Three Outside Of The Box UFA's Canadiens Could Look At

Three Outside Of The Box UFA’s Canadiens Could Look At

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 19: The newly appointed General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens Kent Hughes, addresses the media at Centre Bell on January 19, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. Kent Hughes becomes the 18th general manager in franchise history. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

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Ryan Murray (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

At 28 years old it’s safe so say that Ryan Murray will never live up to the hype when he was drafted 2nd overall in 2012 by the Columbus Blue Jackets. That being said, this doesn’t mean he’s a bad player.

You might be scratching your head as to why a left sided injury-prone defenceman who hasn’t scored a goal in three years would make this list. The answer is simple – when Murray is on, he can be an extremely effective shut down defenceman.

The left side of the Canadiens’ blue line is already clogged with Joel Edmundson and Alexander Romanov. The final spot will be a brawl between Kaiden Guhle, Kale Clague, Mattias Norlinder and Corey Schueneman. So again, why Murray?

First it all comes down if Murray lifts the Stanley Cup this year with the Avalanche. If he does, he becomes a lot easier to attract. He’s an extremely intelligent athlete who doesn’t need to play 82 games a year. Having a rotation between Murray and rookies would benefit everyone.

A one year deal can re-up Murray’s value if he’s used properly and he can easily be flipped at the trade deadline.

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