After the Aho debacle, everyone agreed that Bergevin still had work to do. Of course, getting more firepower up front was one of the team's need but there was also a big need on the left side of the blue line. Hockey is not solely a matter of putting points on the board, there's also a big need to keep the puck out of the net and while the Canadiens have an excellent goaltender, it was quite obvious last season that the defense needed some improvement.
This morning, the Canadiens announced that they have signed Ben Chiarot for 3 years at 3.5 million AAV. A left handed d-man, Chiarot was drafted in the 4th round (120th overall) by the defunct Atlanta Trashers in 2009. The 28 year old is almost a full 4 years younger than the recently departed Jordie Benn and while he will cost more, this is a player who played top 4 minutes on a deep Winnipeg Jets team.
In 305 career-games, Chiarot got 64 points (12 goals and 52 assists) and before complaining, I really think that people should have a look at the full picture. I took a print screen of his last month as a Winnipeg Jet and here's what it looks like:
Here's a look at Chariot's last month as a member of the Winnipeg Jets #GoHabsGo #CH #Habs #Freeagency pic.twitter.com/s2V2ZMH5v1
— Karine Hains (@Pheebs888) 4 juillet 2019
To me, he looks like an improvement over Benn and since he could handle top 4 duty in Winnipeg, why couldn't he do it in Montréal? That would allow Kulak to slip to the 3rd pairing alongside Noah Juulsen. At this point though, this is only a guess and we'll know what he can do for sure at training camp. The Jets weren't unhappy with Chiarot, if anything, he is a cap casualty and Montreal was the best destination for a player who enjoys playing in Canada. That's right, this is an UFA who wants to be in Montreal.
I also really like the term of this signing. Normally, UFAs like to get a lot of term but here Bergevin managed to sign him to a 3 year contract only which means that when the D-men we drafted last month have matured and may be ready to play, this deal will be up.
As things stand, the Canadiens have $8,469,524 in cap space and should both Alzner and Weise be burried in the AHL next season, that gives them $10.5 M in cap space. Is Bergevin's offseason shopping done? Possibly... like I was saying in my blog yesterday, I think the answer up front will come either through trades or growing pains.