Canadiens Analysis
Canadiens UFA Centre Options Dwindling, Giroux Rumour
With less than two weeks before NHL free agency opens, the options to fill the centre gap for the Montreal Canadiens are quickly dwindling.
Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene signed a four-year contract that carries a $4.5 million annual average value (AAV), a very reasonable price point for a point-per-game centre. The Chicago Blackhawks also re-signed an important centre, with Ryan Donato agreeing to a four-year contract with a $4 million AAV.
Even though Duchene is 34 years old, and Donato established a new career-high in shooting efficiency (17 percent), you could argue they’re both great-value deals when we consider the NHL’s salary cap is set to rise significantly in the next few years.
Montreal Canadiens Angle
It’s worth noting the Dallas Stars are in a salary-cap crunch now that they’ve re-signed Duchene. It’s not a situation that will require drastic decisions in the upcoming days, but Jason Robertson and Mason Marchment have contracts that are set to expire next summer, which could lead to some player movement down the road.
ON TOPIC: Canadiens Trade Talk – Evaluating Jason Robertson Trade Rumours
On that note, they may not have enough cap space to re-sign captain Jamie Benn, or veteran Mikael Granlund, two players who still maintain a reasonable production rate while being on the wrong side of 30.
Benn’s underlying numbers took a dip into the inevitable decline pool this season, and his production dried up in the playoffs, two clear red flags. He played most of the season on the left wing, which isn’t a pressing need for the Canadiens, but the good news is that he still took enough faceoffs to also be considered a centre, with a 58 percent efficiency when called upon.
Given that we’re discussing upcoming free agents, let’s not sugar coat things.
Benn is 35 years old, and it’s quite clear that his best years are behind him. I’m sure that’s the first thing that comes to mind when Habs fans see his name.
And that’s perfectly fair.
But when discussing the possibility of signing an older player to serve as a centre for the Canadiens, we’re doing so with the understanding that it will not be a long-term deal. Kent Hughes has stuck to his guns in that regard, as evidenced by his position during contract negotiations with former free agent Jonathan Marchessault.
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In other words, don’t worry when a free agent on the wrong side of 30 is mentioned as a possible target for the Habs, as there’s little to no risk they’d be on the books for much more than a year or two.
As we saw in the NHL playoffs, good veterans are still worth their salt.
Latest Montreal Canadiens Rumour
According to Bruce Garrioch, the Montreal Canadiens could end-up being Claude Giroux’s contingency plan should a deal with the Ottawa Senators fail to materialize.
“Giroux’s top priority is to re-sign with the Senators,” explained Garrioch. “With only 12 days to free agency, he could decide to test the market. His family has a good situation in Ottawa, but league executives say he might be willing to consider the Montreal Canadiens if they show interest on July 1.”
The first thing we have to get out of the way is that Giroux is not a local player, despite the fact that he happens to have a French-Canadian name. Hearst is about 10 hours north of Ottawa, or 12 repeats of the quintessential 1991 album by the Tragically Hip, Road Apples. Another way of looking at it is that it will take you about two and a half hours to reach Hearst from Geraldton, a.k.a. “G-Town”, and about five hours if you’re leaving from the megapolis known as New Liskeard.
Either way, he’s from Ontario, which means he is among the 1.5 million Ontarians who speak French.
He’s also currently engaged in contract negotiations with the Senators, which makes Garrioch’s report feel like the classic situation where a free agent uses the Habs for leverage without showing serious consideration of signing with the team.
Additionally, if we take a look at Ottawa’s salary cap situation, they’re not exactly in a financial crunch.
With that in mind, we did discuss the possibility that Giroux could join the Canadiens earlier this year, and though I don’t put much stock in the most recent report, he wouldn’t be an awful option should the Habs strike out on the dwindling number of centres set to be available once free agency opens on July 1.
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I can absolutely see the rumour being exactly what you said: a ploy to nudge the sens in the direction Giroux wants. But if he actually is open to playing with Montreal, the current context makes him a decent option.
There are very few 2Cs available and it’s been reported over and over again that there are several teams interested in inquiring players for that exact position. Those teams have basically the same assets to offer that we do so bidding wars will take place in trades. Bidding wars will also be present in free agency. There really are no great options, at least not ones that have been reported.
The reason why I like Giroux as a potential 2C is because he’s highly likely to only have these two teams on his list. Acquiring him would most likely mean we’re only bidding against the sens, perhaps keeping him cheaper than other options. I also like that it’s not a 2C we’d be getting from a trade. Prices are likely to be astronomical and I don’t want to spend futures when we’re still rebuilding unless it’s for a young 2C, which really doesn’t seem to be an option right now. I get that Giroux mostly played on the wing with Ottawa, but he’s capable of being a C, and would be a far more reliable option than we have right now. 1-2 years of him helping Demidov (and maybe even Dach) could be huge. If the price is only cap space that we can easily spend, he’s an easy “yes” for me. Bennet isn’t going to play in Canada and is due for a ridiculous raise. Crosby isn’t leaving and would cost a fortune. Malkin would likely cost a ton too. MacTavish probably isn’t actually on the trade block. Zegras would likely be both expensive (weirdly) and not the type of C we need for Demidov (no experience nor defensive reliability). Karlsson from Vegas would be good but only if they treat him as a cap dump and he comes cheap, but he won’t be just that cuz he’s still effective. The Islanders aren’t moving Barzal or Horvat. Duchene is not an option…. Nothing looks great right now at all.
Idk, I just think that for a 50pt C (ya we can move him back there) with experience like Giroux who can also help on PP2 and the PK, who may only cost cap space… seems like a good temporary fit. Especially since other options really don’t seem available or would be crazy expensive. Giroux for 1-2 years on a bonus-laden contract seems like a win at this point. He may even perform a bit better because with our team, he wouldn’t need to play 20 minutes a night. Hes certainly more reliable and productive than our current options of Dach and Newhook. I really don’t see the downside to getting a super experienced, obvious upgrade at C over our current options for nothing but a bit of cap space. And he can cover the 2 years until Hage can step in.
Are the better options? Sure, there’s still some. Are there better ones when you consider price? Probably very, very few. We’re still rebuilding. We don’t need to win right now, and he’s still a clear upgrade on what we have.
Not excited. If only Crosby asked for trade to habs!!
Neither am I, but he’s stable, realistic, and an obvious upgrade.
If you don’t think he’s an upgrade…. Way healthier and more productive than our in-house options. More experience and leadership. Better defensively (can fill armias hole on the PK). Way better at faceoffs. It’s not possible to argue against any of this for either Dach or Newhook.
And he won’t require that we mortgage the future. There won’t be multiple first rounders and prospects leaving in a trade. There won’t be a terrible cap structure established. There won’t be a drastic overpay for some mythical young 2C that isn’t actually available. Just a few million bucks in cap space we don’t need. And if Dach or Newhook take off, Giroux can play wing or slot in as 3C.
The in-house options are too injury prone, and haven’t been consistently productive enough to rely on. The outside options are either non-existent or way too expensive. This is a very boring, not exciting, but stable and realistic choice that takes pressure off of in-house options like Dach and Newhook. Hughes is pragmatic. He’s not selling the farm for a short term fix, and since everyone wants a 2C, and no one is giving away a young one, I just don’t see where a long term fix comes from.
Giroux is a safe, stable middle ground that checks boxes. In a rebuild, that’s enough for now. I believe in Dach and Newhook (and Laine) but I won’t count on them. And since I believe in them, I want to help them by getting an option like Giroux to take the pressure off, but without wasting assets.
Now whether he actually want to come or is setting this up for a better contract with the sens is another matter entirely
I know I’m in the minority who feels we should do nothing and wait to see how Dach is in the fall. We also have Newhook as plan B. HuGo spent high quality assets to acquire these guys, so it looks bad on them if they try for a 3rd time to get a 2C. I’d rather wait and see what Dach’s knee is like at training camp than spend another 2 first rounders to get yet another reclamation project. HuGo also spent assets to move up and get Hage too, so technically they have made 3 trades and moved high end picks to find a solution for 2C. Why not just be patient and see what happens before we waste any more first round picks? If we can find a cheap, short term stop-gap in free agency, fine. It’s just money. But I really don’t want to keep spending picks trying to fill the same hole every year. Let’s just give it some time to see how it plays out. Instead of making yet another trade, how about investing in Dach’s rehab by supervising him closely to ensure he’s doing everything possible to come back better than ever? That seems like something to spend wisely on.
Not alone… Sometimes the best moves are the ones u dont make
If you are good with conceding the playoffs or good with getting beat down in the first round.
If you’re suggesting Giroux is that difference maker, you’re wrong.
Benn will be the target for Kent as he’s unlikely to re-sign with DAL.
He’s 35 and still playing Playoff hockey and is great at breaking in Centers.
Thats the type of player Hughes targets not Giroux
Giroux broke in like 2 Centers in 15 years
Granlund and Benn on the other hand have helped a 6-8 players.
Its basically Markov vs Weber. Markov broke in Subban alone basically.
While Weber broke in a half dozen top 4 D and another half dozen NHLer’s
Hughes wont waste his time on a player unless they can mentor youth.
Granlund though IMO will be the guy because he never signs long term.
He’s always signed 2-4 years and he’s always been a positive impact.
That and he’s Laine’s team Finland Center regularly is another bonus.
With Demidov wanting to learn Center Benn is nice but is a 3rd line guy.
Granlund could be a legit top 6 option beside Laine-Demidov
That said like Marc covers DAL moving Robertson will cause shifts in the market and Lafreniere apparently being in the mix to be traded also create’s movement.
Cheapest option is to target Sissons who NSH moved to wing but is a solid faceoff center who would fit well beside Newhook and Gallagher .
Hughes doesnt need to go Big Game Hunting to have an impact.
FLA did the same thing targeting Bennet , Verhague, and too many others to list over the years. Everyone else targeted bigger name players and they made smart moves targeting players they could us that fit their rosters needs.
No What I was saying is giroux isn’t a big enough move unless he’s willing to sign relatively cheap to be 3rd centre.
Why the minus? We are not going beyond round 1 game 5 or 6 without a better centre!
As an observer of the team for many years, Claude Giroux is far more interested in using the Montreal Canadians to leverage a deal from the Senators than he is in wearing the Habs jersey. Call me cynical.