Montreal Canadiens: An Ode to Ben Chiarot

Ben Chiarot is weird. Ask anyone on the street what they think of the trade and it seems like you will get two different answers: “Why did the Habs trade their best defender?” and “Wow, that is an incredible return for him.”

But either way, Ben Chiarot was traded to the Florida Panthers for an unprotected 1st round pick in 2023, a fourth round pick in 2022 and Ty Smilanic. Smilanic was a third round pick in 2020.

It is worth noting that Smilanic had some injury issues in his draft year which may have dropped him lower than he could have been picked. He is a product of the USNDPT and currently plays college with Quinnipiac.

The first round pick is unprotected. As Florida has been a strong contender the past two seasons at least, that lottery protection likely would’ve never mattered anyways, but you never know. That pick is also the pick for next year’s draft, not this year’s. Something apparently Hughes was adamant for getting for Chiarot.

Its a smart move. Ken Hughes is a smart guy. Not only does Florida not have their first rounder this year, not that that matters, because Hughes wanted the first rounder in the deeper draft. Just being in 2023 gives it much more worth than being 2022.

The fourth round pick is just another pick. The fourth round is far enough down that it is more of a crapshoot, or a reason to take a high risk, high reward prospect (like say, Joshua Roy in the 5th round).

Smilanic is interesting and has played with some great players, namely Matty Beniers. He is a player that can play centre or wing, plays a good 200-foot game (good in the defensive and offensive zone), and his coach really likes him. Its too early to tell if Smilanic will turn into anything at the top level, but he is an interesting prospect to keep an eye on.

And then there’s Ben Chiarot.