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The Definitive List of Canadiens UFA Targets 2018 |
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July 1st, 2018 is right around the corner and with it comes the day NHL players do their best to secure early retirement income while GM’s thirsty for success sign over priced contracts that rarely ever match what they add to their team.
As is tradition we should expect Montreal ,and their almost $20 million in cap space, to sign a player or two this offseason. Marc Bergevin and crew has done a good job this summer signing some undrafted junior aged players and successful junior coaches but there are a couple needs on the Canadiens that could be at least improved upon for the upcoming season.
I’ll do my best to come up with some reasonable targets for the Habs on Canada Day with the following UFA list:
John Tavar…. Oh yeah, it appears he has little interest in the Canadiens. My bad.
Riley Nash, 29 yrs old. 6’01”, 190 lbs. Center.
Nash is a right handed, dependable C who is capable of keeping up with offensive players. He was more than capable filling in for the injured Patrice Bergeron in Boston last season and in his 13 games at #1 C he held a Point Per Game pace. You want a smart, affordable option for an experienced top 6 C? This is the guy.
Reasonable salary for Nash? I would say if you could add him for $4 million or under you’re getting an absolute beauty of a deal. It would also give the Canadiens a player that can play under all game circumstances that they can trust. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the first player (or only) player the Canadiens sign on July 1st.
Calvin de Haan, 27 yrs old. 6’01”, 198 lbs. Left shooting Defenseman.
Calvin is coming off season ending shoulder surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder but that shouldn’t be too much of a concern to the Canadiens. In early April de Haan indicated he finally felt “human” again (credit: rotoworld.com). Being almost 3 months past that news snippet it should be very easy to feel comfortable sending de Haan a contract to come and play LD beside Shea Weber.
De Haan is not an overly offensive defensemen but on a perennially bad Islander club he hasn’t been a burden on the ice. With a career 50.4 CF% and 51.5 FF% with the NYI it may actually be reasonable to presume that paired with someone like Shea Weber could be an incredible add for Montreal. This would allow Mete to play 2nd pair with Petry and Alzner can move to the 3rd pair with Juulsen. The Habs will have to move out one of Schlemko or Benn to make this work, but they could worry about that at camp as neither of those players take too much cap space. The Habs could then carry Reilly and Schlemko/Benn as 7-8 D.
Contract expectations will be high for any moderately skilled blue liner so it’s easy to project a $4-5 million dollar cap hit for 5-7 years. If the deal was only on the table at 7 years I would say take him as he is still young enough to play at a high level and the final year would still put him at only 34 years old.
James Neal, soon to be 31 yrs old. 6’02”, 221 lbs. Right Wing.
This is the most risky of all my suggestions due to Neal’s age and his UFA status is most certainly going to see him take the most money possible on his likely last big pay day. But, it could be worth it for the Canadiens despite the cost.
The Canadiens are thin on RW after Gallagher and even though I predicted a break out year for Lehkonen last year, there are no assurances he will reach his potential this season.
Habs need a finisher. Someone who buries pucks with a wicked release and a keen hockey sense. That’s James Neal. Neal potted 25 goals last season, 23 the year before, and 31 the year before that. He shoots as well as anyone and would help the Canadiens immediately at 5 on 5 and on the Power Play.
Neal has a career 53.7 CF% and 53.5 FF% so he helps push the play more often then not. Neal did not have a great year on the PP scoring 5 G and 4 A but he would definitely be 1st PP on the Canadiens and give them a trigger man for Drouin and Domi’s playmaking abilities. It would be a huge add for a young Habs squad.
Contract expectations will be high, but with an increased cap hit will likely come a shorter term. So depending on how you feel about signing a soon to be 31 year old scorer will decide what you are comfortable spending on him. If you are of the “Trade Price and Weber and lose” crowd then you want nothing to do with him. I am not a part of that crowd so I would be comfortable with seeing Neal added in the $6 million range for 4-5 years to ensure the Canadiens finally have another pure sniper on the team (should Pacioretty remain with the club).
Total estimated cost to add all 3 players would be $15 million per year leaving the Canadiens just enough to resign Danault and De La Rose (when you also factor in moving one of Schlemko or Benn). That pretty much puts the Canadiens at the end of the cap but with a much more dependable C, LD, and a proven sniper.
The team would be better all around without having to break the bank or lose assets in a trade. It’s not the elite, young, 1st line C they have needed since Koivu, but those players rarely test the market and there’s a definite possibility they don’t want to deal with the circus that follows the Habs in the media.
Some believe the Canadiens drafted a #1 C a week ago, and I hope they are right (he was definitely a reach with who was available), but Kotkaniemi is an unknown commodity until tested in North American hockey at the position. It’s much more likely that the 25th overall pick from the 2017 draft, 6’03” Ryan Poehling, develops into the coveted Center the Canadiens need as he proved this past season he can lead a team of college aged men in play and to championships.
For all the praise I’ve seen on social media for Kotkaniemi it seems that most are sleeping on just how good Poehling is. The sophomore (youngest player in the NCAA two seasons ago now) put up 14 goals and 17 assists in 36 games as he took over the top line pivot spot throughout the season. Poehling had a .524 FO % last season, 4 GWG, led the team in SP% at 20.3%.
Some may not be that impressed as he wasn’t a PPG player, but he helped lead the team to 1st place in the NCHC and was name to Team USA’s World Junior team last winter. Poehling is returning to school to pursue a National Title this upcoming season so he, like Kotkaniemi, is a not doing anything for Montreal for another year at least. Kotkaniemi is likely 2 to 3 years away from having any kind of NHL impact as well.
To me, this is all the more reason to sign a quality C like Nash to help players like Drouin, Danualt, and DLR learn the trade. Then by the time they have honed their games, Poehling and Kotkaniemi can come in and not be thrown to the wolves immediately.
I say all this and I know full well the odds of the Canadiens making any of this happen is somewhere between slim and none with 31 teams bidding for everyone. But I think adding these players mentioned helps the Canadiens slot players in the right positions, push the play more, score more, and allow the kids some time to adapt. It also allows the good young players they recently drafted some time to develop and when they arrive they are surrounded by a team that will know the right way to play.
With that I say Happy Canada Day and let’s see if there are any more moves in Montreal’s summer.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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