Canadiens: Three D That Could Be Acquired For Free

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The Montreal Canadiens have been pretty fortunate when it comes to waiver claims over the years. Usually when a player is placed on waivers, their chances of becoming full-time NHL players is quite low.

However, the Canadiens have been able to add some value to the organization recently by grabbing a player off waivers. Paul Byron has been the most successful, as he not only became a regular, but he also became a 20 goal scoring threat and a fantastic penalty killing winger.

Last season, the Canadiens picked up Rem Pitlick for free and he scored 26 points in 46 games with the Habs, while earning a brief promotion to the team’s first line. Though he couldn’t find a roster spot on the deep Minnesota Wild team, he proved to be an NHL contributor with the Canadiens.

Samuel Montembeault also added plenty of value after being claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers. With Carey Price out for most of the season, the Habs needed someone to play net, and Montembeault turned in some memorable performances in his 38 games last season.

The Canadiens head into the 2022-23 season looking like a non-playoff team. They have plenty of holes in the lineup that will make it unlikely they are playing in the postseason. Up front, they actually have plenty of veterans to choose from and some younger players like Juraj Slafkovsky, Jesse Ylonen and Rafael Harvey-Pinard knocking on the door as well.

It is the blue line, and goaltending situation, that will ensure this team isn’t a contender. Veteran defenders Mike Matheson, Joel Edmundson and David Savard are going to be asked to play a ton of minutes this season. Beyond them, it thins out pretty quickly unless the team turns to top prospects like Kaiden Guhle to play big roles this season.

It would make more sense to find another veteran, or two, to fill out the lineup on defence and protect the younger players from needing to play more than they are ready to handle in the NHL this season.

Who could they add to eat minutes on the blue line in a losing season? Well, they could turn back to the waiver wire and possibly pick up one or two of these three defenders.

Philippe Myers

Philippe Myers has had an interesting career so far. He went undrafted, but signed quickly with the Philadelphia Flyers, then played at the World Juniors and looked fantastic. He got injured at that tournament but returned and played well for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Myers then turned pro and looked like a budding two-way top-four defender for the Flyers. He is huge at 6’5″ and skilled with the puck. Before the 2020-21 season he signed a three-year extension with a cap hit of $2.55 million, but hasn’t really lived up to it at this point.

He was traded to the Nashville Predators ahead of last season, but was later passed through waivers and then loaned out to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. He was then traded again, this time to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning are one of the deepest and best teams in the league, and may have acquired Myers as a depth option or insurance piece. If so, he will likely find himself on waivers before the season begins.

The 25 year old is coming off a terrible season, but he did once show promise as a potential top four defender. It isn’t likely, but it is possible if he were given a chance in Montreal, that he could find success on a pairing with a defensively responsible veteran like Joel Edmundson.

Nicolas Meloche

Another interesting potential waiver fit would be Calgary Flames defender Nicolas Meloche. The LaSalle, Quebec native was a decent scoring defender in his Junior days with the QMJHL, but can’t be counted on to bring much at that end of the ice these days.

The 25 year old is 6’3″ and 212 pounds and is simply a gritty, rugged, physical right shooting defender. He was a rookie in the NHL last season after a handful of AHL seasons and played 50 games with the San Jose Sharks.

Meloche was a third pairing defender for the Sharks who also helped out a bit on the power play. He has since signed with the Calgary Flames who are very deep on the blue line. Just on the right side the Flames boast Rasmus Andersson, Chris Tanev, and Mac Weegar. It doesn’t look like an NHL spot is open for Meloche.

That means he is likely to find himself on waivers. Could his hometown team have any interest? Why not? A big, physical defender who is still just 25 and has only 57 games of NHL experience under his belt could turn into a regular on the team’s third pairing for a few years.

It would at the very least allow the younger defenders like Guhle and Justin Barron to stay in the minors as long as they need, which is the priority for the upcoming season. Meloche wouldn’t be a flashy add to the Habs, but he could play here and there, possibly surprise as a penalty killer and ensure no young players are rushed to the NHL.

He is signed for just one season with a cap hit of $750,000 so there is no real financial risk involved.

Jordie Benn

Jordie Benn was once protected in an expansion draft… by the Montreal Canadiens. Habs fans will recall this veteran penalty killer and physical presence on the blue line for two and a half seasons with the Habs.

Benn has bounced around the league quite a bit since leaving Montreal as a free agent in 2019. He has played for the Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild and signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in those three years.

Now 35 years old, Benn hasn’t played an AHL game in nearly a decade, but seems poised to not make the Toronto Maple Leafs opening night roster. With Morgan Rielly, TJ Brodie, Mark Giordano, Timothy Liljegren, Jake Muzzin, Justin Holl and Rasmus Sandin on the NHL team, there isn’t room for a grizzled veteran like Benn.

If he ends up on waivers, it would make sense for the Habs to bring him back. He is signed for just one season at a cap hit of $750,000. He is a left hand shot but can easily play both sides of the ice while guiding a younger player like Jordan Harris along, or just adding some veteran savvy to the third pairing, or serving as the number seven and healthy scratch so a younger player doesn’t have to sit in the press box.

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