The signing by the Canadiens of Sean Monahan, for just under two million dollars for one year, on Tuesday, has many advantages, for very few disadvantages. Here are the five main advantages.
Sean Monahan showed great versatility at the start of the season last year, on the left wing of the first line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield as the center of the second line.
A production of 17 points in 25 games, his output last year, corresponds to approximately 55 points over a full season of 82 games.
The Canadian is still under reconstruction, but the cellar of the classification is not on the agenda this winter. We want to progress collectively, not only to promote the development of young people, but for the benefit of spectators.
Didn’t Geoff Molson state a few months ago his desire to see the club improve?
The Canadian now has 13 attackers under contract, 16 if we add Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Jesse Ylönen and Sean Farrell, who finished last season in Montreal. We could add Emil Heineman to this group, seven goals in eleven games in Laval after his arrival from Sweden, a solid candidate for a position with the Canadiens next year.
It takes a lot of pedagogy to promote the development of a young person, and to give him a place when he deserves it, but you have to deserve his position. There will be nothing for granted for Farrell, Ylönen and Heineman in anticipation of the next season, maybe not even for Juraj Slafkovsky, if he is not better than the others. Nothing like tough competition to get the most out of a young player.
With the surprising departure of Monahan last year, the Canadiens could almost hope to obtain for this potential rental player a late first-round pick, or at worst a second.
Montreal hoped until the very end to see him heal in time, but Monahan was unable to return to play for the season.
Looking back, we would have managed his injury better. He would probably not have been allowed to participate in the game on December 1 in Calgary, which he was keen on since it was his last, and only club. He was, however, wearing a protective boot to hold his fractured foot in place. His groin suffered and he was forced to undergo surgery to repair his abdominal muscles in April.
A good season on his part would allow the CH to obtain a second chance to acquire interesting assets at the deadline of transactions in 2024 for the 28-year-old striker. Already, Montreal has obtained the first round choice of the Calgary Flames in 2025, or 2024 *, to allow them to free themselves from their salary of 6.3 million last year.
*The Canadiens can claim the Flames’ 2024 pick if they’re between No. 20 and No. 32, according to capfriendly.com.
Getting two first-round picks from the Flames, or even first- and second-round picks, without having to pay anything in return would be a masterstroke from Kent Hughes.
The presence of good leaders remains essential in a rejuvenation phase. Monahan fulfills all of these criteria. He is a hard worker and his personality contributes to a healthy and positive environment in the locker room.
The slightly more arrogant young player (is there really any at CH?) can’t afford to look down on him. Monahan had three career 30-plus-goal seasons, seven 20-plus-goal seasons, had 60-plus points four times and had 82 points, including 34 goals, in 2018-19, his best year of his career.
Bob Hartley, his coach in Calgary during Monahan’s first two years with the Flames, is never asked on BPM Sports to praise his former player’s human qualities.
Due to his injury, Monahan was in no position to ask for the moon. But he could have chosen another organization too. The duration of the contract is ideal for both parties.
She gives Monahan a season to prove himself and secure a more enticing contract in a year with an aspiring team. It allows the Canadian not to bond too long with a player at the dawn of his thirties (he will be 29 in October).
An annual salary of 1.9 million is a bargain for a player of his caliber. Jake Evans gets just $200,000 less.
New Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy has given veteran Milan Lucic permission to chat with teams of his choice just weeks before the free agent market opens.
At 35, and with a starving production for several seasons, the news doesn’t come as a big surprise, even though Lucic hasn’t done badly at the World Championship.
Lucic lost his biggest ally in Calgary when coach Darryl Sutter was fired last month. Sutter liked rough players like Lucic.
Lucic’s departure will free up six million on the team’s payroll. A huge sum for a forward with 19 points, including seven goals, in 77 games last year.
The former Bruins forward will have made $42 million over the past six seasons. He amassed 187 points in 526 games, an average of 29 points per year. After scoring 23 goals in his rookie year in Edmonton, 2016-17, he never exceeded 10 goals per season again.
The CH was lucky to have their hair done at the last moment by the Oilers in the race to obtain his services in July 2016.
