Montreal Canadiens: Alex Belzile Likely To Test Free Agent Market

The Montreal Canadiens went through a lot of players on their roster last season. They had roughly 600 man-games lost to injury in 2022-23, so they needed to go through their fair share of call-ups during the season.

Some of those players got a brief taste of NHL life and were not heard from again. I’ll bet you already forgot about Frederic Allard’s three game stint. Lucas Condotta even scored in his first NHL game but he isn’t likely to make next season’s opening night roster.

Other players like Michael Pezzetta, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Alex Belzile were able to show they can play at the NHL level and gave the team more depth than it realized it had at the beginning of the season. Pezzetta has already signed a two-year contract extension with the Canadiens and it sounds like Harvey-Pinard could be on the verge of signing a new deal himself.

Belzile however, might be the odd man out and could be hitting the free agent market this offseason. According to The Hockey News, Belzile is seeking a two-year contract that is a one-way deal, similar to Pezzetta’s contract.

That would guarantee him an NHL salary of roughly $800,000 whether he is playing in the NHL with the Canadiens or sent back down to the AHL to play with the Laval Rocket. They go on to say he would rather stay with Montreal, but his first priority is to get a one-way contract and he is willing to test the open market to see if someone else will offer it if the Canadiens do not.

Belzile did play well for the Canadiens when called upon last season. He played 31 NHL games and scored six goals and 14 points, showing he can contribute a little offense from the bottom of the lineup. He also has a long history of success at the AHL level and scored 14 goals and 26 points in 31 games with the Rocket in 2022-23.

The 31 year old forward was versatile enough to play some games at center for the Canadiens, and shows leadership qualities that made him the Rocket’s captain. There is no question that he will have interest as a free agent, but will another team offer him a two-year and one-way contract? That’s far from a guarantee.

If he gets it elsewhere, he should take the money and run. If he does not, the veteran could always circle back and return to the Canadiens in July on a two-way contract to provide some depth from a local player.

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