FEATURE | Montreal Canadiens Possible Trade Targets, Time To Act is Now for Marc Bergevin, Kasperi Kapanen, Ryan Callahan, Dmitry Kulikov, Haydn Fleury
While the Montreal Canadiens achieved a a 25-point improvement when compared year-to-year, the disappointment of a team missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons remains.
The lack of a post-season play is made more difficult for Habs fans as they watch Montreal’s most bitter rival compete for the league’s sacred prize. The Boston Bruins have now won eight straight games and hold a 1-0 game lead over the St. Louis Blues. The latest Stanley Cup Odds (2019) are detailed here.
Despite icing a younger, more entertaining product, the pressure on Geoff Molson and Marc Bergevin to assemble a roster that can compete for the Cup keeps growing.
Free agency is normally a tool teams with ample cap space can use. However, Montreal is no longer a prime destination for free agents. Issues such as language, weather, the media and high taxes work against the Canadiens. The Habs may claim to be new and improved but likely not enough for game-changing players at the top of the 2019 unrestricted free agent class looking to win now.
Because of this, Bergevin will likely turn his focus to acquiring players under reasonable contracts needed via trade. The Canadiens may not have the required assets to bring in quality talent to fill gaps. As we witnessed last summer, Bergevin is willing to weaponize his salary cap space as he committed to a two-year buyout of Steve Mason’s contract to acquire Joel Armia.
This summer, Bergevin should have approximately $14 million available if the cap is raised to $82.5 million as expected. The dollars will be required to sign Armia and Artturi Lehkonen, with decisions to be made on Charles Hudon, Jordie Benn and Mike Reilly.
Trades like these normally happen prior to the beginning of free agency. Some players that could be useful to the Canadiens may become targets for Bergevin prior to June 30th. The following are potential targets who may fill a role for the Habs.
Kasperi Kapanen
Kasperi Kapanen‘s 20-goal, 44-point season will earn him a significant raise on his entry level deal. With the Maple Leafs facing a difficult negotiation with Mitch Marner, they will have to make choices on other players who are in need of contracts this summer. Kapanen may be one of those players.
To induce Kyle Dubas to make Kapanen available, Bergevin could take on Nathan Horton’s contract. Despite being on long-term injury reserve, his contract will count in full against the cap in the off-season. For a team like the Leafs with very little cap space, they will need to maximize dollars to ensure they can retain Marner.
Part of the return to Toronto could be the rights to Mike Reilly who could play a depth role on their depleted blueline as well as draft picks or minor league contracts.
Ryan Callahan
It’s no secret that Cup contenders, Tampa Bay will need to offload cap to retain key players such as Brayden Point and Anton Stralman. Ryan Callahan’s $5.8 million salary for one more season as a 13th forward is hurting their efforts to retain them. If Callahan is willing to waive his no-trade clause for Montreal, he could be of immediate help to the Habs bottom six. But that is a steep cap for a fourth liner so Tampa would have to offer up something of value to entice a division rival.
Bergevin may target Taylor Raddysh. The young power forward has just completed his first professional season in the AHL and did not look out of place in Syracuse filling a top-six role. The 2016 second-round pick has the size that the Habs need for their forward group.
He also has good speed and mobility which helps him be an effective forechecker. Raddysh is strong along the boards and likes to play in the dirty areas in front of the net. He also has good offensive instincts and skills.
The return may be a combination of late draft picks and the rights to Hudon as Tampa has a history of poaching Quebec-born players from the Canadiens and developing them into more than what they could be in Montreal’s system.
Dmitry Kulikov
Another obvious truth is the lack of depth on the left side of the Canadiens’ blueline. Dmitry Kulikov could be a short term stop gap to help that problem. His mobility and two-way play could be helpful in the top four, if he can stay healthy. Offloading his $4.33 million salary could help Winnipeg retain key pieces on their blueline.
The sweetener in this deal could be Mason Appleton. As a former sixth round pick, he is not a household name, however, he is a diamond in the rough. The Michigan State alum was drafted as a center but can play on the wing as well. He boasts good size and speed as well as a good shot but his main skill is as a playmaker.
Appleton can also play a physical two-way game which fits with the Canadiens’ new system. Appleton, who played a key offensive role for the Manitoba Moose has the skills to play on a third line in Montreal right away or offer a major offensive upgrade to Laval this coming season as he is still waiver exempt.
The cost for this type of deal would be more than last season’s deal for Armia, but a mid-round pick and minor league contract may be enough to entice Winnipeg.
Haydn Fleury
Hadyn Fleury is one of those kinds of players that Bergevin loves. He is someone who has been passed over on his former team and may be seen as a bit of a reclamation project.
Ahead of Fleury on the Carolina depth chart are Calvin DeHaan, Jaccob Slavin and even Jake Bean. At 22-years of age, it seems odd to say a former seventh overall selection, coming off his entry-level deal, is a reclamation project. Yet his lack of waiver eligibility, the fact that he has yet to score a goal in his 79 NHL games and the depth of quality young left-handed defencemen in the Hurricanes’ system could make him expendable.
Acquiring the brother of Habs prospect Cale Fleury would cost much more than mid-round picks or minor league prospects. To add the six-foot-three-inch, 220-pound left-handed mobile defenceman would cost a forward off the Canadiens NHL roster. As Carolina is also building their team with youth, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the player Carolina would seek Lehkonen as both players are the same age and both are unsigned restricted free agents.
This type of deal doesn’t use the cap space as an asset, however the acquisition of a defenceman who would likely receive a similar cap hit as Lehkonen could allow cap space to dip into free agency as a way of adding a forward to the top six.
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Bergevin is known for being willing to make news in the month of June. With the cap space he has, there are no shortages of options available. One thing is for certain, fans and media will not be kind to Canadiens’ ownership and management if they have a third season with significant unused cap space instead of using it to improve upon the exciting and hard-working team that won many of the fans back last season.
By Blain Potvin, Staff Writer.
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