FEATURE | Is Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin’s ‘Bold’ Move Really Enough to Satisfy Habs Fans? Carolina Hurricanes Forward Sebastian Aho Offer Sheet Fiasco
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA — The week leading up to the free agency frenzy held a modicum of hope for the Canadiens and their fans. Big name stars like Erik Karlsson were open about wanting the Habs to be involved, likely to help drive up their asking price. Matt Duchene was the largest name on the market at free agency, and he held only two in person interviews: one with Montreal and the other with Nashville, where he eventually signed.
Marc Bergevin was saying all the right things as he prepared for free agency. Speaking to the media ahead of the NHL draft, Bergevin said that “as far as adding (through free agency), yes I’m always looking to add, but I need to be responsible. We have some young players coming through — KK (Jesperi Kotkaniemi), Max Domi, even Ryan Poehling. If they progress the way we think they are, I hate to three years from now (be forced) to move one of those kids to make room for a guy that just signed a week from now that I can’t move.”
“Yes I’m always looking to add, but I need to be responsible”
There is no doubt Bergevin is feeling pressure to get the Habs ready to compete for the playoffs, having missed out on the chance to compete for the cup in three of the last four seasons. Bergevin did add veteran backup goaltender Keith Kinkaid in the hopes that he can provide 20-25 quality starts as well as giving Carey Price the support he needs to be rested heading into the playoffs.
Bergevin also made two separate trades, moving Nicholas Deslauriers to Anaheim for a fourth round draft pick and trading Andrew Shaw back to Chicago to add even more draft picks. More importantly, it cleared off $4.9 million from the Canadiens salary cap.
The nearly 13 million dollars in cap space left the door open for a major acquisition on July first. This left Bergevin with a choice: go the traditional route and possibly overpay for a much needed left-handed, puck moving defenseman, or make an unexpected move.
He chose to place an offer sheet on 21-year-old centerman Sebastian Aho. By the completion of his entry-level-contract, the six-foot, 176 pound center has blossomed into a point-per-game, top-line, playmaking center. Very few offer sheets have been made and this is the first since 2013.
The offer to Aho is a five year 42.27 million dollar deal with an average annual value of 8.454 million dollars. The compensation for such a deal is a first, second, and third round pick. It’s not exactly a compensation that would make a team want to move their top line center or a cap hit that would scare a team off.
So why did Bergevin feel that the offer wouldn’t be matched? The front loading of 21.7 million dollars to a team with perceived financial issues seemed to be the strategy employed by the Canadiens. This went against the expressed, public declarations of the Hurricanes, with GM Don Waddell stating they would match any offer sheets on Aho.
In an interview with RDS, Aho’s agent Gerry Johannson stated (translated from French), “It’s not an offer as easy to match as some may be led to believe. The Canadiens presented a very aggressive offer my client found very attractive that we felt met his demands. Like everyone else we are in wait and see mode but we believe the Canadiens made an offer that gives them the best chances of success.”
That being said, the Hurricanes announced the next day their intention to match the Habs’ offer.
What does this mean? Carolina has not yet filed the paperwork to match, so technically, the 8.454 million dollars the Canadiens offered and the three draft picks are still tied up and unable to be used in any further negotiations.
In a press conference this week, the Hurricanes spoke of how easy it was to match the offer. While some see this as an attack on Bergevin or Johannson, I perceive it that Waddell was lowballing Aho.
FIVE YEARS!
The #Canes intend to match the @CanadiensMTL offer sheet.
More » https://t.co/UAHfnpMzdi pic.twitter.com/cN4NNJeIQF
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) July 2, 2019
While the Hurricanes may say Aho never wanted to leave, he did become one of the rare few to sign an offer sheet. Whatever tensions that are now between Aho and the team may need relationship mending, but that is their problem to deal with. The Canadiens have their own problems in the wake of this move.
I’ve noticed discussion on social media concerning potential deals to yield an outcome of Aho heading to Montreal. The rules around offer sheets don’t allow such a move. However, it is possible that there could be a deal made under the table, but that is unlikely as hostile offer sheets don’t exactly set the table for friendly negotiations.
Carolina’s owner, Tom Dundon, wanted to make it clear that he and the Canes should not be underestimated. Bergevin’s error was not necessarily the structure of the offer sheet, it was sorely underestimating Dundon’s desire to win both on the ice and in the board room. Make no mistake, Carolina will market this as a major win despite the major up front financial costs.
The biggest issue facing the Canadiens is that there will be approximately 13 million in cap space sitting unused. The makeup of the team is almost exactly as it was at the end of last season with the exception of a better backup goaltender and a little less grit.
Having used an offer sheet may open up the Canadiens to retaliatory offer sheets from Carolina. That is if any future Canadiens’ Restricted Free Agent would feel disrespected enough to sign elsewhere. But perhaps a greater impact will be felt as Bergevin feels a chill from fellow GM’s around the league just as others have who have used the offer sheet process. Not that Bergevin seems to be someone that cares if people like him.
Of course there is the issue of an entire week where Bergevin won’t be certain of just how much cap space he has to use. While this leaves him with much less flexibility, he does still have room to manoeuvre. He can still make a trade to fill the need on defence, but this would be difficult without knowing how much cap space he has to work with or what picks he can trade.
Aho deciding to sign with Montreal shows the franchise to be a desirable location for this player, but nice moral victories don’t improve a team. Habs fans will hope that this move doesn’t hurt the team’s chances at finding the desperately needed defensive help or improvements to the power-play that they had going into the free agency frenzy.
By Blain Potvin, Staff Writer. Edited by Cate Racher.
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