FEATURE | Marc Bergevin Desperately Seeking Defencemen for Montreal Canadiens, Trade, Free Agency, Gardiner, Gostisbehere, Brodin, Kylington

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA — The Canadiens finished the season 14th overall in the NHL earning 44 wins and 96 points with one of the youngest teams in the league. After a so-called bounce-back season, there will be pressure on Marc Bergevin to improve the team this summer.

The Habs improved defensively shaving 22 goals from their goals allowed last season to this season, improving to 12th in goals allowed in the NHL. The change is directly attributable to superb play by Shea Weber and Carey Price.

But it’s clear that Bergevin still has work to do to significantly upgrade the blueline before the Habs can be considered a contender. Adding a defenceman could be a step in the right direction, and with the right player, the power-play could also be improved.

The current blueline has the necessary pieces for the short term on the right side.

Weber anchors the right side and remains one of the most difficult players to play against in the NHL. Weber had 14 goals in just 58 games with a goals per game ratio of 0.24, second in the league among defencemen. Jeff Petry is coming off a season where he played the best hockey of his career and Noah Juulsen, showed promise before suffering  a serious eye injury.

Brett Lernout, Cale Fleury, and Josh Brook may soon work their way up the depth chart and force the GM’s hand. 

The left side of the blueline has been in desperate need of improvement for two seasons.

While not equipped to be a top defenceman, Victor Mete has been the best choice on the roster to pair with Weber. Mete has been effective using his speed and mobility to create offence and his positioning to defend against opposing forwards. Given that his size is an issue, Mete is better suited to play in a second pairing role.

Brett Kulak played a steady defensive game while occasionally jumping into the rush. In my opinion, Kulak would benefit from playing a third pairing role.

Currently, the Canadiens’ farm system is unable to solve this glaring need. Top left-handed defensive prospect Alexander Romanov is committed to the KHL for one more year. This leaves free agency or trade as the only viable options for the upcoming season.

There aren’t many mobile, left-handed defencemen who can reliably fill a top-four from the 2019 free agent class.

I believe that Jake Gardiner should be targeted by Bergevin if he reaches free agency. The 28-year-old Maple Leaf is a capable power-play quarterback who is known for possessing good speed, mobility and offensive awareness. While he is also known for making defensive errors, perhaps being paired with a veteran defender like Weber would help to minimize the issue.

There should be other trade options available from teams with cap issues. Trading for a top-pairing defenceman may cost Bergevin one of his young prospects or possibly a first round pick. Bergevin can use cap space to take on salary to sweeten a deal.

The Flyers don’t have salary cap difficulties but they will need to start making space for some of their talented young defencemen to graduate to the NHL. If one defender could be sacrificed for a premium it may be Shayne Gostisbehere, who just completed his worst statistical season as a Flyer. Despite being a difficult season for Gostisbehere, his numbers would place him first in power-play points for the Habs and second on the Habs blueline for total points.

Gostisbehere’s skating and playmaking skills would instantly make him the Habs best left-handed defenceman and top power-play quarterback. The 25-year-old is signed for four more seasons and fits the team’s cap structure.

While Jonas Brodin‘s offensive numbers will not put fear into the hearts of his opponents, he has proven himself a very capable puck-moving defenceman who is under contract at a reasonable $4.1 million for two more seasons. Brodin is able to play heavy minutes in a top four role while providing reliable defensive play. With the Minnesota Wild coming off a failed season, they may be willing to engineer a trade that could cost the Canadiens a mix of picks and prospects. 

The Flames top-four may be one of the best in the NHL, which sets the stage for a competition between Oliver Kylington and Jussi Valimaki to fill the bottom-pair for the Flames. Both defenders have proven themselves at the AHL level, and with Valimaki having the higher potential ceiling, that could make Kylington more likely to be available to the Habs.

Kylington is an excellent skater with good top speed. His vision and passing skills would be useful in helping on the power-play as well. However, Kylington is a gamble with only 39 games of NHL experience but his cost would be much lower than Brodin. This is the style of trade for which Bergevin is known.

This summer boasts one of the better unrestricted free agent classes in recent years. The Canadiens have stockpiled excellent prospects and draft picks that could be of interest to many teams.

This off-season, the Canadiens should have approximately $18 million available in cap space with 17 players already signed to the NHL roster. There is clearly enough cap space to retain the current depth players as well as sign an unrestricted free agent.

Bergevin failed to upgrade the Canadiens defence one year ago. He doesn’t have any excuse to ignore the problem any longer. Here’s hoping he makes changes to the team’s defensive lineup that will give the Habs a fighting chance next season.

By Blain Potvin, Staff Writer. Edited by Cate Racher.
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