Chiarot Sitting Out Ahead Of Potential Trade; Penguins Pushing Hard

With six days to go until the NHL Trade Deadline, a trade involving Montreal Canadiens defenceman Ben Chiarot could be imminent.

The Canadiens decided to sit Chiarot for tonight’s tilt against the Arizona Coyotes for precautionary reasons and moments after that news broke, a well-placed NHL source confirmed earlier reports here, that the Pittsburgh Penguins were one of the teams pushing hard to acquire the rugged, two-way defenceman.

“They’re trying hard to make it work for Chiarot; that’s all I can say right now,” the source told Montreal Hockey Now.

As reported here and on Pittsburgh Hockey Now, the Penguins had two scouts taking in the Canadiens’ 4-3 shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Penguins President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke is a big fan of Chiarot and is once again looking for more truculence on the pens blue line.

Chiarot was on the ice for the game day skate Tuesday in Brossard but stayed out after his temmates headed into the dressing room. Canadiens defenceman Brett Kulak will draw back into the lineup Tuesday night and take Chiarot’s place. …potentially for the rest of the season, if he’s dealt.

Ben Chiarot was already a very valuable asset on the NHL Trade Market, but the Josh Manson trade between the Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche Monday night has turned up the heat on the trade market for defencemen.

“That’s definitely got things going, and the dominoes are starting to fall,” the same source said.

In what seemingly was his last game with the Canadiens before the NHL Trade Deadline, with upwards of ten NHL scouts on hand in Philadelphia on Sunday night, Chiarot had an assist and played brilliantly in 27 shifts and 26:32 TOI in a 4-3 overtime win over the Flyers. Chiarot has seven goals and 11 assists in 54 games this season.

Ben Chiarot is in the final season of a three-year contract that carries a $3.5 million cap hit. Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes has expressed a willingness to retain some of what’s left on Chiarot’s cap hit for this season.

In addition to the Penguins, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames have all reportedly shown interest in Chiarot ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline next Monday.