MONTREAL — I’m not shrinking from it.
When then-GM Marc Bergevin traded the Montreal Canadiens‘ first- and second-round picks to the Arizona Coyotes for Christian Dvorak again in September, I wrote that the steep worth was value paying as a result of “within the 25-year-old the Canadiens have gained a flexible participant who’s accrued practically a half-a-point per recreation over his first 302 within the NHL and finished so on a group missing the kind of expertise on the wings the Canadiens at present boast.”
I added that he was one of the best commerce possibility to interchange Jesperi Kotkaniemi — the younger centre the Carolina Hurricanes plucked away from the Canadiens with a one-year, $6.1 million supply sheet — and was coming over as a participant who won’t be higher than Kotkaniemi in the long term however was actually higher than him in the meanwhile.
And I’m not asking for mulligans on both assertion.
Not but at the least. Not earlier than Dvorak has performed multiple recreation beneath Martin St. Louis, and positively not after solely showing in 35 video games in a Canadiens uniform.
Whether or not or not Kent Hughes, who took over from Bergevin as GM somewhat greater than midway by January, feels the identical means will likely be decided between now and Monday’s commerce deadline.
However provided that Hughes has already had a most pragmatic strategy to shifting gamers — he bought Tyler Toffoli and Ben Chiarot when their respective values have been hovering and picked up two first-round picks, two prospects with NHL potential and two depth picks — I’m pondering he’ll wait and see, too.
Even with a few groups on the market who is likely to be on this participant who struggled mightily out of the gate and at last started wanting extra like himself when he all of the sudden suffered a neck damage that saved him out of 19 video games previous to his return in a 4-3 time beyond regulation loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday, promoting him at a complete loss simply to get the remaining three years of his contract off the books appears something however pragmatic.
Contemplating the dearth of depth and expertise the Canadiens have at centre, it really wouldn’t make a lot sense in any respect — until some group on the market was keen to surrender a decent-to-good return and take up the total weight of his $4.45-million cap hit by the tip of his contract.
On Thursday, Dvorak confirmed indicators of what made him engaging to Bergevin to start with.
And St. Louis, who stated after the sport that he knew nothing of this participant previous to taking up the bench on Feb. 9, noticed them.
“I’ve been right here for 15 video games, and I hadn’t actually seen him,” he stated, “and I used to be pleased with what I noticed.
“I believe he’s a dependable man, and I believe there’s extra offence to his recreation that we’re going to maintain tapping.”
Dvorak actually left that impression, getting robbed by Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger on Montreal’s first nice scoring likelihood of the sport.
He created two extra scoring probabilities for himself as issues went alongside and bought stymied defensively on an awesome rush within the third interval.
Dvorak additionally helped linemates Brendan Gallagher and Artturi Lehkonen obtain Montreal’s greatest shift of the sport within the second interval. They drew an influence play, and he then gained the faceoff that led to Cole Caufield’s twelfth purpose of the season and his eleventh in his final 16 video games.
On the entire, Dvorak gained 11 of 14 faceoffs earlier than dropping the final one which led to a controversial purpose John Klingberg scored for Dallas with 10 seconds left in time beyond regulation.
That St. Louis put him on for it, after shut to twenty video games with out enjoying, will solely assist Hughes and the Canadiens make a correct analysis of what they’ve in him.
However that analysis can’t be restricted to 1 recreation.
“It’s giving him a chance to get his legs beneath him,” stated the coach about how he used Dvorak in all conditions. “You possibly can’t do this enjoying eight, 9 minutes. I believed tonight he was at 16, proper? So with that, I do know with these minutes he’s going to really feel higher the subsequent recreation. To be in recreation form you must play these minutes.
“We have been monitoring him in faceoffs, and he was glorious. He bought additional work due to it. I believe I’m inspired that he’s going to maintain feeling higher on the ice.”
The Canadiens have to see that occur as a result of they actually didn’t see sufficient of it by the primary half of the season.
It didn’t assist Dvorak that just about everybody on the group performed like their skates have been untied by the primary 10 video games, and it actually didn’t assist that Canadiens followers — and a few native radio and tv hosts — have been throughout him.
There are some folks on the market who really feel otherwise about Dvorak. There have been 16 scouts at Thursday’s recreation, and we surveyed 4 of them who work for Western Convention groups concerning the participant.
All of them stated some iteration of, “He’s an excellent participant.” One stated, “I believed he was in between a second- and a third-line centre,” and one other stated, “one purpose he could have been judged as harshly as he has been right here is as a result of he’s by no means been identified to be a flashy man and when issues aren’t going properly and you may’t counter it with a transfer or two that brings folks out of their chair, you’re going to catch some additional warmth.”
“It takes a very long time to get adjusted for some gamers, and I believe that’s clearly the case for him,” stated the final one. “However I nonetheless assume he may be pretty much as good, if not higher, as he was in Arizona. And he was excellent there.”
We thought so. We thought Dvorak was an excellent participant to get for a group that had simply misplaced Phillip Danault and Kotkaniemi, and we expect he’s good to maintain by the tip of the season to probably show he could be a security valve for less-experienced centres Nick Suzuki, Jake Evans, Laurent Dauphin, Ryan Poehling and Rem Pitlick shifting ahead.
“I believe he simply brings stability in the course of the ice for us,” stated Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen after making 31 saves in his first recreation again since he suffered a lower-body damage on Jan. 12 in Boston. “He’s a man that’s performed a whole lot of video games on this league. He’s accountable in each zones. He’s not going to flash you offensively, however I believe he’s bought some offensive instincts. Up on the psychological aspect, he may be one step forward.
“We performed towards him (with the St. Louis Blues) up in Arizona; he’s a dependable centre that’s not likely going to make too many errors. He’s only a constant, good hockey participant and I’m glad to have him again after having that damage. Wanting ahead to seeing what he can do the remainder of the 12 months.”
Dvorak is wanting ahead to exhibiting it, too, and I believe he deserves the possibility to.
“I believe you need to end these final 20 or no matter video games are left the appropriate means,” he stated. “Because the new change and every thing, guys have been enjoying properly, so I simply needed to get again as quickly as potential and attempt to end this factor the appropriate means.”
If Dvorak can’t do it, then there’s a dialog available about what to do with him shifting ahead.
