Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Canadiens Sign Petry to 6 Yr/$33M Contract; What's Next?

After what can only be described as a stroke of genius by Montreal Canadiens' General Manager Marc Bergevin at the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline, and an above-average contribution to help bolster the Canadiens' blue line in the latter part of the season and the playoffs, it was announced today that Jeff Petry signed a six-year, $33 Million contract to remain with the Habs.

The deal includes a full no-movement, no-trade clause, which has become a standard offering by teams wishing to sign trade deadline acquisition prior to them testing the free agent market come July 1st.

Many assumed that Petry, a native of Detroit, Michigan, wanted to sign with his home town Red Wings, however this year's playoff run, and the experience of playing with the league's most storied franchise, seemed to be enough to keep the 6' 3", 196 lbs defensemen with "Les Glorieux".

The signing now solidifies the top four defensemen on the Canadiens' blue line, with Norris trophy nominee P.K. Subban, veteran Andrei Markov and up and comer Nathan Beaulieu.

The last two spots and the role of the Canadiens' 7th defenseman are now up for grabs. While Alexei Emelin is still under contract until the 2017-2018 season, many observers believe, given the chatter about the Russian blue liner being dealt during the season, that the Habs may shop him around to try and alleviate themselves of the $4.1 Million cap hit his contract represents. Emelin has not looked anywhere as good as he did prior to injuring his knee against the Bruins on April 6th, 2013.

Emelin would definitely be a player teams would be interested in. His brutal physical assaults on opponents have brought many a Canadiens fan out of their seats, and would be a welcomed addition to any blue line. One team in particular, the Edmonton Oilers, might be a good fit. With the expected selection of Erie Otters' superstar Connor McDavid in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, the Oilers will have to part ways with one of their young forwards. Jordan Eberle and Nail Yakupov have both been rumoured to be trading chips for Edmonton, but that may all change with the arrival of their new GM, Peter Chairelli.

That said, the Canadiens are in a situation that will force them to make some very difficult decisions. Jarred Tinordi, who played the majority of last season with the Habs' AHL affiliate, nursed a wrist injury for the majority of the season. His 6' 5", 218 lbs frame is a much need commodity on the Canadiens' back end, so the organization cannot afford to make the wrong decision in his case. Tinordi is a restricted free agent, and must be signed to an offer sheet prior to July 1st.

Veteran rearguard Tom Gilbert ran hot and cold all season for the Canadiens. While he showed flashes of why Marc Bergevin signed him in the off-season last year, he also made his share of defensive gaffs in his own zone. The inconsistency in his game may relegate the 32 year-old to the role of 7th defenseman, as was the case with former Hab Mike Weaver, whose game plummeted since he resigned with the club after some fantastic play in the 2013-2014 run to the Eastern Conference finals.

Then, there is Greg Pateryn. For the last two seasons, this analyst fully expected the American-born defenseman to crack the Canadiens' roster in 2012-2013, only to see get pushed back down to the AHL by the signings of Douglas Murray and the aforementioned Gilbert. In the latter part of last season, the native of Sterling Heights, MI showed he had all the necessary tools, the skills and the mindset to remain with the big club.

Now What?

With the defense accounted for, now the daunting task of adding supplemental scoring is what faces the Canadiens' brass. While GM Bergevin was unwilling to admit what needed to be done going into next season, it's all but a foregone conclusion that the Canadiens' 1st round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Alex Galchenyuk, will need to make the move to centre at the start of next season.

Galchenyuk has spent most of his first three NHL seasons on the left wing, bouncing from linemate to linemate, and restricted to playing up and down the half wall. Having watched quite a bit of his junior career with the Sarnia Sting, it's obvious that his biggest asset is his ability to use the entire offensive zone to create scoring opportunities. Despite Canadiens' coach Michel Therrien claiming his young forward needs to improve in his own zone, Galchenyuk finished last season with a +8 rating. He is oftentimes the first forward back in support of his defenseman, unlike some of his teammates who seem disinterested in defending their own zone.

With a move to centre, the Canadiens would now need to address the need for a scoring winger. Granted, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche last off-season in exchange for Daniel Briere to fill that need, but a string of concussion issues kept the veteran right winger from getting his game to where everyone expected it to be.

Many expect the Habs to make a move or two at the 2015 NHL draft in Sunrise, FL, and they may be right, but there is a name on the unrestricted free agent list that is definitely worth dealing a draft pick or two to get the negotiating rights for before the 2015 free agent frenzy begins.

Capitals' forward Joel Ward, who had 19 goals and 15 assists during the regular season and added another 14 points in the playoffs, can fit the bill nicely in my opinion. His size and physicality, along with his ability to finish from in tight, would be a much needed addition to the Canadiens' all but non-existent power play. His play along the boards, and ability to separate the puck from defenders would help the likes of Max Pacioretty and Galchnyuk, but allowing them to get into prime shooting areas in anticipation of Ward's puck retrieval prowess.

It's going to be a very interesting summer for Marc Bergevin and the Montreal Canadiens, and given the long term commitment given already to Jeff Petry, for once, this team will be the aggressor.





20 comments:

If there were any takers for an aging over-payed shredded-kneed defenceman named Markov, I would be all over that! Emelim has shown signs that he may return to the form he had prior to his injuries. We need cap space, Edmonton needs veteran leadership and we have 3-4 young D-men that need NHL game time to improve.

True, but given his value, the Canadiens would be able to get more in return for Emelin. Markov, given the playoffs he had, his age and the term left on his contract, may not fetch as much.

f you exclude a defensemans salary, this team has about $30 Mil tied up on defensemen. If you dont find a trade partner to get rid of either Emelin or Gilbert the Habs ont have much cap space for a needed scorer or to, and ifyou are thnking of a major trade, trust me, Habs fans over value most of their players.

Go after Leon Draisatal, send them Tinordi, Desharnais and a pick, Edmonton already will center McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins as their top 2 centers maybe send them Fucale too.Bergevin has to be creative and so far he is anything else but!!

Malkin may be available according to todays reports, if the Habs want him I send Plekanec, Markov, Charles Hudon, Tinordi and a first and second rounder for him...Nothing more..Malkin had 70 and 72 poinys the last 2 years and wlll be 30 next July..Pleks had only Ten less points than him this year (60)

I heard Rick Nash may be on the trade block, and that team really needs a center badly. I send them Plekanec Plus for him.
I also feel Bergevin should try to acquire prospects Leon Draisaital and Kerby Rychek, those 2 players are on teams with little room for them.

Islanders want to deal Kyke Okposo and Grabner according to reports, I ask Desharnais, Weise, Hudon, Tinordi and a pick get that deal done.

Anyone know the last Habs player drafted by Montreal that scored 40 or more goals in a season??

Somebody is a terrible Habs fan as Bellows wasnt drafted by Montreal, as the question asked..And we thought Montreal ans knew their hockey.

Starting to think we need some new blood in Habs management, Bergevin is too placid and Timmins too overrated.

At least this blog lets fans post our feelings on how incompetent Habs management has been for over two decades now. Meanwhile, fans on sites like Habfans.com and Hockey Inside Out have to tow the propaganda lines pretending all is well with our team. Duane at Habfans is the worst, a regular Dicktator. Jaybird.

TSN is reporting the Canadiens have just traded Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher and a 2016 first rounder to San Jose for center Joe Thornton.

Larek here from Habfans and Jaybird is right on the money, except its Duane and Zorba that are into gay marriages.

I believe that the last 40-goal scorer drafted by Habs was John Leclair. Before that, Stephane Richer and before that, Mats Naslund.

Per TSN, Montreal has acquired Patrick Sharp for Davd Desharnais, Jared Tinordi and a 2016 2nd rounder.

Anonymous 5:53pm and 4:52pm please quit the BS tsn reports. Those "trades" were never ever discussed. Stay off our site with your BS!! Go back to the leaf rock you crawled out from.

Anyone see the Yahoo Sports site Puck Daddy with the article on the NHL's rookies and future players?? Not one Habs prospect on the list. We sure give Trevor Timmins alot of credit he doesnt deserve.

Thank you for this post. This is very interesting information for me.

Signing contracts with players is good in a way, this will help in overcoming the spot fixing. After contract signing with Alex Galchenyuk, now this league would be very interesting. Cheap dissertation writing services

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