, tougher defensive game, they can do much worse than Big Ben.
And good luck trading for Giordano now. If Chiarot gets that kind of haul, Giordano’s price will be at least as high, and likely higher. Somewhere Kyle Dubas is crying.
Priceless.
It’s possible to think another Defenseman is moving, but I doubt it now. It feels more and more like Jeff Petry is being dealt in the summer. There is one name that keeps popping up.
In the last few weeks we’ve seen the rising stock of Rem Pitlick, Artturi Lehkonen, and Cole Caufield. They’ve all distinguished themselves as bright lights on a team that lost its two major stars to start the season. But a number of veterans values have taken a nosedive. Joel Armia, Mike Hoffman and Mathieu Perreault have little to no chance to be traded at the deadline, and if some GM does trade for them on a contender I’d question their sanity. For the teams looking for a hot hand, however, Lehkonen might be an option.
This is the most talked about tweet in Montréal in the last 24 hours.
Arturi Lehkonen is now the piece in play in Montreal. High interest in the 26 year old forward. Decision time for the Canadiens. He could help the Habs for the next 4-5 years. His value to the team being measured against his trade return.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 18, 2022
Anyone want to take a stab on what a Lehkonen entering his prime is worth? (And lets forgive Dregs for the typo, it happens)
How many players do you know who can: play almost anywhere in the lineup, in almost any situation, is on pace to score 20, on any special teams unity you need? This seasons struggles didn’t stop Lehkonen from finally putting it all together. With Calgary and Tampa Bay already upgrading their forwards, the pressure is on other teams to find a way to make room for someone who rises to the occasion in the playoffs, but it has to be a team that wants to make a hockey deal rather than a rental.
Which team needs a Swiss Army Knife go and whats the return?
Prospective buyer : I think the team that needs Lehkonen most is in Washington. The Capitals beat the Canes recently, and have been streaky all year. They’ve won 7 of their last 10, and have gotten more dangerous, but they need a shot in the arm if they are going to be in contention.
Specifically, they need to upgrade a third line featuring Tom Wilson and Lars Lars (The M-an from M-ars) who is out with Covid. The third member of that trio is Daniel Sprong.
Wait…
Who?
Lehkonen would be a definite upgrade over Sprong, Hagelin, and any other candidate on the Capitals roster as of today, adding scoring punch and much needed additional skills sets to a roster that highly skilled but on the older side. He’d look terrific on the third line and would give their PK a real boost.
Even if it’s hard to think Lehkonen doesn’t fit in the Canadiens plans, this season may be an anomaly. It’s not necessarily bad asset management to sell high here. He is just doing so many things well right now, even if until this season he had the same frustrating tendency as Christopher Higgins to be the wrong guy in the scoring area.
I’ll go out on a limb here and say I think this trade happens. If Hagel is worth two first round picks (I doubt it) Lehkonen is worth a first in 2023. For a second round pick, I’m not sure it gets done. Given the Canadiens can retain as much salary as they want to, and that in this scenario they can retain it all, it feels like this is on the mark.
Frank, sing us out!
It’s the cra-craziest season of all!
when the draft picks are flowin’
and GMs are beatin’
Their heads ‘gainst the wall!
It’s the cra-craziest season of all!
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