The Montreal Canadiens, like most NHL teams, would have guessed the middle of August would have been a quiet time on their schedules.
While there is much to do as a player or general manager in the months from September to June, the summer is much less hectic. Of course, July starts off with a bang as free agency frenzy takes over the first few days of the month, but August is always the quietest month of the year on the hockey calendar.
Of course, the Canadiens made some noise this month with not one, but two separate Jeff Petry trades, but the norm is August is the quietest month of the year.
The only exception to that rule is August 15th. On that date each year, players who were drafted out of college hockey and have graduated from their schools will have their NHL rights expire if they are not signed by the team that chose them at the NHL Draft. Some years this doesn’t lead to many big signings, but other years there is a bit of a frenzy.
Justin Schultz created quite a stir when he decided not to sign with the Anaheim Ducks in 2012 and became a free agent instead. Jimmy Vesey was another player who chose the free agent market and caused a midsummer swirl in hockey circles.
There are no big headliners when it comes to the NCAA free agent class this year, but a handful of interesting prospects did become unrestricted free agents yesterday evening. Admittedly, none of these players are ready to step right into the lineup and dominate at the NHL level, but there are a few late bloomers that could turn into solid depth NHL pieces in the near future.
Adding depth throughout the organization, especially in the form of 22 year olds who just dominated at the college level could lead to a team finding a diamond in the rough.
Here are three players who hit the free agent market last night that the Canadiens would benefit from signing to an entry-level contract.