A rebuild involves a young team with some veterans who are there to guide the youngsters and bring experience, especially in difficult times.
We don’t rebuild a team only with young people aged 25 and months. it takes a certain amount of supervision for it to work. Guys like David Savard et Brendan Gallagher bring a lot of leadership, in addition to their play on the ice.
That said, the mandate of some of these veterans will end at the end of this season.
With Ivan Demidov who will arrive in Montreal and Logan Mailloux who proves that he now has his place in the NHL, we will have to make some room and that’s without mentioning energy players like Luke Cloth et Florian Xhekaj who could soon take their place on a 4th trio.
Five players will become free agents next summer, if they do not sign a new contract by then. Jake Evans, Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, Michael Pezzetta et David Savard.
Jake Evans deserves to stay. he is doing an outstanding job as a 4th center and should receive a contract extension.
For the other four, it is much less certain.
Joel Armia
He plays very well some nights, he is also capable of disappearing for long periods. He currently earns 3.4 million per season and he could interest a few teams at the trade deadline as he was a very effective player when CH made the final in 2021.
Christian Dvorak
It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where he would return to Montreal at the end of his contract next summer. The 4.45 million it currently costs CH will be better invested elsewhere.
Michael Pezzetta
Pezz could stay, but he could just as easily leave and no one would make a big deal about it. he brings energy, but there are young people in Laval who are ready to play this role in Montreal.
David Savard
Savard brings a lot of stability to the CH defense. At 34 years old, he is still very solid and could come back on a one or two season contract. It will be up to management to manage this matter well. The defense is young and without him, Matheson would become the only veteran. It could also serve as a bargaining chip next spring to get a good draft pick.
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