by Blain Potvin, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
BUFFALO, NY. — It was a busy weekend in Buffalo. The host Buffalo Sabres did a great job of getting the fans involved and providing plenty of entertainment on their waterfront adjacent to the First Niagara Centre. Once the draft began, however, Marc Bergevin wasted little time engaging Habs fans by starting his off-season plan.
The Lars Eller trade to Washington is what kicked off proceedings at this year’s draft. When Gary Bettman announced that there was a trade involving Montreal, many of us in the First Niagara Centre held their breath in anticipation of hearing P.K. Subban’s name. Thankfully that wasn’t the case and a sigh of relief followed. But it was mixed with disappointment for some as Eller was also a fan favorite.
Expectations for Eller when he arrived in Montreal were for him to be a big top-six centre that Montreal was lacking. The pressure to produce immediately was unfair made worse by being traded for media darling Jaroslav Halak. His value to the club was his ability to play a puck possession game as an excellent third line centre and to play up on the second line at times.
Eller was not put in a position to produce more than 30 points, and that was his best offensive season in the six he enjoyed in Montreal. The return of two second round picks was good value for Montreal and was fair payment for Washington. The Capitals will expect better offensive production. We shall see if Eller can produce with better linemates and coaching.
A mere seconds after the Eller trade was announced on Friday, Mr. Bettman announced another trade made by Montreal, this time to bring in Andrew Shaw. No one can argue Shaw’s pedigree or effectiveness as a versatile role player in Chicago. He played a key role in the last two of the Stanley Cup Championships enjoyed by Chicago. He was able to play up and down their roster while providing an up-tempo agitating brand of hockey.
However, Chicago’s cap crunch should have made him less expensive to land. While two second round pics are fair value, it can be argued that less could have been paid as Montreal wasn’t sending any contracts in return. It is reasonable to expect that Brendan Gallagher and Shaw will be causing goalies fits.
On Monday night, the Canadiens announced that Marc Bergevin had signed Shaw to a six-year contract reportedly worth $23.4 million.
Moving onto the draft, Montreal’s selections were used to select:
Mikhail Sergachev (first round, 9th overall)
While many argued that Montreal needed to draft a forward it cannot be argued that Timmins and company drafted anything other than best player available. The six-foot-two-inch, 220 pound Mikhail Sergachev was the youngest player to receive the OHL’s top defenseman award, and has been compared to Drew Doughty by the Windsor coaching staff. Now he doesn’t help the team this season despite his declaration that he will play in the NHL immediately if given the opportunity, but he does provide the answer to who will replace Markov when he retires. This was an excellent selection.
William Bitten (third round, 70th overall)
William Bitten was ranked as a high second round pick by some scouts. His slide to 70th surprised nearly everyone in attendance. This player may very well prove to be the steal of the draft. His offensive potential rivals even some players chosen in the top-15. His size is the most likely reason for slipping to the third round. For this player to progress however he needs to find a way out of the dysfunctional franchise in Flint and play a key offensive role with a quality franchise with high-level coaching and solid players.
Victor Mete (fourth round, 100th overall)
Victor Mete was a cornerstone of the OHL and Memorial Cup Champion London Knights as well as the Ivan Hlinka Tournament Gold Medal Champions Team Canada. Mete was ranked as a late second to early third round pick, making him an excellent choice in the fourth round. His slide to No. 100 had everything to do with his compact frame. He will need time to grow and adjust to the pro game and is a four year project before he dons an NHL sweater. But there is no denying his talent. Mete’s skating and offensive game are his strengths. His main issues will be how he deals with the physicality in the pros and his defensive play.
Casey Staum (fifth round, 124th overall)
This pick was a surprise to say the least. Casey Staum was ranked No. 149 by Future Considerations and No. 159 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters.) Staum is slated to attend University of Nebraska-Omaha, a top 20 Div 1 NCAA program. From what is known of him he plays a similar style to Victor Mete but is seen as a longer term project that is expected to complete all four years of his program before he is ready to be assessed for the professional game. As the result of the fifth round pick received from Vancouver in the Brandon Prust deal there isn’t much pressure to be NHL capable anytime soon.
Micheal Pezzetta (sixth round, 160th overall)
The Assistant Captain for the Sudbury Wolves is a big framed center. There were likely more offensively gifted players available or better defensive specialists but his two-way play and size are likely what sold him to the scouts. His numbers hide his two-way abilities as he played on a horrendous Wolves squad. He is also a raw player in need of two more years in the OHL to develop before he can move into the professional ranks.
Arvid Henrikson (seventh round, 187th overall)
The Habs traded their seventh round pick next season to Winnipeg to select the hulking right handed 6-foot-5-inch, 210 pound defenseman. He was the Captain of his U18 team and is known as a stay-at-home defenseman. He is adept at boxing forwards out of the slot and punishing opposition in the corners. These skills were put to use extensively on the penalty kill yet his offensive game is limited. His transition game is very raw and needs work. As a seventh round selection he will be a project but one that was seen worth the gamble of moving back into the draft to select.
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As the 2016 Draft weekend closed, Marc Bergevin had addressed the depleted left side of the defensive prospect pool, added some much needed grit and experience with Andrew Shaw and opened up the needed cap space moving Lars Eller to Washington. Bergevin was also able to partially recoup the loss of the two second round picks (used to acquire Shaw) by moving Eller.
The main difference between Eller and Shaw is that the latter has shown that he can play up and down the lineup producing quality minutes and points. But losing Eller has it’s downsides as well as the third line centre position is now no longer patrolled by a capable and proven defensive centre.
Despite this, the off-season has other requirements, such as upgrading the team’s top four defensively, and more importantly, addressing the need for added scoring depth. It is very possible that Bergevin is targeting one or more of the many UFA’s who fit a need. So his work is not complete yet by any measure.
Bergevin’s conservative approach may be his downfall if he is unsuccessful at signing a true top six forward to help compliment our current roster. For many, this summer will only be seen as a success if the needed upgrades occur without sacrificing any of the team’s core group.