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.
Kent Hughes says the ask on Chiarot was always a 2023 first-rounder.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) March 17, 2022
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.
It might be surprising that Chiarot has been in the NHL for a long time. He started life as an L.A. Kings draft pick that was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009. It was the swap of 4 draft picks where Chiarot was by far the prize. Two of the others never made the NHL and the other was J.F. Berube, veteran of 38 games.
Chiarot was drafted by the Thrashers in the 4th round, 120th overall, in 2009. To bring back some great Montreal Canadiens memories, that was the year that the Habs picked Louis Leblanc. It was also the year that Tomas Tatar was drafted in the 2nd round by Detroit, and Mike Hoffman was drafted 10 spots after Chiarot.
2009 was actually one of the worst drafts in Montreal Canadiens history. With 8 picks, the Montreal Canadiens got 141 games in Leblanc, Gabriel Dumont and one game from Joonas Nattinen. I guess it was better than the year before, where no player ever played an NHL game.
Chiarot made his NHL debut on November 2nd, 2013, against the Chicago Blackhawks as a member of the Winnipeg Jets (who used to be the Atlanta Thrashers before they crashed and burned). The Jets were buried by the Blackhawks 5-1, and Chiarot had a bad game, -3 in just over 10 minutes.
It was his only game that season, but he returned for half the season in 2014-15. On January 3rd, 2015, Ben Chiarot scored his first NHL goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs on goalie James Reimer. He also had an assist for his first ever multi-point game. He finished with 2 goals and 8 points in 40 games.
As Chiarot matured as a defender, his usage grew in Winnipeg and the numbers reflected his game. His last year in Winnipeg was his best, scoring 5 goals and 20 points in 78 games. He was up to 18 minutes per game.
Then Winnipeg went through one of the weirdest offseasons a team can go through. They lost almost of their defensive corp. Dustin Byfuglein retired, Tyler Myers went to Vancouver, Joe Morrow dropped out of the league, and Ben Chiarot tested the free agent market.
What can I say, Marc Bergevin has a type, and Ben Chiarot fits it to a T.
A big, physical, in-your-face defenceman that doesn’t have much offensive upside, puck moving ability, or skating, but lord help you if you wanted to stand in front of the net. So naturally Bergevin signed Chiarot as a free agent to a 3 year $10.5 million contract. That’s $3.5 million with a modified no trade clause, a 10 team no trade list.
Paired with captain Shea Weber and given more responsibility, Chiarot bloomed. Depending on your point of view.
In 2019-20, Chiarot had his best year offensively, scoring 9 goals and 21 points in 69 games. His ice time went from 18:36 in Winnipeg to 23:08 in Montreal. He maintained a positive +/- while playing against the toughest competition in the league.
But Chiarot does have his downsides. He has never played a full 82 game season. He routinely hits around or above 100 per season, ditto with blocked shots. It takes a toll on the body. And he is a giveaway machine, especially with his increased ice time and responsibility in Montreal.
And just one look at him with the puck on the stick, particularly in his own zone and try not to cringe. Just get the puck off his stick, please.
But you have to take the good with the bad. His size makes him a slower skater, but it helps him clear out the front of the net and lay down the boom. Sure he was sheltered in Montreal with Shea Weber, but he will be in Florida too.
It was hilarious to think of Chiarot in Toronto because that would be the worst position for him ever. He would be used incredibly heavily and be paired with someone like Morgan Reilly, who is fantastic offensively, but has some problems in his own end. Chiarot isn’t enough to carry a pairing on his own.
Chiarot is being added to a very good defensive group with names like Aaron Ekblad, Mackenzie Weegar, Gustav Forsling, Radko Gudas, Petteri Lindbohm and Brandon Montour. It will force Chiarot into his more natural role of second line defender, and he will be all the better for it. Gone will be the late game mistakes and over-reliance.
This move was a big win for the Montreal Canadiens, a win for the Florida Panthers and a win for Ben Chiarot. He can chase his ring, and who knows, maybe he will be back again for another kick at the can.
Must Read. Canadiens And Blackhawks Need To Talk About Debrincat. light