Canadiens: Free Agents Habs Should Target to Play With Shane Wright

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The Montreal Canadiens are going to pick first overall at the 2022 NHL Draft at the Bell Centre in Montreal. There isn’t a slam dunk definite top pick, but it is pretty darn close.

Shane Wright has been the top ranked prospect for the 2022 NHL Draft by just about everyone since he was playing Minor Midget hockey in Ontario for the Don Mills Flyers. There have been some saying that gap has closed significantly recently, but it is very unlikely the Canadiens pick anyone other than Wright.

The same thing happened to John Tavares in his draft year. Everyone knew he would be the first pick in 2009 when he scored 76 goals in the OHL two years before his NHL Draft would take place. But then as the draft gets closer people start questioning his skating and his intangibles and if he just matured earlier than others which made him look so much better as a 16 year old.

Everybody knew Taylor Hall was going first overall in 2010, but they Taylor vs Tyler (Seguin) “debate” raged on in the weeks leading up to the draft. Twelve years later the debate makes sense, but no one actually thought Seguin was going to be picked before Hall when they were teenagers.

So, the Canadiens are going to take Shane Wright. He is a terrific, smart, two-way centre who can snipe from a distance, averaged an assist per game this season, and is as good or better defensively than he is offensively. He is going to play centre for the Canadiens next season, so the only question is with who?

The Canadiens will now have Nick Suzuki, Christian Dvorak and Wright down the middle. It is important to put Wright in a position to succeed as an 18 year old in the NHL. What he needs are two-way wingers that slot in on a second line behind Suzuki, Cole Caufield and probably Josh Anderson.

An ideal winger for Wright is Brendan Gallagher. He is a veteran who still has some offence to his game, but is a great defensive winger and he plays the game the right way every night by battling and blocking shots and driving to the net.

The Habs depth chart on the left side includes Jonathan Drouin and Rem Pitlick, but that’s about it. Maybe Pitlick would be a decent fit, but he could end up back on the top line as well That would slide Anderson down to a third line with Dvorak. Drouin isn’t reliable enough to be trusted in such an important situation for the future of the franchise.

The Canadiens may need to target a smart, two-way veteran left winger to give Wright the right protection and guidance in his rookie season. Who could that be?

Ilya Mikheyev

Ilya Mikheyev just had a breakout season offensively and has turned into a steady two-way player for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately for them, they may not be able to keep him.

The Russian left winger brings size, speed and skill to the table and scored 21 goals in just 53 games this season. His 32 points put him on a pace for 50 over a full season, but 32 of those points would have been goals.

The 27 year old will become an unrestricted free agent if the cap restricted Maple Leafs can’t find a way to free up space for him. That’s not likely as the team has about $8 million right now to pay a starting goaltender, as well as Mikheyev’s replacement, Ondrej Kase and Pierre Engvall and all of the players they brought in to fill gaps like Mark Giordano, Ilya Lyubushkin and Colin Blackwell.

Having played just 146 career NHL games, Mikheyev is not going to command an enormous salary or a six year commitment. But, at a reasonable cap hit on a three year deal, he could be a great fit alongside Wright and Gallagher. The three think the game well and could be nightmares for defences with their puck control and cycle in the offensive zone.

Mikheyev wouldn’t come in and score a point per game or anything. But the Canadiens depth chart on left wing isn’t deep and Drouin is likely entering the final year of his Habs tenure if he hasn’t already played his last game. A reasonable contract for a two-way left winger with speed and skill would give the Habs a little more depth on the left side and form a strong two-way line with Wright and Gallagher.

Ondrej Palat

Someone with a little more experience than Mikheyev would be more ideal. A left winger that can kill penalties, play against tough competition, score 20-25 goals and just play a strong two-way game is what is necessary.

It doesn’t hurt if they also have two (maybe three) recent Stanley Cup wins on their resume. Ondrej Palat surely fits that description.

The 31 year old has played his entire NHL career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he looks to be their next victim of the salary cap. After losing Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow following last season’s Stanley Cup win, the Lightning really still don’t have the cap space to keep Palat either.

He does have a strong resume, and scored 31 points in 48 playoff games en route to getting his name on the Stanley Cup twice. But with stronger wingers like Johnny Gaudreau, Filip Forsberg, Bryan Rust and Claude Giroux about to be free agents as well, Palat isn’t going to get the biggest contract of the offseason.

He scored 18 goals and 49 points in 77 games this season, but his experience and defensive game are invaluable as well. Getting a strong two-way veteran like Palat to act as a safety net on a line with Wright would be a great situation for a first overall pick.

David Perron

The best option to step onto a two-way line with Wright next season is David Perron. The 34 year old has played on a line with Ryan O’Reilly for the past several seasons, meaning he is playing in a tough defensive role every night.

He has also been able to score at nearly a point per game pace recently, with 57 points in 67 games this season and 58 points in 56 games last season. He also had nine points in a six game first round series with the Minnesota Wild this season. He played a big role on the 2019 Stanley Cup winning team in a two-way role.

Perron has played on five different teams in his NHL career but, oddly, he has signed all of his contracts with the St. Louis Blues. It is still possible he stays in St. Louis, but the Sherbrooke, Quebec native could choose to play for his hometown team.

If he does, his contract might not be too extravagant. He is 34 years old so he can’t expect a ton of term. The Habs will be able to offer up an attractive cap hit if they are able to unload Shea Weber’s contract, which sounds like a done deal, but they would want to avoid going super long term.

At his age, Perron won’t be expecting a long term deal anyway. He could play near his hometown, and on a line with the recent first overall pick. A trio of Perron, Wright and Gallagher would give the number one pick two great veterans wingers who battle and play the game the right way on every shift, while still having the ability to put up decent offensive numbers.

They could also slowly increase Wright’s defensive responsibilities throughout the season. He is a great defensive player, but you can’t expect him to be ready to go head to head with Auston Matthews on opening night. With Perron and Gallagher on his wings, he might be ready for other team’s top lines by the end of his rookie season.

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