The Montreal Canadiens acquired Denis Gurianov from the Dallas Stars ahead of the trade deadline for Evgeni Dadonov.
It was just a swap of veteran Russian wingers who were not having their best seasons. Dadonov looked uninterested in even playing in Montreal after being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in the offseason.
The 34 year old winger scored four goals and 18 points in 50 games with the Canadiens before the trade. Gurianov wasn’t much better, in fact his numbers were worse as he had just two goals and nine points in 43 games with the Stars to begin the season. The 26 year old had shown some promise in the past so it was hoped he would bounce back with the Canadiens.
That did not happen. Gurianov played 23 games with the Canadiens after the trade and scored five goals and eight points. While he does have size and some skill, he was not able to put it together this season.
Gurianov is now a restricted free agent. The Canadiens can retain his rights by extending a qualifying offer his way, but that seemed unlikely. A qualifying offer for Gurianov would be a one-year contract with a cap hit that matches his $2.9 million salary from last season. Considering he scored 17 points in 66 games last season, that isn’t a good investment.
If the Canadiens do not give Gurianov a qulaifying offer, he is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and can sign anywhere he chooses. Well, anywhere that gives him an offer. Apparently, even though they are not considering a qualifying offer, the Canadiens still may have interest in signing Gurianov.
As of tonight, I'm told, even though he is not going to receive a qualifying offer from the Canadiens, Denis Gurianov returning to MTL is not completely ruled out.
— Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) June 22, 2023
I think it will depend on certain things Hughes and Gorton try to do in the days leading up to the draft.
Call it a Plan B… or possibly Plan C but the Canadiens reportedly have interest in bringing back Gurianov, just not at his previous salary, according to Marc Antione Godin. That would mean the team is just looking to bring him back at a lower cap hit. They would run the risk of him choosing to sign elsewhere, but it makes no sense to keep him at nearly $3 million after last season’s output.
It sounds like the Canadiens are hoping to bring in someone else, or perhaps they just want to move out a couple of veteran wingers like Mike Hoffman and would need Gurianov to fill out the lineup.
Whatever the case, don’t take Gurianov not getting a qualifying offer in the coming days to mean he is done for sure. The Canadiens did not give Rem Pitlick a qualifying offer and then signed him to a two-year deal with a cap hit of $1.1 million. Perhaps they will do the same with Gurianov.
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