It’s been nearly a week since the Montreal Canadiens fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. As a die-hard fan, the loss still stings quite a bit, but it’s time to look to the future. Today, I’m going to take a look at the Canadiens off-season, who’s a free agent, who they should sign, and possibly trade for. I’m also going to give my prediction for what the Canadiens protection list might look like ahead of the 2021 Seattle Kraken expansion draft, which is being held next Wednesday, July 21st. Before we dive into it any further, let’s go over some key dates for the 2021 off-season.
- Protection list deadline: July 17th.
- Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft: July 21st.
- 2021 NHL Entry Draft: July 23rd-24th.
- Opening of Free Agency: July 28th.
The Habs have a total of twenty free agents, eleven unrestricted, and nine restricted. One of their restricted free agents, defenceman Otto Leskinen, recently signed a two-year contract with Jokerit in the KHL. Leskinen will remain apart of the Canadiens organization if they tender him a qualifying offer. Now, let’s take a look at Montreal’s free agents.
Unrestricted free agents (11): Corey Perry, Joel Armia, Michael Frolik, Phillip Danault, Eric Staal, Tomas Tatar, Alex Belzile, Jon Merrill, Erik Gustafsson, Charlie Lindgren, Gustav Olofsson.
Restricted free agents (9): Artturi Lehkonen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Otto Leskinen, Cale Fleury, Michael McNiven, Joseph Blandisi, Michael Pezzetta, Ryan Poehling, Jacob Lucchini.
Of the twenty free agents, I believe Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin should make an attempt to re-sign eight of them. Those eight players are: Corey Perry, Artturi Lehkonen, Joel Armia, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Cale Fleury, Ryan Poehling, Michael McNiven, and Phillip Danault.
Montreal should also look to free agency for upgrades in certain positions as well such as their top-six forward group, as well as possibly a top-four defenceman, should the Canadiens lose Ben Chiarot in the expansion draft. I took a look at the 2021 free agent class, and identified six players Marc Bergevin should try to sign.
- 1) Mikael Granlund (C). 2020-21 stats: 51 games, 27 points (13 G, 14 A), 14 penalty minutes, -1.
- 2) Gabriel Landeskog (LW). 2020-21 stats: 54 games, 52 points (20 G, 32 A), 34 penalty minutes, +14.
- 3) Mike Hoffman (LW). 2020-21 stats: 52 games, 36 points (17 G, 19 A), 10 penalty minutes, +2.
- 4) Brandon Saad (LW). 2020-21 stats: 44 games, 24 points (15 G, 9 A), 12 penalty minutes, +1.
- 5) Dougie Hamilton (D). 2020-21 stats: 55 games, 42 points (10 G, 32 A), 35 penalty minutes, +20.
- 6) Alec Martinez (D). 2020-21 stats: 53 games, 32 points (9 G, 23 A), 12 penalty minutes, +26.
Before I wrap up this post, I want to share my predictions for the Canadiens protection list for the upcoming expansion draft. As a refresher, each team (except Vegas) have two options for their protection lists. The first option is seven forwards, three defenceman, and one goaltender, while the second option is eight skaters (regardless of position), and one goaltender.
Montreal Canadiens protection list prediction
- Forwards: Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, Tyler Toffoli, Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jake Evans.
- Defencemen: Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, Joel Edmundson.
- Goaltender: Carey Price.
The Seattle Kraken will have plenty of worthwhile options in terms of who they could chose from the Montreal Canadiens. Five players they could select are: Ben Chiarot, Brett Kulak, Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron, and Jake Allen.
Thanks to everyone who read my posts throughout the 2020-21 season. Enjoy the off-season, and I’ll be posting against once training camps open in Septemeber!
-Cooper