Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin continues to take care of internal business before the NHL Draft and Free Agency as yesterday he signed forward Torrey Mitchell to a 3 year deal worth reportedly $3.6 million ($1.2 million AAV). This off-season, Bergevin is very shrewdly managing the cap in what is expected to be a tight year with an expected maximum salary cap of approximated $71 million USD.

It took a little while for Mitchell to find his footing after he came at the trade deadline from Buffalo, as well as time for coach Michel Therrien to find the right role for him. By the time the playoffs came though, Mitchell had comfortably found a home centering the Habs 4th line and taking important faceoffs on the right side of the defensive zone. The Canadiens have been lacking a right handed centerman for some time now and Mitchell finally fills that niche. Mitchell is not big as he is listed at 5’11” and 189 lbs but he is tough to play against and fast, a necessity in today’s NHL. In the playoffs Mitchell most often found himself centering Brandon Prust and Dale Weiss which proved to be a very efficient trio, contributing quality minutes and timely goals. I would expect this trio to be penciled in as the fourth line for 2015-2016 season. They have the ability to be one of the top 4th lines in the league, tough to play against with the ability to chip in offensively. A solid 4th line like this also allows Therrien to manage his bench appropriately.

Much has already been said about Mitchell being a bilingual local boy from Greefield Park, QC. While it is certainly nice to have hometown guys on the Canadiens roster, the important thing is that Mitchell is a quality player. Mitchell’s signing is also another vote of confidence for Bergevin, Therrien and the direction the team is heading. Petry’s signing was the first and this signing echoes that. Players are enjoying playing in Montreal and see it as a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup. Fans should be excited by this!

With Petry, Beaulieu and Mitchell now signed, the attention turns to Alex Galchenyuk, Jarred Tinordi and Brian Flynn. Bergevin is running low on cap space and while it is conceivable that all three are signed under the salary cap max, that would leave little to no room for any additions on July 1st. It will be quite interesting to see what the next trick out of Bergevin’s sleeve will be!

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