*** UPDATE: NHL salary cap could rise $5 million to $80 million for the 18-19 season. This could leave the Canadiens with roughly $17 million in cap space for next season according to my ability to read text on Cap Friendly and add 5 to it (which is difficult).
This is huge for all teams that spend but it could be a God send for a team like Montreal that will need to greatly overpay any potential UFA Center this July. Montreal has plenty of money to overpay for the teams biggest area of need.
It will be interesting to see if Bergevin will put the blank cheque on the negotiating table this July 1st.... ***
Marc Bergevin keeps adding to the Canadiens farm system this offseason after announcing that the Montreal Canadiens have signed defensemen Michal Moravcik (23 yrs old, left shot, 6’4…, 212 lbs) and David Sklenicka (21 yrs old, left shot, 5’11…, 181 lbs) from the HC Plzen of the Czech Extraliga hockey league.
The defenders were apparently also D partners this year for HC Plzen.
Le Canadien met deux défenseurs sous contrat https://t.co/QSVCMuNAHs
— RDS (@RDSca) May 28, 2018
Moravcik appears to bring some offense to his game as he finished the playoffs with 3G and 4A in 10 games to finish 20th in playoff scoring despite playing 10 games against the leading scorers 18 games. Moravcik finished the regular season with 5G and and 11A in 52 games to go with a +25 rating before breaking out in the playoffs.
Sklenicka’s stat lines appear to indicate he is a defensive D with a similar regular season stat line to Moravcik. Sklenicka finished the regular season with 3G and 11A in 49 games before posting 1G and 1A in 10 playoff games.
At the World Championships Moracivik had 3 pts in 8gp
— Blain Potvin (@Potsy_70) May 28, 2018
Sklenicka had 2 pts in 8GP
Both look to be solid depth signings that will likely start the season with the @LavalRocket @TheAHLReport
Both players signed identical two year, two way contracts with the Canadiens worth $925k each year with 10% of that as a signing bonus each season. They both will receive the max AHL contract of $70k per year, which is likely where they will play most of next year. If both never play an NHL game they will have made $162,500 per season in pre-tax salary.
"The guys [Moravcik and Sklenicka] got an interesting offer and they both accepted it. For us, of course, it is a great loss, but we are already working on replacing them. We wish them both good luck, "said Tomas Vlasak (GM of HC Škoda Plzeň) #Habs https://t.co/N1V16aXHuK
— Canadiens Prospects (@mtl_prospects) May 28, 2018
On the surface, this looks like a depth signing for the AHL club that struggled terribly on defence last season.
Here is Michal MoravÄàk's goal from the World Championships. The guy making the backhand pass? That's David SkleniÄka. #Habs pic.twitter.com/01wurtez8s
— Jared Book (@jaredbook) May 28, 2018
I completely admit to have not seen any of their play this season and am more relaying info here but there are some on social media who are eluding to these two having some untapped offensive potential, and I have no doubt they will receive their opportunity to showcase that in Laval, but as of today I’m not willing to buy any hype. Another shared observation is that both players skate very well and can make a first pass. It will be interesting to see how they play in camp(s?).
These two will have an excellent opportunity to see if they can translate their game to North American style under newly signed Rocket Coach J Bouchard. The defenders will no doubt be under the watchful eyes of the Habs faithful this fall…
So here's what the #Habs defensive depth looks like now after the addition of Moravcik and Sklenicka. pic.twitter.com/AC4yoO1uaO
— Andrew Zadarnowski (@AZadarski) May 28, 2018
Go Habs Go!