How Former Canadiens Players Are Performing With New Teams

The first two years of the Montreal Canadiens rebuild featured a laundry-list of trades involving veterans, tweeners, and prospects, par for the course when a new general manager takes over.

Now that Kent Hughes is quickly approaching his third year at the helm of the Habs, the roster moves have slowed down considerably, but there were still over half a dozen players that moved on from the Canadiens in the last year.

Former Canadiens Thriving

Sean Monahan

The entire hockey community was in mourning following the tragic news that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed by a drunk driver, but few players were impacted more than Sean Monahan, one of Gaudreau’s best friends. The two had played together in Calgary for several seasons, and were set to re-unite as Monahan signed a five-year contract with the Blue Jackets when free agency opened on July 1.

There’s no removing the pain caused by the tragedy, and if you asked Monahan he’d probably tell you the last thing on his mind to start the season was scoring points, however, it’s worth noting that he’s currently on pace to match his best season in the NHL, which would be quite the feat when we consider he’s 30 years old.

Monahan is currently tied with Zach Werenski for the lead the Blue Jackets in scoring, with seven goals and 12 assists in 19 games. That equates to a 30-goal, 52-assist, 82-game prorated season.

Considering the haul the Habs received from trades involving Monahan, you’d be hard-pressed to argue his tenure in Montreal was anything but highly productive for both the team and the player. Monahan found his rhythm, which allowed him to sign the last big contract of his career, and is now being used in a role that is much more conducive to scoring, as he features on the team’s top line. It also seems that his production is sustainable, as he ranks among the best NHL players when evaluating his underlying numbers.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens can funnel ice time to their young players who are expected to play a key role in the team’s rebuild.

That’s the epitome of a win-win situation.

Jake Allen

Some will be quick to suggest Jake Allen’s surge in statistics since leaving the Canadiens is due to him playing behind a better defensive group, and there’s some truth to the argument, but it also requires a little nuance.

The Devils are a mid-pack team when it comes to controlling quality chances, which means that yes, they’re better in their own zone by the Canadiens, but Allen is far from insulated as the team’s backup.

Devils starter Jacob Markstrom is sporting a 2.54 goals against average, as well as a .907 save percentage, whereas Allen has allowed 2.3 goals against on average, and has stopped a much higher percentage of the shots he’s faced, as evidenced by his .916 save percentage.

In just seven starts, Allen has saved more goals above expected than Canadiens starter Samuel Montembeault, and has done a great job solidifying a position of weakness for the Devils, who have NHL Stanley Cup aspirations.

It was definitely time to move on from Allen, and it would be foolish to suggest the Canadiens made a mistake when they traded him for conditional third-round pick, but Allen’s recent play is a good reminder that goaltenders are very difficult to analyze, and that they probably shoulder more than their fair share of blame when things go wrong.

Jake Allen’s 31 save shutout is his second in his last 4 starts 🔥🧱 pic.twitter.com/SBVwJKl9Ca

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 5, 2024

Johnathan Kovacevic

At a glance, it may seem odd that Johnathan Kovacevic is put in the thriving category, but just like he did during his very underrated time with the Habs, the 27-year-old has done a great job plugging holes on the right side of the defence, and has been called into action whenever the team needed an efficient and reliable defenceman in a pinch.

Kovacevic leads the Devils defencemen in expected goal share, with a 56.9 percent share, and has scored one goal and five assists in 22 games.

This isn’t particularly shocking if you followed my coverage of his play in Montreal. Kovacevic isn’t fancy, but he gets the job done, and provides fantastic value when you consider he’s on a bargain-basement contract.

Simply put, he’s the ideal depth option for any defensive group, and a great insurance policy in the top six.

Former Canadiens Thriving Surviving

Tanner Pearson

His tenure in Montreal was rather uneventful, and the team made the right decision when they opted not to offer Pearson a contract extension. On that note, it’s heartwarming to see the 32-year-old winger find a team that can provide regular ice time, especially since he dealt with quite the injury debacle in Vancouver.

In 54 games with the Habs, Pearson scored five goals and eight assists. In 20 games with the Vegas Golden Knights this year, he’s already up to three goals five assists, which represents a significant uptick in production.

Tanner Pearson – Vegas Golden Knights (3) pic.twitter.com/HZ0BM05Iw1

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 31, 2024

Former Canadiens Players Regressing

You can never fault a tweener for changing organizations, as their ultimate goal is to one day have an opportunity to crack an NHL roster in a permanent fashion. A change of address can improve their odds, but the other side of the medallion is that many young players lose their way once they move on.

Jesse Ylonen, for example, has not enjoyed changing employers, as he’s not only playing in the AHL, he’s managed just four assists in 14 games for the Syracuse Crunch, a poor scoring pace when we consider he spent the majority of the previous season in the NHL.

The same can be said about former Laval Rocket alternate captain Mitchell Stephens. After being rewarded for his strong work in the AHL with a 23-game promotion to the NHL last season, Mitchell was not offered a contract extension by the Canadiens. Now that he’s playing for the Seattle Kraken organization, it appears that Stephens has been lost in the fray, as he is yet to earn a point in eight games for the Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL).

That leads us to the final player, a defenceman who provided great value to the Canadiens for three seasons: Jordan Harris. The 23-year-old was part of the trade that brought Patrik Laine to Montreal, but has struggled to find his rhythm with the Blue Jackets. He has been relegated to the press box for roughly half their games this season, and is yet to register his name on the scoresheet. To make matters worse, his underlying numbers have collapsed, going from very good to below replacement.

He’s young, and is one of the most intelligent players in any locker room, which means he still has plenty of time to rebound should the Blue Jackets offer a little more consistency in his usage.